Any special care for baby budgie

[budgiegirl01]

Hi all,

According to the Egg Hatching Chart yesterday my baby budgie has been hatched from the egg and now I have more doubts. Do I need to provide any different food for my baby budgies? Any special care need to take for them? Anything need to be done please let me know.

Thanks and regards,
Suchetana

[suesbird]

Hi Suchetana, what a lovely name and welcome. Sorry I can't help but the more experienced people will be around later so don't think we don't care. It is quiet on here at the moment

[starlingqueen]

Have you checked to see if it hatched yet? You need to handle the babies to make sure they are healthy and to clean any poop off their feet.

[budgiegirl01]

starlingqueen

My paired budgies have given 4 eggs and from that one egg has been hatched yesterday. Below I have attached the picture of the chick. Please tell me what all steps need to look after for their good health and also let me know that how to check whether they were fed well or not.



Thanks.

[starlingqueen]

Make sure the parents have plenty of fruit and vegetables as well as their usual seed and you can give them a hard boiled egg, mashed up with the shell included for calcium. And of course plenty of fresh water.
To check if the chick is getting enough food you can look at the crop. The area just below the neck. It should have a bulge, this is where the food goes before it enters the stomach.

[Hezz]

budgerigarsforum.proboards.com/thread/231/basic-budgerigar-breeding

budgerigarsforum.proboards.com/thread/3287/hand-feeding-budgie-chicks

These two thread might answer some questions for you.

[budgiegirl01]

Below is the link of the pic of my chick which has born,

i62.tinypic.com/2ewgtav.jpg

[starlingqueen]

It looks very healthy. The yellow bulge on the front, under the neck is the crop. It's full so the parents are doing a good job of feeding it.

[starlingqueen]

Forgot to say, could you put some wood shavings in the bottom to soak up any poop?

[Budgies Retreat]

Looks lovely and healthy, try not to worry, but read up on the links Hezz has supplied as this may assist you in case of any emergencies re hand feeding PRIOR to them becoming emergencies!
I too am a first time breeder, just had my first hatching today, so I'm on tenter hooks also. Boil an agg for no less than 10 minutes, let it cool right off by running under the tap with the shell on. Peel and mash the egg, but you can save the shell and put this in an oven for a few minutes to dry out and crush to fine powder, or microwave for 10 seconds. Grind the shell finely and add to the egg. If you already use a cuttle bone and the birds are clearly eating that, you may not need to worry about the egg shell, some do some don't. It's a bit like putting Calcivet in the water, they are forced to drink the water with the calcium supplement, but too much and the shell may become too hard for either the hen to lay, or the chick to break through (if you are going for a second round of eggs that is).
I now use Calcivet once a week, whereas before it was every other day, until I read plenty of reviews and advice from other breeders.

[Hezz]

Lovely full crop there, Suchetana. Mum seems to be doing a good job so far. If you can mix up some finely chopped carrot, sweet corn ...... any vegetables really, that you would normally feed your adults ...... into the egg, and make sure the hen has a spray of millet in the nest box as well. The more you can help the parents, the better they will be able to feed the chick at this crucial stage.

[budgiegirl01]

Thank you all. I'm searching wood shavings, but unable to find it. Is there anything else I can provide instead of wood shavings? I'm giving them carrots, fruits in addition to their regular seedmix. And I think I should crush the egg shell with the egg food coz I don't see this pair having the calcium from the block.

[reajen01]

I have no experience of this so I can't help but WOW! How exciting, I hope you can keep us updated, what an amazing story to watch unfold

[Budgies Retreat]

I wouldn't worry too much about putting shavings in now. I put shavings in the nest initially when I set the breeding cages up, but the concave is totally free of shavings now. Some birds are ok with them, others are not and will just throw them out. See my photo below.
Also you want to avoid adding new scent into the nest at this stage. If the chick is coping without them then I wouldn't worry. I won't be adding any now. Just regularly check the chick's legs for crusted poop stuck to the legs, and if there is any, just use luke warm water to soften the poop and clean off.

Can you provide a photo of the block you describe? I imagine it is pink coloured, and therefore it is an iodine block. The birds will use this periodically, and not as mush as a cuttle bone. Can you get cuttle fish bone where you are? Cuttle bone is best for calcium, but if you cannot get this then grind up egg shells using a pestle and mortar, or try and get oyster shell grit. Not only does this provide much needed calcium, but the birds use the grit in the break down of the seeds.

[starlingqueen]

There is no problem with "adding scent". You can and should handle the babies to check their health. Budgie hens will throw out the wood shavings before they lay the eggs as they are next building. Once the babies have hatched you should add more to soak up moisture from the droppings.