Wean after how many days

[irfanlai]

So my budgies laid 10 eggs. Here is the age for the eggs which hatched.

Baby 1 : 17 days old
Baby 2 : 16 days old
Baby 3 : 11 days old
Baby 4 : 10 days old
Baby 5 : Died
Baby 6 : Died
Baby 7 : Few hours old born on 12/25

Presently all of them are with their mother in the nest but the problem will be when we leave the new one which hatched today, he/she will die like other 2 because of being small and mom might not feed or see him/her.

So can I remove the baby 1-4 and wean them on my own. Do you think it makes sense to do it?
My plan is to keep them in a box with warm blankets and feed them baby food.


Please share your thoughts.

[maxollie]

Hi, and welcome. Yes, you sure can try to save the baby. And wean the other 4. Go to a petshop and get a can of baby budgie/birdformula. Also get a syringe. They should be with the canned food. Then, go to YouTube and search for...handfeeding baby budgies. There should be good videos and information.

I suggest getting a 5 gallon aquarium, for starters and put the baby in the aquarium. I would get a small budgie cage for the other four. Set it up so the babies are on the floor. They are a little too young yet to have perches in the cage. I would say in 2-3 weeks you can use the perches and they can use that cage for a few weeks to months until they get older. Then get them a bigger cage. On the bottom spread several layers of paper towel. I do not recommend nesting material because the baby may suffocate in it. Use a hot water bottle, and put warm water in it and position it on the side of the aquarium where the baby is laying. Personally, I would use the water bottle because it can always be filled and won't get too hot. An electric heater may get too hot. Cover the little cage on 3 sides during the day and all four sides at night with a light weight blanket. You could also warm the cover slightly to keep the 4 warm.

You can wrap the aquarium in a flannel blanket as well. You would not need a top for the aquarium. I would use something see thru like a window curtain, cut a piece a little bigger than the top and lay over the top.

Also, go on line and look for info about hand feeding babies. There should be plenty of info on the web.

Wow!! Your female really laid the eggs! That is alot of little mouths to feed. Your male did a great job in helping to keep all those babies alive. We will watch for updates..

[irfanlai]

Hi, and welcome. Yes, you sure can try to save the baby. And wean the other 4. Go to a petshop and get a can of baby budgie/birdformula. Also get a syringe. They should be with the canned food. Then, go to YouTube and search for...handfeeding baby budgies. There should be good videos and information.

I suggest getting a 5 gallon aquarium, for starters and put the baby in the aquarium. I would get a small budgie cage for the other four. Set it up so the babies are on the floor. They are a little too young yet to have perches in the cage. I would say in 2-3 weeks you can use the perches and they can use that cage for a few weeks to months until they get older. Then get them a bigger cage. On the bottom spread several layers of paper towel. I do not recommend nesting material because the baby may suffocate in it. Use a hot water bottle, and put warm water in it and position it on the side of the aquarium where the baby is laying. Personally, I would use the water bottle because it can always be filled and won't get too hot. An electric heater may get too hot. Cover the little cage on 3 sides during the day and all four sides at night with a light weight blanket.

You can wrap the aquarium in a flannel blanket as well. You would not need a top for the aquarium. I would use something see thru like a window curtain, cut a piece a little bigger than the top and lay over the top.

Also, go on line and look for info about hand feeding babies. There should be plenty of info on the web.

Wow!! Your female really laid the eggs! That is alot of little mouths to feed. Your male did a great job in helping to keep all those babies alive. We will watch for updates..

Thank you for your response. I have ordered baby food from petmsmart so need to go pick that up but today morning I saw the newest baby died and looks like her crop was empty so possibly mom did not feed her.

[maxollie]

Awww!! Well that does happen. Sometimes mom's just don't do a good job feeding. You don't need the aquarium or hot water bottle then. Go with the small cage and do what I suggested. We will watch for updates! You will know by the actions of the four when they can have the perches. It may even be sooner than I suggested. And if you prefer you could use the box. But if it were me, I would use a small cage. You decide.

[irfanlai]

Update: So after laying 9 eggs only 4 babies made out. Now all are healthy and in a separate enclosure.

Now the problem is the parents are still mating and mom laid another 4 eggs. So I don't know how should I stop them. Can I move the daddy bird in a separate cage now when mom is incubating the 4 eggs?

[maxollie]

One thing is for sure, budgies and all birds always have mating and babies on their mind! . You could consider putting dad in another cage, but I am concerned mom may get upset and even abandon her eggs. I think for the hen it will be very stressful for her to have clutch after clutch. If it were me, I would either get dummy eggs at the pet shop and replace the real eggs with dummies, or, boil the real ones and give them back to the hen to set on for about 21 days or until she abandons them and no longer pays attention to them. If you feel it is best for the pair to have this clutch, that is fine. Then, the next time she starts a clutch, begin with the dummies or boiling the eggs.