# 'Food' for my little one?



## Davidjohnalpha (Jan 10, 2016)

I recently purchased a beautiful budgie. She is only one week out of the nest and only 4 weeks old. Can't perch yet. Eats some millet spray. Not interested in special h/b egg, veg, with mashed seed dish. Sits quietly in corner most of the time, did a little cage climb yesterday tho. Not eating 10% of body weight. I've felt her, she's not anorexic but thin, very delicate of course. Not sure HM water she's drinking if at all.

Should I be concerned? Hand feed her? If so with what please? Thank you. David


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Your baby budgie should never have been removed from the parents at that young an age.  Did you get her from a breeder?

Please look at this information regarding Handfeeding and Weaning:

Is Buying An Unweaned Baby Budgie For A Pet A Good Idea? - Cute Little Birdies Aviary

Budgie Hand Feeding And Weaning Guide - Cute Little Birdies Aviary

My first recommendation is to return the baby to the parents so it can be properly fed by the parents.

Otherwise, you need to get the necessary hand-feeding supplies and start feeding the little munchkin on the schedule recommended.

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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Hello and welcome, your baby budgie definitely should not of been removed from her family. At the age she is it is quite risky. her father would of been still feeding her and teaching her how to break and de husk seed. She will need to be kept warm give her something to snuggle up against for warmth and comfort, Has she got full coverage of down and feathers? Can she walk and climb, she needs to learn how to eat other foods being with her siblings and father is where she should be at her age. It could be a challenge getting her to eat , keep offering soft foods egg and biscuit mix hand rearing formula perhaps? Can you post a picture for us ? That way we will be able to assess her age and sex for you as well. Hope all works out .:budgie:


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi David and welcome to the forums! :wave:

I agree completely, the _minimum_ for budgies to leave their parents is six weeks, it is around there they begin to be fully independent. Poor little girl is probably very confused and missing her parents--as Deborah and Cathy indicated, she needs to be kept warm and you may have to hand feed her yourself with formula. If you wrap up a hot water bottle with a towel and put it at the bottom of the cage, she may like to rest near it. Soft foods are good to try with her during her weaning period, like mashed hard boiled egg and spinach.

I hope she does okay--I can't believe the breeder/previous owner even considered selling her to you at such a young age! :scare:

Please keep us posted and we'd love to see pictures of the little one if you get a chance.

Keep in mind she's in a new environment and if she seems scared, you can cover her cage on three sides and leave some music on for her. Silence means danger to budgies, and she's used to being with lots of other birds, so I'd leave sounds on for her all the time. 

Hope to see you around and I'm _very_ glad you've joined us! :welcome:


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome to the forums.

Indeed this chick should have never been sold at such a young age. The info given to you about your budgie is also inaccurate, there is no way the chick has been consistently out of the nest and actively weaning and eating sufficient food by itself at 3 weeks of age. A chick at exactly 3 weeks old (21 days) is not even fully feathered yet and usually chicks will only only start to peek their heads out of nest a few days later, let alone having the initiative to leave the nest for the short escapades. Also a 4 week old chick should be able to perch at that stage of development.

Since your chick is unable to eat on her own, you really need to take an active role in terms of finishing raising her. I hope by now you have all of the hand feeding supplies and you follow the guide on the link Deborah has posted.
While hand feeding your chick and building her strength up, you can also offer her other soft foods in order to encourage her to eat on her own. 
Egg food is very important for a weaning chick and is also highly nutritious. You can get ready-made egg food at any specialized pet store or make your own by hard boiling an egg and mashing it all up. As to the easiest seeds for your chick to practice on dehusking and ultimately eating, these are spray millet, canary seed, flax seed and Niger seed. During this time, you can also get your chick a seed mix for finches, as the seeds are mostly the same as you will get on a budgie seed mix, only the seeds are much smaller and easier for weaning chicks to deshusk and eat. You can also offer your chick some soft veggies, spinach leaves are soft and are a very good starter veggie. The water content on the veggies will also be helpful in keeping your chick hydrated. 

If you are concerned about your chick being behind in terms of development, you can send me a photo or two via private message and I will give you further assistance, because depending on her condition, you may need to take her to an avian vet.

Best of luck with your little chick.


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## Davidjohnalpha (Jan 10, 2016)

Pretty boy said:


> Hello and welcome, your baby budgie definitely should not of been removed from her family. At the age she is it is quite risky. her father would of been still feeding her and teaching her how to break and de husk seed. She will need to be kept warm give her something to snuggle up against for warmth and comfort, Has she got full coverage of down and feathers? Can she walk and climb, she needs to learn how to eat other foods being with her siblings and father is where she should be at her age. It could be a challenge getting her to eat , keep offering soft foods egg and biscuit mix hand rearing formula perhaps? Can you post a picture for us ? That way we will be able to assess her age and sex for you as well. Hope all works out .:budgie:


"..............
Thank you so much for your advice and welcome too everyone! My little 'girl' is eating some mix and millet spray, not a lot, forages the base. She's not into my egg, shell, veg, seed mix, even tho I'm a reasonable cook. Warm all this time here in Aus. I regulate temp for her. She doesn't walk, but climbs a bit. Started perching yesterday. Fully feathered and attentive eyes. She rests and naps a fait bit. I'll try sending a pic.
I wonder if it worked? :S



StarlingWings said:


> Hi David and welcome to the forums! :wave:
> 
> I agree completely, the _minimum_ for budgies to leave their parents is six weeks, it is around there they begin to be fully independent. Poor little girl is probably very confused and missing her parents--as Deborah and Cathy indicated, she needs to be kept warm and you may have to hand feed her yourself with formula. If you wrap up a hot water bottle with a towel and put it at the bottom of the cage, she may like to rest near it. Soft foods are good to try with her during her weaning period, like mashed hard boiled egg and spinach.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for your reply. I've covered things in my reply to pretty boy debs post. Yes I've employed everyone's advice that would be helpful.. I play YouTube bird sounds which is settling. I minimise entering the cage as she's nervous of course, mimics a duck exceptionally well when I do, but I kinda hum or chant a few notes like Mick Dundee did to the Wild Ox, and this calms her .



aluz said:


> Welcome to the forums.
> 
> Indeed this chick should have never been sold at such a young age. The info given to you about your budgie is also inaccurate, there is no way the chick has been consistently out of the nest and actively weaning and eating sufficient food by itself at 3 weeks of age. A chick at exactly 3 weeks old (21 days) is not even fully feathered yet and usually chicks will only only start to peek their heads out of nest a few days later, let alone having the initiative to leave the nest for the short escapades. Also a 4 week old chick should be able to perch at that stage of development.
> 
> ...


..

Thank you so much for your reply. I've responded to pretty boy, Cathy with an up dare. You offered very valuable information and I thank you for your time and help. I attach a pic. Taken today. She looks healthy enough I assume.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Thank you for the update.  From that photo I can tell you that from the size of the main tail feathers that your budgie is well over 4 weeks old. 
I'm seeing quite a purplish colour on the cere (upper part of beak where nostrils are located) making me believe you have a budgie boy there.
Looking at his overall appearance I'd say your budgie is about 6 weeks old (1.5 months old). 
It's very possible the change to a new home has made your budgie regress a bit when it comes to weaning, but it's a good sign that he has been eating some seeds and the spray millet. You can sprinkle some loose seeds or bits of spray millet onto the egg food to encourage him to try out the egg.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Thanks for the update! Aluz has given wonderful advice concerning feeding your little one and I do agree that he looks like a little boy  

It sounds like he is indeed starting to figure out seeds (again?) which is a good sign 

He's absolutely adorable! Keep us posted on his progress


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