Hello everyone,

 

I am in a bit of a tither atm....yesterday one of my budgies layed an egg, which was eaten by my quails. This afternoon I checked on them in the aviary and there was another egg in the corner. I gently picked it up and took it inside and its in front of a lamp. Should I have left it in the aviary wrapped up in a towel? I am not sure if the mother (not sure who has layed) will look after it, or if she has more to lay....should I place it back in the aviary up a little higher off the ground so the quails can't get it?

Thankyou for the help, Kristy

 

P.s never had eggs from my birds until yesterday.

Id place it a bit higher so those quails don't eat it, but not too high either. Even if the mother/father finds it, they cannot do anything with it.

 

Did you put breeding boxes in or is it an "accidental breed"

Could all so by infertile.

Yeah

Hold the egg up to a light

If you can see anything in it it's fertile

If you don't it's infertile

 

Also consider getting rid of it if there was anything it would have gotten too cold. My friends have thrown away eggs a few days old as at this time there isn't anything in them.

 

If you are not ready to deal with chicks, reconsider your options

A newly laid egg wont show as being fertile yet anyway. It needs to be around 5-6 days old.

 

BUT also no newly laid egg needs to be kept warm. The budgie Mums dont usually incubate till they have 3 or 4 eggs. Eggs can be put aside and kept non incubated for a week to ten days or so with no harm done.

 

Take note Taylor and Pride

Edited August 2, 201113 yr by **KAZ**

Thankyou to everyone for your replies. I had another look at the egg this morning, and did a search on quail and budgie eggs, and I am pretty sure it is actually a quail egg. This was a surprise as I thought all four of my quails were male lol. I don't know what the first egg was (broken one) but the intact one has little tiny light brown spots all over it, its a little pointed at one end, and slightly off colour looking. Do budgie eggs look like this? Because from what I saw on my search, budgie eggs are white and more rounded.

Okay back to the past:

About a week ago I put some new drift wood and a nice hollow log in the aviary up in the fork of some branches. I didn't even really think about the fact that they might use the hollow log as a breeding area, just somewhere to play in, but a few days later I noticed a few of the girls getting very bitchy around it, and the males were egging it all on lol, and then I realized they all are fighting over it as a nesting area. I took the log out straight away, then the next morning that was when the first egg was broken on the ground. Not knowing what to do I put the log back in, in case there was more eggs to be layed. Checked again next morning, found nothing but bitchy girls around the log again so I took it out and it hasn't been back in since. After that I went to work and when I got home in the afternoon, there was the second egg on the ground, so took it out and put it in front of the lamp. I went into the aviary and checked on the birds a few hours later (night time) as I usually do (check their vents and so forth because they stay still a lot more at night) and I noticed Homer, my girl budgie, is missing feathers around her vent. I picked her up and checked her out, and when I put her down she started pushing, I looked at her vent with a torch and there was a little blood and the impression of an egg like shape and a sort of slit in her skin. I got all excited and went and set up a separate cage for her. I put her, the log, and her mate in there and they have been in the house since last night. Checked on her this morning, no egg, but she was still sitting in the log. Took them outside and she has been pushing a lot but still no egg, but its quite red and ucky down there. Is that normal? I think she is nervous because I am hovering around a lot and making sure things are okay. I brought some cuttlefish on last weekend (31st July) put it in the aviary they have all pretty much devoured it, but the left overs are now with Homer. I am hoping she has enough calcium and strength to get her egg out. Her partner is excited, he is feeding her, grooming her, tweeting to her, but she seems very tired. She squeaks when she pushes, is that normal either? She has never been pregnant before.

As for the quail egg I put it in the aviary this morning too, the quails were hovering over it, trying to sit on it, so I am not sure what will happen with it either

I am not sure if I am making the right decisions at all, I'm nervous and worried I am doing something wrong, or not enough, I have never had a pregnant budgie or quail.

Kaz I read one of your posts last night about breeding, eggs etc and it was of help, but it still doesn't ease my nervousness. I have had Homer a long time, I am just worried for her.

