chrissy0705

I too wanted to say congrats!!!! Well deserved! :thumbs_up: Good Luck!

okay so I take it this is a further sign that my hen is getting ready to lay again. This morning I checked on the chick (whom at this time is still doing well) and I notice alot of the bedding I had in the next box was gone. I looked outside the nest box on the breeding cage floor, and sure enough the hen has emptied almost all the nesting material from the box. I have not caught them mating again since the other day, but I'm assuming this is another step closer? How much longer do you think I have? I also wanted to know how I'm suppose to tell if the chick is or can eat seed yet? Do I try to introduce it in the nest box along with the millet or do I try to see if he'll take some out of my hand? He's 19 days old now, how old will he be before he can try to eat seed on his own??

Neville this is the same chick... there is only one. That being said... are you leaning towards boy or girl? What is the difference of opaline dominant pied and dominate pied split for opaline??? This is the best picture of it's cere I have right now, is this one better?

Because we only moved into our house 2 years ago and have been doing work non stop this is the one and only flower that I have.... (but I did plant some rose bushes this spring). I wish we had some of the flowers you all have there in Australia, that are so pretty. Day lily I love this picture birdluv... this was my wedding flower!!!

More updates... Here's my little guy now (18 days old) he's much more vocal now.. he can scream well... and very active, crawls all over the place if you let him... he like to hide in the hood of my sweater!!

I'm looking to name my little one now and want to know if it's a boy or a girl. From his genetic make up (mum being light green dom pied and dad being light green opaline) I was told that any males I got out of the clutch would be dom pied and any females would be Opaline or Opaline split for dom pied... and since it appears to be dom pied (with the patch of clear feathers on it's head) I'm thinking a male??? Anyone want to take a guess? Here's pics...

okay guys, thank you so much. all is well as of this morning so I will keep an eye on things and keep you updated. thank you.

Should I do the igloo now at 16 days old or wait a for the first egg??? I don't want to remove her if there are no issues, but I don't want to wait too long and it be too late... So igloo now or in a week? Oh, and if I put the igloo in, how far away from the nest box should I put it? My cage is 48" long (FYI).

No, I don't. My sister in law and my mother in law are the only two people close to me that have birds and they have a total of 3 teils and 2 keets, but all of them are very young (just a few months old). Should I wait for the igloo or do it now before there is an egg? Mum seems to be fine with the bub so far, still feeding and in the nesxt box... ? When would I see signs of trouble?

I have two other breeding pairs but no eggs from either one yet. This was the only surviving chick in a clutch of 5 (2 never hatched and 2 hatched and died) Can I take the chick from the nest and put it on the floor of the breeding cage in the ice cream igloo and let dad feed? Will the mum throw her out or hurt her before she lays an egg or after the eggs start coming?

I caught my hen and cock mating this morning... and I don't want them to. I have a 16 day old chick in the nest, the mother is not in full condition (underweight) and I want her to take a break from breeding and laying again. Is the chick still too young to remove the mum and let dad take over? Please let me know, I don't want to risk the hen's health by letting her lay another clutch.

I didn't know there was a "correct order".... ?? What is that correct order? Like color first, then sex linked, etc... ??

Well Elly thanks for the advice... it worked a little bit. Some of the birds had no interest and didn't eat at all until I put the seed in. Others went right for it and some took a little bit longer but gave it a taste. I only put it in for half the feeding time and then put the seed back in for them... almost all of them went to their feed dishes after I put the seed back in. I guess the important part is that the cock of my hen with the one chick did go to the egg mix and he fed the hen so she is the one I'm really worried about getting it and she did so I'll try it again tomorrow and the next day and see if more of the birds take interest. THanks for the advice. Oh... and how long can I leave the mix in? I know like any fresh food there is a time when it's no good if left out too long, so how long before I need to remove it?

Yes I think you are right LIbby def. pied... the mum is dom pied (dad is opaline)... if you look at his head you can see (more so today) the clear patch on the back of his head too. From what I'm told this might be a little boy dom pied split for opaline because if it was a girl it would be either opaline or opaline dom pied? Does anyone agree with that?

I will do that Elly. Would mixing or rolling the egg with seed help draw them too it better? Also is there a best time of day to try to introduce the eggs? I know all my bird forage heavy in the morning, but would it be better to give at a different time?

