Budgie breeding/incubation questions......

[Beanurita]

.....because when Sparrow got out Robyn and Loshi beat up Rio so bad that I had to save him from their brutality and then they started mating right away - ALL the time!!! I'm sure they were mating before they kicked Rio out but at least they were discreet about it...GEEZ!!! One would think they are part rabbit!!

Anyway, on to my main questions: Does the incubation time start from the first egg or when she decides it's time to sit on them? What is the incubation time once she decides it's time to "sit and stay"?

Today she laid her first egg and they are back to mating and eating and mating and eating some more! She checks on her egg but isn't sitting which I'm not worried about at this time since I know sometimes they wait to have a couple/few eggs before sitting. When she is in the box Loshi faithfully stands guard at the door waiting for her to return....then back to mating AGAIN!!!

Looks like I need to get some feeding tubes (I have formula already) and a few other items just incase Robyn is going to need some help with any babies!

I have helped with hand feeding tiels and love birds but this will be a first going through the whole process!! TIA for any advice!

Here are some (not the greatest) pics of the rabb.....oh I mean the happy couple!!

Robyn is the yellow chick (YF Green Greywing)
Loshi is the yellow/green dude (Dark Green Normal Wild)

 

[melissasparrots]

I'm not sure about the incubation period in budgies. You can probably google that. It starts when she starts sitting. Sometimes a female will act like she's sitting, but she isn't sitting tight and it will take longer than you think to start hatching. I usually take incubation periods with a grain of salt so to speak.
Also for such small birds, you might want to try finding some cow teat cannulas. When I googled them, it looks like there is more than one kind. The good ones for hand-feeding super tiny babies are just a white tip that can be attached to a syringe and allows for a smaller opening to feed little babies more precisely.

 

[Beanurita]

Also, Robyn throws out everything that I give her for nesting materials......but she chews on her nest box and leaves all the pine dust inside. Problem is there is not enough "bedding" to protect the babies from splayed legs. The egg(s) are currently in the concaved spot but I'm concerned about the lack of bedding in the box at this point. Should I just wait and see? Will she add the bedding later once babies hatch/arrive? I've read and still reading tons on all this but some things just aren't clear or the same from site to site!!

 

[Aubrey]

I have no idea, but how exciting!

 

[Beanurita]

I have no idea, but how exciting!

I think its a bit amazing on the timing with Sparrow getting out and all! But now he's back and we couldn't be happier! Robyn and Sparrow are siblings from the same parent (which is cool) from clutches 6m apart but their mom past away shortly after Sparrows clutch I got them from a gal who's dad use to raise Keets. I was given a family tree that goes back 5 generations of keets for them that includes the mutations as well as something unique to each bird such a talking (w/ what they said) favorite treats and so on....it's pretty awesome! Robyn was actually the last girl so hoping that I ge a couple of girl babies and would like to give one back to her. They loved Misao (mom) and Hyourinmaru (dad) and the other few they still have very much!!!

This is Robyn and Sparrows parents!! Such beautiful birds!!!

 

[karen256]

I think budgies are 16-18 days or so but I'm not sure. They usually start incubating once the second egg is laid.
It's normal for them to kick out bedding, it's instinctive for them to try to remove all material from a previous nest, which is what they see the bedding as. You can try putting some blocks of balsa wood in there for her to chew into bedding, or just sneak some shavings in there when you check the box after the eggs are laid. It shouldn't really matter if there's bedding in there until the eggs hatch, which gives you some time to sneak some bedding in - she will be much less likely to toss it out once there are eggs in there.

 

[melissasparrots]

I don't know budgies well at all but previous experience with other species tells me that they are unlikely to add bedding later. If she is tolerant of your interference so far, then you can try adding a little bit of bedding every few days after the babies hatch. Its possible that once the babies hatch, she will be so busy taking care of babies that she won't take the time to kick the bedding out. I did have one pair of parrotlets that was so determined to lay and raise on a bare floor, that I pulled the babies for hand-feeding at about a week old. If you plan to breed this pair again later, you can do things like scuff up the bottom of the box for more traction. I know some people also use cork to cover the bottom of the box for birds that like to throw everything out. Another thought if you think she would tolerate it would be to start putting little slivers of balsa or some other thin easy to chew wood in there that she might be willing to leave once she's chewed it up herself. I'd be hesitant to do much like that until the babies hatch though because you don't want to interfere with incubation. Hopefully a better budgie expert will come along and reply. Alternately, you could also try larger aspen shavings. If she likes stuff she chews herself, she might be willing to chew aspen shavings down to dust and leave it.