 

Also, forgot to add, her poo is quite abnormal as well, dark, runny and mucus like, normal or not?

I was thinking, I have some good hand rearing formula from the vet, lots of nutrients etc, does anyone think I should crop feed her some of this to keep her strength up? Or is it too much added stress for her being handled? She is eating seed though. If not the formula, should I keep their veges up?

Thankyou, really, for every ones advice and help so far, I very much appreciate being able to talk to people who know about budgies.

It is a quail egg.....we have quails. Usually they lay eggs all over the place and when they have the right number ( ours like to have 8 ) they roll them together into a nesting spot and sit on them

Its easy to tell the difference between a male and female quail as a male has markings called a bib on its head ( around throat area ) .

 

Budgies dont have pregnancies...they just form one egg at a time and send it out. Your hen may be eggbound, so she needs warmth and calcium, and a vet if you arent confident about treating her as they can die quickly from eggbinding. Runny poo is normal for egglaying but dark isnt. She may need to go to an avian vet.

Edited August 3, 201113 yr by **KAZ**

I took her to the vet this afternoon. It is not good. She hasn't passed the egg, it looks as though its in the abdominal area. She is staying there at the vet (Brisbane Bird Vet) overnight, and is getting pain killers and calcium to try and help her pass the egg. If she hasn't passed the egg by tomorrow morning the vet said she will have to have an operation that will cost between 500-600 without today's consult. I started crying at the vet, I am not sure I will be able to pay for the operation if she doesn't pass it. I am so torn, I feel as though its all my fault, I have had her so long. I'm so upset, I am really really hoping she can pass the egg, but the vet said it is unlikely. This episode has really made me think about weather I want to bread them or not. Things don't always go wrong, but if they did I wouldn't be able to pay for them to get expensive help, and that's not fair to them. I am seriously thinking of just enjoying them as is (which I do very much), without breeding them.

I hope she gets better.

How old is your hen Kristy ?

Thats not good.

 

But not blame yourself, you didn't know they would take so much interest in the hollow log, it wasn't intentional

But in the wild that is what budgies use to nest, so I think their natural instinct just took over.

I would not put that back in as hens can kill each other over a nesting spot.

 

Try getting some shell grit to put in a dish in the aviary to help with calcium.

This is probably a sign that your birds are not getting enough.

If you deal with it now, then if another hen thinks its a good idea to lay an egg she'll be stocked up

 

Again I'm really sorry about your hen, it is upsetting when things like this happen

(I had two hens die within a week of each other not long ago)

But They always provide a learning curve for us.

Hello everyone.

Kaz I am not sure how old Homer is, but I know I have had her quite a number of years. I rang the vet this morning and she had passed the egg during the night :D .... I was very relieved. I went and got her this afternoon, she is on calcium for 3 weeks, and Baytril and Metacam for a week. I am so glad she is okay so far, she is bleeding a bit but the vet said that's normal as she has strained a lot trying to pass the egg. It was soft shelled, so she was and is deficient in calcium.

The vet spoke to me about crumbles and I brought some, but honestly, it is a very expensive food product, 10kg is around $60 dollars, and I buy seed in 20 kgs so basically $120 for 20 kgs crumbles. My 33 budgies would go through that SOOO quick. I can not see why giving them cuttlefish (bone), shell grit, lots of vegetables and less fattening seeds is not a good diet for them, as this is what they eat in the wild, not some fancy brought food. I mean no offence to those who buy it by the way, I just want to know your opinions, and what you guys feed your birds.

I honestly know I have to work better on giving them vegetables everyday as well, not 1-3 times a week.

 

I just had a thought. If I can get them starting to eat crumbles I can still buy seeds, and buy say 4kg of crumbles and mix them in with the 20 kg of seed. That way they are getting seeds, crumbles, vegetables, cuttlefish, shellgrit. is this an okay idea? And what seeds are fattening and should be avoided?