Just thought I'd share my little ones development.... ENJOY... I know I am!! 1. Day 0 2. Day 1 (9-12-08) 3. Day 2 (9-13-08) 4. Day 5 (9-16-08) 5. Day 8 (9-19-08) 6. Day 11 (9-22-08) 7. Day 13 (9-24-08)

I think she is thin just by her current appearance. She looks alot better today then yesterday, but her wings are not touching her sides and her chest and belly that once appeared round and full seem to be thinner and the feathers have made this "line effect" on her chest running down to her belly. I have not gotten ahold of her to feel her breast bone yet (she's pretty bitchy since she became a mum) so I just want to take measures to keep her weight and energy up. As for diet, all my birds get mostly seed mixture (available daily all day long), but are also given grapes, tomatoes, eggs, greens, and treats (like honey sticks) when possible. I wanted to give them some cashews I have, but they are salted so... NO GOOD. None of my birds seem to like the eggs, tomatoes or grapes. They all love the greens and honey sticks. As I have stuff in the house I give it to them like chicken left over from dinner, but that is as available or left over. I have two things against me in that I live here in PA and don't have alot of native things available and I'm a stay at home mom with a husband that works in NY and only have one car (and he has it). So to get things for them consist of weekend trips to the store only and when I'm out, I'm out until I can get the car.

Thanks Elly. I found the "unsafe food list" in the meantime too... lol. What nutrient provides the best source for "fattening up" a bird. I have an underweight hen and I'd like to get her going better. She still have an 11 day old chick in the nest and I was adviced to put millet in the nest for her (but she's out of the nest more than in it lately) and provide soft foods for easier and faster feedings... but what soft foods (that i might have in the frig or counter) will achieve weight gain the best??

I have a half gal jug of cashews, but they are salted can I rinse them of the salt and give them or does that not take enough salt off them???

Being here in USA, PA I am not a lucky as some that have access to alot of the native foods for budgies available in Australia... I was wondering if budgies can have... Greated Cheeses?? Canned Tuna in water (not in oil)?? Just wondering since you can give them chicken... can they have tuna. I know canned foods are not good because of all the stuff added, but just wondering. And since cheese is a source of calcium and they can have stuff like yogurt, i was wondering if they can have cheese?? Also, can you tell me what nutrients are provided by foods like carrots, greens, eggs? What other store bough or garden grown foods can you give them to help? Is there a list of "give" and "never give" foods?? This is for folk like me in USA.

Thanks Karthik, I found this yesterday after my post. It was really helpful with pics to follow... not detailed in the since of just when things develope, but wonderful for photos to follow!!! Thank you again. This is a good site.

Thank you so much Liv. She must very underweight then... will she not feed herslef at all? She is out of the nest box alot anymore (although there is one chick in the nest- 10 days old) but if I approach the cage she flies right into the nest box so I have been unable to get a picture or get a hold of her. But I will assume she is underweight based on the description given and increase HER available food. Thank you again.

How in the world could you tell that at this age????? Please tell me what you are looking at to know this? I don't think so though. Mum is dom pied and dad is opaline (unless someone is split for it?)

Does anyone have any pics of underweight budgies? Or can you tell me signs to look for. I think my hen has lost some weight since her clutch and I'm sure it's a bit normal. Her front use to be nice and full where her wings sat nice on her sides, but her wings don't seem to be meeting her sides right now. I don't know if its from spreading them to cover her chicks or if she has just lost that much weight. She also used to have a solid belly and now it looks like there's a line down the front (almost like a vest)? Also can you tell me the best thing I can give her to fatten her up (just remeber I live in USA, PA and don't have access to a lot of the native stuff you have in Australia). Her mate is feeding her, but not as much as I think he should. She sits there waiting and waiting and he seems to be more interested in preening himself or shredding paper?

Thanks for this Neat, it was a big help and basically what I was looking for. I saw another post on that link that said something about showing both show and pet type pics... did anything come of that??? Is there a difference on how they develope or just their weights since show budgies are so much larger than pet budgies. Also some questions that didn't get answered are.... Although their eyes open from 1st to 5th day can they see ? My babies eyes didn't open until at least the 7th or 8th day? Also, if you baby isn't at these stages as suggested does that suggest there are problems? My baby is 10 days old now and he is just now starting to hold up his head and I don't think his tail feathers are in yet????