prior to the hatching of the first egg.) After that, this has to be done daily. When the chicks hatch, feed them cubes of whole-wheat bread soaked in milk at 6AM (right after the main lights come on). And in the evenings, offer soft food with 50% wheat and 50% groats (soaked for 24 hours), well rinsed and drained, and then mixed with egg food. You can even try out other recipes and do something altogether innovative. But please talk to your vet to fix up a diet regimen. And remember, it is already a lot of stress for the birds; so, don't make it even harder. This one's easy and interesting. You know that the eggs are laid, and you are all excited to see a baby budgie coming out. But to find out if the eggs are fertile, the following steps could help. Fertile eggs Budgie Breeding Candling the eggs When the eggs are 4-5 days old, they can be candled. And this is how you do it: hold the egg in front of you, at a distance of about a foot, at your eye level. Then hold a flash light, very closely behind egg. You are now looking into the egg with the flashlight behind the egg, and both the egg and the light are held facing you. Are you able to see red veins inside the shell, and a dark small spot? Well, then you are looking at the embryo (most of the time). Now, mark that spot. If the egg is clear, it means that it may not be fertile. Plus, the fertile eggs will be a bright white, while the infertile ones are dull white, in color. If you cannot see the veins (those lines inside the egg) even after 10 days of its being laid, you could consider Budgie Breeding Banding baby budgies is usually done when they are 8-10 days old throwing it out. Never open the box, without first tapping on it. You are likely to scare the hen, and she might walk all over her eggs. In due course of time, the hen will know that it is only you, and will get out of the nest box, to let you check. You can then take the egg out and candle it, but don't do this too often, and never, ever, shake the egg. Sometimes, the hen could even wait for a few days, before sitting on her eggs. So, wait for the 10th day to decide about the status of the eggs. Oh yes, this process might work only for eggs that are white, and not for the ones that are colored. (Seeing though colored eggs can be difficult.) When candling eggs does not work, it's the bobbing that comes to the rescue. Opening the nest box Budgie Breeding Bobbing If it is past the due time for the eggs to hatch, you can try using this method. |