Hello, my name is Patti and I am new to this site. My family consists of myself, my 22 year old son, 2 dogs and 6 birds. I have 4 budgies, 2 males, PJ and Axle and 2 females, TJ and Skylar, an English budgie, Pudgie and a cockatiel, Cozmo. I have been an animal lover for as long as I can remember. For the past 20 some years I have always had birds, I just love them.

 

I had all 4 budgies in the same cage and they all got along wonderfully until PJ & TJ started to mate. Skylar became mean and started to seriously fight with TJ, to the point I had to remove her from the cage. She is now in a cage by herself next to Pudgie, my English Budgie...she is now doing great.

 

In December TJ started to lay eggs. The first two eggs she laid in her food dish. I did not realize this until I noticed her kicking her food out of the dish. (I have more than one dish in the cage, I have two dishes and one tube feeder). Once I realized she was laying eggs I had called a local pet store in the neighborhood to find out what I should do. He advised me to come in and purchase a nesting box, which I did. He also told me that I could put the two eggs in the nesting box, which I did. I was not able to attach the box to the outside of the cage, I had to get one that I was able to put on the floor of the cage, which there was more than enough room in the cage for it. When mommy bird went inside the nesting box, she had kicked out the eggs and destroyed them. Two weeks later she had gone back in the nesting box and had laid a total of 4 more eggs. The first egg hatched New Years day, actually 10 minutes after midnight. I thought what a wonderful way to start the new year. Unfortunately the chick died a day later. When I took the dead chick out of the nesting box I could tell that her crop was full. On the 3rd of January the second egg hatched. I checked to make sure that the chick was being fed, and she was. The chick is doing great, and growing amazingly fast. On the 5th of January the 3rd egg hatched, and again unfortunately this chick did not survive, she died today. The larger chick was laying on top of her and I could tell she was not moving. When I removed the chick from the box, her crop was practically empty. There is one egg left to hatch. Is there anything I can do to help the chick once the egg hatches?

 

I am a bit concerned why the 2 chicks did not survive. Mom is 4 years old and as far as I can tell, she is a good mom. But I must add that this is her first clutch. She spends 95% of her time in the nesting box and will only come out to stretch and eat. Daddy is feeding mom and will even go in the box to help her. She is even letting the other male, Axle, feed her. She will let Axle sit on the perch that is attached to the nesting box. Both males get along great.

 

I make sure there is plenty of food and fresh water in the cage. Besides their regular bird seed I also feed them fresh greens, dried fruit and nuts, millet and boiled egg crushed with the shell on. Should I be supplementing with other foods besides what I am giving them?

 

I am concerned about this last egg that will hatch soon. I know that mom is feeding the older chick because her crop is always full. Could it be that there was something wrong with the chicks that died?

 

I love my birds and try my best to do everything to make them happy and healthy. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?

There are a whole lot of things wrong with this scenario, from putting the nestbox on the ground, to leaving the other male in the cage with the breeding pair.

 

I am not sure what is wrong specifically, causing the babies to die, however not to be the bearer of bad news, but when you start down the wrong path, a lot of things have the potential to go wrong, leading to the loss of young ones.

 

I am sorry the babies are not surviving and I cannot provide specific information. Hopefully someone will come on here and be more useful. I wish you the very best of luck with the remaining chick and egg.

I am concerned about this last egg that will hatch soon. I know that mom is feeding the older chick because her crop is always full. Could it be that there was something wrong with the chicks that died?

 

I love my birds and try my best to do everything to make them happy and healthy. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?

Hi Patti and Welcome to the BBC! :emoticon112:

I would suggest you do some reading in the Breeding forums, there are plenty of topics that deal with the Dos and Don'ts of Budgie breeding. Don't feel too badly - this is your first time as a "breeder" and it can be challenging for the experienced as well.

 

Sometimes baby chicks do not survive, it is more often due to an infection passed on by the mother hen or caught in the nest box.

 

Further reading should help, please feel free to post more questions once you have had a look.

There are a whole lot of things wrong with this scenario, from putting the nestbox on the ground, to leaving the other male in the cage with the breeding pair.

 

I am not sure what is wrong specifically, causing the babies to die, however not to be the bearer of bad news, but when you start down the wrong path, a lot of things have the potential to go wrong, leading to the loss of young ones.

