Bird incubation

[PoultreeKing]

I wonder if you can use an egg incubator to hatch birds like canaries and finches etc..
I have an incubator and was thinking of doing this, my biggest problem is that i don't do well when i hand feed baby birds, and they would usually end up dying.
My question is can they be incubated and if so would the mother care for them if i put them in her nest once they hatch? Or what ways can i follow to make sure the chicks survive?

 

[birdmanmax]

They will incubate and hatch most definitely if the temp and humidity are correct. But no the mother will most lickely not take care of them unless she is sitting on either eggs or other chicks.

 

[JaeG]

Finch chicks are extremely difficult to raise from birth. I've tried with my Society finches once as the parents weren't feeding them and they didn't make it. My Java finches on the other hand have been easy to raise (again, bad parenting - though worse in that the chicks were having their toes nipped off). It's a lot of work though with hourly feeds initially, slowly extending to 1 1/2 hours, then 2, then 2 1/2 hours, with 3 hours the maximum they can go for. They also take 7 weeks before they are weaned. So it's intense, but if you are up for it, very rewarding. They make gorgeous pets, though with their big beak they can bite hard, but not like a parrot who's trying to get a reaction. It's just curiosity.

Unless your foster parent birds are at exactly the right point in their incubation cycle to receive newly hatched chicks they won't take care of them.

Here's our Stumpy who has only one complete toe:


Here's Cloud who is 4 months old so molted into her adult colours:


I have two I am currently hand rearing who are a week and a half old. By the time they grow up we will have nine altogether (I'm not letting that pair breed again as this is their third failed attempt)!

 

[PoultreeKing]

Finch chicks are extremely difficult to raise from birth. I've tried with my Society finches once as the parents weren't feeding them and they didn't make it. My Java finches on the other hand have been easy to raise (again, bad parenting - though worse in that the chicks were having their toes nipped off). It's a lot of work though with hourly feeds initially, slowly extending to 1 1/2 hours, then 2, then 2 1/2 hours, with 3 hours the maximum they can go for. They also take 7 weeks before they are weaned. So it's intense, but if you are up for it, very rewarding. They make gorgeous pets, though with their big beak they can bite hard, but not like a parrot who's trying to get a reaction. It's just curiosity.

Unless your foster parent birds are at exactly the right point in their incubation cycle to receive newly hatched chicks they won't take care of them.

Here's our Stumpy who has only one complete toe:
View attachment 1079206

Here's Cloud who is 4 months old so molted into her adult colours:
View attachment 1079212

I have two I am currently hand rearing who are a week and a half old. By the time they grow up we will have nine altogether (I'm not letting that pair breed again as this is their third failed attempt)!

I love birds but they are too difficult to raise, from my point of view, and not as rewarding as chicken at all unfortunately :/