Puffed Up Budgie?

[Aquafroste 0]

Aquafroste I don't know if the co-ordinators r going to give me flack4 this reply:I've never seperated the parents while feeding the chicks,my females all peck+are temperamental towards the male at times. I don't think the male shud hav bn removed.that's why he's frantic!you might perceive the "pecking" as harmful when I think its actually begging or pestering mom4 food.I ve had my budgies hatch several clutche s +i've never had bloodshed or death-bickering but no blood!

 

Lol, not trying to give you flack, but I will say that you are lucky if you've never had a problem. I have. And once you witness the mother bleeding terribly from trying to keep the attacking father away from the chicks, and then when you remove the badly injured mother to a hospital cage, turn around, and see the father viciously attacking the chicks in the nest, you will realize that IF the parents are starting to fight, it is nothing to fool around with.

 

Or ask other forum members who have had the mother turn on newly fledged chicks and outright kill them. And then you will realize that even though things usually go well, it is important to watch out for when they go bad.

 

Aquafroste, one thing that should probably have been mentioned- when you take the father away, you should put him in a far away room where the parents can't hear each other. They will understandably be upset at being separated, and will frantically call to each other.

 

Sometimes I can't do that though, and it's not the end of the world. Even if the mother is not feeding them or being much of a good example, they are old enough that they should learn to eat by themselves anyway.

 

Yes I have made my mind after observing today, that I will not put the male budgie back in the cage. I tried this morning, but then immediately the father budgie started pecking at the baby budgies and the mother budgie was screeching. The father and mother started a quite violent fight, but then I immediately put the father budgie back in the other cage.

 

Should I separate the parents in different rooms? Because the male seems lonely if I do separate them, but it may be for the best.

 

[Aquafroste 0]

okay but how r chicks feeding if they r in box? Try and post photos of the chicks and whole scenario. Cage size, parents, otherwise we will b putting a little stone up at 1 of the birdie funeral grounds!

 

Uh...

The chicks are being fed, because the Mother budgie is feeding them. And what do you mean by putting a stone in the funeral grounds...

[maz7 0]

okay so mom is feeding both+both crops r full?the stone is what I use each time I bury a dead bird. I always put stones over the grave to prevent other animals from digging up.so it seems you don't have to worry about mom+chicks as long as they r fed. Its terrible when a bird won't eat or dies from starvation. Very sad! I cry over every single bird that dies!

 

I'd say put him in another room and put a radio on. He'll survive fine.

[Aquafroste 0]

Oh you mean about the father budgie?

I'm pretty sure that the mother budgie is eating, but it seems to only occur when the male budgie is right next to her cage.

I'm taking off the splint of the splayed leg budgie today, I hope it works.

 

[Aquafroste 0]

I think there's another issue.

I have a splayed leg chick, and the splint doesn't seem to have worked...

 

Here's some pics:

 

 

 

And here's the other older budgie:

 

THe splayed leg chick cannot stand on the perches! It keeps on falling off when I tried it when I took it outside of the nesting box.

Any suggestions on what to do?

~Aquafroste

[maz7 0]

I've never had a splayed legged chick but I saw an article somewhere about this Aquafroste on this site maybe. Have you checked the FAQ section+different forums?Some on budgie talk, some on health section, but I'll check also. Your chicks look bigger than I thought, and quite healthy! How does mom look, thin+drained? You must give her Groats (seeds)+silver beet(spinach).to built up her strength. Will come back2you about where u can find splayed leg instructions.

[Aquafroste 0]

Okay, I took the nesting box away from the mother so that she will not lay any more eggs. But the male budgie is in a separate cage, and Finnie wanted me to separate the parents for a week? Now there are two budgie chicks in the cage with the mom, and the dad in a separate cage. Should I put one of the chicks with the father? He does seem lonely...Also is it possible that the two parents can breed again next breeding season?

[maz7 0]

The Female shud not lay eggs while her+Male are seperated+without a box.are the chicks eating by themselves? I would not let Male back yet. Is the splayed leg chick okay yet? Can you surf the internet unrestricted or is it costly-cause u could google Splayed leg budgie+it will give you exact iinstructions. I'm quickly going to chech the different forums on this site. I saw it somewhere. Will come back to you in 5.

 

Hi Aquafroste found article: its on this forum under Health + Tips and written by Kaz; heading Splayed legs in chicks. I suggest u read it and also Bird Safety another subject, there's also Budgi Behaviour. Just check under Forums all the subjects that get discussed.good luck:)

[Finnie 0]

okay but how r chicks feeding if they r in box?

 

I meant that once they reach four weeks old, if you have a problem, then you need to take the chicks out of the box. Or put food into the box.

 

Several of us here on the forum put seed and millet inside the box from the age of two weeks onwards, so that the chicks can practice eating. When they fledge, they can already eat on their own, and don't rely so much on the parents any more.

