My sun conures started laying eggs!

[Sybil]

My sun conures have laid two eggs so far! I’m very excited. I want to hand feed them but am unsure at what age to take them from their parents. I have heard different recommendations. Anywhere from when they first hatch to four weeks. Any advice is welcome.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My sun conures have laid two eggs so far! I’m very excited. I want to hand feed them but am unsure at what age to take them from their parents. I have heard different recommendations. Anywhere from when they first hatch to four weeks. Any advice is welcome.

Congratulations! You shouldn't try to hand feed the chicks until they are at least three weeks old unless you need to. Some first time parents and even some experienced ones neglect or even harm their chicks so you must be prepared from day one to intervene and hand feed them. Until the chicks are covered with fluffy down and their feathers are partially grown (about three weeks old) they must be kept warm (about 100 degrees F) and you really need a small thermostatically controlled incubator to make sure they don't get chilled, overheated or burned. You can purchase one on Amazon for about $60 and I promise you it will be money well spent. You should also have a container of baby bird handfeeding formula and a digital meat thermometer on hand. Follow the instructions on the package and watch some U Tube how-to videos. It's not that difficult. If the parents do a good job feeding the chicks , a

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Congratulations! You shouldn't try to hand feed the chicks until they are at least three weeks old unless you need to. Some first time parents and even some experienced ones neglect or even harm their chicks so you must be prepared from day one to intervene and hand feed them. Until the chicks are covered with fluffy down and their feathers are partially grown (about three weeks old) they must be kept warm (about 100 degrees F) and you really need a small thermostatically controlled incubator to make sure they don't get chilled, overheated or burned. You can purchase one on Amazon for about $60 and I promise you it will be money well spent. You should also have a container of baby bird handfeeding formula and a digital meat thermometer on hand. Follow the instructions on the package and watch some U Tube how-to videos. It's not that difficult. If the parents do a good job feeding the chicks , a

If the parents do a good job feeding their chicks, at three weeks you can begin taking them out of the nest one by one to get them accustomed to being handled and then put them back in the nest. During these handling sessions you should hand feed them so they associate humans and human hands with warmth, affection and food. Each chick should be handled individually several times a day. Always wash their beaks and faces with baby wipes after hand feeding so the formula doesn't dry on their skin and feathers. At this age baby birds are adorable and lots of fun. Teach them to play! Talk to them, scratch their faces! Let other trusted people (clean sanitized hands only) handle them too so they get used to different people.
Some people completely take all the chicks away from their parents at three weeks and keep them in a suitably sized small box lined with wood shavings or organic kitty litter and take over all the feeding. At this age they don't need to be kept in an incubator because they have enough body mass, down and feathers to stay warm but they shouldn't be kept in a room below about 70 degrees.
I don't know if there is a big benefit to taking the chicks away from their parents completely at three weeks vs handling and feeding them and keeping them with their parents so I hope others with more experience can give their thoughts on it. It would seem to me that the parents would get quite upset if their chicks were abruptly taken from them weeks before weaning, especially if they can hear their chicks crying to be fed and three weeks old chicks are very loud! The parents will still hear them even if you keep them in a different room. On the other hand, perhaps the parents will thank you for taking over- it's a lot of work keeping baby birds fed and happy! When I was handfeeding my budgie Rocky (from hatching) I was amazed at how much she would eat and how often! I don't know how bird parents can feed a nestful of four to six babies without becoming completely exhausted!
I hope you enjoy being a birdie parent as much as I enjoyed raising my budgie Rocky. It truly was an amazing unforgettable experience.

 

[Sybil]

If the parents do a good job feeding their chicks, at three weeks you can begin taking them out of the nest one by one to get them accustomed to being handled and then put them back in the nest. During these handling sessions you should hand feed them so they associate humans and human hands with warmth, affection and food. Each chick should be handled individually several times a day. Always wash their beaks and faces with baby wipes after hand feeding so the formula doesn't dry on their skin and feathers. At this age baby birds are adorable and lots of fun. Teach them to play! Talk to them, scratch their faces! Let other trusted people (clean sanitized hands only) handle them too so they get used to different people.
Some people completely take all the chicks away from their parents at three weeks and keep them in a suitably sized small box lined with wood shavings or organic kitty litter and take over all the feeding. At this age they don't need to be kept in an incubator because they have enough body mass, down and feathers to stay warm but they shouldn't be kept in a room below about 70 degrees.
I don't know if there is a big benefit to taking the chicks away from their parents completely at three weeks vs handling and feeding them and keeping them with their parents so I hope others with more experience can give their thoughts on it. It would seem to me that the parents would get quite upset if their chicks were abruptly taken from them weeks before weaning, especially if they can hear their chicks crying to be fed and three weeks old chicks are very loud! The parents will still hear them even if you keep them in a different room. On the other hand, perhaps the parents will thank you for taking over- it's a lot of work keeping baby birds fed and happy! When I was handfeeding my budgie Rocky (from hatching) I was amazed at how much she would eat and how often! I don't know how bird parents can feed a nestful of four to six babies without becoming completely exhausted!
I hope you enjoy being a birdie parent as much as I enjoyed raising my budgie Rocky. It truly was an amazing unforgettable experience.

