new chicks hatched now what?

[missmad]

hi everyone, i am tracey and live in north melbourne. have had budgies for about 6 months now and have been lucky enough to have had a hen pair up as soon as i introduced her into the aviary and as a result my first ever budgie babies have hatched as of 2 days ago (still 2 eggs left to hatch) i am wanting to keep at least 2 of these guys for the kids and me to have as tame birds, i have read to handle the babies as soon as they hatch but am too scared to as they are so small! when should i start handling them and will mum be o.k with it? she has been pretty good so far as i have been very nosy since she started laying since it is my first time i have kept a close watch on things how should i proceed with this without damaging or stressing anyone....

[jayjay]

you can handle them as early as they hatch. just keep it short and sweet when the mother goes off to eat herself. just place them back down if the mother gets restless. that should be fine.

[Tracie H]

Awww, congrats on your little :baby: Have the others hatched yet? You will have to post pics soon :D

[missmad]

the other 2 eggs have not hatched so what i need to know is when do i throw them is there any way of knowing if they are fertile and alive in there? the 3rd egg should have hatched a day or 2 ago and the other today/tommorrow how long do i wait the first eggs hatched 4/5 days ago.....

[Sabrina]

to look if the eggs are fertile you can keep the egg in front of a lamp. if it is fertile you should see some bloodvessilles.you can take a look 5 days after the female got her egg. If
an egg is about to hatch, you can keep it against your ear and if everything went ok, you should be able to hear the baby ticking against the shell or hear him calling.I can tell you, it is very sweet to hear that :)

[missmad]

checked the eggs last night and one no good baby had started to form and obviously died at some stage along the way, the other egg hatched overnight but was dead in the nest this morning so very very sad. i am happy to have gotten 2 healthy babies out of it though and they seem to be doing very well but am now hoping for more this is soo addictive! my other 2 pairs look like they are going in the right direction showing each other affection and feeding each other but no action as of yet so fingers crossed.....

[Budgiekin]

Awww, sorry to hear about the ones that didn't make it. It is always hard to hear about stuff like that. But I too am glad you were able to get two. ;)

[Joey]

Thats awsome!What color are the Parents...I wouldn't bother them at 2 days old its not going to make a difference when they are about 2 weeks old start to handle them 15 minutes everyday....trust me:P I have had a budgie pair that had 9 clutches and 21 babies;D at 2 days old they can get a chill and die and yes they are very fragile.So at 2 weeks start to handle them the parents wont mind.Make sure you feed the Parents mashed boiled egg and lots of soft foods its great for the babies and keep calcium and vitamins high in the diet...:D Good luck

[missmad]

and dad is a green. i have taken them out to show the kids but not really handled them as such i noticed the one i took out today his/her eyes were starting to open a little they will be a week tommorrow. i have paired up a light grey with a violet what coloured babies would result from that pairing?

[ETAHoffman]

If you are careful, you can handle them from the time they hatch. Since they are so small and delicate, it is a bit nerve wracking at first. Plus, they can get chilled if they are out in a cold environment. You can take them out of the box even if the hen is still inside. She will squawk and carry on a lot but will calm down once your hand is out of the box.

If you can get them to eat it, I'd highly recommend hard boililng an egg, mash it up thoroughly, add a little peanut oil, and some wheat germ. I guarantee the babies will grow up big and healthy with this suppliment. Another suppliment I use is VIONATE. Place seed in a jar (with a lid) and add some peanut oil. Rotate the jar until the seed is lightly coated. Add VIONATE and rotate, again. The VIONATE will stick to the oiled seed. As the birds eat the seed, they will ingest some of the VIONATE and it will add a lot of nutrition to their diets. Just be sure you don't mix too much as the oil will spoil. LINATONE can be substituted for peanut oil.

Another trick I've used is to run some dry dog food, like Purina Puppy Chow, through your food processor to make it into a powder. This powder can be used in the ground up eggs and/or the Linatone/Peanut oil coated seed. The birds love it, however you mix it.

[Joey]

and dad is a green. i have taken them out to show the kids but not really handled them as such i noticed the one i took out today his/her eyes were starting to open a little they will be a week tommorrow. i have paired up a light grey with a violet what coloured babies would result from that pairing?

You should get Violets since grey is adding 1 dark factor but its only a light gray so it does have 1 factor...;)

[BUUZBEE]

i hold my babies at around day 5
since this is her first clutch, you dont want to stress out mum, so leave them alone (just check on them when she leaves the box) and at about day 5, start holding them. you will know for future clutches how tollerable she is, and then you can hold from the hatch without problems
dont forget, you will need to check & clean their feet, and you will need to check the inside of the beak