[T&BLove]

Your budgie is beautiful, at this point it looks like she may be a female due to the light whitish-color around the nares but the gender is not yet fully clear at this young age. I believe she is a dark green single factor violet (one or both of her parents likely have the violet gene but it just might not be seen easily on them) and she is also split to blue based on her parentage. Do you have any photos of her parents if you don't mind? Sorry I'm just curious what they look like, you have such a beautiful baby budgie! Also, I notice there are some droppings stuck on her foot, that can become pretty hard after a while and impair movement and cause other issues issues like deformations, infection, and other health problems so some gentle washing with slightly warm water and cotton balls or another budgie-safe material can help remove the debris. Sorry I don't want to worry you at all, I hope this helps! 😁

 

[T&BLove]

Of course, here are the parents, as for the droppings, we are getting a new cage (hopefully better quality) on the 20th and hopefully clean their feet with water or a light spray while setting up. Also, the father is white base, the lighting is just wonky

Thank you so much for the images! That's great to hear, I'm so glad you will be cleaning their feet and upgrading their home. The parents are beautiful, the father looks like a cobalt single factor violet (where your lovely little chick got her violet allele from) and in that photo the mother looks like a light green like you said. Thanks so much again for your response! Have you named your beautiful chick yet? 😁

 

[T&BLove]

Yep, mango fits the fruit theme I’m going for with the rest of the chicks, lychee and kiwi, the photos are older but kiwi is full yellow opaline and lychee looks just like the dad

Oh wow that's awesome I love that idea, what a great theme for the chicks' names! Lychee and Kiwi are so cute! Aww you're right Lychee is cobalt like his dad (so this means Mom is split to blue), and Kiwi is such a beautiful yellow-based budgie, I understand these are older photos, do you have any of them currently? As they gain their mature body conture feathers it will be more easy to discern their exact mutations ex. dark or light green for Kiwi, presence of the violet gene and others (theoretically for your budgie parent's cross there could be 25% cobalt, 25% sky blue, 25% dark green and 25% light green chicks, and 50% single factor violet chicks overall). I actually don't think Kiwi is opaline, just based on how each of her wing pinfeathers look like they are black at the base and edged in yellow, and she looks to be developing some pretty dark barring on her forehead, but you are correct, if a male budgie who is split to opaline (carrying an opaline allele) is crossed with a female budgie who is not opaline, then there is a probability of him producing 25% female opaline chicks. They are all so beautiful! Thank you so much for your wonderful pictures and descriptions! 😁

 

[T&BLove]

Thanks for the feedback, here are some more recent photos of both babies that I took today, kiwi is currently 24 days and lychee is 25 days, hopefully it’s easier to tell the mutations as I’m not very good at it

My pleasure, thank you so much for the photos and information, 😁 wow they are beautiful! Lychee looks like a cobalt, I am not seeing any distinct indications of violet right now, and Lychee is possibly a male due to the more purplish-pink, smooth and shiny appearance of the cere. Kiwi looks like a light green (split to blue) greywing budgie, based on the dilution, light blue cheek patches and grey markings, and although the primary flight feathers are especially pale grey right now, they will typically darken a tiny bit as this little chick ages and molts throughout its life. Kiwi could be single factor violet, I see a hint of bluish-violet suffusion on the base of the tail, but Kiwi is also split to blue (causing some blue color near the tail and possibly vent as well) so it will be easier to tell perhaps with a photo of Kiwi's front and chest and abdomen areas, and especially after Kiwi experiences their first molt. Is Kiwi's chest and abdomen quite a light green color? I know Kiwi doesn't have that many body conture feathers at this age but it would help to have a view of the body color to more clearly see the level of dilution, sorry for all of the questions! Also, this means that both of Kiwi's parents must be carrying a greywing allele (since greywing is a recessive autosomal gene). It's truly fascinating to discover hidden genes in budgies! Also, Kiwi's cere isn't fully visible so it's difficult to tell the gender. Thanks so much again

 

[T&BLove]

