newly hatched budgie babies

Question
QUESTION: Hi Tara,
You said you couldn't answer my last question, but now that one of the parakeet eggs did hatch, is there a need to check for and clean any poop off the babies so they don't choke on it? someone was mentioning that being important. If so, at what stage?

ANSWER: Hello I'd never done that with my 8 or so clucthes I'd had from budgies years ago...i jsut took the babies out at about three weeks old sat them in a safe place...ie a container with paper toweling banged out the nesting box scraped it a little with a paint scraper and put the chicks back and the box back...you can only wash the box with soap and water after the bbabies are gone from the enst and the mother is laying on eggs again as the damp box will grow mildew if not proerply dryed killing the eggs or chicks.

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

QUESTION: So I need to wait till she is NOT laying on another clutch yet, in the same nest box? She won't get mad if I move the 3 week old babies to clean the nest box? ( She bit me hard today for approaching her at the entrance of her nest box to try to get a feather off her cere! )

Answer
Hey yes I took my babies out at three weeks and again at 5/6 weeks to get the nest scraped out before the hen relays. You have to scoot her out of the nest box or you can offer spray millet out of the box or other treats and hope she goes out long enough for you to go remvoe the box and close of the hole to it...it only takes a few minutes to get the nest cleaned...my hen never mined she was rather hateful and bitter with me and was a breeding bird also not a pet but I shoued her out of the nest and it worked well.