Budgies: how many chicks can mum raise?

[~birdybea~]

Some of you will know that i've got a pair of budgies set up with chicks at the moment. Mum laid 10 eggs, and last night the 7th baby hatch! Now the past couple of days with 6 bubs she's been doing an awesome job, keeping them all filled up really well. How many can she handle though??? The seventh is due for a feed this morning, so i'll see if Pudding can find it under the pile up of big bros and sisters. There's almost 2 weeks age difference between the eldest and the youngest.

I am expecting to have to hand rear some, which i didn't want to do (i value early nights and sleep ins), but if they keep hatching she definitely will need help.

 

[Billie Faye]

Well, can you help feed while they are still with parents so she isn't feeding so many herself?...Not say taking them out but "co-feeding) The problem with that range is the OLDER chicks are going to get the food first and the littlest ones will be last and get the least....so if you feed the older chicks so they aren't looking for the food from the parents, the little ones just might have a chance...something to think about...

 

[atvchick95]

Every bird is different, so far the highest amount of babies mine have had to feed were 5 at once, the one had 9 eggs but only 5 hatched, one was a very 1st time mom with 5 babies (all hatched) and she did great

but I have a lovebird who can seem to only raise One She has had at least 3 babies and within a day or 2 of them hatching they die , Only once did 2 live, but one was born with splayed leg, I pulled them to feed them and It was doing great - next thing I knew it died

but just keep an eye on them, and like BF said you could just assist - but don't fill them all the way - parents have been known to accidentally kill chicks, trying to get them to feed - because of assist feedings - the human will fill them all the way, the others are crying to bed - those one should be to but they're full mom doesn't realize this and ends up being aggressive trying to get them to open up and hurts them/kills them w/out meaning too

 

[~birdybea~]

She's got all 7 fed for now. I'm really hesitant to interfere if i can avoid it, because my heart just won't be in the hand rearing process and i'll get resentful. She laid 8 eggs last clutch and only hatched one, typical that she would lay more and hatch them all this time around.

 

[~birdybea~]

I helped Pudding out by half filling a few of the babies this morning. I think it will take a few hours each morning before she can have everyone full, so if i help her out a couple of times a day that should work well. Interestingly enough she had fed the smaller babies first, and it was the larger ones that needed a top up.

 

[Patricia]

She is going to be one very tired mom,is dad helping out?If dad is helping out they can manage 7 ok

 

[ilikebirds]

My hen laid 8 eggs. All hatched and the parents did a great job. But the older chicks are quite big while the youngest are still tiny. As long as dad is helping feed the babies, I put him and the 4 oldest which had come out of the box in one cage, and the youngest stayed with momma in the other cage, still in the box. Neither parent bird was bothered at all, they stayed busy feeding babies. I read this method on a breeder page and it worked for me.

 

[~birdybea~]

Dad seems to be helping out. He spends a fair bit of time in the box with Pudding, and he's constantly eating (to feed her and the bubs). I must say this has been a great diet plan for Pudding. She used to be massive, now she's still fat but not so bad. By the time these babies are weaned she might just be a healthy weight.

 

[parrotforlife]

parent raised babies can be hard to sell. Hand feed babies are usually more easily sold