Of course, budgie genetics is such a fun topic to delve into. I will probably update when they are 4 weeks as it gets easier to tell the color as they get more feathers but thank you so much for your responses, they are extremely helpful and informative as I’m not good at determining the mutations yet, I didn’t know that budgies had such amazing mutations that can only be visible in offspring 😄

I totally agree, thank you so much, that would be wonderful to have an update when they are 4 weeks old! 😁That's a great idea. I'm so glad, I hope I am helping, you are doing really well with the mutations and everything; thank you so much for your responses, clear information and photos too! I agree, it's so amazing to see different budgie mutations, especially when they are hidden and emerge in chicks! I hope you enjoy your budgies, and I am excited to see them progress, they are so pretty and cute 😁

 

[T&BLove]

Hello! Oh no, 😭 I'm so sorry you lost Lychee, he was such a special budgie, rest and fly in peace little buddy 💙💙

Wow that's a great sized cage, I'm so glad, it sounds like you have an exciting opportunity for creating some interior design for your budgies, great job! Are you adding more natural perches? Those two grayish natural ones that you have right now look really nice, are they cholla wood? Also, sorry I don't want to worry you, and I know you are still going to fully set up your budgies' cage, but I see some mirrors in the cage; mirrors can cause budgies to become overly attached to their reflection (who they perceive as another budgie), begin regurgitating food or become territorial or aggressive, and in some cases, even become malnourished due to excessive regurgitation. Thank you so much for sending the photos, I really appreciate it! I love how Mango is yawning in one of the photos, Mango and Kiwi are both so cute! I agree, I think Kiwi could possibly be a female, I am seeing some lightness on her cere around the nares. So, Kiwi looks like a light green greywing, since Kiwi has moderate dilution, light-medium blue cheek patches, grey central tail rectrices, and medium grey markings, including some cute little grey throat spots. As I mentioned earlier, Kiwi's primary flight feathers are a relatively light gray color at the moment, but they can darken a tiny bit as Kiwi ages and molts throughout life. I hope this helps, thank you so much for all of your responses and information, I hope you enjoy spending time with your lovely budgies and watching them grow! 😁 Once again, I'm so sorry about Lychee 💙 🕊🌈 If you need any help don't hesitate to ask!

 

[T&BLove]

thank you so much for the responses, they have helped immensely. The mirror situation has been fixed by the fact that the adults are too scared to touch the mirrors because mango chases them away by flapping her wings and begging for extra food while climbing up the mirror and running away from her reflection, it’s adorable. One question I had about the birds, when is a good time to let them out to start flying outside. They already are trying to fly and mimick the adults but aren’t quite there yet. We are definitely getting more perches and swings and planning to expand the flock in the future. I’m not sure of the type of wood on the pre existing perches as they came with the cage but the birds enjoy them.

