Nice new home for my budgies!

[zarate]

Hey everyone. While my mom has her canaries in their breeding cages she's not using her "aviary" so guess who gets to use it? ME!
It's nice and big. It's about 5 feet tall, 4 feet wide and about 2 1/2 or 3 feet deep. I currently have 7 budgies in there and wow do they like it. I thought 7 would be a lot for 1 cage, but they still have a ton of space!!! I would eventually like to add my other 4 to that cage (once their clutches are weaned) but not sure if there would be enough room for them. There is a ton of space left when I look in there....but not sure if they think it's enough room. I have 8 food and water dishes (plus a few extra that don't go to the cage, but hang on the side) in there now, oodles of toys and cuttle bone and mineral blocks. They can fly like you wouldn't believe! It's so rewarding to be able to see them fly. They had big cages before, but you can tell they like this one a whole lot better! Well, just thought I'd share that with everyone. Take care!
-Mandi

[charmedagain]

Congratulations.

Alsong as there is plenty of room for all birds to have there own space when sat on a perch and they can hop or fly back and forth without crashing into each other then they have enough space.

You will know when there is not enough space when they all try and sit on the same perch or on the cage floor.

Mike

[zarate]

Hey mike,
They have 4 long purchase that go the width of the cage, and various others that go in different directions, yet they all sit on the top perch. I just got them settled in today, so maybe they are still getting used to it. I haven't seen anyone squabble yet, so that's a good sign.
I also had a question about my crested finch baby (who doesn't have a crest ) But anyways, he's about 2 1/2 months old and he is still in the nest. He eats on his own, but he gets along just fine with ma n' pa. So is he just fine staying in the same cage? Or would it be better to separate them from the baby? Thanks!
-Mandi

[charmedagain]

Since he is eating and drinking on his own i would put him into his own cage just to be on the safe side as parent finchs can be unpredictable.

If there is a chick or chicks in the nest its not good for the older baby to go in there at the risk of him stepping on and killing the babies, If the cage bars are not wide enough for the finch to escape through you can put him in with the budgies they will all get on fine aslong as they are not breeding.

I know with my finchs they only tolerated the older baby going in the nest for so long before the male started plucking him and then tried to kill him so i had to put the baby in a cage of his own.

I recieved your email with the pictures and i sent a reply lovely bird he is...

Mike

[zarate]

Hey Mike,
Just to make sure I understood you correctly, I can put zebra finches in with my budgies (in the big cage)????? How many Zebra finches could I put in the big cage with the other budgies? The bars are very close together, it's designed for the small birds.
Also, I had a baby budgie hatch last night, and there are 2 more to hatch, and I thought the mom would take care of it, but so far I don't think she is. I feel so bad for the baby. I know there is a ton of hard work involved in hand-feeding budgies (any bird for that matter). I also know it's risky as they can choke easily, but I'm willing to give it a try....
Are there any pointers you could give me?
I feel like the mom would take care of the baby if I helped her out, but if not I can take on the full responsibility of raising them myself. I've raised oodles of baby rabbits...tame and wild. I know there is a big difference, but I have a good idea of what all is involved.
I would really appreciate feedback from anyone, and maybe a good website if you know of any. I've checked out a bunch, but I'd love to see what you all found. Thanks!
-Mandi
S

[charmedagain]

You can only put other birds in with budgies if the budgies are not breeding or have nests as they become very agressive during the breeding season.

When chicks first hatch the parents do not usually feed them for the first 12-24 hours this is the time the yolk is absorbed and digested into the chick.

Give it till tomorrow and see how it is. To hand feed a baby budgie you would need to watch a breeder to it to get hands on experience even you local avian vet will sometimes show you how to handfeed correctly...

Chances are the parents will feed them thereselevs as they are usually excellent parents.

Mike

[charmedagain]

Here is some links the first is for cockatiels but its the same princliple

http://www.cockatiel.org/undefined/articles/handfeeding.html

http://www.tuxford.dabsol.co.uk/masterbreeder/chap2/chap2weaning9.htm

Mike