# First Time Owner - Adopted by a budgie// Now she has 8 eggs!



## budgiebr

Hi, a couple of months ago a budgie has entered my home and decided to stay with us.

After a while I bought a cage and started to learn how to take care of a budgie (I never had a bird before).

I left the budgie fly around my daughter's room during the day and after a couple of months I found that the budgie had laid some eggs in a bag.

Then I look for some advise and I was told to remove anything like a nest from her sight, so I did.

Unfortunatelly she started to look sad and quiet all day, then I bought another budgie to try to make her happy.

She looked for nests the entire day and I veterinarian told me I could give her a nest, that the breeding process is natural and that I could either replace the eggs with fakes or let the baby birds grow.

She laid 8 eggs (the first one she broke and threw away), It looks like she stopped laying new eggs (3 days without a new one).

Now she stays most of the time in nest, leave the nest sometimes during the day to eat, get some calcium and the male annoys her until she returns. And she leaves the cage to fly above my head on a curtain and make big drops of poo near me.

I noticed that she looks like having more difficulty to fly until the curtain and when she leaves the nest it looks like she is breathing faster.

Is this normal? I ask because I do not fully trust the veterinarian I found in my region.

Thanks in advance (for the help and for the effort in understanding my english  )


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## FaeryBee

*The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being*
*Avian Association of Veterinarians*

*Is the bird you got as "friend" for the original bird male or female?
What is each birds' name?
Are you disposing of the eggs as she lays them or has she been incubating them?

Your veterinarian gave you bad advice. *

*A heartfelt plea to forum members new and old*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*What are you feeding the adult budgies?
Did you attach a proper nest box with a concave bottom to the OUTSIDE of the cage?
How large is the cage the two adult birds are in? Length, Width and Height
The budgies should be staying inside the cage, not flying around the room at this point in time?*

*A Healthy Diet for your Budgie*
*Quality Seed Mix*
*CuttleBones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses*
*Safe Foods for Budgies*
*The Truth about GRIT*

*Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and all of the Stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.
Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.
These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*
*SITE GUIDELINES*
*List of Stickies*
*Posting on the Forums*
*Let's Talk Budgies!*
*FAQ*
*Articles*
*Be Prepared for Veterinary Care Expense*
*Avian First Aid*
*Quarantine IS Necessary!*
*A heartfelt plea to forum members new and old*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*
*Cage sizes.*
*Essentials to a Great Cage*
*Dangers to Pet Birds*
*Resource Directory*


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## budgiebr

FaeryBee said:


> Is the bird you got as "friend" for the original bird male or female?


Male

BTW he has an odd behavior in my opinion, I think he spend a lot of time during night over the water. Several times I find a lot of poo in the water in the morning :-(



FaeryBee said:


> What is each birds' name?


PiuDara (female)
PiuDriel (male)



FaeryBee said:


> Are you disposing of the eggs as she lays them or has she been incubating them?


She has been incubating them.



FaeryBee said:


> Your veterinarian gave you bad advice.


I suspected that, but I live in a small town and I couldn't find any avian expert around :-(




FaeryBee said:


> What are you feeding the adult budgies?


A mix of seeds I buy at local stores and I've been trying (unsucessfully so far) to convince them to eat pallets.
I also offer several fruits and vegetables. So far I've tried:


Green Pepper: they like it
Scarlet Eggplant: they like it
Banana: they mostly ignore it
Strawberry: they not even tried it
Papaya: they mostly ignore it
Corn: they like it



FaeryBee said:


> Did you attach a proper nest box with a concave bottom to the OUTSIDE of the cage?


Yes, well, at least according to the local store that sold me the nest box. It has a concave bottom and it is outside the cage.




FaeryBee said:


> How large is the cage the two adult birds are in? Length, Width and Height


I will take the measures and update this message, but something around 40cm x 40cm x 40cm (plus a semisphere like top, I will also post a picture)




FaeryBee said:


> Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and all of the Stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.
> Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.
> *These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*


I will do, in fact I already started but I don't feel well advised by my vet, so I posted before finishing the read. Sorry.

Thanks


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## FaeryBee

*The minimum size cage for two budgies is 76 cm Long by 46 cm wide by 46 cm high.

As the eggs are incubated already, you are going to need to get up to speed VERY quickly on how to care for both the adult budgies and the chicks when they arrive.

You should have food and water dishes right outside the entrance to the nest box so the female can get to both easily.
Has the male started feeding the female?

