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Posted by Theresa --Previous Message--
on 1/27/2005, 10:36 pm, in reply to "Help! Babies dying"
68.39.28.64
: My Mom's finches had babies, the daddy
: started plucking their feathers and
: chasing so she took the babies out
: now they are dying! What should she
: do????
:First, what kind of finches are they? Second, unless your mom knows how to hand feed finches, they will all die.
If the female can feed the chicks, just take the male out of the cage, and she should do the job. If not, society finches can be used to pick up the slack, but I'm going to assume you don't have them. So, that leaves you with hand feeding, if the female won't. The chicks need to be placed in a warm cage, or other type of vented recepticle that is lined with paper towel. They always must be warm!!! Get a quality hand feeding food, preferrably one that won't harden in there crops. Also, disposable pipettes are great to use but a small hand feeding syringe with a feeding tube is fine, but it must be cleaned so as to prevent bacteria. You can find all of these at any reputable bird shop. Ask someone there and they will guide you. If you can't get to a store immediatly, peel a hard boiled egg, use a small handi-food processer and finely cut the whites, then the yolks. Blend them together. Add some powdered vitamin and minerals if you have any. This should be very fine then add some warm water until it is liquid enough to take into a plastic eye dropper. You don't have to use the whole egg at once. It is better to make a batch each time. Then take it to the chicks and give them a small amount at a time. The first 24 hours will be very difficult since you will have to gage how much food they need, how often and to make sure it doesn't harden in their crops. Try to get the commercial food. Don't be too hard on yourself if they don't make it. It sounds like it's your first time, and so many things can happen even with experienced breeders. Society finches are great for brooding other birds eggs. Think about getting a pair, make sure you quarantine them for at least 30days & when you have another clutch of eggs, put them in their nest. They make great foster parents. Good luck!
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