Rainbow

Hopefully they will still be able to treat him. Let us know.

Natty, I saw your other post, and moved it to the In Memorium section. I am so sorry.

Is there a mirror in the cage?

ouch...poor little girl. How is she today?

LOL, can you believe it???

Skittles laid 7 eggs her first time too - 5 hatched. Believe it or not, they can flatten themselves enough to cover them all. Looking at your setup, I think she could have pushed an egg outside the box and it wouldn't have broken. How are the birds doing today?

The male on the perch on the left side is not green, he is a type 2 yellowface blue. Look around his legs and under the wings towards the vent - unless I am mistaken those feathers are blue. That is why I asked if the hen had that color too.

This is so tragic. I think the plan to test, treat, and re-test later is your best bet. It would be horrible for you to have to give this up. I really do hope things don't come down to your worst-case scenario. Thank you for sharing your experiences with this. I know it is hard for you.

I'm used to Fahrenheit, so I'm not sure what 18-20 C is, but the hen should be able to keep the babies warm enough. When Skittles had babies, the first clutch of eggs were laid in January/February and the inside of the house probably averaged 65-70 F. How warm is 18 C?

Poor thing! She sounds like she is in a bit worse shape. I'd keep giving her water if she will take it, and hand feed her a little so she can keep up her strength. Hopefully there is no eye damage. Make sure she stays warm. It's good to hear she still has fight in her. I think I'd try to clean her up a bit more, especially around her cere, if you can do it without stressing her too much. Depending upon how the blood dried, it might pull on her skin when she tries to open her beak to eat and just hurts. Maybe that is why she is not eating. I can't see what she looks like though, so if you think she will be fine leaving her alone until the vet sees her, then do that. Is the vet going to be able to see her soon? We are thinking of you and her and hoping she will pull through just fine.

This is a link to the website of a local bird club, it has a lot of information about general care, feeding, safe foods and plants, etc. If you've got some time, browse through it. http://www.kentuckianafeatheredfriends.org/page3.html

Poor you! It sounds like you are doing all you can. I think I would have caught her with a washcloth and looked over her injuries and cleaned her up right away, in case any of her wounds were deep and to clean out her eye in in case she had gotten anything in it during the fight. It sounds like they were not so that is good for you and her too. How is her eye? Is it swollen shut? Is she drinking anything? When you talk to the vet, ask whether you should force-feed her water to keep her hydrated. I'm worried that she hasn't eaten in 24 hours. I'm not a vet, and can only go on past experience, but after fights mine have always been back to acting somewhat normally shortly after. Can you see if there is any way the vet's will see her today on an emergency basis? You might want to use a q-tip instead of a cotton ball when you wipe her down - it's not as large, is easier for you to maneuver, and the fibers are wound on it tighter so even when wet, they shouldn't pull off and get stuck on her. Please keep up posted.

6 eggs, wow! She might lay another one, but I doubt it. So did you mean # 7 was laid outside the box? On the ground? Was it broken or did you put it in the box for her? I'm not sure why she would have laid an egg outside the box if all the other ones were laid inside. Maybe she laid it inside and felt something was wrong with it and so kicked it out?? It's possible she screams at Bobby when he's in the nestbox because he is trying to mate with her in there. I think if she didn't want him in there at all to feed her she wouldn't let him get more than his head inside the hole without chasing him out. Rainbow would mate whenever Skittles left the box, but morning time is more usual. She isn't laying eggs every morning is she? The fact that they are mating in the morning doesn't affect when she lays her eggs - she may lay in the morning, but could just as easily being laying her eggs at night. The two acts aren't necessarily related in that way. When is the first egg due to hatch? (This is SO exciting.)

Why not just wait for your hen to become old enough? That way you can begin now to improve their diets if necessary and give them a chance to build up vitamin and mineral stores, and do any more research you might feel is necessary. You don't say how much experience you've had with budgies, so it's hard to know what to advise. But if you want to introduce another hen, I would get another large cage for your current hen to live in to prevent fighting. But she would wonder why she is being seperated from her friend. How old are the birds you have now?

Great site - thanks for posting the link. I have learned a lot from that site in the past.

Wheatgrass is very good for them, you can order it online (Beak Appetit makes tubs of it) or you can get it from a health food store. I'd be hesitant about using grass from the park because you never know if a dog or other animal "went" there. I'm sure you rinse them well, but something to think about. You can also sprout the seeds from the seed mixture you feed them - it's a good way to tell if the seed is fresh, since only fresh seeds will sprout. Sprouted seeds are very good for birds, so it's great yours will eat them already.

The male in your picture is blue, not green. I can't tell about the hen, but if she is not blue she is most certainly split to blue. That is where the white baby is coming from. The yellow baby may also be blue series, it's too early to tell yet. And to clarify this: This is because a green bird with a blue gene has a 50/50 chance of passing that blue gene on. If bred to a green bird, the bird will still be visually green, as green is dominant no matter which color gene was passed on. If bred to a blue bird, passing the blue gene on, the bird will be blue, because a to get a blue bird you must have 2 blue genes. Does that help?

I'm glad you still have fingers. I can just hear that noise - poor Budgy. Even if he were to enjoy it he wouldn't let on.

LOL I can imagine how that went! How are your poor fingers, Julie? Is there anything left? As far as protein sources, there are quite a few, but the trick will be getting him to eat them. Egg food is a great protein source - I just sprinkle it over their food but I think you can feed it moistened too. Pellets have protein, so do cooked grains if he will eat them. What protein did you buy? Good luck - hopefully you will see improvement soon by changing his daylight hours.

I'll bet when you wake up in the morning you will have a present. Skittles hatched all hers overnight.

I don't know but I think stress has to be a factor. Rainbow plucked the second clutch and he plucked Skittles too. He was a good bird as far as feeding the other ones, but you could tell he was a bit rattled once the second clutch was underway. He kept wanting to mate, and I think he plucked to try to get the babies out of the nest so he could. They were too young though, and then Skittles began to have missing feathers on the back of her head too. I thought she was the one doing the plucking until I noticed they all had small bald patches except for Rainbow. Stendorosa, how is that little chick doing with the foster parents so far?

They are all precious. I like your names too. I had a few that were un-named for about a month or so! I just called them third bird and fourth bird. The names will come to you, don't worry.

He's a looker! But Daz, are you sure the "gender confusion" isn't really just a reason to get more budgies???? :feedbirds: I was noticing on all the greys...I love the color of the cheek flashes.

Chirpy, if your boot camp isn't full up yet, I'd like to send a few more "recruits" over to you...he-he! Julie, any word yet, or is it too early over there still?

**swears at Lin's camera** Two is better than one, right??? Did it work or must we try it some more, LOL!