NEED HELP!! two week old budgies

[ChristaNL]

Just check a few times...
not sure about budgies, but many just-hatched babybirds still have yolk inside them- so they do not drop dead the first day(s)-> they are not even hungry, so no begging!

(there are actually rules about not feeding fresh hatched baby-chickens etc the first x-hours because of that, even with tiny quail its a few days!)

Only if you see them beg and not get fed... time to get a bit worried.

We always think we know better than nature... ;P and most of the time we do not.
So relax and let them do it-- you have great parents there (already 3 larger ones, so they know what they are doing)

 

[EllenD]

It's not at all unusual for them to not start feeding a newly-hatched baby for at least a few hours, and the crying is normal, so don't panic yet...How long ago did the baby hatch?
You need to give them at least a few hours and then check the new baby's crop again for food. If in a few hours it's still empty, then you have a decision to make...

I don't know if you're prepared to hand-feed them (hand-feeding formula, eye-dropper, candy/cooking thermometer), but you always need to be whenever you have babies in the nest-box, even if you plan on letting the parents feed them. However, I know that you weren't expecting this and it's not your fault at all...And honestly, hand-feeding a baby that is younger than 2 weeks-old is difficult at best, even for the most experienced breeders/hand-feeders, because it's so easy to aspirate them, which they die instantly from at that size/age. But you might not have a choice...

However, don't panic yet, give it until later this evening before you panic, because if it's only been a couple of hours since this new baby hatched, then it's totally normal for them not to have fed it at this point...I've actually seen new Budgie babies not fed for up to 12 hours after hatching...

 

[Yasmine]

I went out earlier and bought everything I needed to hand feed the baby. I called my vet and she said exactly what the replies said. To wait until tonight and keep monitoring the Mom. So I did. And I went to check one last time before I put them to bed and she was feeding the baby!! I almost cried from how happy I felt LOL I’m so relieved

 

[ChristaNL]

Glad to hear that!


You really have a great mum there, she knows her babies.

 

[Amsterdam]

please keep us updates yasemine! awesome work

 

[Yasmine]

The baby just passed away. I feel so guilty and bad. I couldn’t save it I thought the mom was doing a good job and then I take a look and it wasn’t alive anymore.

 

[brighterdaysaviary]

Oh no :c I am so sorry to hear this awful news. Do you know what may have happened? :c

 

[ChristaNL]

It happens...
Sorry it had to happen to you.


The baby was tiny compared to the much older siblings, so it was a gamble anyway.
No, you could not have saved it (maybe a one in a 10 million chance it would have lived and even then the baby might end up living with severe defects ...)


It is sad.

 

[EllenD]

I'm sorry that you lost a baby, however you're correct when you say that there is nothing that you or anyone else, including the most experienced Avian Vet in the world, could have done to help it...That's the unfortunate part of being a bird-breeder, and it just comes with the territory. I bred parrots for 20 years myself, and I was born in a house where my mom was a long-time bird breeder, as was my grandmother. And what you learn is that when you suddenly lose a baby in a clutch, there's nothing at all you could do, and that you can't worry about the dead baby, because you have to make sure that your breeder-birds are okay, the other babies are being fed properly, etc.

It's just nature...And if mom and dad were feeding that baby and then they stopped feeding it, that means that there was something very wrong with the baby and it wouldn't have survived for long anyway, even if they had kept feeding it..Mom and Dad know, and that's why they purposely stopped feeding it, if that's what happened.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Any update/new pictures on the babies????



Jim

 

[Yasmine]

Hi! Yes they’re absolutely beautiful! I take them out once a day for a few mins to clean their nesting box. They have grown up so much. Mom and Dad are doing an amazing job and their cuteness is just too much to handle!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Oh my gosh look how much they've grown! Soooo cute! Kind of looks like they'll look like mama too and she is beautiful So happy to hear the parents are doing such a good job!!
Please keep us all updated!!!!!


Jim

 

[ChristaNL]

Absolutely lovely!!

 

[Amsterdam]

So cute how old are they on that picture?

 

[EllenD]

Awe, I miss having babies around!!! Every time I see a photo like this I think about breeding and hand-raising again...And then I remember the feedings every 2-hours overnights for the first 2 weeks after pulling them from the nest-box, and I change my mind

Looks like you've got two that are going to be dark pieds and then one that is going to have a white overall color...I always love the lighter-colored, white babies. So adorable...

 

[Riverpet100]

If the babies are only 1-2 weeks old then they are being fed every 2 hours or so, you need to make sure that both your adult Budgies have access to plenty of seed-mix and fresh, dark leafy greens and fresh veggies ALL DAY LONG! Both the mother and father Budgie will be feeding the babies, and especially the mother, because she also made and laid the eggs, tend to lose weight, calcium, vitamins, etc. at an alarming rate while feeding babies, so they both must always have a large dish of a healthy seed-mix in their cage at all times. You don't need to put it in the nest-box, they'll both take turns sitting on the babies and eating, so just make sure there is always a large dish of seeds in their cage at all times, along with lots of dark, leafy greens and veggies.