Dytocia in Birds - Signs, Treatment and Prevention
Are the eggs fertile?
Budgie Breeding Diet
Aggression toward chicks and what to do
Splayed Legs in Budgie Chicks*
*Planned Co-Parenting in Raising Tame Chicks*
*
When the chicks reach 3 1/2 weeks, you need to remove the female from the cage.
At that point, the male takes over feeding and caring for the chicks.

This means you need to have two additional cages on hand. 
One to move the female into, and another which you will use for the male once the chicks are completely weaned and fully fledged.

What are you planning to do with the chicks?

If you plan to keep them, then I strongly suggest you house all the males (including the current adult) in one cage and the females (including the current adult) in another cage. 
This means that you will need large cages as we won't know the chicks gender until they are a couple of weeks old and we can check the pictures of each of their ceres.*


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## budgiebr

FaeryBee said:


> *The minimum size cage for two budgies is 76 cm Long by 46 cm wide by 46 cm high.*


I asked several times to several people if the cage had a good size. Thanks, I will buy another.




FaeryBee said:


> *As the eggs are incubated already, you are going to need to get up to speed VERY quickly on how to care for both the adult budgies and the chicks when they arrive.*


I have really received bad advice, both the vet and a couple of store owners told I didn´t do almost anything that the parents would do it all .... happy I found this forum.




FaeryBee said:


> *Has the male started feeding the female?*


I think so, they "kiss" outside the cage a lot, I think they also do it inside.



FaeryBee said:


> *When the chicks reach 3 1/2 weeks, you need to remove the female from the cage.
> At that point, the male takes over feeding and caring for the chicks.*


Ok, just out of curiosity: why? :-(





FaeryBee said:


> *This means you need to have two additional cages on hand.
> One to move the female into, and another which you will use for the male once the chicks are completely weaned and fully fledged.
> 
> What are you planning to do with the chicks?
> 
> If you plan to keep them, then I strongly suggest you house all the males (including the current adult) in one cage and the females (including the current adult) in another cage. *


So the family can´t stay together? I was planning to give some of them to friends that like birds and thinking about creating a large cage around a tree I have in the backyard to keep the others.




FaeryBee said:


> *This means that you will need large cages as we won't know the chicks gender until they are a couple of weeks old and we can check the pictures of each of their ceres.*


I didn´t quite understand, I will need a large cage to keep them all until I split them?


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## FaeryBee

*Kissing is not the same as mating. 
Have you actually seen the male and female mating?

You do not want to keep the males and females together once the chicks are fully weaned and fledged.
If you do, you are running the risk of the father mating with one of the female chicks and or one of the male chicks mating with the mother.

If you leave the mother in the cage with the father and the chicks once the chicks reach three and one-half weeks old, then she will
1) either become aggressive toward the chicks
OR
2) will mate again with the male and end up "double-clutching" which is something you do NOT want.

Laying eggs and raising chicks is very hard on the female's body.

I would not recommend putting a large cage or aviary outside. We never recommend that cages/aviaries be outdoors because you run the risk of predators, the budgies escaping, etc. 
We always tell members that no budgie's cage should be outdoors unless the owner is there supervising the entire time.

You also have to be very careful about what woods you use as perches. Not all wood (or trees) are safe for budgies.*

*You will need to make the decision on whether or not you plan to keep any of the chicks.*
*Again, if you do, I strongly recommend you separate the budgies by gender. All males in one cage and All females in another.
The size cage needed will depend on how many budgies are being housed in that particular cage.*


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## budgiebr

Yes i am pretty sure i saw them mating a lot of times. I almost felt ashamed of 😂

I mentioned the kiss as a answer to the question about him feeding her, it looks like a kiss to me 😊

I thought it was a nice thing to them to be in a large aviary outdoors, again, i am glad i found this forum. I will follow your advice and study.

The couple won’t be sad after i break them appart? I planned to let them all with me at my office and they are always with the cage opened, i will also have to make them separated outside the cage or only when they are locked?

Thanks 🙏


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## FaeryBee

*It would be best for you to have them separated when they are out of the cage AFTER the chicks have been hatched and are fully fledged and weaned.
Otherwise, you would need to be supervising them the entire time they are out of the cage to ensure there is no mating and the female is not looking for a nesting site.

In the meantime, the male and female both need to be kept together inside the cage -- not allowed to be out flying around.

