All about budgerigar chicks

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

Females of budgies begin to prepare for the appearance of chicks in advance. At this point, they begin to set up a house for their future children, and they do it exclusively to their own taste, using for this purpose everything that seems useful to them: cotton wool, foam rubber, pieces of cloth, twigs, paper and small household items. As soon as all design decisions have a complete look, the males and females begin a period of “mating games”.

Usually birds mate after they reach one and a half years old. if you do it earlier, the babies are born premature and sick, and stillbirth is possible. As a rule, the first egg is laid 16-20 days after the appearance of the nest, as soon as the bird pulls out 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 hatch at 18-21 days, all the rest are selected from the shell with the same temporary difference with which the eggs were laid.

In order to hatch out the chick is forced to pierce the shell from inside with a special egg goiter - It is located in the upper part of the mother beak. This is a rather laborious exercise, so it can be done only by those chicks who have fully formed inside their shelter and possess the necessary strength, health and strength. If the chicks are not able to do this, then the mother always comes to the rescue - she quickly pierces the shell with dotted punches of her strong beak.

Usually, the female uses the shell for food, it serves as a good source of calcium and contributes to the speedy recovery of the body of a young mother - for all the days leading up to the birth of babies, she led a rather passive way of life, leaving only food and drink no more than twice a day.

To help mom and baby come to life, the owners of parrots must maintain a favorable microclimate in the nest. If the air is too dry, the inner film under the shell will roll up the chick and simply stick to it, which will inevitably lead to death. At the time of incubation, the humidity parameter near the "house" should be 60-65%it is advisable to occasionally turn on a humidifier, a room fountain, or simply place a vessel with water nearby.

Those parrot breeders, who believe that newborn birds look touching and sweet, are usually very disappointed - a sight that appears to their eyes after the nestling hatches can not be classified as 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, in some species of parrots there are red eyes. After 3 days, body weight increases by 3-5 times, the weight of the 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 absolutely helpless, they have a disproportionately large head, an elongated neck and thin weak legs - such physiology makes it impossible for the chicks to move, and they spend the first day lying down only.

Consider how approximately the development of chicks by day.

• On day 6, the ovoid goiter disappears, immediately after this the chick becomes able to lift the head, the neck muscles gradually become stronger, and the baby can already keep his head on weight.
• Weekly young 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 grow first, first on the wings and in the occipital region. At the end of the third week, the plumage is finally formed, and the coloring is established, the tail grows, the terry feathers expand and extend. At the same time, you can determine the sex of the chick. By the end of the first month, the feathers completely cover the trunk of the young bird.
• After about 40 days, the parrot makes its first attempts to fly.

We can safely say that it was in the first days of their lives that the chicks of parrots develop especially rapidlytherefore, these days it is necessary to make maximum efforts to help the kids create the foundation for full development.

In the care of newborn wavy parrots, 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 there are, and what their state of health is. At this moment, special attention is required from the bird breeder - He should care for his pets with double care, providing mother and father with balanced nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplements, maintaining perfect cleanliness and comfort of home, as well as silence and comfortable conditions for the existence of chicks in captivity.

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

Gradually, the feed is replaced by a coarser one, and for 5-6 days the female already feeds her cubs with undigested grain, which is stored in advance in her goiter. The parrot-father also participates in the replenishment of stocks and collects provisions on a par with the female in case there is not enough maternal feed for all the babies.

In some situations, it is necessary to resort to artificial feeding, it happens, if the parents for some reason are unable or simply unwilling to care for their offspring:

• in case of aggression towards newborn parrots;
• if the brood is too big;
• when chicks cannot eat on their own or with no appetite;
• in cases when the female is preparing for a new laying;
• 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 couple, if there is none, then try setting the female and giving the baby to the care of the father.

If neither one nor the other is possible, then you will have to feed the chick artificially, for this purpose apply:

• specialized mixtures for chicks;
• boiled oatmeal or buckwheat porridge with the addition of a few drops of carrot or beet juice:
• concentrated oats decoction;
• well-cleaned malted germinated grains, mixed with chopped boiled egg.

To feed a parrot, you will need a syringe with an elastic rubber tube or a thin brush - and in either case, the feeding is done directly to the goiter.

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

Comfortable living conditions in the first 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 the chicks are quite comfortable at normal room temperature of +22.24 degrees.

The cage of any feathered should be clean, and the feeders with drinkers almost sterile. After the birth of the baby, this rule does not change, but the nest itself can be cleaned 2 weeks after the birds hatch. To do this, it is thoroughly cleaned of all the 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 chilling chicks may be.

By the month the bird already resembles an adult individual with all its appearance, only an uncertain walk and inept flight produces a very young nestling in it.

After 40 days, the bird begins to fly on its own, and after another 14–20 days, the matured parrot can be removed from adult birds and placed in another aviary. This is very important, since if the chick resides with its parents, it will not make any attempts at independent piloting, while staying in a separate cage speeds up the flight skills without the support of the parents.

For information on how to feed a wavy parrot chick, see the following video.