Baby sun conures!

[Sybil]

I heard that birds who lose their clutch or chicks try to replace them with another clutch. But I also hear that you should give the parents a nice long break, about six months, between clutches. The hen needs to replenish her calcium stores so her eggs are strong and she doesn't get egg bound. Plus raising chicks is a lot of work for them. I thought hand raising one budgie chick was a lot of work for me- I can't imagine how much work it would be for parent birds to raise a clutch of 3 to six demanding babies!
Do you live in the US?

We will see what happened. She laid the eggs at the beginning of April. I think that they both fed the babies so at least it was just one person 😂 They like sleeping in the nest box at night so idk if I should take it out to make them wait to lay eggs. I live in California

 

[DonnaBudgie]

We will see what happened. She laid the eggs at the beginning of April. I think that they both fed the babies so at least it was just one person 😂 They like sleeping in the nest box at night so idk if I should take it out to make them wait to lay eggs. I live in California

I love in Maine now but lived in the LA area for 26 years (1991 to 2017).
Is this their first clutch of eggs? When did you give them the nest box?

 

[Sybil]

I love in Maine now but lived in the LA area for 26 years (1991 to 2017).
Is this their first clutch of eggs? When did you give them the nest box?

I live in Eureka, CA it’s about 10 hours north of LA. This is their first clutch of eggs. I got the nest box at the end of January.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I live in Eureka, CA it’s about 10 hours north of LA. This is their first clutch of eggs. I got the nest box at the end of January.

How soon after toy gave them their box did they start to exhibit breeding behavior?
I'm thinking that the best way yo ensure they get the break they need before starting another family is to remove the box for a few mo the.
The break should (I was told) be about six months from after they stop feeding their last clutch. That would mean giving the box back in September or October, giving them a month or so to investigate the box, mate again, and start laying again. I know that sounds so far away, and I LOVE baby birds so much, but its healthier for the parents to have this break. You don't want to lose your hen from breeding too frequently.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How soon after toy gave them their box did they start to exhibit breeding behavior?
I'm thinking that the best way yo ensure they get the break they need before starting another family is to remove the box for a few mo the.
The break should (I was told) be about six months from after they stop feeding their last clutch. That would mean giving the box back in September or October, giving them a month or so to investigate the box, mate again, and start laying again. I know that sounds so far away, and I LOVE baby birds so much, but its healthier for the parents to have this break. You don't want to lose your hen from breeding too frequently.

I have a female English Budgie (a retired show bird) that was bred too much before I got her. Not knowing this, I tried to breed her. She and one of my males got along great so I set them up in a spacious cage with a nest box. Right after she laid her third egg she had trouble walking. I thought she was egg bound and took her to an avian vet who examined and x-rayed her. By this time she couldn't walk. She was not egg bound but he told me that when a hen lays eggs her pelvic bones temporarily spread to allow the eggs to pass out her but Lilibelle's pelvic bones were not "bouncing back" into position after and were pinching the nerves in her pelvis that supplied her legs. He wasn't sure if she would recover the use of her legs. I brought her home and kept her in a padded cage with very low perches and over a few weeks she did recover but I cannot risk her health by trying to breed her again. He told me she also had osteoporosis from being bred too much and changing her diet at this point wouldn't reverse it. About six months after she recovered she fell out the cage door a couple feet to the floor when I was cleaning her cage and she fractured her femur! She was not wing clipped. Her bones are just very fragile. I kept her in the padded cage with low perches and she recovered from her fractured leg. I am very careful when I open her cage door to make sure she stays calm and doesn't get out and get injured again. She is doing very well now. She eats well and isn't in any distress.
I'm telling you this because osteoporosis and problems with the ligaments holding the hen's pelvic bones in place are all complications from overbreeding which was probably made worse for Lilibelle by having been fed a poor diet before I got her.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I have a female English Budgie (a retired show bird) that was bred too much before I got her. Not knowing this, I tried to breed her. She and one of my males got along great so I set them up in a spacious cage with a nest box. Right after she laid her third egg she had trouble walking. I thought she was egg bound and took her to an avian vet who examined and x-rayed her. By this time she couldn't walk. She was not egg bound but he told me that when a hen lays eggs her pelvic bones temporarily spread to allow the eggs to pass out her but Lilibelle's pelvic bones were not "bouncing back" into position after and were pinching the nerves in her pelvis that supplied her legs. He wasn't sure if she would recover the use of her legs. I brought her home and kept her in a padded cage with very low perches and over a few weeks she did recover but I cannot risk her health by trying to breed her again. He told me she also had osteoporosis from being bred too much and changing her diet at this point wouldn't reverse it. About six months after she recovered she fell out the cage door a couple feet to the floor when I was cleaning her cage and she fractured her femur! She was not wing clipped. Her bones are just very fragile. I kept her in the padded cage with low perches and she recovered from her fractured leg. I am very careful when I open her cage door to make sure she stays calm and doesn't get out and get injured again. She is doing very well now. She eats well and isn't in any distress.
I'm telling you this because osteoporosis and problems with the ligaments holding the hen's pelvic bones in place are all complications from overbreeding which was probably made worse for Lilibelle by having been fed a poor diet before I got her.