Thank you for your long in depth message. I really want to do the right thing for the babies. I want them to like people like their parents do. So far there are only two eggs but they spend almost all of their time in the nest box making cute noises. I peeked at them this morning and caught one of them sitting on the eggs. I like the idea of co-parenting and not removing them from their parents completely. I’m open to any other recommendations. I have some time before they hatch. Here are some pictures that I took

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Thank you for your long in depth message. I really want to do the right thing for the babies. I want them to like people like their parents do. So far there are only two eggs but they spend almost all of their time in the nest box making cute noises. I peeked at them this morning and caught one of them sitting on the eggs. I like the idea of co-parenting and not removing them from their parents completely. I’m open to any other recommendations. I have some time before they hatch. Here are some pictures that I took

This is so exciting! I hope you can successfully co-parent these babies. Just make sure you have the supplies and equipment you need on hand in case you need to take over. Baby birds must be fed very frequently or they will quickly die.

 

[Sybil]

This is so exciting! I hope you can successfully co-parent these babies. Just make sure you have the supplies and equipment you need on hand in case you need to take over. Baby birds must be fed very frequently or they will quickly die.

I’ll order supplies just in case. Hopefully we can coparent that would be lovely. My birds are very sweet and pretty. I’ve bottle fed many kittens and a newborn goat. Everyone thought my goat would die because she couldn’t stand up or walk but she made it. She will be three in May. She’s a spoiled house goat.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’ll order supplies just in case. Hopefully we can coparent that would be lovely. My birds are very sweet and pretty. I’ve bottle fed many kittens and a newborn goat. Everyone thought my goat would die because she couldn’t stand up or walk but she made it. She will be three in May. She’s a spoiled house goat.

The parents are beautiful! Also make sure the parents are eating a high quality diet with lots of fresh vegetables and high quality pellets. Most birds really like crumbled hard boiled eggs and the extra protein will ensure the chicks grow up strong and healthy.

 

[Sybil]

They laid a third egg today on Easter Sunday! I give them good quality pellets and organic vegetables. I also put calcium in their water and I have a supplement for breeding birds too. I’ll boil some eggs for them too.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

They laid a third egg today on Easter Sunday! I give them good quality pellets and organic vegetables. I also put calcium in their water and I have a supplement for breeding birds too. I’ll boil some eggs for them too.

Happy Easter to Egg #3! Have you put dots on the eggs with a marker (one dot for egg #1, two for #2, etc?) It's helpful to determine probable hatching order and is harmless, but not really necessary.
Is she sitting in the eggs continuously yet? With budgies the mom doesn't usually start full time brooding until at least three are laid so the babies don't hatch too far apart.
It sounds like you are doing everything right and are well prepared. I have to warn you that things can still go wrong and leave you disappointed or worse yet blaming yourself when it's not your fault. I'm not telling you this to scare you- just to warn you that things don't always go as planned but it doesn't necessarily mean disaster.
When my baby budgie Rocky's parents (both far more experienced than I was) laid eggs I had all intentions of letting them incubate the eggs and raise their own babies with my plan to co-parent starting at a few weeks old. Unfortunately Mama Lilibelle (at five years old too geriatric it turned out) had a serious problem despite having successfully raised five clutches with her previous owner. Her pelvic bones separated too much when she laid these three eggs and they didn't quickly come back together after each egg, and she lost the use of her legs. She rejected her eggs and was in a lot of distress so I brought her to her avian vet (he explained all this to me- I was clueless and distraught). Mama had x-rays a pelvic CT and had to spend a couple nights in the hospital. She recovered over the next few weeks but I had to put her three eggs in a small thermostatically controlled incubator (Amazon). Rocky hatched about 20 days later but her two sibling eggs didn't hatch even though they were all fertile. I had to hand feed Rocky from day one and I had ZERO experience but from this point it was a huge success- Rocky is now five months old. I think Rocky is the LUCKIEST bird in the world because she survived despite having a very inexperienced human and an incubator for parents!
Just be prepared for things to not go as expected and to intervene if need be. You have a lot more experience raising baby birds than I did. Raising a hatchling from day one is a month long 24/7 commitment! I hope for only the best for your eggs and chicks!

