Hi From Dubai :)

[white-rose 0]

Hi all,I'm located in Dubai and I've been a zebra finch owner for about 10 yrs, if not more, but this is the first time I've felt the need to join a forum. I have 4 finches at the moment, 2 pairs. We proceeded to place 2 nests in the cage and give them bits of hay so they can enjoy building their nests and the males happily did so. One of the pairs decided to lay eggs. About 18 - 20 days later, only 1 chick hatched and within 24 hrs they threw out it's dead body. When shortly afterwards the female laid another 5 eggs, we awaited with bated breath for more baby finches hoping they would survive. Another 18 days or so later, another baby chick hatched. This is when I registered to the forum, however, not being able to post, I couldn't share my dilemma. I realized the finches weren't feeding the chick and I wasn't sure if I should remove it to feed it myself. Except I have no idea how to keep the finch warm, how to feed it, how to even lift it out of the nest so I let it stay hoping and praying that the parents would figure it out and checking the forum to see if I could find any information. The next day, at night, I found what I had dreaded. The dead baby finch lying at the bottom of the cage. I placed a firm hay stick under it's neck and brought it out of the cage and tried to place tiny drops of water over the edges of it's beak hoping for revival. Unfortunately it was already too late. It was only today that I realized I could post so I came to share my unfortunate story.Hoping you all can give me advise on what to do with the next clutch. Look forward to getting to know you all. :)PS: I love the adorable finch logo on this forum!

[paulm 119]

Hello and welcome to the forum.It sounds as if your pair is not feeding you may need another hen as this has happened twice so it sound like she has not learnt her lesson on feeding the young.Heres a link on hand feeding,i've done it a few times and it is very time consuming and the chances are not always good the older the chick the higher the chance of success.My linkPaul.

[mark1e 67]

Hello white-rose firstly welcome to the forum You say you put 2 nests in one cage am i thinking you have 2 pair of birds in same cage! not the best idea as zebra finches are very aggressive to other pair or pairs in same cage best breed in very large cage or a flight with lots of coverage so each pair can hide from each other,I use double breeder 34in x 15in x 12in for each pair and i do get good results,If you want to keep 2 pairs together i would give them as much room as possible good 4ft x 4ft x 2ft with loads of hiding places for them,nest boxes i use 4 1/2 cubed i fill nest boxes with coconut fibre and teasel fibre and giving them few bits to add to boxes,feeding your finches you don't mention giving them good eggfood or soft food along with there seeds!As Paul has said it is very time consuming feeding very small chicks this is not always best as you can do more damage to the chick or chicks better if chicks are week or so older,All the best which ever rout you take,mark

[white-rose 0]

Hello and welcome to the forum.It sounds as if your pair is not feeding you may need another hen as this has happened twice so it sound like she has not learnt her lesson on feeding the young.Heres a link on hand feeding,i've done it a few times and it is very time consuming and the chances are not always good the older the chick the higher the chance of success.My linkPaul.

That link seems great! Thanks! Only problem is that I have no clue where to get food and brooders for baby birds in my area.

Hello white-rose firstly welcome to the forum You say you put 2 nests in one cage am i thinking you have 2 pair of birds in same cage! not the best idea as zebra finches are very aggressive to other pair or pairs in same cage best breed in very large cage or a flight with lots of coverage so each pair can hide from each other,I use double breeder 34in x 15in x 12in for each pair and i do get good results,If you want to keep 2 pairs together i would give them as much room as possible good 4ft x 4ft x 2ft with loads of hiding places for them,nest boxes i use 4 1/2 cubed i fill nest boxes with coconut fibre and teasel fibre and giving them few bits to add to boxes,feeding your finches you don't mention giving them good eggfood or soft food along with there seeds!As Paul has said it is very time consuming feeding very small chicks this is not always best as you can do more damage to the chick or chicks better if chicks are week or so older,All the best which ever rout you take,mark

Honestly I have no idea what egg food is. I had kept some calcium cuttlebone for them. And you are right about them being aggressive. We are considering separating them now that they have decided on a pair. The pair with the older male doesn't seem to lay eggs at all. But the younger pair has a lot of eggs but only 1 chick seems to hatch and never survives. In a way it's good because they don't know how to take care of them anyway. I'd feel worse if 5 chicks hatched and all died.I obviously have a lot to learn about breeding and rearing. :blush:Appreciate all the help!

[helen 4]

You could always make you own egg food, there are plenthy of recipes about. Hard boil some eggs and then mash them up. that is all i did at first, and gace then some brocolli or cress. along with the normal seed you give them, I reared many a healthy chick on that.

[Zebraman 267]

Welcome to the forum.Have a look at this Link for an egg food recipe, it's one I put together all the time for my birds.If you've got any questions please do not hesitate to ask, I'm sure we can help you get over this small hurdle.Gary.

[white-rose 0]

Thanks for the info! Sorry for not replying earlier. I was travelling and had an extremely hectic schedule.I've been reading about egg food recipes and I'll be trying it tonight since I have more chicks now.

[mark1e 67]

Hi white-roseI am pleased for you now that you have managed to get some more chicks finally are the parents feeding them this time around!mark

[white-rose 0]

Thanks Mark. I'm glad too. I'm still worried about the chicks since none has ever lasted over 24hrs. So I'm hoping this is a good sign that the parents are finally getting it together. Also, I noticed there are 5 more eggs in the nest. I think after this clutch has hatched (if they hatch) and grows up, I'm removing their nest. The female needs rest.