today i am at my uncles house because my parents are working, and he has around 20 budgies that he breeds. One pair had one baby and i had a look at him this morning and halff his feathers have been plucked off of his head wings rump and stomach . Will these feathers grow back? What can i do to help the poor chick???

Thanks to all replies

How old is the chick? Any others in the nest? You can give the mum something else to do by providing millet in the nestbox. If that does nto work, remove mum and let dad continue the feeding

i just had a similar issue happen to me. yes take out the mum IF she is the problem because you dont want the dad left in if he is a plucker do you? ohterwise do you have any fosters you could use? ?

take out the parent who is the problem and see how it goes... if the other parent doesnt feed due to not having the other parent with him then you may have to foster.... and if foster turn's out bad... then your uncle may have to hand-rear it ....otherwise it will starve

Taking the mum out wont work if your uncle is colony breeding these budgies..is he ?

Taking the mum out wont work if your uncle is colony breeding these budgies..is he ?

 

 

my uncle has the birds in a seperate cage. the baby is the only one in the nest and is about 2 and a half weeks old. i dont know who the real plucker is as i dont know the birds as well as my uncle does and hes not the type that looks out for these things so i should say he woulldnnt know either. this one chicked brood is actually probably the 5 th nest the hen and cock have raised and i have told my uncle numerous times before to seperate the birds as its no good for them to keep laying. Also the first nest they had the had about 7 or 8 babies and the last two nests have only given a total of three so now you can get the idea how my uncle doesnt seem to follow keep your bird healthy and keep a good eye on them rules. Please dont get me wrong though he takes very good care of all of them at lets them do what they want. hes a good guy

 

i also noticed to nite the mother wasnt with the baaby inside the nest... will the baby get cold seeing as half its feathers just aint there????

DANIELA

Taking the mum out wont work if your uncle is colony breeding these budgies..is he ?

 

 

my uncle has the birds in a seperate cage. the baby is the only one in the nest and is about 2 and a half weeks old. i dont know who the real plucker is as i dont know the birds as well as my uncle does and hes not the type that looks out for these things so i should say he woulldnnt know either. this one chicked brood is actually probably the 5 th nest the hen and cock have raised and i have told my uncle numerous times before to seperate the birds as its no good for them to keep laying. Also the first nest they had the had about 7 or 8 babies and the last two nests have only given a total of three so now you can get the idea how my uncle doesnt seem to follow keep your bird healthy and keep a good eye on them rules. Please dont get me wrong though he takes very good care of all of them at lets them do what they want. hes a good guy

 

i also noticed to nite the mother wasnt with the baaby inside the nest... will the baby get cold seeing as half its feathers just aint there????

DANIELA

5 clutches is beyond ridiculous really. No wonder the hen isnt acting normally. Your uncle, good guy or not, needs a rocket up his backside and some new knowledge taught to him. He is the cause of his own problems. He puts them in a position with a nestbox and they will literally breed themselves to death. Problems like this are because she is tired and fed up and she isnt up to the task of completing the raising of babies. Over the time she has been raising 5 clutches she most likely has gone out of breeding condition and may have even moulted in the breeding box.

GRRRRRRRRRRR ^_^

very funny kaz..i agree with you..well yuo see my point. full stop . i was telling my uncle today about how "See!??? this is what happens when you leave a pair in for a long time..""excetra

Edited July 17, 200915 yr by CUTE.SPANGLED.BUB

Besides all this, parents often lose interest in single chicks.

Solution ...........remove this chick and foster it into a nest with similar age chicks......either at uncles house or yours.

Remove nestbox and give parents recovery time

they need recovery time alright...the problem is thatmy uncle nor do i have any similar aged chicks (i have only 3 day old ones) i suppose it helps other birds having 267 birds kaz will the feathers grow back?????

will the feathers grow back?????

depends.....on if she has damaged the feather follicles

 

 

and also depends on if she is finshed plucking..............can get a whole lot worse yet

 

and if baby doesnt freeze without being kept warm at night too

 

 

 

A friend of mine had a similar situation....single chick parents lost interest in...I went over and got it and put it in one of my nests and gave it back to her once it had fledged and was independant.

