Parakeet eggs-NEW updates: 5-20-09!

[77horses]

Boy it has been a long week! It seems like those Parakeet eggs are never going to hatch!

So last weekend, one hatched but then died. we threw out 4 rotten eggs. and at the end of the day we were left with 2 eggs. I candled them and they were both definitely moving.

I'm hoping that Toddra knows that they are still alive...she seemed tired and about to give up on them the last time I saw her(last weekend).

But my dad says she's still on them, with more breaks than usual. I'm worried that she's not keeping them warm enough, because she doesn't really sit on them all the way all the time. She just stands in the nest box over them.

But anyway, no babies so far.

Dad says the 2 last eggs are still in there. I had an urge to take them out and raise them myself, but I don't know if it would work or not. I would have to buy the special food to hand-feed them with a syringe, and I would have to feed them every 4 hours. I'm gone at school everyday(except weekends) for 8 hours, and no one else could feed them while I was gone.

But I really wanted to take the eggs, put them in the bator, and raise them myself. If it were summer vacation, I would have done it.

Oh well....lets just hope Toddra knows that those 2 eggs still have life in them(at least they did when I candled them).

Thanks and please please hope and pray for these 2 little eggs.

They are the last ones left and if they don't make it then we won't have any babies and we will have to wait a few months before we try again.

Thanks!

 

[delsi64]

I wish you good luck! May I ask where you got your parakeet eggs? Have you hatched them before? Are they harder to do thatn chicken eggs. I would love to try some.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
Thanks!

we didn't get them anywhere. Our parakeet laid them.

They aren't really like chicken eggs, where you buy them from a hatchery(at least I've never heard of it). We've never hatched them before, but we have tried to hatch them. Before you decide to raise baby parakeets, please do lots of research; many people think it's really easy, but you MUST know all about it BEFORE you try it.

 

[adrian]

I've hatched baby parakeets before, and hand-raised them myself from day one. It may be that it's a natural talent for me, but I have little trouble raising babies from birth... It just takes a steady hand, a fierce knowledge, good hygiene and lots of dedication. Here, I'll show you some pictures, just to get you all excited.

They are absolutely crazy when they hatch, from my experience. Really quick and really insane.

Good luck and hopefully you can get some pictures if any babies hatch.

It's important to note that they must be fed a high quality hand-feeding formula specifically for parrots every 2 hours for the first few days. Generally, around the clock. Some people don't feed at night, but it tends to cause slower weight gain, and a failure to thrive. Babies must be weighed every morning on an accurate gram scale, before the first feeding. The hand-feeder must record the babies weight so as to watch for weight loss or lack of weight gain, both of which can signal the potential for problems. Brooder temperatures must be precisely regulated at 95-98F the first week, slowly tapering off as the babies age. Humidity is also important, as lack thereof can cause dehydration. Formula must be mixed to the proper consistency for the birds' age, condition, and species: if it is too thin, babies fail to gain weight, and if it is too thick, digestive problems can arise, as well as dehydration.

But formula is only the beginning. Feeding method is important. Babies must be fed in the cleanest, safest, and most comfortable method available. Most hand-feeders agree that oral syringes are the best bet. They come in many sizes to fit almost any size of baby. Personally, I like to feed day-olds with a 1cc, O-ring syringe. The syringe is placed on the left side of the baby's beak (when facing you, this is your right) to evoke a feeding response. Babies' beaks are generally too small for a syringe to fit in them, so the syringe is instead pressed against the outside of the beak. The feeling of the pressure from the syringe (never push too hard) will cause the baby to bob its head, opening its mouth. This is the feeding response, and when it begins, the feeder must push gently down on the plunger to feed the tiny baby. If you go too fast, you can cause the baby to aspirate, and drown in the formula. Aspiration can also cause pneumonia, which is, in most cases, fatal.

The crop is a very important and unique part of a bird's anatomy and hand-feeders must know it inside and out. Keeping a good eye on its function is the key to proper feeding. Crop infections can stem from improper feeding practices - crop stasis, for instance, is when the crop shuts down and no food passes through it. The food in the crop begins to rot, and this is very dangerous. Crop stasis can be caused by formula that is too cold (temperature must be 102-108 degrees, no more, no less), formula that is too thick, or over-feeding. Over-feeding causes the crop to stretch beyond its limit, which renders the muscles too weak to empty the food into the stomach. It's important to understand how much to feed not only on the basis of percentage per gram of the bird's weight, but also by the crop's overall capacity. As a general rule of thumb, it must feel like a soft water balloon, and extend from the chest in a round-ish shape. It should never be hard, and should never droop to the stomach. Drooping would imply over-stretching of the crop's muscles. Baby budgies in particular have tiny crops at birth and will only take about 0.2-0.3cc for the first day or two. That's about 10-15% of the bird's body weight. Most babies are born at only 2 grams.

