luckaholic

Sorry I am only new at this. They are together in a cage outside under shelter - 3 females, 2 males Clean paper is always on the bottom of the cage, thats how i noticed it There are no breeding boxes and no eggs laid Their diet consists of nutrient enriched seed, veges, grass, fruit, cuttle bone, occasional sunflower seeds

Hi, It is in with 4 other budgies.

I just noticed one of my hens has a bit of watery blood coming from her vent. She is about 6 months old. Not sure what to do. Any ideas would be appreciated!

oh phew!!!! glad thats not the box we just persisted with the sponge and they are all normal little birdies now. Unfortunately 2 of them flew away Although their legs were only mild to start with. Each morning and afternoon I would check them and if the splint had come off I would put them on a flat surface and get them walking to see if they could walk properly. If not I would put on another splint. I did this because just picking them up, they spread their legs out anyway so still look splayed. If you know what I mean? I also couldnt splint them without my partner helping as its impossible to keep their little legs still without hurting them. Good luck, looks like youll have some very pretty babies, their colouring is gorgeous.

Youll need to move very quickly as your chicks look older than 2 weeks. Please read back the entire thread as there is some great info here. I would try pipe cleaners, but just ensure the sharp end of the pipe cleaner is bent around so to prevent injury to the birds. May I also mention it is ESSENTIAL you get some wood shavings for the box, as bird seed is too slippery and doesnt help the birds legs either. It also looks like your box is plastic.....also a huge no no for babies which can very well be the reason why their legs are splayed as they cant get a gripping on plastic. You will need a wooden box (or at least a wooden base). Use timber that is a little roughed up, not smooth timber. You need to do this immediately though as it will be too late if not already.

If the holes are too large in the sponge or are slits the legs can come out. Takes a couple of versions before you get it right. One day is not enough to make a difference if the legs were splayed. If any excess sponge all around trim it away so it doesnt get caught up.Its preferable to not move nestboxes about amidst breeding but if you have to you will have to observe and see what difference it makes and be prepared to change it back.Hi,We made the holes quite small but big enough to stretch over the birds feet. How far apart are their feet normally? The eldest hatched 9th or 10th April, then the next hatched 11th or 12th and the last hatched 13th or 14th April. Its late now so will check things in the morning. I moved the box in a panick after I found the eldest on the bottom of the cage.I read on another site about using pipe cleaners as splints, what is your opinion on that? I thought it may be a dangerous thing to do. I will also post some photos in the morning of their legs. Dont know why I said "one day", we put the splints on them on sunday just gone, and checked them yesterday(tuesday) and they had taken one leg out. So hopefully they lasted more than 24hrs.

Have encountered a problem. Splints only lasted a day, however the budgies legs had greatly improved in that time. We put new splints on again today and it appears the oldest baby has fallen out of the box not long after, and had almost wiggled out of the splint. So I took its splint off as its legs seemed reasonable, it can walk well. I will check the splints on the other babies tommorow. My concern now is not only the impossibility of a splint staying on the eldest, but also the falling out of the box. I dont think it had been long as the baby was still reasonably warm (it is cold outside). It didnt appear hurt (although im not an expert and the box is a fair distance from the ground), so Ive put it back in the box (after warming him/her up) which Ive now put on the bottom of the cage and moved everything around, much to the annoyance of the mum and dad. Will the mum still know the box is there? I dont have time to hand raise them let alone worry too much about them (doesnt mean i dont care, i just literally dont have alot of time), and so far the mum has looked after them perfectly. Any help would be most appreciated!!!

Thankyou so much for the helpful advice!!! It was only by accident that I came across this page when I was doing a general search about caring for babies. After reading I noticed my 3 little ones had mildly splayed legs, the oldest is 14-16 days old and the youngest is around 8-10 days old. We did the sponge splint for all 3 and in 24hrs they are all walking and sitting nicely in the box instead of flat on their faces. Thankyou!!!! Mum seems happy too, as she has been more than happy to let us take the babies out for a little while every day, and also when I cleaned the box. We just used the round makeup sponges that you use to apply powder/foundation. They were perfect thickness and density, and managed to only need half a sponge for each bird. It doesnt at all look as perfect as the initial photos on here but it appears to of done the job. We didnt use straws or anything to get their legs in the holes, I just poked their foot through while my partner stretched the hole open. Then I was able to pull their legs all the way through, gently of course.