baby food

Question
i have several Finches,of course,and babys dont last but this one will eat from an eyedropper....i give it water and ceushed finch food with water.
It has had one feeding today
what should i really be feeding him?

Answer
Hi, WM.  Thanks for posting!

Your statement that babies don't last concerns me.  I've raised Zebra, Society, and Gouldian finches and not had problems with babies surviving.  There must be a health problem somewhere with your finches.  Maybe I could help more with this problem if you could provide more detailed information about the situation.

Finch babies are very difficult to handfeed mainly due to their size.  You need to get some baby parrot handfeeding formula from a local pet store that caters to birds...follow the directions on the package.  I use Kaytee Exact handfeeding formula, but there are other brands on the market.  Until you can get your hands on this, you can try using Ensure Plus or some other brand of human nutritional liquid food supplement (vanilla flavored).  The food has to be about 100 degrees F when fed to the baby, and you have to ensure you don't aspirate the youngster in the process of feeding it.  Use Pedialyte (for human infants) to help keep the baby hydrated.

Come back with any questions.

Chrys