Formula that is fed at too high a temperature can cause crop burn. Crop burn at its worst form may cause a hole to burn through the crop. This is only correctable by surgery.

In short, formula must never be fed at an improper temperature. An accurate thermometer intended for measuring body or food temperature must be used for measuring the formula's temperature.


And that is only the beginning! Babies must be socialized, abundance weaned, and flighted. They must never be forced to wean, must be offered a great variety of different food groups, taught "play" with toys of different color, texture and shape, and must be introduced to a variety of different people. Flighting baby parrots is essential, as well. By the time they are weaned and ready to go to new homes, they must have mastered basic flying skills. It's important not to clip before they are able to fly. This can cause confidence issues in adults, and even insecurity and aggression. It's like not teaching a child to walk.

Here's a video I made of myself feeding an older budgie... Excuse the loud aquarium noises.

http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/m00dyz/Budgie/?action=view&current=FeedingBaby.flv

Hmm, what else can I say... I prefer to use Roudybush 3 formula or Mazuri hand-feeding formula. These are smooth, nutritious, all-natural formulas that are easily digestible. I do not like Kaytee Exact or Zupreem, which are more popular. These formulas can cause crop problems (such as crop stasis) and even lack of weight gain, and fungal infections in later life...


Sorry for rambling so much. Hand-feeding is a topic I am very passionate about and have quite a lot of knowledge about.

If you need to ever hand-feed a baby for whatever reason, feel free to contact me.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
Thanks! That's a lot of helpful info!

And nice pics.

 

[adrian]

I hope it helps, if you ever need to raise babies yourself.

It does happen, unfortunately. Sometimes parents won't feed them, or babies hatch late and are crushed by their bigger siblings. How are the eggs? Any progress?

 

[crazychicken]

oh 77Horses I hope these hatch for you last time they did not it was disappointing. I have talked it over with my parents, when our house sells and we get our new house on the land built and have been in it a while and settled in, I can get a big cage (Craigslist ) lots of them there I saw a 6ftx5ft one for free that someone was just getting rid of. but until all of that is done I can't get any, so now I am using this time to read, read, read and read up on them. here is a video of hand feeding.

http://www.ehow.com/video_2349550_hand-feeding-parakeet.html

I will be watching this thread.

 

[77horses]

Hey guys, I'm back!

well, the egg progress is not doing so well.

The last time I candled them, Toddra(mother) was sitting on them and both eggs had movement and veins in them when I candled them(about 2 weeks ago). I called my dad and he says that both eggs are still there. Toddra is spending less and less time on them.... I'm really just about completely out of hope right now for those last two eggs to hatch.

I was so hopeful when I saw that they were both moving.

So that's all I have for updates right now. Been a long week with basically no changes for the eggs and I guess they are't going to hatch after all.

We will give Toddra and Kiwi a rest; they both did a wonderful job, and they deserve it.

Thanks for reading and maybe we will try again next time.

 

[77horses]

99.9% positive that they are done. None hatched.

(although I still have that 1% hope of them hatching, bu 1/99.9% basically means that there's no hope).

Until I crack them open to see that they are dead or if something else happens to prove that they are dead, I'm holding on to that 1%

Well, so much for that.
Oh and I've noticed that we NEVER to good with raising baby birds; our finches laid eggs, 2 survived. 1 died while going to adulthood(still really young) and another lived to be almost a year. Then he got out of the cage somehow and we found him died.

Then our other parakeet laid eggs and some looked fertile, but not many. NONE hatched, again.
Then Toddra laid her eggs. 4 were rotten, 1 hatched and died, and 2 were left. They were lively and kicking around when I candled them two weeks ago, and now Toddra isn't sitting on them barely at all(dad told me last night) and they are overdue their hatching date.

I just don't get why we have never been successful with having baby birds around!

So, that's that. Eggs aren't gonna hatch, more than highly likely.

Thanks for reading.

 

[adrian]

I would possibly look into the birds' diet? That may hold keys to why the babies don't survive, or the eggs quit despite all odds being for their survival. What are your budgies eating? They should not be on an all-seed diet. Parakeets in the wild eat not only seeds but a variety of grains, berries, etc, and the seeds they do eat are burned off. Now, caged birds don't fly as much as wild ones so the high-fat, high-caloric seeds only cause fatty liver and other problems. Seeds are also not vitamin fortified because parrots hull the seeds before eating them, and the vitamins are merely sprinkled on top.

I would offer a high quality pelleted diet along with cooked and fresh foods. Be sure that the pelleted diet, should they be breeding, is intended for breeding birds. Females will need extra calcium. There are so many causes for embryo death, and many different vitamin deficiencies can cause them at different stages. Not only that, but they can cause a failure to thrive in hatched young, and deformities as well.

Before anything else, I would look into nutrition.