Appetite comes with eating. This banal phrase can be attributed to almost any life situation, even to the purchase of a parrot. At first, people start one feathered, and eventually notice that he is bored and lonely. Then comes the thought of acquiring a second bird.
Most often, people acquire heterosexual parrots. Consequences of co-production are laid eggs. Once, having looked into the cage, the owners find several small eggs in the corner. What to do in this case? First, you need to build a bird house for nesting, lay eggs there. And sit down at the computer yourself and get acquainted with all the nuances of the egg hatching process. To find out how much the budgerigar hatches eggs and how to care for them during this period, you should carefully read our article.
Bird mating games
Parrots, like any other birds, have a mating season. How to learn that birds are ready to become parents?
The male begins to care for the female. He dodges around her, affectionately chirps, trying to kiss. Kissing budgies, touching their beaks.
If the female is ready for courtship, she favorably accepts them. Rubs his head on the neck of the "groom". Like a decent lady, allows herself to kiss. Seeing all this, the owner understands: it is time to prepare a house for nesting.
How long do budgerigars hatch eggs? Be patient, this is described a bit below.
Cooking a house
The "marriage house" can be bought or made with your own hands. With the latter option you have to tinker. It is necessary to find material (wood or chipboard), make a drawing of the room, assemble the house itself from the boards. If you do not have the necessary materials, then it is easier to buy it, it will be cheaper.
Oh, and by the way, how many eggs does the budgerigar hatch? A little more, and we will find out about it. In the meantime, talk about the house.
There are several types of houses: horizontal, vertical and mixed. For budgies, the last option is suitable. It is elongated, with a wide bottom. The main thing you pay attention to when buying is the location of the entrance. If it is too low, then this is fraught with an early departure of the chicks from the nest. If the position is too high, the female can hurt the babies when she leaves her shelter. Take the house with the entrance in the middle and a small perch located under the hole. It is necessary so that the female can calmly exit the nest and enter it.
At the bottom of the house you can put a piece of warm rag or cover it with paper napkins.
The house is installed in the corner of the cage, securely fixed. The first two weeks after the chicks hatch, you will have to forget about cleaning it.
Hatching Dates
How many budgerigars do eggs hatch at home and in nature? Timing is slightly different. In nature, this period does not last longer than 21 days. At home, being in comfortable conditions and feeling protected, the female can stretch the hatching period of eggs, it ranges from 19 to 26 days.
How to care for a female
With how many budgerigars hatch eggs at home, we figured out. Now we will consider in detail the care of the expectant mother during this period.
- Frightening situations must not be allowed. If the female is nervous or frightened, she may leave eggs.
- Once again, you should not disturb the “mother hen”.
- Cleaning the cell is carried out only at the moment when the future mother is not in her.
- Release the female to "walk" around the room. While they are flying with the male, the owner quickly cleans the cage.
- When cleaning, do not touch the nest.
- If the female is nervous, flies up to the owner and tries to attack him, she will have to postpone the cleaning until better times.
- A lady needs to be intensely fed.
- There should be no drafts in the room where the cage with the nest is located.
- Smoking in the room where the cage stands is unacceptable.
Feeding a female
We learned how long the budgerigars hatch eggs. How to feed a bird during this period?
The basis of her diet is food for parrots. Additional feeding: vegetables, fruits, herbs, cottage cheese, chicken or turkey meat. Be sure to add crushed eggshell eggs to the female’s food. Try (at least twice a week) to feed half a boiled and pounded egg.
During the period of hatching of the chicks, the future mother should receive a sufficient amount of protein and calcium. Do not skimp on cottage cheese and meat for her.
Hang chalk for parrots in the cage. It serves as a source of calcium and a tool for cleaning the beak.
Hatching process
How many female budgerigars incubate eggs? Recall that in captivity the period lasts from 19 to 25 days.
The responsibilities of future parents are clearly divided. Mom sits on the eggs, and dad brings her a meal, helps clean the feathers. In conditions of cellular maintenance, the mother can eat on her own, but the male still fulfills his duty.
