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Post by Sarah on Mar 6, 2014 7:14:41 GMT
I would. Boxes are tricky. We have the curved bottoms in the boxes to try to imitate these branches, which is what a budgie would live in naturally. Furthermore, budgies nest in softwood trees, and have the instinct to gnaw and scrape and fix the nest to their parameters. This is much more natural, although I do have some concerns. I would want a lid in a box like this, so that the chicks could be easily inspected and the litter easily removed and replaced with fresh. I am not certain that this particular one can do that. Also, they are so inexpensive there is no reason to save them between nestings: wooden boxes like we have are generally made of hard pine, and absorb chemicals, moisture and general yuck, making mold and bacteria a real concern.
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 17:19:41 GMT
Bad news this morning guys I just went to check on the babies and the third one is dead :/ it's still inside the nest but it's definitely dead, I'm so so terribly sad! Edit: You guys think I should take out the body? It's all gray and I'm scared it might be bad for the babies if it stays there for long
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Post by lisamarie on Mar 6, 2014 17:53:07 GMT
Yes, take it out :/ it is normal for one or two of the babies to die from the research I have done. So if you have 5 babies, usually only 3-4 will actually survive :/
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 17:58:28 GMT
I thought it only happened when there was a lot of babies because the parents couldn't feed them all or something... I'm gonna take it out then, the other babies look very very well, they're big and pink, so I guess that's a good sign, right?
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Post by lisamarie on Mar 6, 2014 18:00:45 GMT
I think so. Just keep looking to see that their crops are full!
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 18:08:11 GMT
They are full right now, I think I know what happened, last night when I was going to cover the cage I checked on them and the small baby was in front of Leelo, and she was laying on top of the other two babies, I tried to push the small one nearer her so maybe she would take it under her wings, and she did it, but I don't know maybe she forgot to take it again in the middle of the night :/
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Post by lisamarie on Mar 6, 2014 18:46:24 GMT
Poor baby sorry for your loss :/ I know breeding is hard ok the owners for this reason... That not all babies make it
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Post by dianapalmer on Mar 6, 2014 18:55:02 GMT
Was this the baby she put in the seed cup?
Perhaps there was something wrong with this baby and she sensed it.
Many human mothers suffer miscarriages because there is something wrong with the developing fetus. I think there is so much chance for there to be something wrong with the gene combination in any individual chick. I know it's sad, but it is nature and we need to accept nature's ways.
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 19:21:42 GMT
The baby Leelo put on the cup was the ino (second to hatch), this one was the littlest (is that a word?) I think maybe it was just an accident maybe Leelo gave priority to the other two chick because they're stronger than the little one was.
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 21:12:14 GMT
Oh my oh my the last egg just hatched!! there's a new tiny little pinky thing crying inside the nest! I looked inside because the cry was different from the other chicks and I thought maybe there was something wrong with one of the two big babies, but to my surprise, there was a cracked egg already outside the nest and a new chick very close to the nest's hole :') Oh and his/her eyes are black too so, no ino
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Post by lisamarie on Mar 6, 2014 21:16:20 GMT
Hehe congrats on your new baby! This is quite a roller coaster ride isn't it?! So is there one egg left now? Or was that the last one?
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Post by Perla MV on Mar 6, 2014 21:19:39 GMT
A roller coaster indeed! It was the last one, I knew the other egg was infertile and it was on the floor of the cage this morning.
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Post by kmic on Mar 6, 2014 21:39:50 GMT
Really sorry for your loss and really happy the last egg hatched!!! It surely is a roller coaster - just a few hours between losing one and the birth of another!! Thanks for sharing the experience with us! I look forward for your updates as much as (or close ) how much you look forward to getting home and checking the nest and just enjoying the budgies be parents.
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Post by Sarah on Mar 7, 2014 5:10:02 GMT
I am sorry for the loss... but, unfortunately it is very common. it is likely the baby had a genetic abnormality that made it weak. Budgies and other birds raise many young at a time, but invest comparatively little into their young than some mammals. Genetically, its an advantage because the relative toll on the mother is lesser, and some young usually survive. It is sad to us, but it is not as devastating to the hen as losing a baby would be to a human or another animal that has one baby at a time, like horses ect.
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Post by dianapalmer on Mar 7, 2014 15:17:42 GMT
Sarah, I am surprised that budgies invest so little in their young. It seems that the babies are always hungry and the parents are always feeding them, or am i wrong?
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