the mother of the baby killed it when i was away there was blood all over the mother and another male that was in the cage. what happened and why?

We can't really answer that. Was this with colony breeding or paired breeding? How old was the chick?

 

There are many reasons a baby is attacked, from outsides bothering the hen or the pair are ready to breed again and attack the older babies trying to get them out and away from the nest. These are the most common.

I am really sorry to hear about your baby budgie. There are a few reason why this sometimes happens. If you can answer a few questions for me, we can try and work it out for you.

How old was the baby ?

Had the baby fledged yet ?

If the baby had fledged (left the nest)...was it trying to get back into the nest ?

Was Mum trying to lay another clutch of eggs ?

You said "another male" in the cage. How many are in with the breeding pair ?

 

If you can give us some more information, we can try and work out why this happened and maybe prevent similar things happening in the future if possible.

Karen

Edited December 21, 200618 yr by Bubbles

I am really sorry to hear about your baby budgie. There are a few reason why this sometimes happens. If you can answer a few questions for me, we can try and work it out for you.

How old was the baby ?27 days old

Had the baby fledged yet ?no

If the baby had fledged (left the nest)...was it trying to get back into the nest ?

Was Mum trying to lay another clutch of eggs ?no

You said "another male" in the cage. How many are in with the breeding pair ?a few other budgies, 1 male 2 females

 

 

If you can give us some more information, we can try and work out why this happened and maybe prevent similar things happening in the future if possible.

Karen

I am really sorry to hear about your baby budgie. There are a few reason why this sometimes happens. If you can answer a few questions for me, we can try and work it out for you.

How old was the baby ?27 days old

Had the baby fledged yet ?no

If the baby had fledged (left the nest)...was it trying to get back into the nest ?

Was Mum trying to lay another clutch of eggs ?no

You said "another male" in the cage. How many are in with the breeding pair ?a few other budgies, 1 male 2 females

 

 

If you can give us some more information, we can try and work out why this happened and maybe prevent similar things happening in the future if possible.

Karen

 

My babies fledge at approximately 4-5 weeks of age ( about the age of your baby ) , at which point the mother is usually trying to lay her second clutch of eggs. Some hens have been known to start laying another clutch of eggs while babies are still in the nest. Some hens chase out the babies so she can lay another clutch of eggs. You may find your hen has already started the journey to lay her first egg.

Some hens get really stressed about starting the next clutch especially if other budgies are in with them at the time, like you have others in the same cage.

Also, at the age your baby was, Dad should have been feeding the babies quite well. Sometimes the Dads aren't as good as they should be and do not take over the feeding from the hen. Hens have been known to attack a chick that begs loudly for food when she is trying to start another family and the dad should have been doing that part of the job.

A hen can be very persistant in clearing chicks out of the nest if there are not enough choices of spare nests for her to start her second family in another box, while Dad feeds the fledged or nearly fledged chicks. So it pays to have twice as many nestboxes as you think you will need as well.....for choice.

If you were to be told that this has happened solely due to colony breeding, that wouldn't be quite right either, as many chicks have met their fate in the bottom of a breeder cage as well. But the truth is the chances of attack seem to be higher when you have a mix of budgies in an aviary or cage where others are nesting and raising babies. The parents need to feel safe when having a family and others in there with them cause stresses that you need to keep a watchful eye on to prevent disaster.

I am truly sorry your breeding came to such a horrible end.

Have you any plans to change the way you have your birds housed together or breeding together ?

Edited December 21, 200618 yr by Bubbles

One reason could be that the hen began being playful with the chicks feathers. IF she plucked one and it bled she could get the taist for blood which leads to killing the chick. If this is the case. Don't breed with that hen again.