I posted pics of Prettys' baby in another post. She is four weeks old, but not yet flying great even though she is a strong wel developed baby. I checked on her yesterday put her back in her box with mum. She was out again today when I got home from work, which is fine, so I checked in on her flying and she still isnt getting a lot of height. I thought I better put her back in again for the evening, tho its not the cold I am worried about, more the possibility she's not feeding herself yet, but she didnt want to go back in the box. I didnt want to make her, as mum might not want her there either. If she's not flying properly, should I have just put her back in anyway? They are in an aviary.

You have to be careful about putting them back in the box. A lot of pet type fledge at 4 weeks and do fine. I put some back in the box if they arent fully feathered yet and the weather is cold. If Mum is trying for round 2 ? she may well attack the baby if you keep putting it back in. Doesnt take them long to learn to fly. Is Mum and Dad or just Dad feeding it still ?

Edited October 16, 200717 yr by KAZ

Yes, that is why I didnt put her back in. I will check on her in the morning, I havent actually seen them feeding her, this father doesnt seem as attentive to her as he is to the mother. I have other babies inside, maybe I will bring her in tomorrow and see if she will feed with them.

Yes, that is why I didnt put her back in. I will check on her in the morning, I havent actually seen them feeding her, this father doesnt seem as attentive to her as he is to the mother. I have other babies inside, maybe I will bring her in tomorrow and see if she will feed with them.

I would bring her inside like you think too :bluebudgie:

Thanks again for your invaluable advice KAZ :bluebudgie:

I brought her in this morning, she is sitting quietly on a perch in a cage with some of my other babies. I made a saucer of lettuce, bokchoy, grated carrot and apple and cut up snow pea sprouts then cut up some millet over it and sprinkled a little bit of seed. At the moment, she is just dozing on the perch, while the others are pigging out. I have to go to work shortly and I worry she wont feed. Is she likely to come down and investigate the food later? I just added lettuce to the mix because I dont think she will drink from the water feeder at this point.

Can anyone help? I havent seen her eat yet, will she get hungry enough to feed herself? She looks old enough to be eating by herself, she is four weeks old.

Feel her crop and check for food. Some of them eat when we arent watching. If no food in the crop you may have to entice her with some warm sloppy budgie starter off a spoon. Check her bottom and see what her poops are like....and feel her keel bone ( chest ) to see if she is well padded across her chest or if she feels bony and skinny.................some chicks go into a "depression" and dont eat. I often crop feed the slow starters until they figure out how to "graze" for seeds. Crop feeding is something anyone who plans on breeding should learn to do. It saves many lives and helps with medicating birds. Let us know how she gets on

They are always a bit slow at first & sit around sleeping lots, in my experience.

Yes she does seem to be sleeping a lot. I gave her some hand rearing food last night, that is as close as I have to budgie starter and her crop felt full. I do have a crop needle, but I havent had anyone show me properly how to use it yet, and I dont want to attempt it on my own for the first time. My son saw her forgaging on the floor of the cage this morning, so once again I have put down the veggies sprinkled with seed and millet and I think I will try and give her another hand feeding this morning, but I think she will do okay I also just put a small amount of seed on the floor of the cage so she doesnt have to try to use a feeder yet.

I just fed her a little and put her back in the cage and the other babies I have in the cage are foraging, so she is now eating seed off the floor with them

Maybe she just needed an appetite starter this morning

Putting food on the floor is a good idea, as mostly that is where they start looking for it & then later they realise the dish has better supplies. If she has food in her crop that she has eaten herself, I would just leave it, as sometimes artificial feeding can cause more trouble than good. I definatily wouldn't use a crop needle without training, as the food can be put into the lungs, which is fatal. I have never tried those things myself even though I have kept birds most of my life. Only a few don't make it & if they don't have natural abilities, even though it's sad to loose any, I think in the long run you are better off without them.

I wont be feeding her myself now that Ive seen her eat and I agree with what you have said about the crop needle also. She was the only baby out of a clutch from a large strong mother, so she is very healthy and strong (and pretty hehe). She has eaten off the floor now and is happily preening. I dont think it will be long til she starts trying the veggies as the other babies in the same cage love it when I put the plate down for them

Thanks again for the advice, it really is appreciated

All looks good Sunnie I also only use the crop needle if I absolutely have to. Definitely something that must be shown how to use as too many things can go wrong if you dont know how.

Foraging on the floor is what my young ones do. I have a kindie cage with shallow flat trays for their food and seed cups higher up for those that like to perch and fly