 

I am sorry the babies are not surviving and I cannot provide specific information. Hopefully someone will come on here and be more useful. I wish you the very best of luck with the remaining chick and egg.

 

Thank you Dave for responding to my post. I wish I would have know about this site a long time ago. I would never intentionally jeopardize the health of my birds. I was obviously given wrong information, not from anyone on this site, about letting the other male stay in the cage with the mating pair. It was actually at one of our local pet stores here that sell birds that told me that I needed 2 males and 2 females in order for them to mate. I was also told that it was okay to keep the birds in the same cage as long as they got along. The nesting box that I was told to purchase had no way of being attached to the outside of the cage. I don't want to sound dumb, but are there certain cages specifically for breeding? Once the chick is weaned, I really don't want to separate TJ and PJ because they are so bonded. But I surely do not want them to keep mating if I am doing something wrong. I guess I am at a loss for what I should do.

Just for starters:

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=16778

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=13182

:emoticon112:

I am concerned about this last egg that will hatch soon. I know that mom is feeding the older chick because her crop is always full. Could it be that there was something wrong with the chicks that died?

 

I love my birds and try my best to do everything to make them happy and healthy. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?

Hi Patti and Welcome to the BBC! :emoticon112:

I would suggest you do some reading in the Breeding forums, there are plenty of topics that deal with the Dos and Don'ts of Budgie breeding. Don't feel too badly - this is your first time as a "breeder" and it can be challenging for the experienced as well.

 

Sometimes baby chicks do not survive, it is more often due to an infection passed on by the mother hen or caught in the nest box.

 

Further reading should help, please feel free to post more questions once you have had a look.

 

Thank you Rene, I will definitely check out the forums and do as much research as needed to hopefully prevent this from happening again. The chick that is surviving really is doing quite well and growing like a weed. I am amazed at how quickly it is growing.

Hello, my name is Patti and I am new to this site. My family consists of myself, my 22 year old son, 2 dogs and 6 birds. I have 4 budgies, 2 males, PJ and Axle and 2 females, TJ and Skylar, an English budgie, Pudgie and a cockatiel, Cozmo. I have been an animal lover for as long as I can remember. For the past 20 some years I have always had birds, I just love them.

 

I had all 4 budgies in the same cage and they all got along wonderfully until PJ & TJ started to mate. Skylar became mean and started to seriously fight with TJ, to the point I had to remove her from the cage. She is now in a cage by herself next to Pudgie, my English Budgie...she is now doing great.

 

In December TJ started to lay eggs. The first two eggs she laid in her food dish. I did not realize this until I noticed her kicking her food out of the dish. (I have more than one dish in the cage, I have two dishes and one tube feeder). Once I realized she was laying eggs I had called a local pet store in the neighborhood to find out what I should do. He advised me to come in and purchase a nesting box, which I did.

This is not good advice......and in most cases its advised by petshop staff based on what they can sell you. Also a lot of advice will be given without a care in the world for asking the ages of the birds.

 

He also told me that I could put the two eggs in the nesting box, which I did.

Again BAD ADVICE....as in most cases the female will see a new nestbox and go in to "clean it out" ready for egg laying. Anything inside the nestbox is usually thrown out or destroyed and she would in most cases not recognise the eggs as hers. Normal practice for them to throw out the eggs in this case.

 

 

I was not able to attach the box to the outside of the cage, I had to get one that I was able to put on the floor of the cage, which there was more than enough room in the cage for it. When mommy bird went inside the nesting box, she had kicked out the eggs and destroyed them.

See above

 

Two weeks later she had gone back in the nesting box and had laid a total of 4 more eggs.

The first egg hatched New Years day, actually 10 minutes after midnight. I thought what a wonderful way to start the new year. Unfortunately the chick died a day later. When I took the dead chick out of the nesting box I could tell that her crop was full.

Crop may have been full but perhaps Mum hadnt produced crop milk. Some inexperienced Mums feed the wrong consistency formula to the babies and cause a blockage and they choke on it and die.

On the 3rd of January the second egg hatched. I checked to make sure that the chick was being fed, and she was. The chick is doing great, and growing amazingly fast.

Mum budgie has learnt how to feed at this point.

