# Rescue story of my budgie(s) - Some advice also needed



## Zero_479 (9 mo ago)

Hello everyone, this is my second post on this website. 
I want to start off with telling everyone that these little fragile creatures have so much will to live. They are fighters. 
About one month ago, I saw this bird that was sitting on the ground on the street just outside my house. It was green so I knew it was a parrot. But it seem off that it was sitting on the ground. So I went near it to catch it as I thought something was off. I was slow and it flew off to a wire pole near me. I had to give up and went back to my house. A few moments later I looked out of my window to see if the bird was gone, and to my surprise it went back to sitting on the ground. So I ran back and this time, I was a bit fast to catch it. It tried to run away but I was faster. It was definitely starving as I shouldn't be able to catch a bird. That bird was injured. 
I initially put it under a laundry basket and gave it some spinach which he didn't eat. The next day I was able to buy a small cage and put him there. I searched online a lot about what these birds eat and how to tell apart their genders. Turns out that it was a male. Searched online about how to treat birds with bloody injuries. The blood seemed to be coming from his thighs and legs(calves?). I put some Pyodine solution on him on the first day. The next day his legs started to swell. I searched online to search for any infection or illness symptoms. I noticed that his feet were also becoming scaly. I didn't know what medicine to give birds in this condition so applied some petroleum jelly on his feet. Continued this kind of newbie treatment and he started to get better. Below is his healing progress.










Named him Levi. And then I noticed that he was too quite and never made any bird sounds. He was definitely lonely. Before when he was still injured, he would sometimes sing? I don't know for sure that they were happy sounds or not but they went quite around the time he fully recovered. I went to a nearby pet store which I searched through google maps, I wanted to get a female bird. Now here's where it gets weird. I was talked into buying a female budgie that had some eggs and chicks. There were two chicks that were very very small. I didn't knew at that time that it was the right decision or not. As per the pet store owner, he didn't know who the father was, and he also said that it's fine if I introduce a mother budgie with chicks and eggs to a stranger male budgie. It was AFTER I purchased that bird that I got to know that caring for chicks require experience and attention, again after doing some google searches and reading articles and blogs. 

I regretted buying the female bird and I don't know what got into me when I bought the female bird, maybe I got a bit excited when looking at the babies.. But my Levi now seems to be bonding with the female bird. I named her Pikachu after a cartoon character as she has a bright yellow color. She never seems to come out of the nest and Levi is feeding some slime like liquid through his mouth. I don't know what to do at this point. I am confused. Levi goes inside the nest and just stares at the chicks and does nothing when Pikachu is feeding the chicks. There are a total of 4 chicks and the original two have grown at an explosive rate. I know for a fact that the store owner will not take the female back. He was pretty determined to sell her.

I want some advice. How do I clean the nest? I was handed over the entire nest when I bought Pikachu. And she does not wanna come out of it. She will scream her lungs out if I even dare get my hands near her. I installed the nest in the cage on the top right corner. Oh and one more thing of concern. When I bought Pikachu, she had a dark brown cere. Now it seems yellow and does not look right. I looked it online and think it's scaly mites. Please let me know if that's true. 

The chicks always have something in their chest bags so I don't think they starve. I also have a calcium block in case they need it. They always have access to a seed mix and greens. They seem to have a preference for greens but also eat a lot of seeds.

*Some pictures!*


















The two pictures above are from the day I got Pikachu, which is around a week ago.

*Now to some pictures of Pikachu I took today*, which shows her cere now and her chicks. She screams if I get near her so I had to take the picture zoomed in. So the quality may be poor. Does it look like she has a mite infection?


































And one last picture of Levi I took today. He was just eating his daily greens that's why his beak is messy. But let me know if his beak and cere looks fine. I don't want them to suffer please!










One last thing. Levi cleans his beak pretty clean after eating. But his beak looks kind of dry. Is that normal? Thanks a lot for anyone who read through the entire thing. And I look forward to any questions and advices.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Thank you for rescuing Levi, both birds will need to be treated for scaly face mites. You put yourself in a challenging situation by taking in the hen and the chicks, it is normal for Levi to be feeding her. Please take a look at the info in this link Are You Ready To Breed Your Budgies? It would be best to try and locate a vet that see birds and have both birds examined given what both of them have been through Locating an Avian Vet//On-Line Avian Veterinarian Help


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## Zero_479 (9 mo ago)

I live in Pakistan and there aren't any vets specialized for treating birds. The vets that are available near me treat in bigger animals like dogs and cats. Although I will visit them and see what they have to say. I'll also update here.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm glad you rescued Levi and gave him a safe a loving home.

It would have been best if you had not decided to adopt the female with the chicks but now that you have we will try to make the best of the situation. 
It is important you have the proper size cage(s) for the number of budgies to be housed in them.

You need to have a proper nest box -- Wooden with a concave bottom.
You will probably have to buy it on-line. Once you have it then you move the chicks and the mother into the new nest box.
You will HAVE to remove her from the nest box in order to clean it. 
The father may start feeding the chicks after they get older. Generally when they reach 3 1/2 weeks, you need to remove the female so she doesn't double-clutch and the father will continue to raise the chicks at that point in time until they a fully fledged and weaned.

Do NOT let your budgies breed in the future.
This means do NOT put a nest box or anything that can be used as a nesting site in the cage.
You should have two separate cages after the chicks are fledged and weaned. One for all males and one for the females.*

*A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

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

*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.
(Stickies are threads “stuck” at the top of each forum sub-section)
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.*

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*Resource Directory*


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## Zero_479 (9 mo ago)

That is actually pretty useful information. I can definitely get a wooden nest. I will look for ones with a concave bottom. So I guess females would want to breed again right after the chicks grow up? Is that why it's best to let Levi feed the chicks? Also Levi isn't the biological father, but I definitely saw him feeding the chicks. Will he continue feeding his adopted chicks even when the mother is seperated? 
I would not want any more birds than these so I would definitely not let them breed. So separating by genders seems to be a good idea.
And one last thing, how often should I be cleaning the nest? From what I currently know, I should be cleaning it after every 3-5 days. Is that a good number?
Thanks a ton!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Yes, you must separate the mother when the chicks reach 3 1/2 weeks old so that Levi can take over feeding them at that time.
He will raise them until they are fully fledged and weaned. The fact that he has been feeding the chicks already lets us know he will continue to care for them.
The bedding you should use in the nest box is either aspen shavings or pine shavings (not dust!)

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.

Once all the eggs have hatched, you'll need to start cleaning the nest box. 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.
Additionally, you must check the chicks' feet to ensure they don't have poop stuck on them and check their legs to ensure they are not developing splayed legs.

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. *


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## Zero_479 (9 mo ago)

Okay I think I'm well equiped with the knowledge I currently need. I can definitely handle this I believe. I got precise guidance so thank you. And yes, I did read about how poop can stick to legs and cause them to be splayed. I will definitely take care that it doesn't happen.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forums, 

Great advice and resources by FaeryBee and Cody above. I'm glad you were able to rescue Levi and are doing what you can to follow best practices in caring for your little guy.

Meanwhile, you've come to the best place to learn even more about the best of budgie care practices! Be sure to read through the links provided above to ensure you're up to date on everything. If you have any questions after reading through them, please be sure to ask as we'd be happy to help. 

Please keep us updated on the situation. I hope things go well for your little ones!

Hope to see you around! 👋


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