 

[melissasparrots]

You can try putting some blocks of balsa wood in there for her to chew into bedding, or just sneak some shavings in there when you check the box after the eggs are laid. It shouldn't really matter if there's bedding in there until the eggs hatch, which gives you some time to sneak some bedding in - she will be much less likely to toss it out once there are eggs in there.

Great minds think alike. I thought I had a totally original idea and then I read your reply.

 

[Beanurita]

Both great ideas......I'm heading to the store for some shavings and if I understand correctly (based on what I'v read) aspen or pine shavings may work. I plan on ordering some natural balsa as well since I know she loves balsa!!! thank you for your replies.....

Robyn just laid her 1st egg yesterday afternoon. I've been watching closely since I'm in the same room working on an essay and she has been sitting on the single egg and not coming out. I did just check the box and its still only the one egg (2nd on not due till tomorrow) but she didn't freak out when I opened the box (very slowly). She was so sweet when I opened it and she just moved over so I can see while she quietly watched me So since she is sitting already does this me the incubation period has started for egg #1??

 

[karen256]

Aspen or kiln-dried pine - no cedar because of the fumes. Even with the safer shavings, I would take some out of the bag and let them air out a bit.

 

[Beanurita]

Egg #1 laid 5 Sept
Egg #2 laid 7 Sept

I posted pics of Loshi (dark green normal wild budgie) & Robyn (green greywing budgie) as well as a pic of Robyn's parents in post #5 ( not sure what their mutations are called except gorgeous!)......can any of you budgie gene wizards tell me what possible mutations they can have?

 

[Beanurita]

········UPDATE······

Robyn laid 3 eggs! Egg #1 on 5 Sept. Egg #2 on 7 Sept. Egg #3 on 10 Sept. I've candle the eggs a couple of time now and this is what we got so far:

Egg #1 looks to be infertile

Egg #2 looks to be growing a baby! Possibly 5-6 days along....?
Egg #3 looks like a baby too! Maybe about 4 days....?

But I'm no expert on this so would like input from those with more budgie breeding experience please. What stage/days incubation do you think they are??

Also, Robyn continues to refuse all nesting material that I offer her but she has (in the last couple of days) been filling her box with her feathers. Now I've seen this in other budgie boxes but was wondering WHY do they do this? I'm trying to ynderstand her behaviors

Thanks for any input on the current status of the eggs abd all the feathers!! I'm trying to best determine when the will hatch & understand her feather behavior!

 

[karen256]

Some birds will pluck a small area on their chests as a brood patch - so they can transfer heat to the eggs better. Not all will do it, but it is basically a normal behavior. The feathers will not really make a difference as far as bedding goes. You will really need something on the floor when the eggs hatch but you still have some time.

 

[Beanurita]

Some birds will pluck a small area on their chests as a brood patch - so they can transfer heat to the eggs better. Not all will do it, but it is basically a normal behavior. The feathers will not really make a difference as far as bedding goes. You will really need something on the floor when the eggs hatch but you still have some time.

Thanks! Can you tell by the eggs on we're they are at or was I pretty accurate? This is our first clutch so trying to determine when the 1st egg should hatch approximately....

 

[Beanurita]

@SandraK, per our PM.....look at post #12

 

[SandraK]

If you can number the eggs, that way you'll know who was probably laid first (that sounds so wrong) - theoretically, first laid should be first hatched. I'm sure you're tickled pink - note the laid dates on a calendar. It's silly but I am excited for you - I know they are "only" bird babies but they're still babies.

 

[Beanurita]

They are numbered if you look close you can see the dots on the candles egg #2 and the 3rd one in the nest box!

If all goes well, we will have 2 babies (1st egg looks infertile) and we are planning on keeping one. The 2nd chick will go to the gal we got Robyn (& Sparrow, her brother from same parents separate clutches) from as Robyn's mamma recently past away.......Robyn & Sparrow are from a family line that her grandfather use to breed. I have a detailed family tree going back 6 (or maybe 7) generations for them The family tree includes DOB/DOD, mutations and even personal characteristics such as likes/dislikes, favorite foods, talking ability plus more.

 

[SandraK]

I know you've probably done this too - marked the "laid" dates on the calendar & figured out (+/-) when they "should" hatch.

 

[Beanurita]

Yup!! We should have babies starting the week of the 28th.....

 

[SandraK]

I'll be looking for around that time - not that you'll know which is which. I'm just covering my bases.