Society Finches

Question
..have hatched 5 eggs, on two consecutive mornings I've found a dead scantily feathered bird on the cage bottom.  Tonight a fledgling, lots of feathers, open eyes, chirping strongly, on the bottom of the cage. I picked it up, put into a short cup with nesting material and back into the cage. The adults are out of the nest but aren't approaching this fledgling...what should I do?

Answer
Unfortunately, it sounds like the parents have abandoned the baby and because it's so big, they can't kill it. The best thing you can do is take care of the baby yourself. This is far from easy but it can be done.
Since it is older, it does stand a slightly better chance of surviving hand feeding. People that are just starting out hand feeding finches often lose several babies until they get the technique right. This is, unfortunately, not something I can teach you but something you have to learn on your own. The best I can help you with here is to tell you to make sure everything that is meant for the baby is sterilized in hot water. Handfeeding forumlas sold in pet stores will serve you well. What I use for my babies is Lafebers Instant Nutri-Start Baby Bird Forumla, it's expensive but it blends nicely and you can make it nice and runny for the babies.