The budgies will adjust to being separated. You may have to keep the cages in different rooms for awhile until they become used to the new arrangements. Actually, when you separate the mother out when the chicks reach 3 1/2 weeks old, her cage should be put into a different room at that point in time.
NEVER put anything into the female's cage that could be used as a nesting site.
After this clutch, if she lays an egg, dispose of it immediately.*


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## budgiebr

FaeryBee said:


> *In the meantime, the male and female both need to be kept together inside the cage -- not allowed to be out flying around.*


Ok, but why they can`t fly around the room? The female leaves the cage a couple of times a day just to poo outside, the nest looks very clean, they don't poo inside, but she removes anything I tried to put there).

I will say some "nice" things to the people who have been advising me. I only bought a male to make the female (that I didn't buy) happier, now I will have to make she alone again:-(


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## budgiebr

The first chick born today 
I am trying to catch up with the reading and I appreciate any urgent advice you could give me.


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## FaeryBee

*The male and female need to stay inside the cage because they should both be conserving their energy to care for the chicks when they hatch.

Read the threads regarding breeding first. If you have questions, let me know and I'll do what I can to help.*


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## budgiebr

I think I have read the breeding threads (at least all that the titles weren´t specific), I couldn´t find a guide to cleaning the nest.

I wait them to leave the nest and close it, or I clean with them inside? They aren't tamed yet.

While she is inside the nest she stays fluffed and looks like breathing fast, is it normal? Is it possible to post a video? I tried to add mp4 and it failed.


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## FaeryBee

*Have the eggs hatched already?
If so, how old are the chicks now. What is the age of the oldest and the age of the youngest?

This link explains how to add a video to your post:
How to Display a Video in your Post (FAQs)

I'll answer your question about cleaning the nest box momentarily.*


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## budgiebr

The first egg hatched yesterday. I think the next will hatch today or tomorrow.
Thanks for the link I will check it.

dara_nest


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## FaeryBee

*When the youngest chick hatches the oldest chick will be much bigger than it, especially with large clutches of more than 5 eggs. 
When you check the nest box make sure the youngest chicks are not getting trampled and are getting fed (you will see food in their crops)

You will need to check the nest box twice a day as the eggs are hatching. Check in the morning and afternoon to make sure all is well.

Usually the hen leaves the nest to relieve herself, but once all the eggs have hatched, you'll need to start cleaning the nest box.
Make sure your hands are clean and warm (wash them with soap and warm water) before handling the chicks.
It may be easiest if you have a second nest box with a concave bottom available.
That way, you can transfer the chicks directly from the dirty nest box into the clean one.
Check each chick individually as you move it from the nest box to the dish or the new nest box.
Otherwise, put the chicks in a dish filled with a soft towel while you scrub down the interior of the nest box. 
It's best to remove the nest box from the cage as you clean it.

When the chicks are small, you can do this every few days, then as they grow you'll need to clean it every day, and then likely twice a day once they get really big. (2.5-3 weeks old). 
You want to make sure that you are keeping the nest clean and dry so that no bacteria can grow and harm the chicks.
Use a safe bedding like pine shavings or aspen shavings. You can find these at any pet store. You can also use dry oats as bedding if you are unable to find wood shavings.

You can start handling the chicks for short periods of time once they are around 2-2.5 weeks old. 
Make sure you wash your hands, and that your hands are not cold. You can hold each one for about 15 minutes at a time, and as they grow and feather up, you can extend this time little by little. 

Check the babies every day for fixable developmental problems.
Check under the top mandible (beak) for a build up of food, which can cause an undershot beak. If you notice food stuck under the top mandible, remove gently and carefully with a toothpick.

Make sure the chick isn’t developing splayed legs. If this is happening, try adding extra pine shavings. If a young baby develops splayed legs, the problem can be corrected because their bones are still forming.
If you notice splayed legs in a chick, let me know and I’ll direct you to the proper link.
When the chicks start coming out of the nest, provide a shallow dish of food on the bottom of the cage to facilitate weaning.
You can remove a 6 week old weaned chick from its father in the breeding cage. It should be put in a large cage reserved for young birds.
Provide lots of food, available in different places, especially in a dish on the bottom of the cage. Keep a close eye on newly removed chicks to make sure they are eating. Check their crops to make sure they are full before covering their cage at night.
*


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## FaeryBee

*As the mother budgie became egg bound and died, have you located a breeder or a veterinarian near you that can take the chick and eggs and foster them to another budgie?*


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