miecal7

hi maesie....mixed some mashed boiled eggs with shredded carrots....looked disinterested, then watched him nibble at a bit of carrot.....it fell to the ground and he went after it....bingo!! gave him a small dish of shredded carrot only any he ate the lot in one go!! Gave him some more and he ate half of that in one go!! Shredded carrrots.....I'm going to introduce some other foods now....small servings the same way...maybe corn.... thanks for the advice....it really helps! have a great weekend!!

thanks for the suggestion maesie...i thought it might be the serving bowl too....i'll try and add a little to his seed mix so he inadvertantly takes it and realises it's actually food.

Hi Kaz..... I have tried the mix and put it right next to his seed and water but he doesn't seem interested at all. It's almost like he's afraid of it! I've also hung a honey/seed stick on the cage and a millet spray but he just draws to the seed only. At least he's eating that well.....he likes his seed. Yesterday I watched him fly to the ground of the avairy which is made of sandstone red, yellow greyish stones laid with cement by the former owners. The avairy is about 10 yrs old...was here when we got the place. Anyhow...he was really picking at the sandstone with his beak. I swear he was eating it...making like little holes and nibbling into it. The mum used to do that to. I'm starting to freak out a bit thinking....is there something in the stone that can make them sick? I have put shell grit into their food from time to time, like twice a week with their seed. like a teaspoons worth with 20 teaspoons of seed. There's plenty of food around him...the babies are still alive and I see him in there feeding them...so ??? Everytime i go to the avairy to check and change his food (about 3 times day) i always blow out the husks and put fresh seed on top and he always comes over when i leave the seed like;.... 'ohhh what did he bring this time??" but like I say, when i introduce new food like the mix he is either wary or disinterested. I put the mix in around 4:00 pm yesterday....this morniing it was still there seemingly untouched except for a bit of poo in it....lol!! Thanks for all your help.

Yes Liv....i have to agree....she hung in there as long as she could....in hindsight I'm thinking i should've got the other male out of there sooner...he was no doubt stressing the mum & dad out probably....but she did depart at a good time...the chicks are looking good this morning and dad is right in there feeding them....it's so exciting watching nature doing it's thing....thank you for your advice Oh okay....that makes sense....thanks for the tip Kaz Thanks Maesie.....it is so encouraging for all of us.....as luck would have in I'm home all this week from work so i can keep a watchful eye on them....i'm so glad i don't have to feed them myself...i was dreading it just if i made a mistake....anyhow it's all looking good....thank you for your advise and encouragement.

Thanks for those suggestions Kaz.....I've put them into play....I actually have some of the biscuit/egg mix out there but he doesn't seem too interested in it....i put a seed/honey stick out there....some small spinach....as well as the regular seed & water which he seems to draw to...Thank you for all your help....we are all so encouraged....the chicks are soooo cute...

Thanks so much Neat.....this morning we took the nest box out....and put the 4 chicks on some paper towels under a light and cleaned all the poo off their feet....there wasa bit caked on them....my wife and daughter played nurses while I cleaned the nest box....yeah quite a layer of poo in there!! Put some rolled oats in there for now... small cap with seed in it....will get some wood shavings....the chicks seem so healthy....the smallest one is well....small....but seems alright....did it all in about 10 minutes....took the box back out to theavairy....and daddy is straight back in there feeding them as their chirping away. Oh joy!! Nature is amazing!!

Thanks for the encouraging words Dave....the dad is now in and out of the nest box a lot. The chicks chirp up when he goes in and then quieten so I think he's taken up the role of feeding them. Getting the other male out made such a difference. It seems dad was spending more time defending the nest. The other male is is a smaller avairy nest to the main one....a little miffed no doubt. Thanks Kaz...that's encouraging...they do seem healthy and lovely and warm to touch. thanks Lily...it's seems unanimous that they stand a good chance even thou poor mum didn't make it. they need to survive for her....so all her efforts pay off in the offspring..

Hi Libby....here's two pics of the same chick....it was kinda hard to hold it gently with it wiggling around and take a decent picture with the dad swooping. Two others are about the same size and there's one thats about a third smaller than the rest....prob the last born. I hope the picture helps. If not I can try again when someone comes home to take the picture while i hold a chick. Thanks!

Hello neat....i just went out again and the male was flying around ...as soon as he saw me he went into the nest box....i ran inside and got a torch and gently put the edge of the light to the hole so i could see what was going on...the chicks were chirping and he was like kissing them, head bobbing which i guess is feeding them. I just hope he keeps it up. It is so exciting and somewhat emotional for me....i want them to make it if possible. no i just went and bought a syringe from the chemist cause the pet shop didn't have a crop needle...

