Two of my budgies began to lay a clutch of eggs in October 2022. Mama bird Lilibelle is a show quality pedigreed English Budgie (cinnamon sky violet opaline) and Daddy is a cobalt blue normal American Budgie. Lilibelle had a medical emergency after laying her third egg and needed to be hospitalized so I put her eggs in an incubator. She recovered but couldn't take care of her eggs, which were all fertile, so I kept them in the incubator. Two stopped developing but on November 8th, much to my astonishment, one egg began making peeping sounds and six-eight hours later Rocky BalBirden hatcher, naked and helpless and weighing about two grams! I began hand feeding Rocky about six hours later and, thank God, he had a great appetite. For the next four weeks I hand fed fed him, every two hours for the first week round the clock and at longer intervals until he weaned at just over six weeks old. Today, my baby Rocky is a three month old happy, healthy fully grown young budgie and the joy of my life! I wanted to share a few of the hundreds of Rocky's baby pictures. I love the photo of Rocky at about four days old with an orange foam earplug tucked under his tiny little chicken wing! Rocky's still immature and his sex isnt certain yet but I think Rocky may be a girl! That's fine with me, but her name will always be Rocky BalBirden!
