If you're breeding budgies, you will soon have a few chicks on your hands.
Although the mother and father will do most of the work, there are a few things you'll need to do also.
Here are a few tips on caring for baby budgies.
Development It's important that you check on the chicks everyday.
They may experience development problems which can be fixed if caught early.
It's common for the little ones to get food stuck under their top mandible, or beak.
The accumulation of food can cause an undershot beak, so you'll need to remove it with a toothpick or something.
Another common developmental problem is splayed legs.
Since their bones are still forming, the problem can easily be corrected.
To treat the problem, you will need to tie the chick's legs closely together.
Also, mothers sometimes don't wash the baby's feet well enough.
If droppings are allowed to accumulate and harden, it can hinder the little one's ability to move its toes.
You will need to prevent this by washing them yourself.
Taming Most owners want a tame budgie.
If you plan on selling them, you'll need to keep this in mind.
You can easily start taming baby budgies after they're two weeks old.
Simply handle them carefully 10 minutes everyday.
Two weeks after this, you can start handling them for longer than 10 minutes.
Light If you'll be taming the chicks, you will need to take them out of the nestbox.
Their nestbox is very dark inside.
When you take them out, it's important that you shield their fragile eyes from the bright light.
After they get a little older, you won't need to shield them from the light anymore.