 

[Sybil]

Happy Easter to Egg #3! Have you put dots on the eggs with a marker (one dot for egg #1, two for #2, etc?) It's helpful to determine probable hatching order and is harmless, but not really necessary.
Is she sitting in the eggs continuously yet? With budgies the mom doesn't usually start full time brooding until at least three are laid so the babies don't hatch too far apart.
It sounds like you are doing everything right and are well prepared. I have to warn you that things can still go wrong and leave you disappointed or worse yet blaming yourself when it's not your fault. I'm not telling you this to scare you- just to warn you that things don't always go as planned but it doesn't necessarily mean disaster.
When my baby budgie Rocky's parents (both far more experienced than I was) laid eggs I had all intentions of letting them incubate the eggs and raise their own babies with my plan to co-parent starting at a few weeks old. Unfortunately Mama Lilibelle (at five years old too geriatric it turned out) had a serious problem despite having successfully raised five clutches with her previous owner. Her pelvic bones separated too much when she laid these three eggs and they didn't quickly come back together after each egg, and she lost the use of her legs. She rejected her eggs and was in a lot of distress so I brought her to her avian vet (he explained all this to me- I was clueless and distraught). Mama had x-rays a pelvic CT and had to spend a couple nights in the hospital. She recovered over the next few weeks but I had to put her three eggs in a small thermostatically controlled incubator (Amazon). Rocky hatched about 20 days later but her two sibling eggs didn't hatch even though they were all fertile. I had to hand feed Rocky from day one and I had ZERO experience but from this point it was a huge success- Rocky is now five months old. I think Rocky is the LUCKIEST bird in the world because she survived despite having a very inexperienced human and an incubator for parents!
Just be prepared for things to not go as expected and to intervene if need be. You have a lot more experience raising baby birds than I did. Raising a hatchling from day one is a month long 24/7 commitment! I hope for only the best for your eggs and chicks!

I’m so happy your baby survived and your mama bird too. I really hope that everyone goes well with mine. I’m going to get all the supplies in case it doesn’t. I didn’t think of putting dots on the eggs. That’s a great idea! I’m going to add to this thread as things go along and tell about my experience. I think the female is laying on the eggs. I saw her on them yesterday. We will just have to see how it goes

 

[Sybil]

My female has been sitting on the eggs She hasn’t laid anymore. So she has three eggs. I’m really hoping that everything goes well. Will they hatch a few days apart? She laid the 1st on April 1st.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My female has been sitting on the eggs She hasn’t laid anymore. So she has three eggs. I’m really hoping that everything goes well. Will they hatch a few days apart? She laid the 1st on April 1st.

From what I've read about breeding Sun Conures, three eggs is about right for a clutch size. If she has been incubating full time (sitting on the eggs most of the time with short breaks to poop, stretch and eat) they should begin to hatch after about 21 days (from start of "full-time" incubation). The eggs should hatch in the order they were laid about 24 hours apart. As you see, there are lots of "should" here! First, the eggs need to be fertile. If you remove the eggs one at a time and set each one carefully on your cell phone flashlight you will be able to tell right away whether they're fertile. At about 7-10 days incubation you will be able to see a dark red mass with lots of red blood vessels branching out through the large yolk. You may be able to see the red mass rapidly pulsate- it's the chicks heart! As incubation and development progress, the inside of the egg will be taken up more and more by a very dark mass which is the baby bird. By the end of incubation, very little light will pass around the chick which almost fills the egg except for the air sac at one end. I believe the hen can feel the chicks moving inside the eggs toward the end of incubation and right before they hatch she can hear them peeping inside the eggs.
I would check the eggs now to see if they're fertile. If they are, just sit back and wait for them to start hatching. If they are not fertile, the female will start losing interest in them around a week after they should have hatched and you can then dispose of the eggs without upsetting her.

