I went outside today to check on two of my evil budgies today (Bob my hen bites everyone but me), which I just keep as pets (I don't use them for breeding).
I put a nest box in their cage so they could sleep in it at night. I looked in there today and Bob was sitting on two eggs.
I have to say I am not suprised by the eggs, Louie my male budgie has fallen in love with bob lately.
Anyway to the point- does anyone know how long it takes for the eggs to hatch, I decided i'm going to hand rear the chicks. Also when should I take the chicks out?
I think Budgies eggs hatch around 21 days......I would have to check on the net to be sure though as it has been like 35 years since I bred budgies
They wean around 6 to 8 weeks......so I would be taking them from the nest when they have pin feathers.....probably around 2 to 3 weeks of age.
Have you raised chicks before?? Why do you want to raise them?? Have they had chicks ever before?? Maybe you could let them raise this lot or at least one of them?? Budgies are not hard to tame down even if parent raised and they do make such lovely little pets too......and TALK......OMG the males are up there amongst the best little talkers in my personal opinion ;D
Tracey & fids
Erik eclectus Rikki alexandrine Snowy cockatiel Yindi RTB2
Thanks Vankarhi, I have never hand raised chicks before but I have been doing heaps of research and reading lots of books on hand rearing these last couple of months.
However I have decided that I will let the parents raise this lot of chicks and when the chicks are weaned I will take them inside and start hand taming them. I will probably hand rear the next lot of chicks (if they have a next lot) though.
I really hope the eggs hatch- there is nothing cuter than a baby budgerigar!
Baby budgies are really cute. Tracey is right they incubate about 20/21 days, but they usually fledge at 5 weeks and are eating seed by 6 weeks. They are much more independent than a lot of other birds. Good luck with them, I hope they hatch.
Just a small update, Bob has been sitting on the eggs alot and almost never comes out of the nestbox. She now has 5 eggs! If they are fertial they should hatch either tommorow or on Sunday.
woohoo how exciting. I have another alex bub.....I heard it this morning and checked and sure as eggs there is a teeny tiny baby in there ;D there is nothing nicer (well there might be actually.........but new life is just lovely) ;D
Tracey & fids
Erik eclectus Rikki alexandrine Snowy cockatiel Yindi RTB2
woohoo how exciting. I have another alex bub.....I heard it this morning and checked and sure as eggs there is a teeny tiny baby in there ;D there is nothing nicer (well there might be actually.........but new life is just lovely) ;D
It is great, I love discovering new chicks in my aviary.
Oh and good news!! Bobs eggs hatched today! I discovered 4 little pink naked budgies in the nest around 3:30pm.
I love budgie babies, they are so cute and when the parents are tame it is especially special to hold the chicks in your hand. The parents are always proud as punch when they see you holding their babies, can always tell when they want the babies back as they step on your hands and gently touch the babies as if to say "MINE!" Good luck with them.
Congratulations to the new "grandparents"...new lives of any species are wonders to behold.
Cheers,
John.
Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird? David Attenborough
when you start a new thread or a new post......not just hit reply.........there is a browse button on the left side of the screen. If you click on that you can then pick the pictures you want from your pc or if you save them somewhere like photobucket then you can click on one of the links.......not sure which one it is now because I have not been into photobucket for a long time. If you press ctrl and v at the same time it will paste the link onto the post.
Tracey & fids
Erik eclectus Rikki alexandrine Snowy cockatiel Yindi RTB2
Thanks, i'll try and get some pics on here tommorow. Oh and just a quick update for anyone who's interested, the other chick has popped out of the nest and is a dominent pied (green and yellow form). They are so tame they hop straight onto my fingers!