# Baby budgies questions



## Tracylynn

Hi…my two budgies recently had three babies, the oldest is now 22 days old. I have a few questions about what happens from here.

When do they normally come out of nest box?My box is at the top of a tall flight cage, should I move it lower?

When can they start eating seeds/millet if I were to try and feed them out of my hand?

How long do they stay with mom and dad once they are out of nest and eating on own? I’m in no rush to remove them but just wasn’t sure if there was a point where I should be concerned about them mating with each other or a parent.


----------



## FaeryBee

*Hi, Tracy --

How are the budgies doing now? 
Are the parents still bickering over which can go into the nest box?
Have you had to resort to supplemental feedings for the three chicks?

If you have the nest box at the top of a tall flight cage, please move it down as close to the bottom as possible.
budgie chicks can indeed fall while learning to navigate through the cage on their first little escapades from the nest or even if by any chance they are kicked out of the nest by momma budgie. 
You can place a perch near the nest box entrance when they are nearing weaning age and will get braver and more interested in the world outside the nest. 
You can also cushion the bottom of the cage/aviary with a towel to prevent the chicks from falling too hard on the floor. 
By placing ladders below the nest, you can also reduce the chances from falling.

Between 10 and 15 days after hatching, the feathers will start to come through on the chicks. 
At this point, you can change the bedding in the nest box and check their limb development. 
Gently scoop the chicks out of the nest box and place them in a bowl lined with a soft towel. 
You can then check each chick individually and get them used to being handled.

You'll need to clean the nest box more frequently - probably 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, aspen shavings or carefresh bedding.

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. 

At around 20 days old, the chicks will start to move out of the nest. 
At this point, provide them with extra food to encourage weaning and a shallow bowl at the bottom of the cage for foraging. 
With so many small additions to the cage, it is best to insert another water source. 
Now that the chicks are out and about, handle them as a regularly as they can, and teach them to perch on shoulders and fingers!

For parent raised chicks weaning age starts 3 and half - 4 weeks old. 
By the time the first chick reaches 23 - 24 days old you can start by placing bits of millet spray inside the nest box for the chicks to start practicing deshusking and eating.
You can also place some soft veggies by the nest box's entrance for them to try it out. Spinach leaves are a good and soft veggie for them to start out.

Usually budgie chicks fly for the first time by the time they are about 34 - 35 days old. This is on average, but it's usually a few days after reaching 1 month old.

If the oldest chick is just 22 days old, it's still too soon for the parents to start mating and thinking about a second clutch. 
This usually happens when the oldest chick is nearing 4 weeks old. 
At that time (3 1/2 to 4 weeks for the oldest chick), in order to prevent a second clutch and aggression towards chicks, the female is removed from the breeding cage and papa budgie finishes raising the chicks.

The time they take to wean and become independent will depend on the chick, but given the encouragement by owners and the help from papa budgie, most budgies are fully weaned before reaching 2 months old. Most of fully wean before reaching 45 days old.

As the chicks grow and begin to reach weaning age, the time you spend with them can increase up to 15 - 20 minutes 2 to 3 times per day, during this time, you can bond with them, give cuddles and offer them food for them to practice eating. Spray millet, canary seed, flax seed and Niger seed are the easiest seeds for them to practice. 
Offer them egg food as well as this is vital for all growing and weaning chicks.
Do the same with veggies, this is the best time to introduce the young ones to a healthy and varied diet.

Check the babies everyday 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.
This is why a nest box with a concave bottom is crucial.
If a young baby develops splayed legs, the problem can be corrected because their bones are still forming. *


----------



## Tracylynn

Wow thank you so much for all the information, so very helpful!!

Parents are still bickering at times but fortunately I figured things out where it is working right now.Knowing my birds, I put the top on half way where I knew the hen would figure out how to enter and dad would not. That worked for a bit but dad eventually figured things out by watching her. Once I got her used to being in the box with the top half closed, I closed it completely and she went through the hole. He is too skittish to go in completely so it helped tremendously as now she knows that’s her territory and he backed down. He still perches outside the hole and tries to feed the babies by sticking his head in but it’s definitely a much better situation. I don’t think they will mate again as they really don’t have the same bond that they did. Thank you again for all of your help…I can’t truly express how much it’s calmed me these last weeks, breeding budgies is no easy task!


----------



## FaeryBee

*Just keep in mind that at 3 1/2 - 4 weeks old the male should take over the main care of the babies - that is natural and to be expected.
You'll be better off to remove the female from the cage at that time to allow him to do so and to prevent any possibility of them having a second clutch.*


----------



## StarlingWings

FaeryBee has given great advice! Fingers crossed everything turns out ok~ please keep us posted on everything!


----------



## Tracylynn

Okay will do, thank you!