My pleasure, I'm so glad! Thank you so much for the update, aww, that's so cute, Mango sounds like such a brave little girl! Your new cage setup sounds great! Regarding your question, from 30-40 days budgie chicks typically fledge (their flight feathers are fully developed) and will often try to start flying like you mentioned. At around 5 weeks they begin getting more curious and enjoy exploring and trying some new, more solid foods, so I find it can be a great experience if you set up a little safe enclosed playpen for them outside of their cage and supervise them while they play, in between their feeding times from their parents (you can also let the parents out with the chicks as long as they are receptive to this), and also provide different safe and soft vegetables, softened pellets, sprouts, or other new foods for the chicks to try eating. A variety of safe natural toys like chewing, foraging (however it is also important to make food easy to access for the chicks) or shredding toys can be placed in the playpen, as well as low perches and climbing areas, to encourage the chicks to learn how to perch, climb, play and develop their muscles. However, it is important to supervise the chicks, especially making sure all toys are safe, i.e. the chicks can't become stuck or ingest any unsafe materials. It is important to make the weaning process and new experiences really enjoyable, calm and low-stress for the chicks by monitoring these activities with the chicks and others, it provides some desensitization and also encourages the chicks to maintain a healthy diet (by providing different natural foods, high-quality pellets and vegetables and others) and level of activity (by encouraging play) throughout their life. Budgies will typically be completely weaned at 6-7 weeks old and can be moved to their own separate cage with their siblings to prevent aggression or interbreeding (sometimes 8 weeks or older for late bloomers, but that could also indicate some developmental issues). 8 weeks is typically the minimum age at which budgie chicks can receive new homes if someone were to adopt-out their chicks (as long as the chicks are fully weaned and the owner can ensure that they are healthy, eating well and receiving optimal nutrition). Some extra notes: Often, when budgie chicks are 3.5 weeks old, placing the mother budgie in her own separate cage (even in a different room if the mother budgie is more comfortable with that) can prevent aggression and territoriality related to attempting to lay and raise a double-clutch, and promotes the safety of the chicks and even the father budgie. Also it is best to remove the nest box as soon as the chicks are happy to sleep and spend their time outside of the box to avoid hormonal issues and prevent stimulation of the parent(s) to breed again, and I notice you have already removed the nest box, that is awesome, great work!That also represents that the chicks have graduated from that safety net and are becoming more mature. I hope this helps and I hope you and your budgies are having a blessed and Merry Christmas! 😁 Feel free to send more updates, I love hearing about the budgies, they are such a cute little family!

 

[T&BLove]

mango told us she wanted to get out in her own way haha. The little demon tried to squeeze outside through the bars so we decided to put her outside on a clean carpet. Not even five minutes in and she flew upstairs and played with our LED lights and hair, it was very cute. We put her back and she took a long nap and flew through the cage and perches to harass her parents like the little winged devil she is. Kiwi just got to trying to fly and we think it’s a good idea to wait it out to see when she gives hints of wanting out instead of forcing it as she screeches when upset. I hope you had a great Christmas and have a happy new year!

Haha aww little Mango is such a rambunctious one, I love all of the photos, little Mango and Kiwi are so cute sleeping! Just make sure Mango doesn't get stuck at all and that the bars are a proper width! She's so cute, I can't believe how much she has grown, they develop so quickly don't they? That is so wonderful that she is learning how to fly, I'm so glad! Great job letting little Kiwi take her time so that she is comfortable. I love seeing updates on your budgie family, it is truly so joyful. Thank you so much for your kind wishes, I hope you and your birds had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year too! 😁 Feel free to send more pictures, the budgies are so cute!

 

[T&BLove]

Hi! I had a great New Year, thank you so much, I hope you did as well! It's so great to talk with you and hear updates again, I was actually just thinking of your budgie family and hoping you would post some updates! Oh yes with the dad budgie that does become an issue unfortunately, great job separating him. That's so cute, haha Mango and Kiwi sound like such special rambunctious little budgies, taking their first bath too, yay! That must have been quite enjoyable for Mango and Kiwi, to freshen and clean their feathers and prevent any itchiness. Awww, it must be so nice having your little budgie buddies around whenever they need some pets! I'm so glad to hear about Mango and Kiwi and the whole budgie family and hope you all are doing well! 😁 😁

 

[T&BLove]

thankyou! i hope you and your budgies are doing great as well, mango seems to have inherited the dilute gene on her base color as it is lighter than her mothers base for sure, identical to her sisters base color though she certainly isn't a greywing. kiwi's feathers have gotten a bit darker as they grew in as you predicted, I think the mom is split to greywing and the dad is a secret greywing, it would explain some of his flight feathers and the odd color of some of his feathers on his wing whenever he stretches, if the two ever mate again this fall, it will probably become more clear. I will probably update when the girls get their first molt and the actual feathers grow in, have a great day!

My pleasure, aww thank you so much! Wow, that's so neat, thank you so much for these details, it's really fascinating to see how their feathers change a bit as they grow, and how budgies can have relatively hidden recessive genes. Great job researching with the budgie info and everything, I can't wait to see the pictures of Mango and Kiwi and their new grown feathers! Thank you so much, you have a great day too! 😁