You also must have both a Cuddlebone and a Mineral Block hanging in their cage at all times, so that they are getting plenty of Calcium, especially the mother. She'll likely start laying eggs again pretty quickly after she finishes weaning these babies, so she needs plenty of Calcium to prevent egg-binding. You can buy a Cuddlebone at pretty much any Walmart, who also sells Mineral Blocks too, or any Petco/Petsmart. And buying a bag of Qwiko Egg-Food at Petco is a good idea too, and making sure there is a small dish of that in the cage for the parents every day until they are done feeding the babies is a good idea.

As far as handling the babies, once they hit 3 weeks old you can start blocking off the nest-box when you see both parents out of it, use a piece of cardboard or something similar once you see them both out of the nest-box, so that they can't get back in while you're handling the babies. At 3 weeks you must be extremely careful and gentle, and only handle them once or twice a day each for 15 minutes or so. And then each week you increase the time you handle them/hold them/pet them, but you can't keep them outside of the nest-box for "an hour" until they are fully-feathered with their mature feathers, not just their down. Without their mature feathers they cannot regulate their body-temperatures, and that won't happen until they are around 6 weeks old. At that point they will also be starting to wean and also be ready to fledge, so a good rule to follow is once you see the babies starting to venture out of the nest-box on their own, then you can take them out for a longer time period. But in-order to hand-tame them you do want to start just holding them, petting them, and talking to them once daily, every single day, for 15 minutes each. Again, be very careful as they are going to be very fragile at 3 weeks old...Best to sit in a chair while holding them because if you drop them they'll likely die of internal bleeding.

You may also want to think about weaning the babies onto a healthy, natural-flavored pellet instead of just a seed-mix, because it's difficult for people to switch Budgies over to pellets if they are weaned onto seed-mix. Buy placing a big bowl of a healthy, natural flavored pellets (no fruit flavored pellets, too much sugar) inside of the cage when they start weaning you'll encourage them to wean onto them early, and of course you must also make sure they have access to fresh veggies while weaning too. Budgies usually start weaning around 5-6 weeks old, and are usually fully weaned between 8-10 weeks old.

When the babies are fully weaned and completely out of the nest-box, remove it immediately. It's likely you'll find an egg in the bottom of the cage or in a food dish soon after the babies wean. If you do, do NOT put the nest-box back in the cage! Instead, you need to remove the egg immediately when you see it, boil it on the stove for 20 minutes, let it cool, and then put it right back in the cage on the bottom grate. You'll need to do this immediately to each new egg that she lays, so pay close attention checking the bottom of the cage and the food dishes twice a day, once in the morning and then again at night. She won't start laying on the eggs in the bottom of the cage until she lays at least 2 or 3 of them, but make sure that you are boiling each individual egg as soon as you see it laid and then just placing each one back on the bottom of the cage together (NO NESTING MATERIAL/BEDDING AT ALL!)...just lay the boiled eggs right directly on the grate on the bottom of the cage. Once the female realizes that they aren't going to hatch she'll stop laying on them, and then you can just remove them and throw them away once you're sure she's no longer laying on them. Hopefully this will knock her out of breeding-season and stop the egg-laying. Never put a nest-box or any type of nesting material/bedding/wood chips/ boxes/"huts"/tents/blankets or towels, etc. in their cage again, as all of these encourage their hormones and she'll only start laying eggs again...And just be sure for the future to simply boil any eggs you find in the cage and then place them on the bottom for her to lay on and eventually get bored with, then pitch them.

Although I highly recommend pellets, I also kinda don't. My birds loved them, but my birdies got super inactive and kinda fat with pellets, even though 80% of their diet is veggies. They spend all day flying around their room, but on pellets, they were extremely inactive. I switched them back onto a good brand seed mix and they were nice and active again. I was using Roudybush. My macaw, of course, gets pellets. For larger birds like macaws, I highly recommend pellets. But smaller parrots do good on seeds with the proper amount of veggies.



Petunia Cockatiel
Echo Cockatiel
Oz Cockatiel
Coconut Budgie
Mituna Lovebird
Sollux Lovebird
Jaden Green cheek
Diamond B&G macaw

 

[LordTriggs]

Awe, I miss having babies around!!! Every time I see a photo like this I think about breeding and hand-raising again...And then I remember the feedings every 2-hours overnights for the first 2 weeks after pulling them from the nest-box, and I change my mind

Looks like you've got two that are going to be dark pieds and then one that is going to have a white overall color...I always love the lighter-colored, white babies. So adorable...

Wanna come over to this side of the atlantic and give breeding a go? Maybe just one little birdy? (hard finding good breeders here)

 

[Yasmine]

Hi! I just noticed one of the baby budgies is bleeding from the wing! I called the vet and she told me to monitor it and to bring it in tomorrow but I’m really nervous. It’s not that much blood but it’s noticeable. What do I do

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

With something that small and fragile I don't know! Maybe try GENTLY holding the little thing in your hand and apply slight pressure to the wound? Any idea how it got injured? If you are afraid to handle the budgie,then all you can really do is sit and watch very closely and PRAY the bleeding stops on its own. Maybe isolate the baby from the rest so it doesn't get injured again???


Jim

 

[Yasmine]

I put some pressure on it with a cloth and the bleeding seems to decrease so I put it back in the nest box. I just checked and it definitely improved. I’m not sure how the little got injured but my vet told me sometimes pin feathers bleed and if the baby is not bleeding constantly then I’ll have to try something else. But for now, things seem to be under control. I did not know taking care of birds would be this hard and scary lol they’re so fragile