----------



## Tracylynn

Hi…so I’ve taken mom out. Dad still won’t go in nest box but is feeding them through hole. I’ve lowered box closer to bottom and put a towel under it. The oldest seems to want to come out…do they hang out on the bottom of cage or on perches when they are that young? And do they have trouble walking on the bars on the bottom? And do they go back in the box on their own to sleep? I’m sorry, I’m just so now to this?

Lastly, I can help but feel bad for the mom.We put her in a different room, is it possible for her to be in same room or is that even worse?And when can were reunite her with her mate? We were thinking of keeping one baby in same cage with them…would that be okay?
Thank you for all your help!


----------



## FaeryBee

*If you take the top back off the nest box will the Dad go into it to feed them then? 
If not, are the chicks getting plenty to eat? 
How old is the youngest one now?
The oldest will come out first. 
The chicks will hang out on the bottom of the cage. It is best that you cover the grate with newsprint (packing paper), white paper towels or the black and white sections from the newspaper.
The chicks will not be able to negotiate the grate initially. 
They will go back into the nest box at night to sleep.

Do not put the male and female back together until the chicks have fully weaned which will be at around 8 weeks old. When you put the male and female back together, then you need to make sure you
are doing absolutely everything necessary to discourage breeding.

You can try putting the female's cage in the same room with the other budgies but if the Dad stops feeding the chicks then you'll have to move her cage back out of that room.

The problems you are going to have in trying to keep one baby in the cage with the parents are:
1) The female may well become aggressive toward the baby at that point in time.
2) You are going to end up with two budgies of one gender and one budgie of another gender. This isn't a good scenario and promotes rivalry of the two of the same gender vying for the attention of the single gender bird.
3) Having three budgies together often ends up with one budgie becoming the "third wheel". Two of the budgies bond closely and the third is left out. Sometimes this doesn't happen but it's best if all three are the same gender when housing three budgies together.

You could keep one of the babies and put it in a cage of its own next to the parents' cage if you wish to do so.
What are you planning to do with the other two offspring?*


----------



## Tracylynn

okay thank you again! I tried taking the top off but he wasn’t going in and seemed very stressed but that was right after the separation. However, then the oldest climbed out of the top and was perched up there so I put it back on. He seems to be feeding them but I’ve been having to watch constantly which has been tough. I put a towel on the bottom grate for now in case they stumble their first try out. I figured keeping one would be an issue but my family wants to so trying to figure it out. The other two are going to family members.


----------



## Cody

It would be a good idea to place paper towels over the towel on the grate just to assure that if one of them ends up down there that they do not get their nails stuck in the towel and injure their foot or leg in trying to get loose, assuming it is a terry cloth towel.


----------



## Tracylynn

I was actually thinking that too…I use wee wee pads on the tray underneath the grate, I’m going to put one over the grate in the morning. It fits perfectly. Thank you.


----------



## Tracylynn

Hi! I’m back lol….so things are going well, thought I had it under control but now I notice the dad is trying to mate with one of the babies. I was pretty sure the oldest is a boy and the second oldest a girl and was on fence about the youngest but was leaning towards girl. Well he’s confirming my suspicions bc he doesn’t bother too much with the oldest but has always been more attentive towards the second oldest and youngest. I back been noticing he follows her around the cage and has been courting her. I noticed him trying to mount her several times. The youngest is just coming out of nest box more lately and he seems to be more attentive to her too. I’m not sure if he’ll start doing that with her soon. What should I do? He doesn’t seem to feed them that much, they are eating and drinking on their own. Youngest will be 5 weeks tomorrow. Should I move the female with mom?


----------



## FaeryBee

*Time to move Dad out of the cage!! 

You may need to separate the female baby out into a cage of her own if the siblings are trying to actually mount her. 
Keep an eye on the situation. I'd like the babies to stay together until they are at least 6-8 weeks old. Are they close to that age yet?*


----------



## Tracylynn

The oldest is 5 weeks and 3 days and the youngest 5 weeks tomorrow. The oldest sibling is actually attacking the dad when he is all over the second youngest. The siblings are fine together. Should they be on their own completely and I move dad in with mom?


----------



## FaeryBee

*We don't want to take the chance of Dad mating with the baby nor with fights breaking out between Dad and the oldest chick.

Move Dad in with Mom but be very vigilant that they do not mate. 
Rearranging their cage frequently will help tremendously. Please be sure you never put a nest box or anything that could be used as a nesting site in their cage.
Limit the light they get to 8 hours a day. When they come into condition, limit the amount of protein in their diet at that time

As long as the three siblings are doing well together they should definitely stay together.
Make sure they don't regress and that they are all eating enough. If not, you'll need to be sure to offer supplemental feedings.*


----------



## Tracylynn

Okay thank you so much for all your help! Just as soon as I think we’re in the clear, something else seems to pop up lol. I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly too!!


----------



## FaeryBee

*I’m happy to help and you’ve done a wonderful job!*


----------



## Tracylynn

Thank you 😊


----------

