how to keep a baby budgie warm? Please help.

[Turkish Delight]

my mum has an aviary with budgies. On the day she was admitted into hossie, another budgie had gone into the nesting box of another budgie and pecked at them quite severely. We lost one baby due to this, but there are 5 others. The mother abandoned them, so i took over their care. Four of them are quite big babies, they have 90% of their feathers and are eating the seed and millet which i have put for them. There is one baby which is very young. It still hasn't got all its feathers and is still downy ITMS. The bigger ones leave the bird box and walk around in the cardboard box which they are in and this little one is left alone. I just walked into the room where they are and found this little one sprawled on the floor of the box. It was cold. I went in to get it so i could feed it as it is the one that can't eat seed yet. I was horrified. I grabbed it and got some food ready, but it was too sick to eat. It was freezing, and on deaths door. I put it inside my top and is now sitting in my cleavage still fighting for life. How do i keep it warm at night and now too? I can't have it living in my cleavage all day as i have to hang out the washing!

TIA

[lindsaymaree]

good on you for looking after the little one! I'm not 100% sure but what about a desk lamp over the box? or filling a hot water bottle/wheat bag and wrapping it in a towel and putting the bird on it to sleep?

[Astrid]

You need a broody box set-up with a light. Globes are hard to get these days, as the energy efficient ones are no good, you need the older style, but even those don't put out as much heat as they used to. It is best to spray paint them black, but you need to leave them on for a few hours to burn off the chemicals before putting them anywhere near the bird. The other option is a set-up using a clay flower pot to radiate the heat. For now a hot water bottle would work, especially in an insulated box, like a styrofoam one. Just keep on checking it. The other option is some kind of heat pad, the pet store may have one. I would see first if it survives overnight before doing to much though.

[Kazbah]

TD - we used a broody for our day-old chicks and that's an old-style light globe.

I can't remember if you're anywhere near me - I have a heat pad (electric) for my dog if you want to borrow it.

[Turkish Delight]

oh thank you so much ladies. i sat the baby budgie in DS's dressing gown and turned on the desk lamp which has the old fashioned light bulbs and you can just see that this baby bird is lapping up all the heat.

It didn't die, thank God but i was expecting it too. It had stiffened legs and couldn't even keep its head up. My $10k boobies warmed it up I'm just glad i got them done, they saved a life

After an hour or so, it began chirping, so i fed it some food and it was really hungry. It is now happily sleeping. Do i keep the lamp on all night?

[Mildez]

I haven't raised a baby budgie but with chickens we use the old fashioned lightglobes but they had to be 25WW. Anything warmer or more watts would cook them. If you used something more then this I wouldn't put it to close to it.

[AliBaby]

YAY for the boobs saving budgies life. I would leave teh lamp on all night and the dressing gown there for him to snuggle in. Good job today hun

[lindsaymaree]

My $10k boobies warmed it up I'm just glad i got them done, they saved a life

lol go boobies! Great work TD!

xx