Hello,

Minnie now has 2 babies, first hatched on 6/17, and the second on 6/19. She has one more egg that should have hatched by the time I get home from work! When can I start to hold them? I have read that I need to check their feet everyday to make sure there is no poop stuck to them. When should I start this? I also read that I should add bedding after the last egg hatches, do you think this is a good idea? If so, what do most people use?

Daisy should have her first of her 5 eggs hatch any day now! I figure on 6/23.

Also, I have a course sand on the aviary floor, will this be okay for the babies if they fall out of the box? (how high do most people hand the boxes?) My newest boy Sylvester's wings were clipped when I got him, he has had quite a few falls and hasnt had any problems, but he's not 4 weeks old, (Laughing out loud) !

 

I still haven't figured out how to post my pics! I'll eventually get it ( I hope)

 

Your advice will be greatly appreciated!

Anna

:dbb1:

Edited June 21, 200519 yr by BUUZBEE

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/

LINK TO THE PICS!!!

Edited June 21, 200519 yr by BUUZBEE

You can start handling the babies when they start getting feathers which is usually about 2 weeks old. :dbb1:

You can look in on the babies everyday to make sure everything is okay in the box. Make sure you talk to them before you open it, and talk to them while the top is open so they get used to your voice. I handled mine at about 3 weeks, when I started to help clean out the nest box. The male used to kick the dried feces out through the front hole in the box, and kept it pretty clean all by himself. After about three weeks though, there was just more poop than he could handle. LOL The baby poop should not be wet, it should dry quickly and be sort of powdery if the hen is not a 'wet' feeder so having the poop stick to their feet shouldn't be an issue. It is so easy to clean the box, you can just pick up handfuls of dry poop and throw it in the trash. Your hands will just get powdery, not icky. If the poop is wet however, take a q-tip and get the end wet with warm water and gently wipe the feet clean. If there is a problem with the poop sticking to their feet, clean out the box at least every other day. You don't have to remove the chicks to do this, although many people do. I left mine in the box for cleanings, and they got used to my hands that way. I would either gently pick them up and move them to another part of the box, or they would crawl through the loop I made with my hands and nibble on them. So cute. I never added any bedding, the pair would just kick it out anyway.

 

Please, don't clip your baby bird's wings at 4 weeks of age. They haven't even fledged by then, and they need lots of practice to strengthen their muscles. If you work with them in the nest box, they should remain tame enough for a month or so after they fledge that you will not need them clipped. They will step up and let you walk around with them because they don't know to be afraid of you. At about 4 months, if you keep them all they will get attittude (they are then pre-teens - LOL) and may need a slight trim for your sanity, but try not to clip them before then. I don't think it is good for baby birds to be trimmed before they've had a chance to learn to fly properly, but that's just me.

 

There are instructions on posting pictures in the picture forum, at the top of the page. I look forward to your pictures!

Thank you Rainbow

I do check on them everyday, I am still waiting for that last one to hatch! I was expecting it yesterday, but nothing yet. It is very dark now, so I would think it will be today for sure. The 2 that have hatched are getting soooo big! I am amaized at how quickly they grow. They are only 5 & 3 days old! When minnies last one hatches, the oldest will seem even bigger!

I dont plan on cutting their wings, they will be in the aviary, so I want them to fly for sure. When I got my last boy, his wings had been clipped, He tried and tried to get some luving from tweety, but where he couldnt fly around to show what a good boy he was, she wasn't interested! The finally just mated on the weekend! Too cute.

I did figure out (finally) how to put my link for the pics, please check them out. Sorry some are a bit blurry.

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/

 

Also, how high do you put your boxes?

 

Thanks

Anna

Edited June 22, 200519 yr by BUUZBEE

I have that same wood toy! My birds love it - they quickly shred all the bark off, like little buzzsaws...

 

My birds bred in my living room, so the box just hung on the top part of the cage - maybe 2 1/2 feet from the bottom. I kept several perches at different levels around the hole to the nest box and as far as I remember, none of them ever fell all the way to the bottom. They ended up on a rope perch about a foot down. How high are the boxes in your aviary? I think since they do quite a bit of wing flapping before they actually leave the box, they should be able to manage to find a close perch without hurting themselves if the box isn't too high. I'd guess 4 or 5 feet max in case they go all the way to the ground, but someone with an aviary would be better able to tell you.

Thanks Rainbow,

I will post a picture tonigt of the aviary, so you and other readers how high they are... and if they are too high, is it too late to lower them? I'd hate mom to leave the box because I moved it down.

I will get some more rope perches to put under each box.

Thanks for the info!

PS, I posted more baby pics this am!

Anna

I handle my babies from day one as i like to see if they are being fed properly,

As long as you knock on the nest box first to let the hen know you want to inspect there wont be a problem,She will leave the box as soon as you knock then you can inspect the box.

It is very inportant that you do this from day one as it gets the hen use to the procedure of box inspection at a very early age.

Problems with chicks can happen at any time and quick interventure is required as soon as poss,

Most hens will exept this intrusion when they are familiar with it.

Gill

I started to handle my babies when they were 20 days old

Here are the pics of the aviary

 

I couldn't resist... I held Bubble & Buttercup for the first time today. OMG theyare sooooo cute!

 

Please give advice on the height of the boxes, etc.

 

Thanks again,

Anna

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/

Edited June 29, 200519 yr by BUUZBEE

In the aviary, budgies will naturally want the highest position to nest, so the higher up the nest boxes are, the better! (like in the wild, budgies feel safest on the highest branch)

 

However, keep in mind, that if you have more than one hen and more than one nest box, they will all have to be at the same height to avoid fighting for the highest box.

 

Also, if you are worried about the babies falling out of the nest, do what we did and put a temporary shelf with a blanket or other soft bedding on it, so if they do fall, it wont be far, and wont kill or injure them.

 

Our nest boxes are approximately 5 ft from the ground, and less than 1 ft from the roof of the aviary, the shelf is about 1 metre sq sitting 2 ft below the nest box.

What a great idea!