 

Okay, I took the nesting box away from the mother so that she will not lay any more eggs. But the male budgie is in a separate cage, and Finnie wanted me to separate the parents for a week? Now there are two budgie chicks in the cage with the mom, and the dad in a separate cage. Should I put one of the chicks with the father? He does seem lonely...Also is it possible that the two parents can breed again next breeding season?

 

You can put one chick with the dad if you want to. I don't see how that would be a problem.

 

Yes, they can breed again whenever they go into condition again. The advice to separate them until you are sure the mother isn't going to lay more eggs is for if you DON'T want them to do a second round right now.

 

If you DO want them to do a second round, then put the chicks in one cage and the parents in the other, and give them their nest back. The nest is only a problem if it makes the parents attack the chicks. If you remove the chicks, then you don't have to remove the box.

 

Good luck, however you want to do it.

 

(And, I feel like a broken record asking for photos of that splay leg chick. I want to see how your makeup sponge treatment has worked out. Part of me thinks the splay might not be so bad as you are worried. The other part of me is imagining a horribly deformed chick!)

 

Maz is right, search on the forum. There are lots of articles and threads you can learn more from. Also do a Google image search of splay leg chicks, and you will be able to compare how bad yours is to what other people have posted.

[Aquafroste 0]

Hi,

I posted some pictures of the splayed leg chick above.

It CAN perch, but it cannot move from side to side and the chick is unbalanced. I also noticed a really strange behavior coming from one of the chicks? (The other chick).

 

I believe that they are both males, but I might be wrong. So what happened was that the non-crippled chick was chasing after the mother, and it was trying to nibble at the feet and feathers of the mom. The mom pecked at the chick because she clearly didn't like it, but I believe the chick wants to groom his mother, and I'm confused? The chick was bobbing its head up and down...

 

It can't possibly be because the chick wants to...uh...mate? The chick is WAY too young, but I'm disturbed by this. I don't want the mom to like the chick more than the father, because I plan to put the mom back with the father in the separate cage. I tried carrying the cage that the father was in into the same room that contained the other cage, and the mom started bobbing her head and flying around the cage.

 

I think that the mom misses the father. I'll see what happens once I put the mom with the father on Friday.

(Oh, and the two chicks can eat, it's just that they only eat the seed when I bring it up to them. They can't go down to the seed bowl by themselves.)

 

Can anyone tell me what's happening between the chick and the mom? Also if I should put the mom with the father and leave the chicks alone in a separate cage?

 

Thanks,

Aquafroste

[maz7 0]

My one bird I handreared does that to me and she definitely is not trying to mate with me! Its a sign of endearment. Don't worry. More worrysome is that the chicks are not eating themselves! They must pick up seeds+dehusk them+eat?! Huh? Phew you have really got problems. I've seperated my 1 female from her male for 3weeks due to an injury on her Ceres, the 1st thing she did when I put her in aviary yesterday is to hook up with her male, groomin each other. Asa the chicks are stable and pickin up+dehusking those seeds you can put her with male. They'll be fine!

[Finnie 0]

Hi,

I posted some pictures of the splayed leg chick above.

 

 

So sorry, I don't know how I missed those pics!

 

He doesn't look all that splayed to me. I wonder if it is just a mild case, affecting his balance, or whether he has a separate issue in addition to splay legs.

 

Well, I haven't been on the forum in a week, so I imagine that the chicks have figured out the perching and moving down to the feed bowl thing by now.

 

What you have described is how a chick will beg from his mother for food, and she is probably trying to wean him, so she is saying "No I won't feed you.". Don't worry, the mom and dad will re-bond with each other whenever you want them to. Budgies are pretty fickle. They will usually accept any mate you choose for them. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but I haven't had any problems pairing up budgies any way I want, and they go along with it.

[Aquafroste 0]

Thank you for explaining!

 

 

Okay I have a new arrangement for the budgies:

 

First I noticed that there was urine around some of the droppings in the cage where it contained the mother and the chicks. I did some research and found out that this could be due to the fact that the mother was stressed out, so I did try and grab the mother budgie with a washcloth to put the mother with the father.

 

The mother was terrified and I could not grab her in the washcloth, because she was flying around the cage way too fast. I then decided that I shouldn’t put the mother budgie with the male.

 

Later on, I realized that the mother was chasing one of the baby budgies (the one that was begging for food) and she was pecking at him pretty aggressively. I lined the two cages up (the other cage containing the father budgie) and opened up the cage doors. The mother flew into the other cage and that left the chicks on their own. The mother and father were happy for a few days, because the mother budgie was occasionally bobbing her head up and down. Then they settled back down into only (I like you but I won’t really interact with you) type of relationship again.

 

The chicks were doing fine: I still had both of the cages lined up right next to each other, so the chicks learned how to eat from the seed bowls. (I put in some dispensers and they found that easier to reach so the chicks are eating from that now).

 

The chicks were longing to get into the other cage, and the mother showed interest in the chicks, along with the father. I’m thinking of putting them all back together once I know what gender the chicks are. I’m thinking that the splayed leg chick is a male, because his cere is slightly blue. Still not sure about the other chick though.

