Baby Parakeets: Advice Needed

[DuckGirl77]

Hi, I have two parakeets and the female, Amiga laid five eggs. They were laid a few days apart. The oldest will be two weeks on Monday, and the second-oldest is just a few days younger than that. If you've ever had baby parakeets before, you know that they grow pretty fast. So, the third one hatched a little while later, and it was much smaller than the others. I saw last night that it had died. So, what is the most likely cause of its death? I was thinking maybe it got trampled by the older ones, or maybe Amiga took better care of the older ones because they're always bugging her and the little one had a little voice? I need to know why it died to keep the others from having the same problem.
Another problem: Amiga is having trouble sitting on them both very well, and today I saw that they were cheeping and she was just sitting beside them instead of on them, most likely because they are each about half the size of her! I thought maybe one more egg may need to hatch or maybe another hatched, so maybe that's why she didn't sit on them?
This is the plan I've come up with, but, if anyone has had a similar experience or knows about this, I would like some advice, please. I'm thinking of cutting the top off the box while she is out getting food and looking in to see what I have. The "lid" is actually taped on, so I shouldn't have too much difficulty with that. Then, if I see only two living babies, I would leave them to her care but would make a bigger, clean nestbox ready for them to move into so they won't get sick from the dead baby and/or any droppings that have accumulated in the nest. If there's three or four, I was thinking maybe I should take the one or two oldest out and handfeed them when they are 2-3 weeks old so Amiga can focus on taking care of the other(s).
Is this a good idea? What do all of you guys think?
Btw, if you get this far thank you for even reading this; I know it's kind of long, but I didn't want to leave anything out!

 

[DuckGirl77]

I didn't end up opening the box as it did not seem necessary, but I did look in while Amiga was out and saw two birds. I think I'll put more shavings in for the time being instead of moving them. I don't want to accidentally hurt them while picking them up and Amiga would throw a fit if she saw me handling her precious babies. I may post pics of them if I can get any good ones.

 

[Weehopper]

I know nothing about budgies. I do look at a live stream ov a nest box on Ustream. Been doing this for several years. In all that time, the babies have never been removed from the nest, and the male continues to have access to the box. The chicks remain in the box until fully feathered and ready to fledge.

 

[DuckGirl77]

OK, thanks. I know that usually they aren't taken from the box, and since there's no little ones that are alive now, only the two older babies, none of them can hurt each other, so I'm leaving them with their mom.
I'm curious, though, aren't they usually different ages since the mom lays the eggs a few days apart? Maybe it was something else, not the big ones hurting the little ones. Even so, maybe if Amiga does this again I'll take the first eggs away until all of them seem to have been laid and give them back then so they all are, roughly speaking, the same age.

 

[Weehopper]

Just going by what I have been seeing (and wondering about), the babies are various sizes while in the box. I kind of figured the eggs were laid days apart. Also, sometimes the male comes in and helps feed them. It gets crowded, but they seem to manage.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Just going by what I have been seeing (and wondering about), the babies are various sizes while in the box. I kind of figured the eggs were laid days apart. Also, sometimes the male comes in and helps feed them. It gets crowded, but they seem to manage.

OK. I guess this is normal, then. Thanks
One of the babies fell out of the box last night. I don't know how, but I put a sort of tray outside the nestbox so if it comes out again, it won't fall. I hope it's OK. At least I got a good look at it, and it seems to be doing just fine. It's cute - in it's own way.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Please help! One of the little ones, Bradford, won't stay in the nestbox. He keeps coming out! Every time I put him back in he totters back out. A piece of cardboard is there so he won't fall on the floor, but he fell again once despite this. Why is he doing this and how can I make him stop? Amiga finally got him to settle down, but it will probably happen again. The strange thing is, it doesn't seem upset when it finally gets out. It just sits quietly, whereas in the box, it was making a lot of noise. Should I give them a bigger nestbox, or will Amiga not go in it since it's different? Has anyone had this happen before? He's not at the age when he's supposed to come out yet.

 

[Weehopper]

I don't have a clue. Can you contact someone via the net. Perhaps do a search for a budgie breeder. Or call a local pet store that sells them, and ask for the number of the breeder they buy their birds from.

 

[DuckGirl77]

I did a little research and found that sometimes they come out because the nest is dirty (or they're just feeling adventurous). I don't know if this is true, but tomorrow morning I plan on replacing the nestbox and putting clean bedding in it. Hopefully Amiga knows that this is the new nestbox that she needs to use!

I don't have a clue. Can you contact someone via the net. Perhaps do a search for a budgie breeder. Or call a local pet store that sells them, and ask for the number of the breeder they buy their birds from.

Thank you! I will try to find somebody that knows budgies. How come it seems like all the possible things that can go wrong always happen to me?

On the up side, the babies are cute! I will try to get a pic when it comes out again - not that I'm looking forward to then!

 

[Weehopper]

Just checked the Budgie nest on UStream. Snapped a screenshot of the inside. The hole into the box appears to be about an inch above the floor of the box. So there is a lip on it, and babies can't crawl out. Going to try to download the screenshot later. Not having much luck.