All about budgies

In the wild, birds breed year-round in the hollows of trees, where they independently take care of their offspring. In captivity, birds need help. Consider in the article the features of caring for chicks of budgies.

Female budgerigars begin to prepare for the appearance of chicks in advance. At this moment, they begin to equip the house for their unborn children, and do it exclusively to their taste, using everything that they think is useful: cotton wool, foam rubber, pieces of cloth, twigs, paper and small household items. As soon as all the design decisions have finished, the mating season begins for males and females.

Usually birds mate after they reach one and a half years, if you do this earlier, the cubs are born prematurely and sick, still life is not excluded. As a rule, the first egg is laid 16-20 days after the appearance of the nest, as soon as the bird lays the second, the female begins to hatch them. The number of eggs in the clutch varies from 4 to 12, they appear with a difference of 1.5 - 2 days.

The first parrot hatches for 18-21 days, all the rest are selected from the shell with the same time difference with which the eggs were laid.

In order to hatch the chick is forced to pierce the shell from the inside with a special egg goiter - It is located in the upper part of the maternal beak.This is a rather time-consuming task, therefore it is only possible for those chicks who have fully formed inside their shelter and have the necessary strength, health and strength. If such an occupation is not within the power of chicks, then mother always comes to the rescue - she quickly breaks through the shell with the punches of her strong beak.

Usually, the female uses the shell for food, she serves as a good source of calcium and contributes to the speedy recovery of the body of a young mother - after all, all the days preceding the birth of cubs were led by a rather passive lifestyle, excommunicated exclusively to eat and drink no more than twice a day.

To help mother and baby to be born, parrot owners must maintain a favorable microclimate in the nest. If the air is too dry, then the inner film under the shell wraps the chick and simply sticks to it, which will inevitably lead to death. At the time of hatching, the humidity parameter near the "house" should be 60-65%, it is advisable to turn on a humidifier, a room fountain from time to time, or simply place a vessel with water nearby.

Those parrot breeders who believe that newborn birds look touching and affectionate are usually very disappointed - the sight that comes to their eyes after the chick has hatched cannot be considered attractive.

At this moment, it is impossible to even imagine that in some 3-4 weeks the cub will become a beautiful exotic bird with bright plumage. The weight of a newborn parrot is only 1 gram, some types of parrots have red eyes. After 3 days, body weight increases 3-5 times, the weight of a young bird is gaining rapidly, because by the end of the first month it is no different in size from its parents.

After hatching, the chicks are blind and completely helpless, they have a disproportionately large head, an elongated neck and thin weak legs - this physiology makes it impossible for the chicks to move, and they spend the first day exclusively lying.

Let's look at how the development of the chicks looks by day.

• On the 6th day, the ovoid goiter disappears, immediately after this the chick becomes able to raise its head, the neck muscles gradually grow stronger, and the baby can already keep his head on weight.
• Weekly cubs make attempts to sit down and begin to open their eyes, and on day 10 their gaze becomes meaningful.
• After 12-14 days, the first feathers gradually grow first on the wings and in the occipital region. At the end of the third week, the plumage is finally formed, and coloring is established, the tail grows, the feathers of the feather grow, lengthen and open. At the same time, you can determine the sex of the chick. By the end of the first month, the feathers completely cover the body of the young bird.
• After about 40 days, the parrot makes its first attempt to fly.

We can safely say that it is in the first days of their lives that the parrot chicks develop especially rapidlyTherefore, these days you need to make every effort to help the kids create the foundation for full development.

In the care of newborn budgies, the main role, of course, is played by the female. At this moment, she selflessly protects and protects each of her chicks, regardless of how many of them are and what is the state of their health. At this point, special attention is required from the bird breeder he should take care of his pets with redoubled care, providing mother and father with balanced nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplements, maintaining perfect cleanliness and comfort of the home, as well as silence and comfortable living conditions for captive chicks.

For the full development of young parrots, first of all, they need healthy and nutrient-rich food. In the first hours after birth, the baby eats its mother’s goiter milk - it is a complex of special mucous secretions with the inclusion of undigested pieces of food, enriched with useful micro and macro elements.

Gradually, the feed is replaced with coarser, and on the 5-6th day the female already feeds her cubs with undigested grain, which is stored in advance in her goiter. The father parrot also participates in replenishment of supplies and, along with the female, collects provisions in case all the kids do not have enough maternal food.

In some situations, it is necessary to resort to artificial feeding, this happens if the parents for some reason are unable or simply do not want to take care of their offspring:

• with the manifestation of aggression in relation to newborn parrots;
• if the brood is too big;
• when the chicks can not eat on their own or in the absence of their appetite;
• in cases where the female is preparing for a new masonry;
• at the death of one or both parents.

To understand when the participation of the owners is required, one should constantly monitor life in the nest. If a problem is found, you can try to transfer the chick to another pair, if there is none, then try to put the female away and give the baby to the care of his father.

If neither one or the other is possible, then you have to feed the chick artificially, for this use:

• specialized mixtures for chicks;
• boiled oatmeal or buckwheat porridge with the addition of a few drops of carrot or beetroot juice:
• concentrated broth of oats;
• well-purified malt of germinated grains mixed with chopped boiled egg.

To feed a parrot, you need a syringe with an elastic rubber tube or a thin brush - in both cases, feeding is done directly into the goiter.

The mother of the chicks needs good nutrition - the health and full development of the babies directly depends on the state of the mother and the well-being of the father. In the diet of the female, in addition to the grain mixture, must be present mineral supplements, as well as juicy greens, chopped vegetables, cereals and sprouted cereals.

Comfortable living conditions in the early days of life are important for the further growth of chicks. It is important that the air temperature near the nest is +36 degrees Celsius, and after a week you can reduce the temperature background to +30.33 degrees. After 3 weeks, the heating is stopped, from that moment it is quite comfortable for the chicks at normal room temperature at +22.24 degrees.

The cage of any feathered one should be clean, and the feeders with drinking bowls should be practically sterile. After the baby is born, this rule does not change, but the nest itself can be cleaned 2 weeks after the hatching of the bird. To do this, it is thoroughly cleaned of all accumulated debris and adhering dirt - at this moment newborn parrots are moved to a specially prepared box with insulation. Keep in mind that hygiene measures should be carried out as quickly as possible, otherwise it is possible to overcool the chicks.

By the month the bird already resembles an adult individual with all its appearance, only an insecure gait and inept flight gives out a very young chick in it.

After 40 days, the bird begins to fly on its own, and after another 14-20 days an adult parrot can be separated from adult birds and placed in another aviary. This is very important, because if the chick lives with his parents, he will not attempt to pilot himself, while staying in a separate cage speeds up flight skills without parental support.

For information on how to feed a budgerigar chick, see the next video.