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Hand Rearing


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Hi everyone.

Well the other day i decided i would like to hand rear my 2 weeks and 5 day old budgie.

I researched over and over and thought i was prepared. I have a brooder set up and all supplies needed. Me being me is having second thoughts and i am worried if they baby will be alright.

She ( i think its a she ) Tells off the parents in the nesting box and goes crazy every time i talk. As soon as i put her in the nesting box after some play time she starts trying to get back out :rolleyes:

Well today i decided to put her in the home made brooder (heated with lamp to 31 degrees Celsius) and she is in there now cleaning herself. Is everything i am doing good? She will be on 3 hourly feeds.

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

Regards,

Jaff

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Hi Jaffa. I haven't tried hand rearing a chick before - I don't have the time and am probably too lazy I think. But you should be able to find all the info you need on the forum re hand rearing - so go searching. I find that if I handle the chicks from an early age in the nest box ad cage that they tame up nicely anyway without too much effort on my part. By the way, your chick sounds like he has lots of character. Good luck.

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She doesn't seem to want to eat as much as she should, she just tries to run off. Formula is 40 degrees each time. Should i try and put her back in the nest box and keep a close eye on her so the parents don't turn on her?

Regards,

Jaff

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I have found that when I pull a chick for hand feeding when it is around three weeks old, it is too old to take to the formula. Two weeks of age would have been better, but you can still try.

 

Make sure the brooder has a dish of seeds in it, since by this age, the chick should be learning to eat them. If it gets hungry enough and you are persistent, it can still learn to eat the formula, but more likely it will satisfy itself with the seed and will never see you as its new "mommy" providing its sole source of food., (Which is the point of hand raising.)

 

Or you can give it back to its parents, and there should be no problem with that unless the mother already has new eggs to protect from the older chick(s).

 

Everyone has to start somewhere, and it sounds like you have done your homework. Try taking the chick at 2 weeks old next time, and you will see a big difference in its willingness to eat formula. (But it still takes it a full day with no parents to realize the syringe or spoon is the new way to eat.)

Edited by Finnie
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Thanks for the replies.

I ended up putting her back in the nest box last night and the parent's rushed straight in the feed her :P

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jaff

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Well i checked on the little one and she had a tiny bit of blood above her eye. Not sure if the Mum did it on purpose or not, either way i still put her in the brooder. The baby is a very cuddly one and hates being put back in the brooder so will be interesting how i go for the night with her.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jaff

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Hi Jaffa, Just wondering how your chick is going? Did you keep her in the brooder?

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I ended up putting her back in the nesting box as she was being a pain when it came to feeding time. Mum has accepted her and both parents are feeding her again. She wants the cuddles from me but to be fed by her parents :rolleyes:

Regards,

Jaff

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Update-

Had to take her out AGAIN as hen has scratched her again as she has laid another egg. I put her in at feed time as they still feed her, but then i bring her out before anything can happen.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jaff

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That sounds like a pretty good compromise. Sometimes a hen will allow her older chicks to stay in the nest when she starts laying again, and sometimes she can get ugly to them. Pretty soon your chick will be old enough to eat on its own anyway, so you shouldn't have to keep it up too much longer. All the extra handling this one is getting will really help it on its way to being tame. :)

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I agree with Finnie. That sound like an excellent compromise. You are going to end up with a wonderfully tame chick with all that handling. Budgies can be so varied in their parenting. I have one cock at present who attacks his chicks within several days of them leaving the nest box (I have to be vigilant) and other pairs who all play happy families indefinitely.

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I am sorry to say that the little one didn't make it. I put it in for her feed and went to do stuff around the house, I came back when i heard her screeching to find her beak had been torn off :'( i took her straight to the vet, but obviously they wouldn't be able to do anything :(

I ended up taking the nest box down as it only had one egg in it and the Hen needed a rest from laying and i don't know if i want to breed from them again after this :/

Thanks for all the help.

Regards,

Jaff

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I'm so sorry Jaffa. You did the absolute best you could. It's frightening how aggressive budgies can get. If you do decide to breed this hen again next season, try and put down at least one other pair at the same time. This gives you a few more options should you need to move eggs or chicks.

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Aw, Jaff, I'm so sorry!!! That is so upsetting after all your care. I agree with Flip about trying to have more than one pair breeding at a time. It doesn't always work out, but it can be a big help if you need to move a chick. Or if you ever do use a hen who you don't really trust with the older chicks, then as soon as she lays a new egg, just take her away and let the father finish raising the chicks. Losing a special chick like that can be quite a blow. I hope you are feeling better.

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Thank you both.

I had to put the nesting box back as hen was looking like she had an egg and was bobbing her tail. 5 minutes after putting it up there was an egg. I am planning to take it down tomorrow as she needs the break after 3 clutches in a row :blink:

I had my cry session this morning so am feeling a little better :blush: I have 3 other pairs, but they are all too young to breed at the moment, so i think i might have some time off breeding until i have everything set up so i don't have to go through something like this again :(

Thank you again for all the help.

Regards,

Jaff

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