 

I’m still wondering about the urine with the droppings: The other day I found a small pool of urine on the cage floor, but it wasn’t as severe as the other day. (This is in the cage with the chicks).

 

The splayed leg chick seemed to adjust to the perches so he can get around a little easier now

Edited April 21, 2014 by Aquafroste

[Finnie 0]

The watery droppings might just be from the chicks being new to eating seeds. Have you seen them drink water on their own yet? Maybe they are drinking a lot, since it is new to them, and they might be playing with it. If the majority of the droppings are black, small and hard, then the occasional loose one is okay. Also, you should be feeding them lots of veggies at this age, because it starts them on good habits. When they eat veggies, it will loosen up their stool too. So don't worry about that when it happens.

 

In your photos, they both look like boys. It's kind of hard to tell, though, because the photo of the older one just shows a tiny bit of his cere.

[maz7 0]

Do chicks with slight blue not turn tan or brown for females and the pink turns blue for boys? Do the females not have Bulbeous ceres and the Males flatter with nostrils further apart? Asking Finnie for a reply on this. Kaz has a page on identifying budgies gender from babies on etc on1 of forums. Do I have it wrong?

[Aquafroste 0]

I have tried offering some carrot to the baby budgies, but so far they haven't touched anything yet. Is there any other veggies that you recommend?

And thank for the tip about the watery droppings!

[maz7 0]

Hi Aquafroste my budgies won't eat carrots either unless in thin slivers like peels but they love beetroot leaves,spinach,lettuce,apple in thin slices,strawberries,swiss chard,asparagus plant leaves,silverbeet. They won't eat anything either in beginning but they attack the spinach ravenously. Hope this helps. Parents when feeding chicks are more interested in greens than normally. I try to give my birds fresh greens regularly but its impossible to do it everyday as I have 100 birds(they quickly become so many when you have an indoor avery)and I am now planting greens in garden for them or it can become costly

 

I meant an outdoor avery. I have birds on my indoor Patio in cages but that's parrots,canary,resting budgie pairs,finch rescues(young)-runts

 

I have an outdoor aviary with 3 sections and an indoor. Patio with cages.

[Aquafroste 0]

Okay,

 

So I will try giving the budgies different foods,but do you have any idea when I should take out the vegetables and fruit once I left them in the cage for a while?

 

And for some reason the baby budgies are still occasionally wandering on the bottom of the cage...?

[maz7 0]

hi there give fresh in morning and remove uneaten at end of day.

 

mine also wander at bottom of cage-i think its an old instinct to forage for food -don't worry. Put toys in cage-bells andladders to keep them busy and active. They r curious critters.

[Finnie 0]

Do chicks with slight blue not turn tan or brown for females and the pink turns blue for boys?

This sounds about right, if the slight blue is a whitish blue, and not a purplish blue. I also look for a lot of overall whiteness to indicate girls. The more solid-reddish the pink, the more likely to be a boy.

 

Do the females not have Bulbeous ceres and the Males flatter with nostrils further apart?

I've never been too good at telling based on size and shape. Maybe I should have another look at that thread.

 

Asking Finnie for a reply on this. Kaz has a page on identifying budgies gender from babies on etc on1 of forums. Do I have it wrong?

 

Here is the thread: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=22804&st=0

[Aquafroste 0]

Is it okay to give my budgies cooked veggies?

 

Like for example, sweet corn? (Well that's boiled not cooked)

[maz7 0]

My budgies love sweetcorn-boiled or raw. you can give them raws hredded carrot and Spinach too. They also love beetroot leaves and the red stalks - their favourite is the Spinach and Sweetcorn though. They sometimes eat apple- the sweet ones, i use the red/yellow apples. they might not like the Green Granny Smith ones????

 

sorry the Spinach i just give them the whole leaf and stalk, i pin it to the cage with a washing peg - they absolutely love it and rip it to shreds and gulp it down.

[maz7 0]

Lettuce,Spinach,Beetroot leaves,sweetcorn,strawberries,apple,carrots,grapes...I've tried cucumber,and other veggies but no go. I've also tried chopped up in my electric processor no go. One other one they sort of nibbled a bit at was Butternut pumpkin, but i suppose any yellow pumpkin-(RAW), only my sweetcorn i will cook sometimes, but they prefer raw.

[Aquafroste 0]

Oh no I'm scared...

 

Okay so I took out the nesting box, and it's been a few weeks when the young budgies are on their own and the parents are together...

 

But I've noticed that the female's cere is still crusty and the male's cere is still dark blue...I've researched and I found out that this means that they are still in breeding condition. Does that mean that the female has an egg in her?

 

She's started to get puffy lately...And her tail tip twitches a little bit...She's not that active, but she was like that when she was caring for the babies...Is she egg bound?

 

Should I put the nesting box back in so she can lay her eggs???

 

Please help!!!

here are some photos:

 

 

 

 

She hasn't touched her cuttlebone lately...

[maz7 0]

Hi had a blow out on PC and changed mobiles so was off line for a while. What has happened with your family of 4????