HELP! Budgie needs handfeeding

Well my sister's buddy had an aviary full of budgies. Well, they all bred and had babies so he was stuck with about 20 budgies (don't worry, he really REALLY got yelled at) and he let the parents feed them. Well he decided that when he saw them eating seed that they could be taken away from the parents. He sold most of the babies and now I get a call from him because the birds are dying left and right. They were never weaned so they weren't eating! They were horribly skinny and we've lost 2 already. There are at least 6 more that need to be fed and weaned or they'll die. I've hand fed cockatiels and other birds before, but never anything as small as a budgie. Since they weren't handfed, they aren't tame, and have no idea what I'm doing with the syringe. I'm pretty much force-feeding them, but how much do I give them? Also, their mouths are so small, I'm worried that I'll end up hurting them by giving them too much food at one time (like they'll choke or breathe it in). Anyone have pictures/advice for these guys? The vet in my area is on vacation until Tuesday and I'm afraid they'll die before then

Hi - I just called my own vets office and no one there today (it's Friday before a holiday weekend) has much experience with hand-feeding budgies. They did, though, say call the local pet stores (like Petco) and ask them as this issue has cropped up before. That raised a thought in my brain, call a parrot store (I'm going to see if I can't find the number for the place I bought Keupi in Jersey) and they may be able to help. If you have one in your area, that may be a resource.

The main experience I have is in medicating budgies and with hollow syringes (you know needles without the points) they aren't the best because they are too big for budgies. However, what I found worked, at least with medication was dipping a clean cloth/towel in the medicine and letting them naturally chew/absorb.

Basically, maybe the towel dipped with the formula gives them something to chew while giving them the needs. I'll see what I can dig out/up, but the way we always gave medication to the budgie flock (again, Mom creation - a former breeder) seemed to help more than hurt. We had to 'hand help' a few runts and did so with the dipped towel chew/suck method.

Hope that helps and if I find out more about actual, I'll let you know. But from the past with budgies (Mom's flock and growing up) that was another way we handled medication/health issues.

That's a wonderful idea to use a towel! The one I'm especially worried about really struggles away from the syringe, but he does chew all over on the towel. I'll try it! I'm also going to see if they'll take weaning pellets at all, because they don't even TOUCH the normal food.

Wow Carol. I can't offer any help, just my well wishes that everything turns out okay with the birds. I was afraid to hold my niece when she was born b/c she was too little...let alone a baby budgie!!

Kais2ndmomma said:

That's a wonderful idea to use a towel! The one I'm especially worried about really struggles away from the syringe, but he does chew all over on the towel. I'll try it! I'm also going to see if they'll take weaning pellets at all, because they don't even TOUCH the normal food.

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Stupid Me... I was looking for numbers and then it dawned on me - call MOM - a former budgie breeder - herself.

OK - here's per my notes.

Start a 4-6 hour regimen. For the ones who are worst off, every 4, those better, every 6.

Provide a heat source. If you use a heat pad (below) then set it on the LOWEST setting. If you provide a heat lamp, set it on high but make sure it's directed at one area in the house but doesn't heat the whole area. You want them warm, not baked.

The 'bedding' - clean towels and try to make them 'nest' like. In other words, peaks and valleys. If you can, add wood chips and other things that are, um, nesty. They need the nest at this young age and in their condition.

The towels... have TWO!! One formula soaked, one water soaked. Both only given at slightly warmer than room temperature. Budgies are so tiny and having to hand-feed/care in the absent of natural parents is delicate.

Let them alternate - one formula for every two water chewing/offerings. The formula fills them more but the liquid is what they need.

Also, if you can segregate the sicker ones from the healthier ones, do so. The sicker ones will 'bring down' the healthier ones. You can interchange (if a healthier one gets sicker or if a sicker one gains strength) but you don't want a situation where you're trying to figure out who's sick and who's mimicking.