On the 5th of January the 3rd egg hatched, and again unfortunately this chick did not survive, she died today. The larger chick was laying on top of her and I could tell she was not moving. When I removed the chick from the box, her crop was practically empty. Maybe Mum still having feeding issues

There is one egg left to hatch. Is there anything I can do to help the chick once the egg hatches? Watch for signs of food in crop. If none within half a day, prepare to give it its first feed yourself and put back under the mother

 

I am a bit concerned why the 2 chicks did not survive. Mom is 4 years old ( at the end of a safe breeding age in most cases ) and as far as I can tell, she is a good mom. But I must add that this is her first clutch. She spends 95% of her time in the nesting box and will only come out to stretch and eat. Daddy is feeding mom and will even go in the box to help her. She is even letting the other male, Axle, feed her. She will let Axle sit on the perch that is attached to the nesting box. Both males get along great.

Axle should be removed from the cage

I make sure there is plenty of food and fresh water in the cage. Besides their regular bird seed I also feed them fresh greens, dried fruit and nuts, dried fruit has sulphides in the production...no need for dried fruits unless you can be sure they are natural. millet and boiled egg crushed with the shell on. Should I be supplementing with other foods besides what I am giving them?

 

I am concerned about this last egg that will hatch soon. I know that mom is feeding the older chick because her crop is always full. Could it be that there was something wrong with the chicks that died? Maybe, sometimes when we have hot weather the water can go very sour very quickly and get bacteria developing in it...or souring from food contamination also..........this will kill chicks. Also if you see signs of yellowing on the chicks belly it can be a sign of an early hatching or a bacterial infection that will kill them in most cases.

I love my birds and try my best to do everything to make them happy and healthy. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?

 

 

 

Try reading this article http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...&artlang=en it may help

 

 

and :emoticon112:

Edited January 8, 201015 yr by KAZ

Hello, my name is Patti and I am new to this site. My family consists of myself, my 22 year old son, 2 dogs and 6 birds. I have 4 budgies, 2 males, PJ and Axle and 2 females, TJ and Skylar, an English budgie, Pudgie and a cockatiel, Cozmo. I have been an animal lover for as long as I can remember. For the past 20 some years I have always had birds, I just love them.

 

I had all 4 budgies in the same cage and they all got along wonderfully until PJ & TJ started to mate. Skylar became mean and started to seriously fight with TJ, to the point I had to remove her from the cage. She is now in a cage by herself next to Pudgie, my English Budgie...she is now doing great.

 

In December TJ started to lay eggs. The first two eggs she laid in her food dish. I did not realize this until I noticed her kicking her food out of the dish. (I have more than one dish in the cage, I have two dishes and one tube feeder). Once I realized she was laying eggs I had called a local pet store in the neighborhood to find out what I should do. He advised me to come in and purchase a nesting box, which I did.

This is not good advice......and in most cases its advised by petshop staff based on what they can sell you. Also a lot of advice will be given without a care in the world for asking the ages of the birds.

 

He also told me that I could put the two eggs in the nesting box, which I did.

Again BAD ADVICE....as in most cases the female will see a new nestbox and go in to "clean it out" ready for egg laying. Anything inside the nestbox is usually thrown out or destroyed and she would in most cases not recognise the eggs as hers. Normal practice for them to throw out the eggs in this case.

 

 

I was not able to attach the box to the outside of the cage, I had to get one that I was able to put on the floor of the cage, which there was more than enough room in the cage for it. When mommy bird went inside the nesting box, she had kicked out the eggs and destroyed them.

See above

 

Two weeks later she had gone back in the nesting box and had laid a total of 4 more eggs.

The first egg hatched New Years day, actually 10 minutes after midnight. I thought what a wonderful way to start the new year. Unfortunately the chick died a day later. When I took the dead chick out of the nesting box I could tell that her crop was full.

Crop may have been full but perhaps Mum hadnt produced crop milk. Some inexperienced Mums feed the wrong consistency formula to the babies and cause a blockage and they choke on it and die.

On the 3rd of January the second egg hatched. I checked to make sure that the chick was being fed, and she was. The chick is doing great, and growing amazingly fast.

Mum budgie has learnt how to feed at this point.