Edited July 17, 200915 yr by KAZ

will the feathers grow back?????

depends.....on if she has damaged the feather follicles

 

 

and also depends on if she is finshed plucking..............can get a whole lot worse yet

 

and if baby doesnt freeze without being kept warm at night too

 

 

 

A friend of mine had a similar situation....single chick parents lost interest in...I went over and got it and put it in one of my nests and gave it back to her once it had fledged and was independant.

 

oh no! i hope the baby doesnt freeze! i had ago at scaring the hen into the nest but it didnt work what are feather foccicles???? you leave me mystified kaz my uncle is upstairs...we are at my house now and ill tell him about it.

oh no! i hope the baby doesnt freeze! i had ago at scaring the hen into the nest but it didnt work what are feather foccicles???? you leave me mystified kaz my uncle is upstairs...we are at my house now and ill tell him about it.

Feather follicles are the base of the feathers....the roots of the feathers just under the skin.

Taking the mum out wont work if your uncle is colony breeding these budgies..is he ?

my uncle has the birds in a seperate cage. the baby is the only one in the nest and is about 2 and a half weeks old. i dont know who the real plucker is as i dont know the birds as well as my uncle does and hes not the type that looks out for these things so i should say he woulldnnt know either. this one chicked brood is actually probably the 5 th nest the hen and cock have raised and i have told my uncle numerous times before to seperate the birds as its no good for them to keep laying. Also the first nest they had the had about 7 or 8 babies and the last two nests have only given a total of three so now you can get the idea how my uncle doesnt seem to follow keep your bird healthy and keep a good eye on them rules. Please dont get me wrong though he takes very good care of all of them at lets them do what they want. hes a good guy i also noticed to nite the mother wasnt with the baaby inside the nest... will the baby get cold seeing as half its feathers just aint there????DANIELA

 

You know this is NOT funny. It's negligent behaviour and simply shameful.

 

From Rob Marshall's book "The Budgerigar" p308:

"Feather plucking in nestlings by the mother is a common occurrence that coincides with the start of a new breeding cycle. The aberrant behaviour is the result of hormonal fluctuations when the mother is preparing to produce the next clutch of eggs without the means to mobilise the required amounts of protein and minerals. Feather plucking may also be a vice for which there is no cure. Irrespective of its cause, feather picking is a sign that the hen is not ready for, and should not be allowed to enter another breeding cycle."

Edited July 17, 200915 yr by renee

Taking the mum out wont work if your uncle is colony breeding these budgies..is he ?

my uncle has the birds in a seperate cage. the baby is the only one in the nest and is about 2 and a half weeks old. i dont know who the real plucker is as i dont know the birds as well as my uncle does and hes not the type that looks out for these things so i should say he woulldnnt know either. this one chicked brood is actually probably the 5 th nest the hen and cock have raised and i have told my uncle numerous times before to seperate the birds as its no good for them to keep laying. Also the first nest they had the had about 7 or 8 babies and the last two nests have only given a total of three so now you can get the idea how my uncle doesnt seem to follow keep your bird healthy and keep a good eye on them rules. Please dont get me wrong though he takes very good care of all of them at lets them do what they want. hes a good guy i also noticed to nite the mother wasnt with the baaby inside the nest... will the baby get cold seeing as half its feathers just aint there????DANIELA

 

You know this is NOT funny. It's negligent behaviour and simply shameful.

 

From Rob Marshall's book "The Budgerigar" p308:

"Feather plucking in nestlings by the mother is a common occurrence that coincides with the start of a new breeding cycle. The aberrant behaviour is the result of hormonal fluctuations when the mother is preparing to produce the next clutch of eggs without the means to mobilise the required amounts of protein and minerals. Feather plucking may also be a vice for which there is no cure. Irrespective of its cause, feather picking is a sign that the hen is not ready for, and should not be allowed to enter another breeding cycle."

 

 

Renee, i know it isnt funny i was laughing at how i agree 5 cluthes is the most pathetic thing i have ever seen and i agree with you but i cant control what my uncle does with his birds. However, i told him about putting the hen and cock to rest eg and he agrees which is good for the birds