Need help with Baby Quakers

[slcoy]

Hi,
My Quakers (Chico & Chela) had babies. Im not sure how old they are. I didnt even know they had babies until one day when I saw them flying around the aviary. They have a very big nest they built out of sticks that I gathered and placed in thier aviary. There are 2 baby blue Quakers . One is bigger than the other. I was wondering, when can baby Quakers eat by themselves? Is there anything I should be doing? My friend wants one of the babies and I dont know when it would be safe to give her one. Thanks for your help.

[birdsnthings]

Watch the babies to see if they are eating on their own. Parents should teach them.
Wait till you are sure they are eating well before giving them away.

[Monica]

Well, you gave sticks to build a nest with! Most quakers use the sticks to build nests with individual nesting cavities (depending on the size of the nest).

I'd say to leave the chicks with the parents for atleast 3 more weeks to be sure that they are eating on their own and can care for them! Congrats with the chicks, though!!! Must have been a wonderful surprise! I can't wait till the day I'd be able to get my own quaker!

[slcoy]

I first saw the 2 babies 3 or 4 days ago. They were trying to fly. Usually around how old are Quakers when they attempt to fly? Today while cleaning out their aviary, I noticed an unhatched egg on the ground. At least one of them didnt live, I guess. Shouldnt they have more than just 2 babies?

[Monica]

The quakers now are probably around 6-7 weeks old, with the larger one possibly being a couple days older than the younger one. It would actually be best to keep them till they are around 12-15 weeks old. It is possible though that the unhatched egg was either infertile or dead in shell. Birds can lay anywhere from 2-8 eggs (occasionally more), though on average somewhere around 4-6. Not all eggs tend to be fertile.