2 week old baby finch keeps falling out of the nest - any suggestions?

[C_Mu]

Hello,

So, I made a bit of an error in nest choice, I think. I had given one of my zebra pairs a canary nest - one of those small (problem one), open nests (problem 2). Well, this little guy is at a point where he just keeps... jumping down to the floor. He has been doing it for the past three days. I have bedding down there so it's soft for him, and every time I put him back in, the parents still feed him. So everybody is fine... for now.

I'm scared he's just going to hurt himself at some point, or the parents will get fed up and abandon him. He has fallen about 7 or 8 times. What do you guys reckon I should do? I could try giving a new nest that isn't this small, but I'm afraid with an entirely new nest they'll abandon him. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[sourland]

Don't they feed him when he is on the floor of the cage/enclosure?

 

[C_Mu]

Don't they feed him when he is on the floor of the cage/enclosure?

Not from what I've seen. They don't really pay much attention to him at all when he's on the floor. He'll sit there in the same spot and they will go about their business. This is their first clutch, though. But, when I put him back in the nest they'll feed him within minutes.

I'm worried to just leave him on the floor - he still can't move great, and given how they seem to ignore him when he's down, I figured I should have just put him back in. Next time he falls, should I wait a bit longer and monitor?

 

[muddy75]

How old is the chick?? If close to fledging anyway, they will continue feeding it anywhere in the cage. It will eventually learn to fly up off the bottom. I have similar issues with my budgies…..they sometimes fall out of the nestbox and get into a quail cage I have on the table or end up on the floor. I put them back in a few times but then let mom and dad handle things from there. Luckily I’ve only had 1 get pushed out that wasn’t feathered yet and after returning it, didn’t get pushed out again.

 

[muddy75]

If you decide to let them nest again, you may want to consider either a hanging coconut or the wicker nests. When I had zebras, they worked very well.

 

[C_Mu]

How old is the chick?? If close to fledging anyway, they will continue feeding it anywhere in the cage. It will eventually learn to fly up off the bottom. I have similar issues with my budgies…..they sometimes fall out of the nestbox and get into a quail cage I have on the table or end up on the floor. I put them back in a few times but then let mom and dad handle things from there. Luckily I’ve only had 1 get pushed out that wasn’t feathered yet and after returning it, didn’t get pushed out again.

This baby is 14 days old. So he's pretty close to fledging. I had just thought it too early for him to leave and put him back in, as the fledging timelines I had read show ~18-21 days. But, if both of you say they should feed him on the floor even now, then maybe next time I should just wait and watch a while to see if they feed him while he's down. I was just worried due to how it looked like they were completely ignoring him when he was down there.

So, even at 14 (though he might not fall/jump out again today), he's fine sitting on the floor of the cage? Even if he ends up sleeping down there?

 

[muddy75]

This baby is 14 days old. So he's pretty close to fledging. I had just thought it too early for him to leave and put him back in, as the fledging timelines I had read show ~18-21 days. But, if both of you say they should feed him on the floor even now, then maybe next time I should just wait and watch a while to see if they feed him while he's down. I was just worried due to how it looked like they were completely ignoring him when he was down there.

So, even at 14 (though he might not fall/jump out again today), he's fine sitting on the floor of the cage? Even if he ends up sleeping down there?

Yes this close, he should be fine in a normal cage setting…..

 

[Serin]

14 is much too young to be out of the nests. Zebra finches usually leave around day 21.

 

[ColtHandorf]

If you decide to let them nest again, you may want to consider either a hanging coconut or the wicker nests. When I had zebras, they worked very well.

I generally avoid wicker nests for a variety of reasons, but these Abba nest boxes are wonderful. Made from plastic they are easy to clean, can mount inside or outside the cage depending on the set-up, and are probably my favorite boxes for most finches.

https://www.petstopnh.com/abba-plastic-finch-nestbox.html

They are available from a variety of places. You can search Abba nest box on Google to do some price checking.

As far as the baby that is't staying in the nest, is it the only chick? You didn't mention how large the clutch was. Honestly, If they are feeding it, it's probably fine to stay on the floor. You could also try setting the open canary nest (not finch ) inside something with deeper sides to prevent it from getting out. Like the Abba box without the lid.