 

Or I could alternate? 4 days seed, 3 days crumbles, everyday vegetables?

Edited August 4, 201113 yr by Kristy123

That is so good to hear kristy.

OH I am sooo pleased Homer is okay. My heart was in my mouth for her. She is very very lucky. I haven't had an eggbound bird, but I am sooo nervous about it.

 

My budgies get lots of fresh seeded grass heads I pick in the park (make sure there is no evidence of spraying). I give them a good wash and they just go insane over them. They are free and so good for them. I don't have much money either, but there are lots of alternatives to expensive foods. I buy a big bulk bag of cuttlefish and a bag of grit from the produce store, it is a much cheaper way to buy it. The girls will just chomp it to pieces when they are going into season. I so know what you mean about bitchy girls. When mine were starting to go into season they were bickering non stop with each other and giving the non partner males what for if they even looked sideways at them! Cranky pants city They settled right down when I moved the pairs into cabinets. I would never to colony breeding again, hens can be just brutal to each other. We colony bred at a kid, and I can remember some awful things happening to chicks by other hens, even when there were spare nesting boxes available.

 

I give them the best quality seed I can and top them up every day with grass seeds, fresh vegie odds and ends, unsalted popcorn, and gum leaves. They LOVE the gum leaves and celery tops. I have bought a big bag of very expensive breeder pellets but none of mine are terribly interested in them. If I put fresh food in they are hanging of the cage walls yelling at me to hurry up and hang it up. I use one of those "fruit skewer" treat holder things from the pet store. It's like a metal kebab with a screw on end and a clip to put on the cage bars. I load it up with vegies and corn and apple bits, whatever is going in the scrap bin that day they get a bit of. Now I have babies and pairs with eggs I give them egg and biscuit mixed with warm water in the morning. They absolutely guts it down. I make sure I take it out at the end of the day as I worry about the egg bit going off. You can get a big bag for about $7 at the produce store where I go. So far they've been having it every day for about 6 weeks. You don't need that much and they never seem to finish the dish so I know I'm putting out enough.

 

We all make errors. You have to treat them as teaching moments or it can really upset you. It's not that you intentionally do things to hurt your birds, but stuff WILL happen. Learn from it and do it differently next time. I think your decision to think long about if you really want to breed is very wise. I have two pairs now with babies, and one pair on eggs. I haven't bred for a long time and I had forgotten what a lot of work it is. I am loving it, and my daughter does it with me, but I would be happy just loving them as gorgeous little friends too as you do.

 

I had to laugh at your egg dilemma. I too have quails. It can be confusing if you've never seen a budgie egg before. The quails were probably indignant that you took their egg! LOL. You can hear them muttering about rude humans!!!!

Hello everyone.

Kaz I am not sure how old Homer is, but I know I have had her quite a number of years. I rang the vet this morning and she had passed the egg during the night :D .... I was very relieved. I went and got her this afternoon, she is on calcium for 3 weeks, and Baytril and Metacam for a week. I am so glad she is okay so far, she is bleeding a bit but the vet said that's normal as she has strained a lot trying to pass the egg. It was soft shelled, so she was and is deficient in calcium.

The vet spoke to me about crumbles and I brought some, but honestly, it is a very expensive food product, 10kg is around $60 dollars, and I buy seed in 20 kgs so basically $120 for 20 kgs crumbles. My 33 budgies would go through that SOOO quick. I can not see why giving them cuttlefish (bone), shell grit, lots of vegetables and less fattening seeds is not a good diet for them, as this is what they eat in the wild, not some fancy brought food. I mean no offence to those who buy it by the way, I just want to know your opinions, and what you guys feed your birds.

I honestly know I have to work better on giving them vegetables everyday as well, not 1-3 times a week.

 

I just had a thought. If I can get them starting to eat crumbles I can still buy seeds, and buy say 4kg of crumbles and mix them in with the 20 kg of seed. That way they are getting seeds, crumbles, vegetables, cuttlefish, shellgrit. is this an okay idea? And what seeds are fattening and should be avoided?

