Some Dilemmas With Hand Raising - Advise Please

[BudgieOwner 0]

I am sincerely hoping i have posted in the right area and was hoping i could get some advise here.

 

I have been hand raising a baby budgie for one week now. Breeder told me budgie is 3 weeks old and there was an older sibling which was likely 4 weeks old.

 

Looking at the feather development i would say the baby was 2 weeks old then and the sibling was 3 weeks old. Or the baby development was stunted due to being removed from parents etc.

 

He is now either 3 weeks old or 4 weeks old.

 

Feeding

 

He's feeding well. Crop is filling and emptying. I do however have to sort of force him to take the formula. He has to be held. I've tried the bent spoon which he doesn't take. Only way of feeding him is with the syringe. I only put the food on the edge of his beak and he eats it. He does continue to struggle though. Not like those nice looking youtube videos.

 

One problem is that he tends to eat seeds however doesn't take the husk off. I've seen him remove the husk a few times but then he eats the husk as well. He eats millet as well and i give him veges daily.

 

He tends to keep himself full between formulas. I am supposed to feed him 3-4 ml formula each time but he only seems to take 2 - 3ml as he has already filled himself up with the seeds etc.

 

Poop

 

Suprisingly even thought he eats seeds whole, his poop doesn't have any undigested seeds. Poop look normal in colour with the brown bit and the white bit. Round firm , dries quickly and not too runny or yellow.

 

Weight

 

Day 1 - 30g

Day 2 - 29g

Day 3 - 30g

Day 4 - 30g

Day 5 - 33g

Day 6 - 35g

Day 7 - 37g

 

He is a normal pet type budgie. Mum and dad looked normal in size too but the 37g is starting to alarm me. He still looks skinny and his feathers aren't even fully out yet.

 

Feathers

 

Not happy with the feathers though. All his primary/ secondary wing feathers are out. Feathers are on the lower half of his body and the legs. However only pins on his shoulders and very fine down feathers on his belly. Crop is mostly still naked.

 

Face feathers are hard and clumped together mainly due to formula i believe. After every feed i wipe him with soft wet cloth very properly and gently rub the hard bits off. It has improved but is still not the best.

 

Others

 

I have given him cuttlefish bone and a mineral block. He has tried both. I am wondering if at this age he will know how much is enough or will simply continue eating it if he's hungry. Would over eating both affect his development.

 

 

Thanks for reading guys. Would really appreciate any comments or advice.

[Finnie 0]

It all sounds good to me.

 

If his crop is emptying, then you really don't have to worry that he is eating too much. If you were stuffing him with formula so that the crop was ballooned up, and it didn't empty, then that could be a problem. But it sounds like he is past that stage.

 

It sounds to me like he is weaning himself, and that is fine. I have found that if I don't start hand feeding a chick before it is three weeks old, then it doesn't really take to the formula, and will resist spoon and syringe feeding. It will learn to eat seed and veggies on its own rather than allow me to hand feed it. When my chicks keep themselves full between hand feedings, that is when I know that they are outgrowing the formula. They usually wean very fast after that point. (Of course, by then they are usually fully feathered and have learned to fly.)

 

As far as his feathers not coming in properly, perhaps you are right about the chick being younger than the seller told you. I wonder if he was over-plucked by his parents in the nest. I have found that if they are plucked or not fed properly by the parents early on, that their development is delayed. But they usually catch up eventually, and then you can't tell any difference.

 

After four days, how is he now? Do you have photos?

[BudgieOwner 0]

lol didn't even realise there was a reply to this thread.

 

okay so it has been 6 days since my last post about this little fella. He's growing rapidly. Putting on steady weight. Feathers have come in but still looking little bit scruffed.

 

Today was his first day without formula feed. I went from 5 feeds to 4 to 3 to 2 and then to 1 and finally no more formula. He doesn't seem to be hungry. His crop is full. Funny enough he knows how to crack the larger seeds in the trill mix but still prefers to eat the smaller seeds whole without removing the husk. Is drinking water. Not so keen on the veges but i am offering it everyday. Suprisingly prefers seeds over millet.

 

When we brought him home

 

 

 

 

 

When i posted this thread

 

 

And today

 

 

 

Also any ideas on what type he might be. He has blue on his back as seen in the next picture and blue under his belly.

 

 

Despite his scruffy look he is super active. Plays alot, flaps around , has already started exploring everything and loves scratches.

[Finnie 0]

I'd say dominant pied (probably double factor) yellow face mutant two cobalt. The markings on his head almost look grey, so maybe he is a greywing. There is also a possibility that he could be a recessive pied, dominant pied combination, but with so few markings, it would be pretty impossible to pinpoint his exact type of pied.