Zebra finches not nesting with baby at night

[Scooter]

Hi. I am new to finches or birds of any type.. I
Love these little birds. I seem to have a problem with my zebra finches. I have a pair of zebras. They have had 1 chick. It's 14 days old. 2 days ago I put a cover on their cage at night and frightened the birds. The birds left the nest and won't sleep in the nest at night (or any time) anymore. They are roosting on the top perch. Overnight temps are below 10 degrees c . I watched the birds for hours. The hen seems to still feed the chick when it begs during the day. As it has been 2 days and it's still alive can I assume it's still being fed? The Male doesn't seem interested and is trying to mate and possibly look for a new nesting site. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[finchbreeder]

It is perfectly normal for them to spend more time away from the nest as baby grows. As long as they are feeding junior it should be fine. How big is the cage?
LML

[Brisbane_Finches_333]

Hi Scooter,

It is perfectly normal for the parents to go into the nest less as the young get older. As long as they are feeding the chicks up until around 8 days out of the nest, it is perfectly fine. Once they leave the nest, expect all finches not to sleep in the nest.

Thanks.

[Rod_L]

I'm going devil's advocate here. My zebra finches always slept in nests at night. My double bars and blackhearts did too.

Is the cage indoors or outdoors?
If it's outdoors, bring it inside until the weather warms up so the baby doesn't freeze to death if it gets really cold.
Make sure you cover it up before it gets dark.
Keep them away from cold draughts.

[Scooter]

Thanks Star, zebra and Finch Addict for you help. Unfortunately baby bird died early this morning. He mustn't have been fed properly or at all. It was quite sad as this was my first bird loss. However it's been a learning experience. My cage is an outdoor one L 2m W1.5m H1.5 ir has 3 sides enclosed and a roof. I cover the front and top with a blanket at night. There are 2 pairs of zebras in there with 4 nests. I have 2 gouldian males as well in a smaller cage. I bring them inside at night as it's cold at night in Adelaide.I'm not game to buy Hens for them and breed them yet until I have more experience. Thanks again. Scooter.

[finchbreeder]

It is, unfortunately, far more common for single chicks to die, than a batch of 2 or more. For the simple fact that they can't share body heat. A lot of finches don't breed or breed a lot less in cold weather than in warmer weather. So maybe the parents were not being too bright. Sounds like you have the right mix of numbers and are doing the right thing to protect them from the cold. Only the birds in the warmest of my avairys are even looking at nesting here at this time of year, and yes they are Zebs.
LML