 

Or I could alternate? 4 days seed, 3 days crumbles, everyday vegetables?

 

These crumbles you are talking about, are they pellets? Or are they a crumbled egg-biscuit type food?

 

Either way, I would not hold back giving them seeds every day. If you gave seeds 4 days and crumbles 3 days, and they decide they don't like the crumbles, you will be effectively starving them on the 3 days per week.

 

If your hen (or any of your other birds, for that matter) is deficient in calcium, I would consider giving a liquid calcium supplement in their water, like Calcivet. I would also give a vitamin D3 supplement, because if they are deficient in Vit D, then they can't absorb calcium properly.

 

Another fairly inexpensive way to boost calcium intake is to make a homemade egg-biscuit mix. I haven't worked out how much it costs me to make mine, but I'm sure it's a lot less than $60 for 10kg. There's a thread around here somewhere with egg-biscuit recipes, I'll go see if I can get a link for you.

 

Here is a link to the FAQs area with a whole lot of recipes listed: Recipes

Thankyou to everyone on Homer's well wishes, she is doing pretty good. A few days ago she was looking very tired and unhappy, but she has perked up more now, eating well and I sit her in the sun for a bit each day. Also been crop feeding her hand rearing formula at night, just 2mls so she can sleep with a full tummy

I forgot to mention she is having hormone injections too, she got one at the vet, another one today and then one more next week. It helps her to stop cycling for awhile so she doesnt produce eggs, which is good.

 

Moglet you have a good sense of humour lol, I had a laugh at a few things you said lol. The quail egg that was in there got crushed somehow, but she has two more now, laid them on the weekend in a corner of the aviary and she has been faithfully sitting on them haha. Wondering weather I will see baby quails anytime soon lol. I noticed you live in Brisbane, where do you get your bulk cuttlefish from, like which produce? Is it a big bag? With the grass seeds I used to mix seeds into potting mix and grow them but I stopped doing it, will have to get back into that as well.

 

Finnie I saw calcivet Monday when I brought more seed for the birds, might look at getting it with next weeks pay. I brought a 'bulk' which didn't turn out to be 'bulk' cuttlefish bag for $5 haha but I got it anyway because they were out of that too. Also brought two bags of shell grit, so they now have three bags which should be okay for awhile.

 

20kg Panicum seeds.

7kg Red Panicum seeds.

4.5kg White Millet.

1kg Canary Seed (to see if they eat it)

 

This is the seeds I mixed together yesterday, and today I will go get some more white millet and canary seeds. A few of my birds eat sunflower seeds too, but are they fatty? If they are I will cut them out, I've cut oats out now, there are a another few of my birds (fat ones) that eat so many oats. Is there anything else I can mix with the seeds I have that are not fatty?? I am wanting to balance it some more, like try and get even amounts of each seed, but I will need to buy another storage bin to mix and store lol. I am going to make Kaz's homemade egg and biscuit recipe off that website, it looks really good, hoping the birds will eat it in time....stubborn blobs lol.

Ive probably asked this at some point but cant remember, but is cabbage okay for budgies? Mum asked me if I wanted some for them and I dont know if they can eat it.

 

Oh and the stuff I brought from the vet is a 450g packet of Vetafarm 'Finch & Budgie Crumbles'....it stinks!!! I tired it on the birds for three days, with only a limited amount of seed too and they were all so hungry, I felt bad, I just can't do that, it doesn't seem right to practically starve them into eating something they dont want and something that is artificial.

 

 

Edited August 10, 201113 yr by Kristy123

A newly laid egg wont show as being fertile yet anyway. It needs to be around 5-6 days old.

 

BUT also no newly laid egg needs to be kept warm. The budgie Mums dont usually incubate till they have 3 or 4 eggs. Eggs can be put aside and kept non incubated for a week to ten days or so with no harm done.

 

Take note Taylor and Pride

Thanks Kaz!

looks like homers on the right track to recovery kristy