As budgie owners who chose to set up our birds to breed, we want to have the best outcome possible. Each life is precious, and if we can help to save a chick it is going to be our top priority! One of the biggest we can do to help safe a developing egg or hatched budgie chick is by fostering them to another pair when they are being neglected, or abused by their parents.
Fostering successfully requires knowledge of what to do, and not do. Here we will go over some of the essential things to do before you move any egg or chick to a new foster parent. |
Like people, each budgie has its own individual personality. What so many fail to acknowledge is the huge impact this can have when breeding any animal, including budgies. The personality of the parents, will have a direct impact on the breeding outcome, and
If you do not see the benefit of this, consider these questions: |
Budgies are creatures of habit like all other parrot species. By starting off with a good breeding routine you are avoiding so many problems that novice breeders run into very quickly.
Budgies have no problem with you checking their nest box and maintaining it so long as they trust what you are doing to begin with. This is a common myth many claim when they set themselves up for failure by not gaining the trust of the pair until it is far along in the breeding process. How can you gain this trust? By showing them you mean no harm and are just a part of the routine right from the beginning. Do not wait until your hen is laying eggs or sitting on chicks to start checking her box at least once a day. |
Most budgies make excellent parents. Unless you absolutely need too, there is no reason to move eggs or chicks around from nest to nest. Why? Because keeping nests separate will help prevent any unexpected bacteria or virus outbreaks from infecting more than one nest. It also avoids confusion regarding who's chicks are who's if you are planning on keeping and breeding the babies in the future, and foster before the age where the chicks can be banded.
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Before fostering eggs, it is important to consider if the foster hen is actually incubating the eggs in her box as of yet.
A hen can be sitting in her box all day, and even physically sitting over the eggs without actually incubating them. Incubation requires skin on egg contact, and many hens wait until 3 or more eggs are laid before beginning to incubate seriously, despite spending a lot of time in the box. Some hens will start incubating from the first egg, and some will not start until the last egg. |
If someone put something cold on your stomach would you notice? Obviously you would be able to tell immediately! Do you think your budgie hen will notice any less? If she has a nest full of warm chicks and eggs rest assured she us going to be able to tell if you stick a cold egg or chick in her box, and she could possibly then toss out.
Why is this? In order to maintain the eggs and the chicks at the right temperature a budgie hen has what is called a "brood patch". This is an area of bare skin on the lower belly with lots of extra blood vessels to pass body heat directly from her body to her babies. |
If you are intending on the foster pair to actually raise any eggs/chicks you are planning on giving them, you need to consider if they can actually raise them and if it is wise to do so with any potential age gaps between their eggs/chicks and the ones you will be adding.
While it is true that budgies can raise large numbers of chicks with a exceptional diet, not every pair is able to do so in terms of health or stamina. |
There is a natural time period for most clutches from beginning to end, and for the average clutch the egg laying/incubating is timed perfectly. Many hens will not start incubating their eggs until 3 or so eggs are laid and since the average clutch is 5-6, the age difference of most chicks in any given clutch is less than a week between the oldest and youngest. This is a perfect age range where the chicks can develop very close to each other.
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