 

[Sybil]

From what I've read about breeding Sun Conures, three eggs is about right for a clutch size. If she has been incubating full time (sitting on the eggs most of the time with short breaks to poop, stretch and eat) they should begin to hatch after about 21 days (from start of "full-time" incubation). The eggs should hatch in the order they were laid about 24 hours apart. As you see, there are lots of "should" here! First, the eggs need to be fertile. If you remove the eggs one at a time and set each one carefully on your cell phone flashlight you will be able to tell right away whether they're fertile. At about 7-10 days incubation you will be able to see a dark red mass with lots of red blood vessels branching out through the large yolk. You may be able to see the red mass rapidly pulsate- it's the chicks heart! As incubation and development progress, the inside of the egg will be taken up more and more by a very dark mass which is the baby bird. By the end of incubation, very little light will pass around the chick which almost fills the egg except for the air sac at one end. I believe the hen can feel the chicks moving inside the eggs toward the end of incubation and right before they hatch she can hear them peeping inside the eggs.
I would check the eggs now to see if they're fertile. If they are, just sit back and wait for them to start hatching. If they are not fertile, the female will start losing interest in them around a week after they should have hatched and you can then dispose of the eggs without upsetting her.

I’ll candle them tomorrow morning and see. I usually check in the morning. Both birds stay in the nest box almost constantly. They come out to eat and poop. They don’t poop in the nest box at all. I really hope they are fertile. It will be 21 days for the first egg on the 22nd of this month. I have caught her laying on the eggs so I know she’s sitting on them. It’s actually really cute hearing the noises that they have been making since they laid eggs.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’ll candle them tomorrow morning and see. I usually check in the morning. Both birds stay in the nest box almost constantly. They come out to eat and poop. They don’t poop in the nest box at all. I really hope they are fertile. It will be 21 days for the first egg on the 22nd of this month. I have caught her laying on the eggs so I know she’s sitting on them. It’s actually really cute hearing the noises that they have been making since they laid eggs.

You might need to add a couple days to the hatching schedule since it's usually counted from when the last egg was laid. It's so exciting that you're having babies! Nothing is cuter than baby birds! I guess baby animals in general melt most people's hearts.

 

[Sybil]

You might need to add a couple days to the hatching schedule since it's usually counted from when the last egg was laid. It's so exciting that you're having babies! Nothing is cuter than baby birds! I guess baby animals in general melt most people's hearts.

The last egg was laid on April 9th. Im pretty sure she has been laying on them since she laid the first one. I’ll post pictures of the babies! I love baby animals too

 

[Hrosenski]

Congratulations! You shouldn't try to hand feed the chicks until they are at least three weeks old unless you need to. Some first time parents and even some experienced ones neglect or even harm their chicks so you must be prepared from day one to intervene and hand feed them. Until the chicks are covered with fluffy down and their feathers are partially grown (about three weeks old) they must be kept warm (about 100 degrees F) and you really need a small thermostatically controlled incubator to make sure they don't get chilled, overheated or burned. You can purchase one on Amazon for about $60 and I promise you it will be money well spent. You should also have a container of baby bird handfeeding formula and a digital meat thermometer on hand. Follow the instructions on the package and watch some U Tube how-to videos. It's not that difficult. If the parents do a good job feeding the chicks , a

I was told the heat should not be over 80. How did you get the higher number

 

[DonnaBudgie]

told the heat should not be over 80. How did you get the higher number

80? At what age? When the chicks are mostly naked (up to about three weeks) they are kept warm by their mama and partially sometimes by dad.
If mama bird rejects or neglects them they need to be kept warm in an incubator. Once they are covered in down and feathers they can keep themselves warm so an incubator isn't needed. At that age 80 is okay.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

80? At what age? When the chicks are mostly naked (up to about three weeks) they are kept warm by their mama and partially sometimes by dad.
If mama bird rejects or neglects them they need to be kept warm in an incubator. Once they are covered in down and feathers they can keep themselves warm so an incubator isn't needed. At that age 80 is okay.

The chicks' body temp is about 107 F. The incubator can be set at about 100F for hatching the eggs and incubating chicks.

 

[Sybil]

I’ll candle them tomorrow morning and see. I usually check in the morning. Both birds stay in the nest box almost constantly. They come out to eat and poop. They don’t poop in the nest box at all. I really hope they are fertile. It will be 21 days for the first egg on the 22nd of this month. I have caught her laying on the eggs so I know she’s sitting on them. It’s actually really cute hearing the noises that they have been making since they laid eggs.

I just candled them and there is definitely something in all three eggs! There’s a small spot that’s light I think that’s the air sack. The rest is dark. I kinda did it fast because I wanted to put them back in for the Mama.

 

[Sybil]

The eggs were also warm when I picked them up. The mom is sitting on them a lot. They almost all looked like they were at the same stage. I was pretty sure they were fertile but now I’m positive they all have babies growing inside of them