We've only ever used a hollow syringe (though those are primarily used for hand-feeding of bigger birds) if we need to force a specific medicine in a specific amount (and that's after such specificities were known). The towel method has, at least from experience a 50-50 result.

She also wishes you the best of luck and wishes she was there to help you with nursing. As do I.

OH - big thing... she said don't put them on their backs (it can put the formula or the water into their lungs). Feed/Water via the towel, with them upright in your lap.

I'll let you know if I find out anything else.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I tried the towel method a minute ago on one of the birds and he just loved it! It's just so hard feeding them since they're afraid of the syringe (never hand-fed) and I hope they start doing better. The good thing is that these birds will be really tame once I'm done with them and be really good pets!

Kais2ndmomma said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I tried the towel method a minute ago on one of the birds and he just loved it! It's just so hard feeding them since they're afraid of the syringe (never hand-fed) and I hope they start doing better. The good thing is that these birds will be really tame once I'm done with them and be really good pets!

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Don't thank me, give YOURSELF the pat on the back. You're doing everything you can. Remember that.

Right now, that's the best I, actually my Mom, can offer. She's pulling out her logs (and they're dusty) to see if there's anything else she can help you with.

She called a few minutes ago and also said to remind you to keep a regular food dish and water dish/bowl/bottle/source (whatever they're accustomed to) available. They may be dependent on you feeding them for now but they also should, when ready, feed themselves.

I've never hand reared budgies but I did hand rear zebra finches & canaries. I know it's scary, such tiny mouths and crops but I'm sure you'll do fine. Especially with all the good advice.
The towel idea is wonderful, I used to do something similar for hand feeding my sick baby chickens. I used an eye dropped for my finches and canaries.
I used a heat pad underneath the aquarium.
If your budgies are older, maybe add a few 'easy' perches in there. I used to secure a parrot sized perch in my aquariums when the chicks were old enough.. that way they got used to perching and didn't flutter around so much. I assume they have been in cages and perches by now if he was selling them as pets, so maybe having something like that to grip will keep them calmer and more comfortable.
I don't think it'll take long for them to calm down around you. A few feedings and they should understand that your helping. That's been my experience with wild birds I've raised anyway, and those babies are usually psychotic at first.
Good luck and try not to beat yourself up if you lose any more of the little guys. You gave and are still giving these babies the best possible care. Sometimes theres just nothing more you can do but make them comfortable and love them. My flock and I will be thinking of you!

The babies are doing wonderfully! We have 6 that I had considered "lost" since they were so far gone, and now 1 of them begs for the syringe, 2 are eating mushy pellets along with 2 feedings (no hard ones yet, but baby steps!) and the other 3 are up walking around, some even playing with toys!
The other 14 birds are all in separate cages (just in case of disease) and are eating mushy pellets regularly and most are down to one feeding or none!
The advice REALLY helped!
Thanks so much everyone! I'll take some pictures later this week once they don't look so scruffy-they're just beautiful colors!

Kais2ndmomma said:

The babies are doing wonderfully! We have 6 that I had considered "lost" since they were so far gone, and now 1 of them begs for the syringe, 2 are eating mushy pellets along with 2 feedings (no hard ones yet, but baby steps!) and the other 3 are up walking around, some even playing with toys!
The other 14 birds are all in separate cages (just in case of disease) and are eating mushy pellets regularly and most are down to one feeding or none!
The advice REALLY helped!
Thanks so much everyone! I'll take some pictures later this week once they don't look so scruffy-they're just beautiful colors!

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That's great! As you said - baby steps. Your fid-lings of your flock are in the best of hands.

I'm so glad to hear they're doing much better!!!

I hate feeding/ weening instructions over the net. I think there are so many ways a person can screw up and kill a bird... CALL A VET.. Petco's and petsmart really don't have a clue when it comes to the care of birds. I don't recommend asking them. No offense Keupi.

rockinseattle said:

I hate feeding/ weening instructions over the net. I think there are so many ways a person can screw up and kill a bird... CALL A VET.. Petco's and petsmart really don't have a clue when it comes to the care of birds. I don't recommend asking them. No offense Keupi.

