HELP .. Chicks in Peril!?

[mizloco]

Great blog they are doing well.

[sarah*glittergirl2212]

Don't forget they will be able to pick at food a bit by themselves soon if not already(sorry I can't remember their exact hatch dates)- I may have suggested already putting a millet spray in with the chicks. It sounds like they are doing well though!

[drcodfish]

Four weeks!

Happy to announce that Chick #1 was hatched four weeks ago yesterday, and all four of the chicks are doing fine.  We made the switch from the nest box to a 'weening box' (?)  yesterday.  I was not sure how to go about this, I considered getting a whole new cage but realized that whatever we did the male would have to be involved because he's still doing most of the feeding.  He's not real happy about it, but he's adapting: He knows where the chicks are and flys down and feeds them, can't ask for much more than that.

For their part the chicks seem to be responding well to the roomier digs.  They peck at the food in the dish and the millet spray.  Chick #1 is doing that 'practice' flying and with the expanded space he's not thrashing his sibs.

I'm pleased that we have come this far, I would say they are doing great but my experience, coupled with all that I have learned begs me to be humble more than proud. I know that things could always be better, but I also know that it could have gone worse. I'll take it.

Don't get me wrong, I know we still have a long way to go, but I am more confident than I have been in the past.  We owe you all a debt of gratitude, your wise council and timely hand holdng has been a great help and much appreciated. 

You can read about the 'extreme makeover here.      

PS:  So confident that I've begun a batch of Sourdough French bread, the neighbors will be happy for that.

[mizloco]

Well done you and daddy bird have done a great job

[skysmum]

This is great news, very well done boys .
It never fails to amaze me how these little chaps raise a brood and they are so dedicated to the job as well , i know in this case he had a little help from you but when they do it single winged its amazing i think .

Please keep us posted with pics of the wee ones, would love to see them all in their amazing technicolour dream coats.

[drcodfish]

By leaps and bounds!

This evening I was trying to do a little "taming' with Chick #1, he still fights and bites at resists at feeding. So I had him on my finger, talking in low tones and stroking him and ... he flew off! Does everything happen a little sooner than you plan with these little guys?

He's such a wild child I would like to get him a little more people friendly before it is time to find a home for him. I think (s)his going to need lots of TLC. Whoever gets this bird is going to have ot pass some pretty close scrutiny.

[skysmum]

Sounds like a little Hen to me, they can be tough nuts to crack .

I would def be home checking their new establishments drcodfish

[Hezz]

Jan 20, 2014 4:07:24 GMT drcodfish said:

By leaps and bounds!

This evening I was trying to do a little "taming' with Chick #1, he still fights and bites at resists at feeding. So I had him on my finger, talking in low tones and stroking him and ... he flew off! Does everything happen a little sooner than you plan with these little guys?

He's such a wild child I would like to get him a little more people friendly before it is time to find a home for him. I think (s)his going to need lots of TLC. Whoever gets this bird is going to have ot pass some pretty close scrutiny.

This could be your problem. Remember not many budgies actually like to be stroked, or even touched much, except on the beak, perhaps. Budgies like to instigate the contact themselves.

[drcodfish]

Thanks Hezz, this is good to know, I'll have to read up on taming. Here's the 'new' news: This same little chick, chick #1 flew a LOT today, inside the cage. She flew clear to the top, seveal times and was able to eventually get back to the bottom with no harm. On several occasions she was chasing the male, looking for (and receiving) another feeding. The other three have not even left the little box we fixed up for them.

[Hezz]

They do seem to realise suddenly what their wings are all about. I recently took in a baby girl who was still on the floor and using a gazunder. After several days I found her perched on one of the perches, and the next day she started flying. Once she was up off the floor, she slept one night in the box, but after that slept on the perch. Also baby budgies seem to always go up when they first start to fly ...... is takes them a while to get the hang of going forward. They fly up, reach the ceiling, fly along till they come to a wall, and them ungraciously flutter down to the floor.

Chick number two won't be too far behind, I am sure.

[drcodfish]

A gazunder, there's a new word for me.

[drcodfish]

After feeding our four little birds this evening it occured to me that they are hardly chicks any more. True they are a long way from feeding themselves, but they look much more like birds than little balls of fluff. The oldest, now flies all the time, and she is rapidly growing feathers where she was plucked. I will never forgive myself for not being observant enough to catch that earlier.

But she is very strong and flies where she wants inside the cage, the other three are still earth boud in the little plastic box we fixed up for them. I am sure they will be fluttering around shortly.

I don't think of chick #1 as a chick anymore (sniff), she's what, more of a juvenile bird than a chick?

read about it on my blog, here

[mizloco]

What lovely colours they are becoming. Poor dad, chased by #1 and mugged by #2 hwis doing great.

[drcodfish]

All grown up!

Well probably far from it, but all four chicks are now weaned from their dad and from my hand feeding. We put them in the spare bedroom over the last weekend, with the parents and let them fly free. We put food trays out on top of the cage. No additional feeding or weighing, just free roaming and checking in on them from time to time.

I weighed them this morning and all are at about the same weight that they were for the previous 4 or 5 days.

They are in the cage now and we have two watering stations, one is bath size and they seem to like to take baths. We have three trays of seed around the cage, one with zoopreem fruit pellets, and one with a fresh salad I make every morning for them consisting of carrots, boiled egg, chopped frozen corn, apple, sweet potato, chopped sugar snap peas, and chopped romaine. They like this but not as much as seeds. We give them a millet spray occaionally, and they have a salt spool and a calcium block. I bought Harris Bird diet pellets, they are happy to pick it out of the seed and drop it to the floor of the cage, not much of it gets eaten. I have also mixed up the Harris Bird Diet mash, they have no interest in this at all.

We figure to keep them here until they are 8 weeks and then look for new homes for them. I feel like things are going pretty smoothly now, it has been quite a ride.
 
They get along together very well, and they get along well with the male but whenever we try to introduce the female she is a terror. She slashes at any chick that comes within her reach and she does not stop until they move out of reach. Seems so sad because she wants to be in the cage with them.

The oldest is 6 weeks and three days, the youngest is one week younger. We plan to keep them until they reach 8 weeks and then look for homes for them. They are cute and endlessly entertaining.

Read about it here

[drcodfish]

Well, our little birds are about ready to move along to their new homes, at least I think so. The oldest has just passed 8 weeks of age, and the other three will reach that milestone this week. They seem healthy, active, and very full of life. Of course they are great entertainment but we don’t plan on keeping them, then again we didn’t plan on having them in the first place … so much for plans.

You all have been enormous help and comfort in this odyssey and so I thought it wise to turn to you for any advice you might have for us.

We have kept pretty good records of their lives and care thus far; we wonder however if there anything we need to do for the birds before we start to send them off? Any special medical treatment or nutrition concerns we need to take care of? I’m not making excuses to try to find ways to keep them around, but as I mentioned we want to set the stage for success. I know it is far too soon to be able to say anything about their gender but what can we tell prospective owners when they ask?

To the casual observer I am sure they just look like four little green birds, but both my wife and I can easily (well most of the time) tell them apart.

We don’t plan to sell them; we are not in this for the money however I am a little worried that giving them away might get them into homes where they are not valued and or well cared for. I am sure this makes perfect sense to you, but I wonder if I am over thinking this a bit. We just want to do all we can to make sure they get the best care possible. Any advice or suggestions would be gratefully accepted.

I hope our experiences may be useful to any others who somehow stumble into a situation similar to ours. My advice is this: You can get through this successfully, the harder you work at it, the easier it is.

You can see pictures and read about their current status here.  

Thanks again for all your help, you are a great community!