How to find out that a female is ready to lay eggs? She begins to characteristically move her tail. Another sign of readiness is an increased amount of litter.
The eggs are laid, the expectant mother is sitting in the nest. 8-10 days after the calculation, the owner can find out which of them are fertilized and which are empty. This is done simply: it is enough to take the egg into the light, examine it. If you find the presence of a dark spot with a mesh - this is the germ of the chick. If there is nothing of the kind, then the egg is left empty.
The female warms the eggs with her body and turns them over. Experienced parrot owners recommend not touching eggs unnecessarily. If they are heavily contaminated, droppings will have to intervene. Eggs should be washed in hot water, the temperature of which should not be lower than 37 degrees. Then for some time they are left in a bowl of hot water.
Keep your bird cage in a cage. Carefully monitor the amount of water in it. Bathing is necessary so that the future mother could moisturize the nest. She splashes in the water, and carries droplets on feathers in a nest.
In addition, do not allow low temperatures in the room where the cell is located. It should not fall below 25 degrees.
Possible problems
We found out how long budgerigars hatched eggs. Alas, sometimes there are problems with hatching and shelving:
- Expectant mother eats eggs.
- Chicks do not hatch.
- Chicks die.
Let's consider these reasons in more detail.
Female eats eggs
There may be several reasons:
- lack of calcium in the body of the expectant mother;
- stress;
- nesting too frequent;
- first hatching.
The first reason is easy to fix. Add crushed eggshells to your bird food. At the pet store, buy mineral feeding for parrots and give the female separately from food.
The second reason is more difficult to eliminate. It is recommended to provide the expectant mother with complete peace and quiet. Drop the male for a while. Separate, particularly impressionable females may experience stress due to the constant presence of a “husband”.
The third option is the saddest. If the female often has to rush, she gets tired. And begins to destroy the eggs. In this case, remove the nest from the cage, give the female budgerigar a rest.
And the fourth reason is youth. When the female makes the first laying, strange behavior is a typical situation. With experience it will pass.
The death of the chicks
This may be due to genetic causes. Remember what happened with the previous clutches. Have all the eggs hatched? The chicks were dying? If the death of the babies is regular, then it is better to remove the nest from the cage.
In isolated cases, do not worry. The chicks were most likely weak.
Chicks do not hatch
Sometimes it happens. Mother does not help babies get out, and they do not have enough strength to break the shell. This is cruel, but such is natural selection. The female knows which of the children is weak, and does not allow him to be born.
Chick Care
How many hatchback eggs hatch, we found out. 25 days passed, the first babies were born - red, shriveled and very ugly. How to care for offspring?
The baby does not require special care. The first two weeks they can not be touched. After 14 days, carefully bathe the babies in warm water. This is necessary in order to cleanse their bodies of adhering droppings.
The cell must have sprouted grain. It is eaten by a female to produce goiter milk. In addition, a young mother needs green dressing. Lettuce, dandelion, plantain leaves are ideal for meeting the need for greens.
About 3 weeks after birth, little chicks begin to feed on softened grain. They leave the nest on the 40th day of life.
It is important
How many hatchback eggs hatch, we found out. Now let's note the most important points.
- After the chicks have left the nest, remove it from the cage.
- The male and female must be held separately after the birth of the first offspring. At least a couple of months, but let them live separately.
- Sometimes the female lays eggs, being separated from the male. This is due to hormonal disorders. This is affected by nutrition. Review the diet of the bird, and everything will return to square one.
- If the male and the female are together in the cage at the time of hatching, the future dad becomes aggressive. He is able to attack the owner. Take this into service and try not to disturb the birds in vain.
Conclusion
In the article, we examined the question of how many days the budgerigar hatches eggs. To summarize, recall: from 19 to 25 days.
In addition, answers were given to questions about caring for the female during the incubation period, her feeding. It is told what problems can be with laid eggs, why this happens and how to fix the difficulty.