My baby budgies are now 3 weeks old and the mother seems to have lost interest in them. She rarely goes into the box (even at night) and their crops are almost empty every time I check on them. They are my fist babies should i be worried?

The mothers stop going in the nest at night once they feather up.; As far as crops being full./its the DADS that are the main feeders from the age of 2 wks so its the dad letting the side down here right now not the mother.

Are you providing soft foods for them everyday to accomodate the growing needs of the babies ?

Sounds like my husband, the kids want something and he is nowhere to be found. I give them fresh egg & biscuit 3 times a day. Should they be having anything else? He goes in the box less than she does, he never has even when she was on the eggs she would come to him for a feed.

Hi Nadine. How do the chicks look , ie listless or healthy If may help you if you get a cheap set of scales.

 

So you can monitor the chicks weight. Then you'll know whether to worry or not. Yours B. J.

Thanks B.J.

 

They look good. I think they are getting fed but only small amounts by they hen and the loudest (which is the youngest) is getting the most. I will weigh them in the morning and keep and eye on them.

 

I do have hand rearing food if I absolutely have to.

Are the chicks fully feathered Nadene? If so maybe you could put them in a container on floor of cage with seed in it, to see if they are starting to feed themselves. Also may encourage parents to feed more. Mum may be thinking of laying again as well. If not ready to leave nest, try Kaz's trick of taking all nest material out and replace it with seed that will encourage them to pick around at seed as well.

Thanks Robyn, this is what they look like

 

 

They do nible the oats on the floor. I was wondering if the are too small for the igloo that Kaz makes out of an icecream container with seed on the floor?

Lovely chicks Nadene, at that stage they still need to be in nest box. Add a bit of normal seed as well as your oats for them to try.

Looking at picture I really don't think there is a big problem they look about normal for their age to me. Parents may be feeding them little and often, they don't have "stuffed crops" like when they are just hatched.

If they aren't constantly calling for food I'd say they are okay. See what others think, the pics help a lot with an idea of how things are going.

How are they coming along, Nadene?

Hi Finnie, they are great. They started to put on weight after about 2 days, and now you can tell they are being fed again. They now look like this

 

is this a boy?

 

I still can't believe how fast they grow, it is amazing

Edited March 27, 201213 yr by Nadene

Hi Finnie, they are great. They started to put on weight after about 2 days, and now you can tell they are being fed again. They now look like this

 

is this a boy? Definitely!

 

I still can't believe how fast they grow, it is amazing

 

 

They look good. Glad they are doing well. I'm sure they are learning to eat on their own. Is the mother a cinnamon opaline?

Sorry Finnie I'm not very good with colours and genetics, I try to read them but then i feel like a idiot for understanding them. She is cinnamon, here are some pics (maybe you could tell me what she is?)

 

 

 

 

All I know is I think she is beautiful ; )

Hi. Mums a recessive pied . See, all that worry for nothing. The babies are beautiful. Wot's Dad like? Yours B.J.

Thanks B.J. I worried because I have had 4 chicks hatch and only 2 have survived and there is no harm in asking if you don't know something, that's why I love this forum . Dad looks like this

 

 

 

Is that dad an opaline? The hue of the photo makes his wings look blue, but his bars look normal.

 

IF he is opaline, then your non opaline chick is a boy and your opaline chick is a girl.

 

 

Do you have a photo of his back?

His wing are blue Finnie. This is the best back shot I can get.

 

 

That's amazing I am sure it's a girl but I could be wrong

 

 

He doesn't look opaline to me, his markings look normal. Maybe his wings are blue due to what they call "opalescence".

 

Well, he must be at least split to opaline in order to produce an opaline chick. And the only way an opaline chick can be a boy is if the mother is also an opaline. But I couldn't tell about her, becasue she has so few markings at all. The faint ones on her head look a little bit like opaline, but I'm not experienced enough to tell based on that.

Chicks looking great Nadene, Mum is lovely as well.

Hi. Mums a recessive pied . See, all that worry for nothing. Bird Junky

 

 

 

 

Sorry to disagree with you Bird Junky ................Mum is NOT recessive pied she is dominant pied. Anyone who is observant can tell she has iris rings

 

 

 

and please seek treatment for the Dad because he has scalyface mites

Edited April 2, 201213 yr by **KAZ**

Thanks Kaz . It's more like an iris ring.She only has a ring in one eye does that make a difference?

 

She is still dominant pied not recessive

Edited April 2, 201213 yr by **KAZ**

so next clutch you may have some dommie pieds

Thanks Kaz. I might sound stupid here (probably will) but i was doing some reading on dominant pieds, could she be a double factor dominant since she has so much white and very little markings? It also said they look like recessive pieds except for the iris ring. I would love some to look like her with out her O.C.D for being clean.

My initial thought was that she was a df dommie pied also due to markings HOWEVER is she was all her chicks would have been dommie pieds. Since they arent it makes her a badly marked or lightly marked sf dommie pied. Her lack of markings could be due to being cinnamon and opaline

Edited April 3, 201213 yr by **KAZ**

It would have been interesting to know what the chick that died would have looked like because it was going to have red eyes, so all 3 were different. Genetics confusing but very interesting