Thank you maesie...I just went out there again and he is in there with them...they are chirping and he's staying in there....so it seems he may be assuming mummy duties...it is so encouraging...i am not claiming victory yet...but it is promising...i would like to see it all happen naturally for my grand daughter sake as well as for mummys sacrifice to at least result in healthy chicks....thank you

Thank you for this advice. As it happened I went out there and all the dad was doing is chasing around the other male. so i went in and caught the other male and put him in a smaller avairy we have here by himself. I put fresh seed in the avairy with the dad & chicks and now dad's concentrating on eating. Thank you Libby for your help....so it's okay for me to handle the chicks and dad won't reject them?

Oh thank you all so much for replying...i am so encouraged to hear from you all. Hi Liv...i will do as you advised and keep a regular eye on the chicks. I didn't want to bother them because I was afraid the male would reject them if I touched them or interfered in any way. No...the other male doesnt go into the nest box. Actually it seems the male father shoos him away when he gets near. but that was the case in the beginning when mum was around too... When you say make sure the chicks have a full crop....what if they don't?? Is my origional method of feeding them the mix @ 37degrees (thereabouts) correct? Will they willingly open their mouths to feed if they are hungry or do I have to gently shove it in? Hi Libby...i can try to take some pics. Is it going to turn off the male father if I'm taking them in and out all the time? We live in Sydney in North Rocks. Hi Kaz...well i bought them because I wanted to try to keep them warm as now the mother is notthere and the father is showing no interest in keeping them warm at night inthe nest box. But when i handled them this morning they were nice & warm, prob from huddling together as they do. They're nest box is high in a small walk in avairy, covered 3 sides, small square mesh on the front. Last night I put a painters drop sheet over the front of the avairy to try to keep out any cold/wind/etc. Hi melbournebudgies...yes in hindsight, wood shavings is a good suggestion. I was going to bring them into the house if the father has rejected them and justthought the feathers would help to keep them warm. Poop would prob get on the feathers but $6 got me the enough to fill a cushion so i just thought i could throw the dirty feathers out and put fresh ones in for the next 2 weeks till they can start to feed themselves / fly / etc. Again to all....thank you! I've never done this rearing before...I was hoping the mum would be there for the duration of the chicks early days. She herself was only about a year or so old. I have a very concerned 8 yr old grand daughter coming over after school today...buying the budgies origionally was a duel project for us in caring for them. I'd be sad if the little ones don't make it.

Greetings. My name is Miecal & I'm from Australia. We have a small avairy with 2 male budgies & 1 female budgie. Unfortunately the female is now dead. Prior to her death, our female budgie laid 4 eggs & they hatched. She had been rearing them in the nest box for the past 14 days, feeding them each day, sitting on them at night to keep them warm. The male (father) had been helping her, regurgitating food in her, protecting, etc. I have not opened or bothered the chicks in their bird box. They are about 1/2 the normal size and are beginning to get their feathers. We change the water & feed daily providing ample food. The avairy is clean. It is winter in Australia, overnight temps can be around 8 C. This morning I came out and the mother was on the ground just sitting there. She let me pick her up (unusual) . She was dirty on her face from feeding, stool on her feet & feathers. I took her inside the house & cleaned her gently with warm water & cotton wool, made a seperate box with seed & water for her to rest in.One hour later she was dead. What happened?? Did she die from exhaustion ?? What will happen to the chicks? Will the male bird care for them? She died in the morning & since he has been going in and out of the nest box but does not spend the night with them. I don't know if he has been feeding them but they are generally quiet. I got worried this morning and went out and bought some biscuit/egg powder / syringes / feathers from the pet store thinking the quietness might be the chicks weakening and dying. I went into the avairy to take the nest box out and both males were pretty agitated about that. I checked the chicks. They are alive & seem well enough for what thought might be one day without food. Three are about same size, one is prob 1/2 their size. I tried to feed two of them the mix thru a syringe but they showed no interest in eating. I'm not sure if I was doing it right. I didn't try to force the tip of the syringe into their beak. Should I or would they just open their mouths and go for it if they were really hungry? Their stomachs seemed to have food in them, about half full. Anyhow I decided that maybe daddy is feeding them after all and put the nest box back into the avairy. Daddy flew down and went in almost straightway and they started crying. About 3 minutes later, quiet again. Do you think the male is feeding them? It's hard to tell cause the mother was so devoted, all dirty and sleeping in there and all whereas the male is more out than in, still looking nice and clean, not eating like he's eating for 5 whereas mum was virtually living in the seed box. Ha! If he's not feeding them at all then they've been 24 hrs without food but they didn't go for the mix when I tried to give it to them. Anyhow I would appreciate any useful advice / tips/ etc to try to keep these little ones going. Thank you.