NOW 3 BABIES! and some sad news

Pics from today, mom in one:)

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Breeder says no, she says itll only happen for the first clutch, once they know what they are doing theyll ensure they all hatch close together.

Im watching this one closely, interrupting more than I should, if I have to Ill take over feeding, this chick seems more sprightly than the last one, it hardly lasted 24 hours, the older chick still needs parent fed for another week I think, then it should start eating a bit on its own, Ill put some millet in there soon

Another egg hatched this morning!

I'll try to get pictures of hopefuly all 3 chicks later this morning:)

Chicks are all doing good but I have some sad sad news, the female hen died, have no idea why, she seemed fine last night, I thought she was just sitting this morning keeping all warm but on closer inspection after coming back to house shes died

I hope eagle boy can cope on his own, Ive emailed the breeder to ask if shell look at the hen for me to see what happened, I dont think she was egg bound but Im inexperienced and I cant feel anything but maybe she can talk me through it.Attachment Deleted

Oh Im sorry, dont worry, you use a toothpick, Ill pop out tomorrow for some hand feed formula as the newborn shouldnt eat till tomorrow afternoon and its the one most likely to miss out, I have a detailed article on handfeeding finches, dad is an awesome dad for a first timer, he is sitting on the chicks now, I just might pop some food in the nest for him as Im worried hes scared to leave them as I havent seen him out yet, they took it in turns.

I have no idea what happened to her, I posted on the finch forum and a lady said the same thing happened to hers, just one of them things, Im hoping to breed these birds as they are protected and you are encouraged to once I retire, they are so gentle and lovely quiet song

So dad is doing good at keeping them warm, he is not coming out to eat, he will only come out if I poke him out the nest, then he just flies to the seed grabs a mouthful and heads back to the nest, this is not good, Ive been putting soft food in the nest next to him, this appears to be working, he must be feeding it to the chicks as it is disappearing, Im just hoping hes getting enough himself, Ill get some millet when Im out monday to put in there too for him and the older chick, I did buy some last week but didnt notice its orange scented, why i Have no idea, birds dont care and gouldians are fussy so wont touch it, my owl finches are eating it though!

I must put a water dish close to the nest too, incase hes not drinking properly, I dont want to lose him, hes quite tame for a finch and has came a long way since I got him, Im on the lookout for a hen for him but the introduction will have to wait till after all chicks are weaned, give me time to quarantine her, I dont want him to be alone as he was much happier and healthier once he got a girlfriend.

Bit of a panic this morning, dad wasnt sitting or feeding, babies hungry and getting cold, so I rushed out bought all I needed to make a brooder and got hand formula, come back and hes sitting again, Im setting the brooder up anyway just incase!

Now a hard decision, do I peek in the nest which means disturbing him to make sure all is OK or do I just leave alone and hope for the best?

Ill keep a close eye for him going out of the nest and grab a look then I think, I just worry he will abandon them during the night and theyll die then, just not sure what to do for the best.

Im really surprised hes back in there, he was out from 6am till 9:30am at least, theyre not supposed to leave for more than 20mins, they were all alive but weak when I left, I can hear some loud chirps coming from the nest, fingers crossed all is ok.

so the other birds in the room were shouting loud, so I went to see what was wrong, the chicks were screaming for food and my other birds were obviously upset, so I looked in the nest, dad is just sitting next to them, they havent been fed.

I made up some formula, the 2 day old chick went crazy, rearing up and hanging off the toothpick, the next chick ate good too but the older chick, most likely as hes used to a different diet now wasnt very interested, he took a little, hes still hungry but Im hoping dad might now step in as hes begging more, has a bit more energy, I didnt want to overfeed them as I know they can suffocate, Im trying to find pictures of what a proper fed chicks crop should look like.

I cant pull the chicks yet, Im waiting on the brooder coming up to heat, its an aquarium within an aquarium surrounded by water, using an aquarium heater which heats the water all around the interior plastic aquarium keeping them warm and the humidity perfect, not sure how long that will take, its a 5.5 tank and its to heat to 93

Cant say im looking forward to pulling them, they need fed every 2 hours, especially now hes starved them, looks like Ill b sleeping on the couch tonight, that way I wont disturb hubby or the dogs!

Anyone have an aquarium, can you remember how long it took for the heater temp to get up high?

The small chick was so cute, hanging off the toothpick, Ill never forget that cool

I suppose this is how one learns, very stressful when lives are involved, the bird breeder offered to take them and foster them with some of hers but I figure I need to learn as this is a bird I want to breed when I retire, plus its an hour drive to her place, not sure if theyd survive that.