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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 20, 2016 20:19:44 GMT -5
A few years ago I rescued a pair of young shaft-tailed finches that needed a home, that first year I had them there were eggs in the cage but none ended up to be fertile. Sadly after about two years together one of the finches passed away. The eggs stopped coming so I assumed the male was left. He enjoyed answering the beeps on the stove and other things around the house. He was in the same room as Casey so they could hear each other but I thought he was lonely, I used to like to see them cuddled together in the baskets at night. So this spring we drove to a breeder to get another male to keep him company...... Then two days ago these guys hatched. I guess I must have had two girls before....  |
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Post by wsteinhoff on Jul 20, 2016 21:22:33 GMT -5
Congrats on the new babies!
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jul 20, 2016 21:35:35 GMT -5
Congratulations on the surprise!
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Post by easttex on Jul 21, 2016 5:38:57 GMT -5
Look at those gapes!  They're all mouth and, ahem, something else. Speaking of which, I'm curious about something. In the wild, parent birds will wait for a baby to produce a fecal sac and will carry it away from the nest before dropping it. (At first, many will actually consume the sacs, and later start carrying them off.) How does a bird in captivity handle this bit of housekeeping? |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 21, 2016 9:34:19 GMT -5
 I am having fun peaking at them. This picture is from this morning, and they seem to have grown a fair bit in the night. The nest looks fairly clean, I need to sit by the cage more to see what the parents are doing for house keeping. Last night the dad stood up in the nest to feed them with his wings spread open like he was hugging them. It would be nice to get a video but I don't want to freak them out... so far I have only taken pics on my phone and not got the big camera out. I feed them fresh mealworms and greens four times per day as well as seeds and egg food always full. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 26, 2016 12:43:54 GMT -5
They are 8 days old now and in answer to your question Easttex, the nest is getting very dirty. But the cool thing is I noticed their eyes are just staring to open today.  |
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Post by biteybird on Jul 27, 2016 3:58:44 GMT -5
Cool, they remind me of canary babies except that they have a wilder hairdo! |
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Post by easttex on Jul 30, 2016 11:15:31 GMT -5
It looks like maybe they are trying to go the edges of the nest?
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 30, 2016 23:03:19 GMT -5
It looks like maybe they are trying to go the edges of the nest? Lol nope, it is really dirty now, but their pins are getting really long, and the long feathers are sticking out... I will take another pic.... Though tomorrow is jam packed... I might have to do it Monday. I have been texting daily pics to a few friends, and they are amazed at the fast growth. Going through hundreds of worms! |
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Post by Caseysmom on Aug 1, 2016 17:10:52 GMT -5
It is very dirty now. and even though they look big in this picture, they are really quite tiny. But here they are at two weeks old  |
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Post by biteybird on Aug 2, 2016 3:32:50 GMT -5
Oh wow, they still look almost the same as canary chicks except for the beak/feather colours! |
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Post by easttex on Aug 2, 2016 4:58:19 GMT -5
Baby birds bring out all my latent maternal instincts. I want to scoop them up and oh-so-gently hug them. It's amazing how quickly they grow, and it's no wonder they have to eat so much and so often. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Aug 2, 2016 22:05:53 GMT -5
Lol, I snuck my hand up to feel their soft feathers this morning...that as close as I've got do far. Biteybird I am hoping their beak stays black until after I need to seperste them from their parents that way I can tell them apart. The parents beaks are bright red.
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They're all mouth and, ahem, something else. Speaking of which, I'm curious about something. In the wild, parent birds will wait for a baby to produce a fecal sac and will carry it away from the nest before dropping it. (At first, many will actually consume the sacs, and later start carrying them off.) How does a bird in captivity handle this bit of housekeeping?
