Ratzy

He's fine now, put on weight like you wouldn't believe! Thank you. We were a bit low on vegies at the time, but now the cupboard is stocked! I showed my mum and dad a chick out of the box and they couldn't believe how much they'd grown. Two are green and the other two I think are blue or violet. More pics coming soon, there was a camera course at school so I don't think it is here at the moment.

Sorry for your loss.

They might not hatch, Kaz or somebody could tell you positivly. Do you have another hen who has a small clutch? You could foster them out.

Sorry I didn't answer that sooner, robyn, I just had a scare with Skye. The eldest is not showing definate colours yet but the second one is definately going to be green. I'm thinking blue for the first one though.

I got back from school just now to find Skye had escaped out of the hospital cage and was sitting on top of the fan. After a few minutes I finally caught him and was told to put him back in the breeding cage. He isn't fluffed up at all and has put on a bit of weight. I doubled, no tripled the amount of food. His poops are normal and he is chirping. I'm sure he was just being a devoted daddy by puting the family needs first and not getting enough to eat himself. All the same I'm keeping an extremely close eye on him. I know I should keep him in the hospital cage but again I had no choice in the matter.

Welcome!

Thanks, guys. He is asleep now, sleeping on the perch.

Thanks. I brought him in. He is in a hospital cage with food, water, and a heat source. He looks better.

I seriously had no choice, Kaz.

I was bringing him inside when dad caught me in the act. "Nat, what are you doing?" "I'm bringing the bird inside because he is acting sick." "No he's not. He's fine. If you take him out Marigold will stress." "Marigold will be fine without him." "Just put him back in." "But dad..." "Just put this sheet around the cage and he'll be fine." "Look, dad he's puffed up. Once they get sick they go down quickly." "Come inside." "Grrrrrrr. If he get ANY worse he's coming inside." Of course, as soon as he's back in the cage and dad is looking he acts as though everything is all right. I'm keeping an extremely close eye on him. PS: Thanks for the advice, Kaz. I'll still take it if he starts getting worse.

When I left for school this morning everything was fine, but now I've realised that Skye is underweight and is slightly fluffed up. Please help. I can't remove him because he is a lifeline to the chicks and if I don't I'm worried about the chicks catching it. I put a source of heat in the cage and he is still active and eating and drinking. Other than that there are no other symptoms. It is sudden. He is preening and looking better now. At this time I think the vet is closed. I'm keeping an eye on him and at the moment he is preening himself. He isn't on the bottom of the cage and is perching normally. Maybe he is feeling over-worked looking after four chicks and a wife? Please respond to this!

Oh no! RIP Coconut.

Might you have to evacuate?

Are you sure it's pregnant? If so, the rump should be swollen. In the nest box wood shavings, other members might be able to tell you the right sort. I use oats and they work well. Is everything set up for breeding? Does she have a mate that she's bonded to? If she isn't bonded, then you might not get fertile eggs. Not every egg will hatch probably. Good luck! PS: With my chicks I just give them extra vegies and greens. You don't need to feed them, the parents will, unless something goes wrong.

Yeah, get her something to cheer her up. If you have an incubater you could get some eggs and watch them hatch, then raise them.

I'm sorry to bring this up but I was surfing the web and found that picture. Didn't the bird die? Sorry again.

I candled the egg but it seemed clear and it was cold so I removed it. I'll bring it to school to show my classmates how small they are. More yellow is showing on the second chick but none on the first, though it is grey with white down so far. I'll clean the box once the smallest is 2 weeks. I saw the most beautiful rec pied today. It was violet and mostly white. The lady in the shop told me that she knows if they are a boy or a girl by the head shape? Apparently if it is a girl it has a small round head and a boy has a square shape. She also said that all of the budgies in the cage were young, so I pointed out to her that the opaline spangle had a brown cere and a male at the back had a deep blue cere. She didn't even know what a cere was, so I pointed that out too. :rip:

RIP. So sorry for you mate. I bet your daughter feels terrible about it.

Definately a dud egg, robyn. I just woke the birds up. Marigold was awake and Skye was asleep. Do I need to clean the box in a few days?

Awww. I just watched the eldest preening himself.

Hey, I'm a kid, too!

Why don't you teach your daughter how to feed it?

second chick is green, there is a tiny bit of yellow on the wing. still haven't got a clue of the first one, though I think it is blue.

Glad she hung in there. I'm on the same page as your daughter. My silky chick is deformed and we saved a sheep from certain death and it is still here (we raised her), lol.

Sweeties.