Poop on babies feet

[ls19788]

Hi. I have ten baby budgies, 6 in one nest and 4 in the other. 6 are spotless clean but the 4 are caked in poop, there feet etc. I have removed this with tweezers as gently as I could as they couldn't walk properly. Have I done the right thing. They were really not happy about it they made a racket. Need someone to ease my guilt. Lol.

[jellybean]

I know nothing about breeding budgies, but I think you were right to remove the poop from their feet, I've read that if left this can lead to splayed legs.
I'm sure others will be on soon to give you more helpful advice.

[OP]

I'm in the same school as Jellybean with regards to breeding, but I have had to clean a couple of my budgies vents that had become caked. I found the easiest way on them was to use water on a sponge to soften the pop first. Eventually the poop just fell away. Could you wash the chicks feet in some tepid water and then dry them after?

[Hezz]

The feet needed to be cleaned, you have done the right thing, but soaking their feet in warm water and sponging off, as OP mentioned is probably the better way to go. jellybean, you are on the right track but it is not splayed legs you are thinking of, but disfigured feet and claws.

[jellybean]

Thanks Hezz. I'm always learning, thanks to the forum.

[ls19788]

Thanks guys. All clean. 10 beautiful little chicks. God help me. But I love them they are cute.

[jellybean]

Would love to see some pictures of your baby budgies. Glad you got their feet cleaned, well done.

[ls19788]

they are beauties x 

[Hezz]

Gorgeous!

[ls19788]

I need a bit of help asap. Two of the babies have been attacked by one or two of the older birds. What do I do. Shall I put babies in another cage? It's got a bloody head and missing feathers. One is worse than the other. I'm devastated. 🙁

[Hezz]

It could be either mum or dad; you don't know which?? Usually it is the mother wanting to start another clutch who will attack the babies, but as you don't know, you will need to separate them and possibly feed them yourself. If you can work out which parent is the culprit remove this one and leave the other parent to raise the chicks. As they age, the cock is usually the one showing them how to fend for themselves, cracking seed etc.

If the wounds look serious, get the chick to a vet to be checked out, otherwise you can clean them up yourself with a little tepid water and keep watch to be sure they are okay.

Have you been offering them some soft food as in finely chopped veggies, egg or eggfood etc? If not, now is a good time to start this, if you have any hand raising formula, you can add some of it to the mull as well, also a sprig of millet in the cage, for the babies to get started on their own feeding.

[Hezz]

This might help you with a soft food mix, courtesy of skysmum, who has posted it for another inquiry:

I use any veg or fruit that i have around and blitz it up and add dried egg food to soak up the moisture, don't make it too wet is the secret, mine love it. If you sprinkle a tiny bit of tonic seed on top it gets them going if their not keen.

A typical one for me would be carrots, celery, spinach, pak choy, beetroot and sweetcorn, mixed with dried egg

[ls19788]

Hi Hezz
We have two lots of parents in the same part of the aviary, and two lots of chicks. One hen has attacked the other hens chicks. . She's covered in blood so she's the culprit. We have moved her to the bottom of the aviary and left dad in charge of feeding. I keep bathing the baby's head but it's in a bad way. No feathers and it's only managed to keep its eyes by sheer luck. The other injured one has two peck marks on its head but I'm sure it will survive. Only time will tell with the other one. Sometimes I think it would be kinder if it just went quietly. If it heals it's going to look pretty bad. Poor chap. I will give feeding a go if dad struggles but he's doing great.

[ls19788]

I'm sorry. The little one has died. It was nearly ready to fledge too. I'm devastated. Bloody bird who killed it !!

[Hezz]

This is not an uncommon occurrence when you colony breed, unfortunately. How big is the area where the two sets of breeders are? You are much better off having separate areas for each pair, whether these be sections of the aviary, or separate breeding cages.

RIP little chicky.