surprise parakeet chick - now what?

[nolotus]

After having this parakeet pair for several years we were shocked to see 6 little eggs on the floor of the cage. One egg hatched and the mother is taking good care of it. It is now about 2 weeks old and feathering out. I don't know if I should try to put some bedding in there or if there is anything else I should be doing. I saw a reference somewhere to splayed feet. Am I supposed to put some sort of little perch on the floor? Also, what should I put in in case they decide to lay more eggs at some point? Totally lost here...

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

After having this parakeet pair for several years we were shocked to see 6 little eggs on the floor of the cage. One egg hatched and the mother is taking good care of it. It is now about 2 weeks old and feathering out. I don't know if I should try to put some bedding in there or if there is anything else I should be doing. I saw a reference somewhere to splayed feet. Am I supposed to put some sort of little perch on the floor? Also, what should I put in in case they decide to lay more eggs at some point? Totally lost here...

Congrats! Is the bottom of your nest box concave? Like this:

, this helps against splay foot, as well as making sure their feet are clean. As for bedding, you can use pine shavings or shredded paper, both are fine. I would remove the eggs that haven't hatched by now. If you want more chicks, take out the nesting boxes, wait a few months and give them a break, then put the nest box back in. If you don't want any more chicks, remove the nesting box.

 

[nolotus]

Thanks 25chickens. Actually I don't have a nest box. I never imagined that I'd need one. The poor little eggs were laid on just on the floor of the cage. I was afraid to fool with them so have done nothing about bedding or anything. I did remove the unhatched eggs. Should I go ahead and put in shredded paper now?

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Thanks 25chickens. Actually I don't have a nest box. I never imagined that I'd need one. The poor little eggs were laid on just on the floor of the cage. I was afraid to fool with them so have done nothing about bedding or anything. I did remove the unhatched eggs. Should I go ahead and put in shredded paper now?

I think you should go ahead and put some. Should make it more comfy for the chick.

 

[Quailobsessed]

They must have been pretty desperate parents.

 

[muddy75]

After having this parakeet pair for several years we were shocked to see 6 little eggs on the floor of the cage. One egg hatched and the mother is taking good care of it. It is now about 2 weeks old and feathering out. I don't know if I should try to put some bedding in there or if there is anything else I should be doing. I saw a reference somewhere to splayed feet. Am I supposed to put some sort of little perch on the floor? Also, what should I put in in case they decide to lay more eggs at some point? Totally lost here...

if baby is 2 weeks old, you should be able to get some bedding under it.....I start handling the babies once they get some feathers. are you absolutely sure it is the only one that has hatched?? Mine has hatched eggs twice now and they can hatch days to weeks apart. mom will typically “ditch” non-viable eggs. you can mash up some boiled egg with a some greens in it to give mom and baby a little extra nutrition. Baby will probably be able to navigate to a perch in a couple more weeks.

 

[nolotus]

They must have been pretty desperate parents.

I feel badly about it but it truly never occurred to me that they would lay eggs! We got the parakeets for my mom to watch 8 years ago. So, mea culpa and I'm off to Amazon to order a nest box.

 

[nolotus]

if baby is 2 weeks old, you should be able to get some bedding under it.....I start handling the babies once they get some feathers. are you absolutely sure it is the only one that has hatched?? Mine has hatched eggs twice now and they can hatch days to weeks apart. mom will typically “ditch” non-viable eggs. you can mash up some boiled egg with a some greens in it to give mom and baby a little extra nutrition. Baby will probably be able to navigate to a perch in a couple more weeks.

Thanks for the helpful info! I'll do better next time. Although what I'm going to do with any more baby parakeets I don't know.

 

[nolotus]

I think you should go ahead and put some. Should make it more comfy for the chick.

Thanks! Will do that today.

 

[Danish aseels]

After having this parakeet pair for several years we were shocked to see 6 little eggs on the floor of the cage. One egg hatched and the mother is taking good care of it. It is now about 2 weeks old and feathering out. I don't know if I should try to put some bedding in there or if there is anything else I should be doing. I saw a reference somewhere to splayed feet. Am I supposed to put some sort of little perch on the floor? Also, what should I put in in case they decide to lay more eggs at some point? Totally lost here...

Could you share some pictures?