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HELP! Unexpected Baby Budgie

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Glowbird

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I have four untame budgies in a large flight. They're four years old--one male and three females. One of the females, Rilke, lays eggs twice a year. This year, she laid them inside a hanging coconut. They've never hatched. Usually the male pushes them out. I know, I should have never left the coconut in there, but it's the budgies' favorite thing. I've always thought the swinging motion of the coconut would keep the eggs from being viable. Well I got back from a week-long trip last night (my husband was caring for the birds). This morning when I heard something. I checked and there was a baby in the coconut. I think it must be a day or so old. There are still two eggs. What do I need to do now? What do I feed? Does the baby need to be moved? Rilke seems to be a good mother. What can I do to help her?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 

TextsFromParrots

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Maybe we could move this to the 911 board? I'm not sure, but can you get ahold of your vet? Do you know if the mother's been feeding him? I hope someone with more info shows up, but you might want to get some hand feeding formula ASAP just to have it ready.
 

chompie_puppy

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You will need to remove the other two females from the cage. Budgies are absolutely terrible when it comes to breeding season and the females can become extremely aggressive and they could definitely cause harm to the chicks. It is very common for other female Budgies to try and kill another's chicks (especially if there is only one nesting area available). Do you have a spare cage to put them in?

Is the coconut large enough to accomodate 3 growing Budgie chicks and mum?

If so then just leave them where they are and mum and dad will do the hard work for you. Check the chicks each day to ensure they are being fed (full crops).

It is definitely a good idea to inform your avian vet about this. They will be able to give you great advice. :)

If the coconut is not large enough to keep the babies in, then you will need to buy an appropriately sized nestbox (make sure it has a concave in the bottom to help prevent splayed legs). You can add some nesting material (Carefresh bedding?). Mount the box in the same area as the coconut and put the baby and eggs in there. Make sure mum sees you doing this. Remove the coconut. Observe mum for an hour to make sure she knows her chick is in there and she is feeding it.

Increase the amount of food that is available to mum and dad. Give them lots of fresh foods, sprouts, soft foods, their usual foods (pellets or seed, whichever they eat usually).
 
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Sparky04

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I'm sorry, I can't be any help. :( I used to have a couple budgie pairs, but they never had an babies. Maybe a breeder could help? I'dsay the imporant tong is to make sure the baby is safe and being fed.
 

Birdiemarie

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I moved this to 911 for more attention ans help.
 

Glowbird

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Thanks, Kelsey. I think the coconut is big enough. While the mother was out eating, I got a closer look and discovered there are two babies. Both seem fine. I will move the other females out. I have another budgie cage, but it's not nearly as big as they are used to. Their current cage is 42"X26", so I may have to go find them something bigger. Looks like it will be a quick trip to the pet store. I think I will name one of the babes "Stitches" since I fell against a sheet of glass during my trip and ended up with seven stitches. That was probably the day the baby hatched.
 

Glowbird

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Okay, I bought a new cage and set it up. It took a while to catch the two females, Shelley and Keats, but I finally manage to transfer them to the new digs. I am budgie bitten and covered with sweat, but everyone seems fine. I got a good look at the babies, and they seem vigorous. They make a lot of noise. The parents, Rumi and Rilke, seem glad that I got the other two girls out of their cage. Rumi is helping out with the babies now, which I didn't see him doing before. I left them alone to calm down after the excitement of the day. I would welcome any more advice that you have. :thanks:
 

Glowbird

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Baby number three hatched sometime last night. He makes baby number one look huge. Everyone is doing well. Rilke is spending a lot of time with them while Rumi hovers around peeking his head in occasionally.
 

Birdiemarie

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My goodness, you sure have been through a lot with these fabies! So sorry to hear about the stitches. :eek:
I know nothing about babies so can't give any help, only support. I am happy to hear the little family is doing well. :hug8:
 

fidsmom

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you can give eggfood to the parents.
 

cosmolove

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Congrats on the new babies. After a couple weeks if you want them to be tame it would be a good idea to get them out a couple min and get them use to hands and what not. Many people hand feed at that point but I think letting the parents raise them is better in most cases of "whoops fids". Just be careful, I had a pair of lovies that you could play with their babies and they wouldn't mind then that same pair round two of babies they were fine until we were actually about to take them to handfeed and then the male just out of no were took a chunk of my finger. I few bandaids and curse words later I now am much more cautious
 

Glowbird

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Thanks all. I bought the egg food, along with the cage. I think I should probably move them to a nest box when everyone is hatched and bigger. When would it be safe to do that? They seem so delicate and tiny.
 

penny'smom

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wow - surprise babies! I'd love to see pictures if it's possible (without upsetting them):D
 

65sunnyday

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Oooooo, I want to see! Boy, reading this sets off the hormones *go out & buy some budgies, little naked babies, little fluffy babies*............ahem.........I'm OK now. But I really want to....But I want to
 

Laurul Feather Cat

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Welcome to the club. My cockatiels Gracie and Chip surprised me with babies 18 months after I bought Chip. It is the only time in my life I ever felt weak in the knees and just had to sit down. They hatched those eggs in the top of ring box, for goodness sake!

Congratulations, Grandma!
 

Euphoria

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i cant offer any advice, but i wanted to congratulate you on your unexpected bundles of joy... i wanna see pictures when u get good and settled :D i wish you all the luck on your new fids :D
 

Glowbird

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I think it will be a while before I disturb the little guys with pics. They're so tiny now, but they're growing rapidly. The parents are doing a good job. Keats and Shelley, the ones I removed from the big flight, are really annoyed about their smaller cage. It's thirty inches long, but only 18 wide and 18 tall--not nearly as big as their old flight. I will probably end up getting one of those really long double flights, now that I'm going to have a flock of seven--and possibly eight--budgies.
 
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