I did get one baby bird, Rocky, from Lilibelle before she was retired from breeding, but I had to incubate the egg and raise baby Rocky myself. It was either try or throw out her fertile eggs.

 

[Sybil]

How soon after toy gave them their box did they start to exhibit breeding behavior?
I'm thinking that the best way yo ensure they get the break they need before starting another family is to remove the box for a few mo the.
The break should (I was told) be about six months from after they stop feeding their last clutch. That would mean giving the box back in September or October, giving them a month or so to investigate the box, mate again, and start laying again. I know that sounds so far away, and I LOVE baby birds so much, but its healthier for the parents to have this break. You don't want to lose your hen from breeding too frequently.

Probably almost two months after I got the box. Since they started laying at the beginning of April. They really like sleeping in the nest box. Maybe I can make something else for them to sleep in to give them a break. I know those snuggle things aren’t good for them.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Probably almost two months after I got the box. Since they started laying at the beginning of April. They really like sleeping in the nest box. Maybe I can make something else for them to sleep in to give them a break. I know those snuggle things aren’t good for them.

Anything that is dark and enclosed will feel like an invitation to breed.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Anything that is dark and enclosed will feel like an invitation to breed.

How are my GodBabyBirds doing? Are they flying yet? When

 

[Sybil]

How are my GodBabyBirds doing? Are they flying yet? When

They just started flying a little bit 😆 they are so cute 💕

 

[Sybil]

These babies are just so cute and friendly. My friend that I got the parents from was very surprised that they are so friendly since I didn’t take them out to hand feed until they were 5-5.5 weeks old 😄 They have beautiful coloring. They might be more red than their parents after they molt. It’s so funny that baby sun conures look like jenday conures 😆

 

[Sybil]

I’m having such a hard time finding homes for these babies 😰

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’m having such a hard time finding homes for these babies 😰

Why? They're beautiful tame babies! How much are charging?
I guess you'll have to keep all of them.

 

[Sybil]

Why? They're beautiful tame babies! How much are charging?
I guess you'll have to keep all of them.

I’m charging $850. I bought each of the parents for $1,200 so I don’t think it’s very high. I know pet stores charge $1,600 for red factors. I think some pet stores charge about $1,000 for regular babies. I want to use the money to pay off my goats surgery bill 😆

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’m charging $850. I bought each of the parents for $1,200 so I don’t think it’s very high. I know pet stores charge $1,600 for red factors. I think some pet stores charge about $1,000 for regular babies. I want to use the money to pay off my goats surgery bill 😆

How do you find buyers? I would think they would sell fast in California. A lot of bird lovers there and they're perfect tame babies. You will find homes for them. Just enjoy them and keep them tame for now. Or keep them. They're your babies!

 

[Sybil]

How do you find buyers? I would think they would sell fast in California. A lot of bird lovers there and they're perfect tame babies. You will find homes for them. Just enjoy them and keep them tame for now. Or keep them. They're your babies!

I put them on Craigslist and on birdsnow. I’ve had a lot of people message me but no one comes through. They are super cute and sweet.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I put them on Craigslist and on birdsnow. I’ve had a lot of people message me but no one comes through. They are super cute and sweet.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

They don't deserve them! Only the best parronts deserve my GodBirdieBabies!