Still some concerns about a nervous mother...

[dfleischer]

OK. The update on my dilemma about a nervous mother bird attacking her new fledglings: She seemed to adjust (somewhat) to baby #2 emerging from the nesting box, although it was clear she was still not happy about it.

Today, baby #3 emerged & before I could intervene she began aggressively attacking it. I immediately switched the whole arrangement & put the "mean mommy" in a cage by herself while putting the daddy & baby #1 back in with the remaining babies.

On closer inspection, it looks like baby #3 suffered a small gash on it's cere... probably from the mom's attack. It's not bleeding, so I'm not sure if I should be concerned? Now I'm just waiting to see how the birds adjust to this brand new arrangement. The father has been fine with the new babies, although he clearly prefers baby #1. I have not seen him feed babies #2 & 3 yet. The mom seems to be a nervous wreck right now. She was frantic to get out of the new cage, so I added a few mirrors and toys in an effort to take her mind off the separation. Hopefully she'll eventually settle down.

Do you think this arrangement will work? Is there anything I should do for the baby with the gash on it's cere? What should I do if the father won't feed the new babies?

[Budgiekin]

Ohhhh, I'm sorry to hear your mother bird is not being a good mother. I'm certainly no expert in breeding budgies, but your arrangement sounds reasonable. If the father doesn't feed the babies, are you prepared to feed them yourself with the special forumla??

I don't think I would be too concerned about the "gash" on one of the baby's ceres. As long as the area is clean, you shouldn't have to worry about infection or anything...

Anyone who has bred budgies have any thoughts about this??

[Joey]

The babies are coming out of the nest and being attcked my the mother?And teh father is not feeding them?Than if this is teh case the babies will eat on thier own in about a week but buy some handfeeding formula and they shouldnt need a light becuase they should have feathers if they are fledlings "coming out of nest".Just feed them every few hours and place them in a seperate cage with low food and water along with low perches.Sometimes the parent birds attack thier babies becuase they want to mate again.My previous pair threw thier babies out of the nest and killed them just to have another 9 eggs!They can be cruel sometimes.The beak on the baby I wouldnt worry about if its not bleeding its probably just a scrath.But I would remove and handfeed the babies if I were you.:)

[Dinky]

Keep an eye on the babies with dad, if theyare out and about, they can probably feed on their own alittle bit. You can put some millet on the floor of the cage for them too. I've done this with good results. Just make sure they are eating some and they should be fine. Dad will stepin if he needs to most likely. Mom is just going to have to deal with the situation. Can she see the other budgies? That might help.

[dfleischer]

Well, I think I'm becoming more of a nervous wreck than the mother bird! :eek: I have not seen the father feed the newer babies at all, although he still does pamper & feed the 1st baby, which I think is a female. I have put millet in easy to reach places for them all. Baby #1 is about 6 weeks old now, & the youngest is nearly 5 weeks, so they're good flyers and actually rarely go to the bottom of the cage. I did see baby #2 picking at the millet, but poor baby #3 has had it the worst... rejected by both mother & father. I am relieved that the intense scolding & fighting has stopped since I moved the mother away, but of course still concerned about the feeding issue. I called my vet to see if they sell a formula for hand-feeding baby budgies but they weren't that helpful. They suggested mixing up a mush of scrambled eggs & bread soaked in milk... but how exactly am I to feed them? The birds are not tame, & the process of transferring them into new cages was a real trial. (The oldest baby bites like a pit-bull!). Is there any hope that the younger birds will catch on to feeding themselves?

As for the mom... she has settled a bit. Unfortunately I don't have space anywhere that I can put both the cages together, so they're in separate rooms. They hear & call to each other, but they can't see each other.

[Budgiekin]

Can you not purchase a hand-feeding formula at your local pet shop? They should have some available that you just mix with water (I believe). I am not sure how you would go about feeding them....it may be some sort of syringe type thing....you'd want to make sure you are careful when feeding them so that you don't get food down the wrong pipe...