Ask Lafeber

Zebra Finch Babies

Hi! My finches have laid a clutch of three eggs before, but the eggs got tossed. this time around, they have hatched four of them, and we have had them around 4-6 days now. today i cleaned their nest and after i took out the babies to shake out the droppings and give them new nesting material, three more eggs fell out! i noticed the one egg because it was laid after the last finch hatched, but was unaware of the other two. the birds didnt seem bothered by it, but now they wont go in the nest. They fed the birds a little bit ago, but when i dim my lights is when they normally go into the nest for sleep, they didnt go, and instead used the other bird hut placed in the cage. should i be worried theyre not sitting on the babies and go into the nest when they know its bed time? Or is this normal for finches to not sit on the babies?

Hi Jade,

I hope your little chicks are still doing well. Birds need to feel like their nest is a safe and secure place. It is very important not to disturb a nest once they start to lay eggs, and especially once the eggs hatch. Yes it does get dirty, but cleaning it can result in the parents abandoning the eggs and any chicks and in some extreme cases, they will destroy the eggs or kill the chicks. In the wild, the nest is used only during breeding season and generally only for one clutch of chicks. Most pairs only have one clutch each season. Once the chicks fledge, the nest is deserted and left to nature. With birds like finches, the nest usually falls apart or gets blown from the tree. Larger birds like eagles will build a substantial nest and will return to it each year. In either case, the parents may do some housecleaning during nesting but not much. Some captive birds will be more tolerant about having the nest cleaned, but with finches, it is best to leave it until the chicks have fledged. When that happens, you can take the nest out and clean it well. You should not replace the nest until it is time for the birds to breed again. As I mentioned, they will breed all year if we let them, so we need to force them to rest by removing the nest and any nesting materials.

You also mentioned they have a separate hut – this needs to be removed now. Otherwise they will use it as a nest and may abandon their current chicks. Adult birds do not need a nest to sleep in. They only use a nest for breeding season and they should only be given one nest. So remove all nests and huts once these chicks fledge and do not give the nest back for a few months so the parents can rest. I am hoping they have continued to feed these little guys since they did feed them after you cleaned the nest. But I am worried if they still are not sitting on them because the chicks will get too cold. There is nothing you can do to make them take care of the chicks, so hopefully they have returned to them. If not, it is a hard lesson to learn, but a lot of owners make this mistake just trying to do best for the birds. Whatever the outcome, remember to rest the parents between clutches and try to limit their clutches to just 2 per year. This is still one more clutch than most birds have in the wild each year.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda