Finch Egg Incubation!

[Coturnix Quail]

Alright, thanks! Poot and Pikachu are still being consistent, which is good. Is there anything special that I should give them when they start feeding their babies? How loud are the babies..? I mean, I can tolerate the noise, but it might just attract my baby cousin even more! Yes, Pikachu cares very much-even when she chases him away!
I'll order the formula soon, but which formula is better? http://www.petsmart.com/bird/food-a...xact-hand-feeding-baby-bird-formula-3819.html or http://www.petsmart.com/bird/health...avian-formula-bird-food-supplement-14077.html

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Update: My baby cousin doesn't even care! He'll only bother them if someone takes intrest in them in front of him! They're doing good, still sitting! I haven't gone home yet, so I don't know if they hatched or not. I think I should expect a few more days because the egg that I disected was pretty close to hatching, as I said before. Well, I'll keep you posted!

 

[Coturnix Quail]

HEYYYY! I HAVE EXCITING NEWS!! I had to deal with the death of 4 quails today. (I have no idea what happened.) BUT, I WANTED TO SEE HOW SHE WAS DOING AND SE WOULDN'T MOVE EVEN WHEN I PUT MY HAND IN THE CAGE. I CHECKED AFTER SHE FINALLY MOVED AND THERE IS A SMALL TINY BLOB!! A CHICK HAS HATCHED!! SHE STILL SITS ON IT AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN IT HATCHED, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S FED IT YET. WHEN ALL THE CHICKS HATCH, SHOULD I MOVE THE INFERTILE EGGS? OH MY GOD, PLEASE REPLY!!

 

[JaeG]

I'm sorry - I haven't been on as we have a plasterer doing our walls (which is fun keeping our two kids out of his way)! He's a lovely man and loves our pets, and the kids, so that helps!

Yay! That is exciting news. I don't think they feed them for a little while (I think it's about 8 hours or something like that, maybe even 24 hours) and you can leave the infertile eggs as they will act as hot water bottles for the chicks if the parents are out of the nest eating etc. If Poot laid a few eggs before she started sitting you should have a few hatch close to each other, which is possibly why she isn't moving. If she started sitting as soon as she started laying they will be spread out over a few days. Aren't they the tiniest little things you've ever seen!!!?

 

[JaeG]

You won't hear the babies cheeping for about a week, then it's a tiny little squeak. They get louder about 10 days old when the parents are only visiting to feed them, then it's a cute chorus of yelling while they are fed, then they are quiet.

I've heard good things about the Exact food. The other one sounds like it's a supplement rather than a hand rearing formula. Hopefully you won't need it and your cute little pair are going to be wonderful parents!

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Yes! Another chick hatched! I think I see Pikachu feeding them! They're so tiny and cute!

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Hey, just curious because they're always hungry, but would I be able to feed the finches from the outside/inside? Or can I take the nest out and feed them? Would mom mind? Thanks!

 

[JaeG]

Hey, just curious because they're always hungry, but would I be able to feed the finches from the outside/inside? Or can I take the nest out and feed them? Would mom mind? Thanks!

You can feed them but I'd wait until they were at least a week old when they can hold their head up by themselves and their mouths are much bigger. A glass eye dropper is good to use at that age and make sure everything you use is sterilized. Soak everything in a teaspoon of bleach in a glass of water for half an hour, then rinse everything off and leave it to dry. You'll only need about a teaspoon of formula mixed with boiling and cooled boiled water to get it the right temperature. Temperature is really important so you'll need a thermometer. Too hot an you can burn their crop, too cold and they can't digest it as it drops their body temperature. I'll find a good hand feeding website and post the link as I've got some good ones bookmarked.

 

[JaeG]

Here's a good article: http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/spenser.htm

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Okay, thanks! She put a few pieces of tissue over their heads, and I gently removed them and realized how delicate the chicks are! I can't wait until I can hold them!!