Fledging Zebra Finches?

It is part of weaning, but we must do our part as well. The babies needed to have food available that is easy for them to eat, shortly after they start coming out of the nest. 3 weeks after leaving the nest, they should be eating enough that the parents can stop feeding,,,or feed very , very little. They need pieces of millet laying on the bottom of the cage so they can get to it easily, and shallow bowls of food and water on the bottom, if they aren't going to the feed cups hanging inside the cage. Have you seen the baby trying to eat on its own , out of the food dish? or drinking? if not, you'll have to provide something easy for it to reach. (millet is the easiest for a new baby, but is only good to get them started as it doesn't have all of the vitamins they need like regular finch food does)Parent finches don't spend alot of time on the babies, they do their duty, then proceed to start another clutch of eggs. The missing feathers are probably from the parents running the baby out of the nest over and over, in preparation for more babies. If you can't get this little baby to eat or drink by itself, you can buy some handfeeding powder at a pet store,,and try feeding it until it learns to eat. They can die from starvation and/or dehydration in just a couple of days so I would start this today,now. If you are seeing it eat and drink, and the parents aren't chasing it around constantly,,,,,and it still dies , then there is some kind of internal problem with them and there is nothing you can do about it.