Expert: Kyle Lohr - 3/17/2009

Question
QUESTION: My parakeet laid quite a few eggs, but only one hatched.  He is about two weeks old now, and is getting quite big, and his feathers are coming in nicely.  The mother is spending more and more time outside the nesting box the last day or two.  Is this OK as long as she continues to feed him?  He is too big for her to sit on, and he doesn't seem to be cold, is that why she is not in there all the time?

ANSWER: Hello Nita! As long as the room in which the mother, father, and baby are house is at a warm temperature, not anything cold, and the mother is still feeding him, he should indeed be fine. The father should be feeding him some also, it helps out the mother a lot. Watch the babies weight, take a picture, and then monitor it over a week or two span. If he looks like hes been losing weight, the mother may be slowly abondoning him. If hes gained weight, everything is ok.

Hope I helped! Thanks Nita.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the previous help - our little baby parakeet is doing great!  We have been taking him out and playing with him daily, and his mom and dad continue to feed him.  I had him out today in a cardboard box so he can see what's going on without getting hurt.  I noticed he was eating his poop, so I gave him a few pellets and he went crazy over them.  Is it OK to give him a few?  He sort of sucked on them to soften them up and then he ate them.  I just wanted to make sure this wouldn't be harmful to him. He is almost four weeks old.   Thanks!!  Nita

Answer
Hello again Nita! I'm very glad to hear he is doing good. When and if you offer a baby budgie food, and it willingly eats it, everything is fine. As long as hes not choking on it. You may want to be careful on how much you feed him, because the mother and father may try and feed him and see that he is refusing to eat what they offer, and mistakinly feel he is ready to feed on his own and stop feedin him. So just a couple pellets is ok.

Good Luck Nita! Have Fun!