My budgies have babies

[Boxraddict]

There are 5 of them between a few days old to nearly 2 weeks.

Echo and chirpy turned out to be a pair. :

I changed cleaned their bird nest yesterday using rubber gloves to remove them, clean, refresh bedding, then put them bsck in.

Echo the mom and chirpy the dad were surprisingly fine with it.

My question is when can I start to handfeed them and could I remove them before 2 months or will that do harm in the form of strsss?

Basically when and how to put them on a handfed diet is my question.

[maxollie]

Is their a special reason why you wish to handfeed them? In my view, it is always best to allow parents to feed their young, because like human breast milk for babies, the bird seed that parents regurgitate to the babies have special enzymes and other nutrients in it, that really help the babies to grow fast, be healthy and thrive.

Handfeeding is no easy task either. The food has to be given a certain way, the babies can aspirate food into their lungs and die, and removing them from the nest, where they are kept warm all of the time, and then taking them out of nest, can chill them and also cause death.

If it were me, I would allow parents to feed them, and then, in a few weeks, take one at a time, and spend some time socializing them, getting them used to your hands.

Babies that are handfed, can become very needy, and dependent upon the human touch, which sometimes causes them separation anxiety.

[Boxraddict]

Is their a special reason why you wish to handfeed them? In my view, it is always best to allow parents to feed their young, because like human breast milk for babies, the bird seed that parents regurgitate to the babies have special enzymes and other nutrients in it, that really help the babies to groiw fast, be healthy and thrive.

Handfeeding is no easy task either. The food has to be given a certain way, the babies can aspirate food into their lungs and die, and removing them from the nest, where they are kept warm all of the time, and then taking them out of nest, can chill them and also cause death.

Well we don’t want that them dying.

I have read it’s s good way to make them friendly to handfeed them. Using food with applesauce like consistency. I am not sure on that one but I thought it was s good way to make them friendly and most tend to buy or seek ones handfed for this reason.

[maxollie]

If you do handfeed, in my view, it is best to get a can of baby bird powder formula at a pet store. You also need a plastic syringe. You can Google ...handfeeding budgies, to get more info on that subject, and also go to YouTube and search for...handfeeding baby budgies. Both will help you to better understand the process.

It is always the decision of the caregiver to handfeed or allow parents to feed. Whatever you decide, I wis you the best, and hope you will have success.

[Boxraddict]

What i want to do more than anything now is start handling them I’m not a pro breeder but the people that are begin handling at whenever they choose as early as day one.

I’d like to handle and bond with them while keeping them with the parents. If so any videos on how to go about that?

Handling them as their owner but letting the parents feed and care for them

[maxollie]

Try searching YouTube for...videos of hand socializing baby budgies. And also search the web with those words. You should find some info and or videos.

[Boxraddict]

[maxollie]

They are beautiful! And looking great!!! I have to say they are very uinique mutations. Are you handfeeding them?

[Boxraddict]

They are beautiful! And looking great!!! I have to say they are very uinique mutations. Are you handfeeding them?

I am not no. That picture is where I placed them while I was cleaning their nest out. I am hand socializing them while the parents are feeding them all. The fully feathered one in the center as well as one more of them are out of nest now and daddy is feeding them down there while mom is feeding others still in nest.

[boomer girl]

Ahhh they are too sweet and cute!! I love there colors.

[maxollie]

Awww!! They are doing great and so are you! I know I was in love with the 4 babies and the mom and dad that hatched for me years ago!

[Boxraddict]

3 all have some shade of blue on them
1 is all white with red eyes
1 is white with some black no visible blue

Could it mean anything bad in their gene or the parents gene if one is an albino?

[maxollie]

The all white with red eyes is an albino. They are beautuful, and rare. Nothing at all to worry about his DNA chain! In my opinion anyway. They are a lutino mutation. The red eyes give him the abino classification. The dna chain can be years and years. The only real problem with DNA can occur when siblings are allowed to breed and then hatch chicks. That alters the DNA, because like humans, related by blood should never mate.

My budgie, Muffin, is all yellow, with just a few mint green and black colored feathers on his back area, and has the red eyes. So he too is a lutino, but we call him a lutino pied, because he has the yellow and green feathers. If he were all yellow, and has the red eyes, he would be a...yellow lutino.

The white with a few blackish feathers is quite rare I believe. He is a white pied, because of the two colors of feathers. But I have an inkling that somewhere in his DNA is a lutino and or an albino. As to the blue ones their are various mutations of them. I suspect the mom may have been white and the dad blue. The mutations in a chart would be your best bet to classify all of them.

[maxollie]

Do a Google search for budgie mutations. One website I have visited is The Budgie Place. There are several good websites to view. There you will be educated on the different mutation.

[Boxraddict]

Thank you I managed to get pics on all from oldest to youngest and the youngest one we call Tough Guy he’s very brave and pecks. He will stand and stare up at me in gorilla position.