Q:
I have a pair of breeding budgies. I’ve been watching the hen and she has laid an egg every two days right on schedule (always early in the morning). Yesterday (Saturday) the eggs began to hatch. The first baby hatched early in the morning, when we woke up he/she was in there and well fed. Now here’s the strange part, we got home from visiting family and the second egg has already hatched. I mean even if the first one hatched late Friday night, there was only less than a 24 hour period between babies. Is it possible that the first baby was late or the second early? I haven’t read anywhere about two chicks hatching on the same day.
A.
Budgie eggs will hatch after a full 18 days of incubation, which is dependent upon when the female first begins to sit and incubate the eggs full time. On occasion, a female budgie will not sit on the eggs in earnest until the appearance of the second or third egg, which can alter the actual hatch dates and that is most probably why your first two chicks hatched so closely together. This is not at all unusual, especially in first-time maiden pairs.
In addition to their innate instincts, birds learn to raise their young through actual experience. Chances are, in future nests, your female budgie will begin to sit from the appearance of the first egg, but again, don’t be alarmed if the same pattern repeats itself with two or more chicks hatching closely together. On occasion, budgies can lay their eggs on consecutive days, however, most psittacines including budgies and other birds in the parrot family, lay their eggs on an every-other-day schedule. Incubation of the eggs is an activity that is largely controlled by hormones however, it is not known what exact causes influence these hormonal changes.
As long as your pair are feeding, incubating and caring for their chicks, there is little reason for concern and it sounds as though your pair of budgies and young are doing just fine.
By: Linda Rubin
Featured Image: Via PuppiesAreProzac/Flickr
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