HandFeeding

[Joey]

I was thinking of Hand Feeding baby budgies does anyone have anything about this is it difficult:S Pleaz.....

[Budgiekin]

Hand feeding can indeed be very tricky with baby budgies. If it is something you are going to do, it is critical to make sure you are not only providing the right food, but the consistency, temperature and amount is crucial. Not only that, you have to make sure that you are using sterilized syringes and mixing equipment to prevent any contamination of the food.

If the temperature of the food is too low, then you risk giving your budgie a condition called sour crop (also called slow crop). If the temperature of the food is too hot, then you risk giving your budgie crop burn. Both can be very serious conditions that can either damage your budgie's digestive system, or worse even kill them.

In addition, if the consistency of the food is too thin, then you risk having a budgie who is not absorbing enough nutrients from the food and will not develop properly. If the consistency of the food is too thick, then you risk having a budgie with a blockage in the digestive tract.

On top of all that, you have to make sure you aren't getting the food into the baby's wind pipe, or you risk suffocating the baby budgie.

If it is possible, it is best to let the parents feed their baby budgie, especially if you have not had any previous experience with hand-feeding.

If you are concerned about your baby budgie not being as tame if you don't hand-feed, there is a rather simple technique you can use. Simply start to handle the little baby budgie starting at about 3 weeks old for about 15 to 20 minutes each day. (Baby budgies who are handled daily out of the nest turn out as tame as hand-fed budgies). When the feathers start to develop, you can start to gently rub their cheeks, jaw, head and neck feathers to get them used to the petting. They should begin to perch at about 5 weeks, during which time you can start doing the step-up training.

I hope this information helps! If you insist on hand-feeding your baby budgies, I would recommend having a knowledgeable person show you the proper techniques and food preparation methods.

[Bea]

I helped feed Blinkie (though not entirely, too lazy). When he was about 3 weeks old i got him his own little cage which he spent all day in. I got him out about 9am and popped him back with his parents at about 4-5pm. During the day i would regularly offer him some egg and biscuit mix with apple baby food with a syringe. I didn't force feed it, just offered it and once he got the taste he would zoom over at the sight of the syringe. :p

[Joey]

I am not handfeeding for tameness the reason is my Budgie sunshine up top has had 9 clutchs toughout her life and of the last three she has chewed the babies faces off:S and i dont want anymore babies to die.

[Bea]

Have you got another pair with eggs due to hatch the same time? If so you could foster...

Otherwise you should try to get into contact with an avian vet or breeder who has experience to show you how to feed properly. You'll also need an incubator thingy to pop the chicks in to keep them warm.

[Budgiekin]

I can totally understand why you would want to hand-feed then! We don't need bloodied baby budgies, that's for sure!

Let us know how things go with your budgies. If you learn any tips on hand-feeding, be sure to post them as I am sure others will appreciate it! Good luck!

[Amy]

This thread is very interested as I may need to handfeed my babies as Lily might not know what to do or have too many to look after. It will be her 1st clutch!

[Joey]

Sorry people no babies Sunshine has smashed her eggs no babies these few months no handfeeding i guess:(

[Amy]

Oh dear, well better luck next time.:(