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No offense taken - I hate it too. There's no way to really know. On the flip side, there's also no way not to do anything either. The call Petco thing was a recommendation from my own vet's office, as there was no one available to help (it could have been the call service).

Internet care isn't vet care. And I STRONGLY recommend (and I think) Kai get those budgies to her vet come Tuesday (when per her initial post, will be back).

Again, no offense taken and agree.

Oh Gosh, can't offer any help but best of luck with the little ones.

IMHO ... Handfeeding is best done by those who are VERY experienced at it ... I don't ever want to try it, too many things can go wrong ... things that can kill baby birdies, burned crops, crops that are too full and extend it ... just gives me the shudders to think about it ..

Well, I'm back and the birds are doing great! I found a vet a couple hours away who was working this morning and brought a couple of the babies with me to see her. I was doing everything right, according to her, and she loved the towel method! It's a huge pain in the rear to hand feed a bunch of birds at once, but it's really paying off! All 6 are doing well and 3 are on mushy weaning pellets, 1 on adult pellets, and only 2 left on the syringe. They've all picked up plenty of weight and their feathers are getting very brightly colored! Thanks for all the help!

TexDot33 said:

IMHO ... Handfeeding is best done by those who are VERY experienced at it ... I don't ever want to try it, too many things can go wrong ... things that can kill baby birdies, burned crops, crops that are too full and extend it ... just gives me the shudders to think about it ..

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You do the best you can, with what you see, and what you can at that moment. The problem is, you can't wait nor should that fear make you dive into it.

It's a 'choice' moment. Not everyone can get a parrot to a fid - not that they don't want to, but a vet who is familiar (at the least) with parrot diseases can be tough, in an emergency to find. The key thing is, until you can/they have the hours (and 24-hour clinics don't staff this type of competence), you need to keep them alive first in the meantime. You don't wait, you do... first you do the right thing (call a vet)... then with what you have, you care the best.

The caveat to all is that you don't feed a fid unless you know how to or you're faced with a problem where vet care isn't available until... whatever.

What was recommended and done is not IN LAPSE OF vet care. In no way was the towel method a substitute for vet care. If your fid, finch to macaw (or bigger) is in trouble, it's substain not cure.

I don't know what else to say.

I won't even step foot in a Petco parking lot, lol, can't stand that place! the ones around here don't hand feed any birds, I believe they get em already weaned. You never know though, you could end up speaking to someone with some knowledge, if you called.
Hand feeding can definitely be a very scary thing. I remember when Madison was sick as a baby and the vet wanted me to tube feed her.. ugh.
I was instructed on how to do it and they did it several times to show me but I just didn't feel comfortable. I went back and forth from to the vet a few times and eventually was able to do it myself, even though I didn't like it. I worked hard to get her eating normally and thank god she pulled through. I've used my tube feeding "skillz" on a few very ill wild baby birds people have brought me over the years with good results. (and bad.. you can't save them all) Sometimes, like Keupi said, you just have to do what you have to do.
So glad they are doing well

Flyte said:

I won't even step foot in a Petco parking lot, lol, can't stand that place!

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Christy and I got Hamlet from a Petco ... I wouldn't do it again, but, at least we have had one really good experience there ...

I'm glad you did, Tex.. Hamlet sounds like a really great bird.
I just miss the bird store I used to go to when I lived in New Jersey, The Paterson Bird Store. It was nothing but birds and bird stuff. I got my first parrot there and you could just go there and talk bird/gossip whatever.. it was so much fun.
I'm sure my mom hated bringing me but I wanted to go there all the time. I remember when I was going to visit my conure before he was ready to come home they had this really attractive girl working behind the counter. All of a sudden my brother volunteered to drive me several times a day to visit my bird. lol..
I wish there was something like that here.