On the 5th of January the 3rd egg hatched, and again unfortunately this chick did not survive, she died today. The larger chick was laying on top of her and I could tell she was not moving. When I removed the chick from the box, her crop was practically empty. Maybe Mum still having feeding issues

There is one egg left to hatch. Is there anything I can do to help the chick once the egg hatches? Watch for signs of food in crop. If none within half a day, prepare to give it its first feed yourself and put back under the mother

 

I am a bit concerned why the 2 chicks did not survive. Mom is 4 years old ( at the end of a safe breeding age in most cases ) and as far as I can tell, she is a good mom. But I must add that this is her first clutch. She spends 95% of her time in the nesting box and will only come out to stretch and eat. Daddy is feeding mom and will even go in the box to help her. She is even letting the other male, Axle, feed her. She will let Axle sit on the perch that is attached to the nesting box. Both males get along great.

Axle should be removed from the cage

I make sure there is plenty of food and fresh water in the cage. Besides their regular bird seed I also feed them fresh greens, dried fruit and nuts, dried fruit has sulphides in the production...no need for dried fruits unless you can be sure they are natural. millet and boiled egg crushed with the shell on. Should I be supplementing with other foods besides what I am giving them?

 

I am concerned about this last egg that will hatch soon. I know that mom is feeding the older chick because her crop is always full. Could it be that there was something wrong with the chicks that died? Maybe, sometimes when we have hot weather the water can go very sour very quickly and get bacteria developing in it...or souring from food contamination also..........this will kill chicks. Also if you see signs of yellowing on the chicks belly it can be a sign of an early hatching or a bacterial infection that will kill them in most cases.

I love my birds and try my best to do everything to make them happy and healthy. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?

 

 

 

Try reading this article http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...&artlang=en it may help

 

 

and :emoticon112:

 

Thank you so much for all this information. I am definitely going to do as much research as possible. I definitely do not want this to happen again...I really feel bad. I do make sure that their food dishes are cleaned daily and they are given fresh water daily. I do not leave any fresh food in their cage for a long period of time, I am afraid it will spoil. Their cage is cleaned on a regular basis. I use cracked corn on the bottom of the cages, is this okay for the birds?

 

I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA and right now it is winter and cold. I was surprised when TJ and PJ were mating because I remember reading that they will breed in the spring. They have actually been together for two years and never mated in the past. Actually TJ, PJ and Axle have been together for two years. Skylar, the other female that was in the cage with them, had only been with them for the past year. Once she became mean and fighting with TJ, (when TJ and PJ were mating) I took her out of the cage. I will have to get another cage to put Axle in. I definitely do not want to put him in with Skylar. Skylar is laying eggs, of course they are not fertile, I do not need Axle and Skylar to mate now. At least not now, not until I am sure of what I am doing. I love my birds and do not want to do anything that will hurt them.

Hi and welcome...

 

Budgies will breed if they feel the conditions are suitable and of they have somewhere to nest. It sounds like you look after them well, so plenty of food and water and light. You also added a nest box which created 'somewhere' to nest. If you were to leave the nest box in the cage, they'll continue to breed, regardless of the 'month or season'.

 

Due to the age of your hen, my personal suggestion would be to let her finish raising her chick (and second one if it hatches and survives) and then I would remove the nest box. Sometimes they do lay eggs of the perch, but this will stop and you disgard them. I'd remove the other male (if not already done), maybe he could live with his female friend. If you were interested in breeding, which can be wonderful if done correctly (although things do go wrong even for the most experienced), I'd look at getting some younger birds. They must be over 12mths to breed though.

 

Please don't beat yourself up. You seeked advice but were just given the wrong ones. We also all started somewhere. This forum is brilliant and I have leant so much here.

 

Good luck, ask anything you need, and please keep us updated.

You have been given lots to chew on.

I just wanted to add, that if you want to avoid buying yet another cage, you could house someone in with your "English" budgie, Pudgie. 2 females will often get along just fine, so you could try it.

Or, if Skylar is laying infertile eggs that you already throw away, you could put Axel in with her, and still throw away any new eggs. Maybe with no nest box, they will not breed, after all.

Or, Axel could go with Pudgie. Again, with no nest box, maybe there will be no breeding. It's just a thought. Maybe you want an extra cage, anyway :fear

 

In which case, pet stores usually have poor choices as far as size for budgies and bar spacing. Here is a link to one I ordered online and am very happy with. They do sell the same cage in their store, but it is usually available for cheaper (even with Postage) online. Dome Habitat

(Wow, it is even cheaper this year than it was when I got mine, and shipping is free right now!! I wonder if my husband would be mad if I bought myself an unneccesary cage?)

 

Oh, and before I forget, Welcome!!

Edited January 8, 201015 yr by Finnie