Rainbow

Have you had successes breeding other types (ie, normals) before? I'm not sure what aspect of breeding you are asking for help with? Does this pair not want to go to nest, or is there another problem you are having? Do you suspect there is a nutritional issue? Some more background would be most helpful. There are many breeders that post on these boards, if you could give us some more information on the exact problem(s) you are having it will be easier to give specific advice that addresses what you are finding to be most troublesome with this pair.

Hi James, welcome. If you could give us a little more information, such as what you have tried so far, where you do not seem to be sucessful, describe your setup, birds, ages, etc. It will be easier for someone to better advise you if we know where you are in the process and what you are aiming for as your end result.

Hmm, tough to tell from the picks but I'm going with a cock bird also. The head is pretty rounded, normally the hen's head will appear more 'boxy', especially when they are relaxed like that. I think by 3 months the cere would be lighter at the base if it were a hen, just my guess.

:devil: :devil: Elly, I can look into your post count if the number really bothers you...maybe a recount????? mwa haa haa!!!

That's what I did too, remove the hen to a seperate cage where she can get some rest from an overeager male wanting to start a new family, leave the babies with dad. He should finish weaning them.

Glad to hear that he is home and you have a plan of action to help him get better. Did you ever get a definitive diagnosis? Liver issues, or anything like that?

For the duration of the meds, don't offer veggies, fruit, or cooked foods. The medicine you were given to put in the water takes into account your bird's size/weight and the fact that she is a desert bird and does not drink much anyway. If you force-feed her the meds, unless you are only giving her a very small amount (that she would normally drink in a sip or two) you risk overmedicating. I think you will find if she is only eating seeds, she will probably drink as there will not be another water source for her. Water-based meds are hit-and-miss for short-term therapy for some birds, as if they suspect the water is even a little bit 'off' they will not drink. For chronic (long-term) issues it seems to work better. If you seriously think after a few days your bird is not drinking (feces do not have the characteristic 'wet' look to them, seem harder, she seems to strain, or are sticking to the bum) then ask your vet if you can either have oral meds or add a flavor (like a small amount of Tang) to the water to entice her to drink. Bear in mind adding flavor will probably add color to the water, and if your bird is suspicious of the color change may still not drink. Ask your vet first as some meds probably shouldn't be mixed with anything but water. If you cannot get the meds into her on a regular basis in the water you will need a different strength to give via syringe. Good luck!

What is the reason for the paralysis? I had a budgie with kidney tumors, he eventually lost the use of his right leg due to the tumor putting pressure on a nerve. A heat lamp would not have helped him recover, but he could regulate his body temperature fine so the use of one was never brought up. Does the bird have trouble regulating his body temperature?

I'm pretty sure it's not that kind of seed...... It is a tough seed and I don't think my birds even eat it - they much prefer the millet, canary grass seed, and oat groats!

I use a pre-mix (Volkman), but it only makes up about 30% of their diet so economical for me to buy instead of make my own. Ssome of the ingredients are white and red proso millet, canary grass seed, oat groats, flax seed, rape seed, nyjer seed, hemp seed. So far my birds far prefer it to any mix I've ever used before, and the seed is very clean.

Kaz is right that blue means boy and pink means girl is incorrect, with budgies you are more likely to be correct if you think pink means BOY instead. With some mutations the cere of the male never turns blue and stays pink even into adulthood, however the cere of a female no matter what the mutation will turn brown once she begins to mature and starts churning out that estrogen. If you look back up at Neat's pictures of the baby hen, you will see the cere is gradually changing shade from the beak upwards - darkest at the base then slowly lightening until the nostrils, where the light rings are very visible. I think this can be a tell-tale sign as well, as the cere of a male seems to remain pretty even for a longer period of time than the hen's do, although they will eventually show a slight graduated color change as well.

Too funny!

One of my hens has hyperkeratosis. She does not have a vitamin deficiency, but does have probable liver issues. I was told the excess cere growth was probably due to hormones and not to worry. The vet has always just scraped off the excess. The hen is sometimes able to keep the growth down herself through normal beak wiping so it rarely needs the vet to do anything. But it does frequently look like there is too much cere there, just not enough to warrant me trying to remove it.

The one I am using for my 4 is 34" x 22" x 43" (86.4 cm W x 55.9 cm D x 109.2 cm H). It has a breeder door on each end and a huge front door with 2 types of latches as well as a key lock. It came with seed guards all the way around but I don't use them due to space issues. As I don't breed them anymore the breeder doors are now just new entrances/exits for the birds - some prefer to use the front door others like the sides. It comes on a built-in stand so is much taller than I am (I need a chair to get them from the top), the dimensions are the usable space for the birds. I got it at a local bird fair for I think about $185.00 USD (it's been awhile).

The pictures were posted with permission for examples of ceres in baby birds. The 1st picture was taken right after she fledged at about 30 days, it is actually the hen in the far right of my signature. The rest (from the website) I do not have anymore, they have new owners. Although not my bird, in the 3rd picture the cere is pretty even-toned so male. I think the reflection of the flash makes identification difficult sometimes.

It sounds like she was stressed. It could have been from whatever hormonal rage she was in when you caught her inside, the bite was probably triggered by that also, and then being taken to an unknown environment...each thing in and of itself probably nothing but added one upon another was enough to overload her system, she bolted and hit the wall. If she was going good it probably stunned her some - like when wild birds fly into your window. Sometimes they just bounce off and keep going, sometimes they drop like a rock and take up to an hour to recover before they can fly again. Glad she has recovered, and hopefully the next time in the aviary will not provoke the same response.

LOL most of those birds were mine - pics 1,2 and 4. In the 4th picture (with the 3 birds) the male is on the right - the cere color is more even with almost no noticable color change around the nostrils, the other 2 are female - with the whitish rings. Is that what you were looking at?

I'm sorry you've lost birds like this, Kaz. It must have been just sickening to go outside and see that. What a horrible start to the day. Hopefully you have managed to block up his entrance and by the time he finds another route in (IF he is still around) hopefully your new aviary will be ready and he will be thwarted.

I think your new budgie is female. The black streaks will fade soon, they will be gone within a month. But the view on my monitor looks like the tip of the beak is missing? Is that just the camera angle?

Looks great so far, hopefully not too much longer before it is functional. I'm sorry you have lost some birds in the process though. With luck maybe they will find their way home? The dogs are adorable too.

Fuel costs are outrageous where I am also. The last time I filled up my car it was $4.19 per gallon. I pretty much only drive to work as it's more of a hassle to take the train from where I live. Luckily most things I need are within a few miles of where I live so groceries, etc. isn't bad I use less than a gallon to go to the store. I used to take drives on the weekend, or take "day trips" - you know within 3 hours or so away - but don't do that anymore. Since it costs $60.00 USD to fill up my car I just don't drive much anymore. It gets great highway gas mileage considering but it's just too expensive.

It does look very flaky near the tip, doesn't it? One cause of excessive beak flaking is a vitamin deficiency. A mostly seed diet is deficient in about everything. I can't tell you if that is the issue for certain, but I would add fresh or cooked (raw is better) vegetables like carrots, kale, broccoli, etc. to the diet, as well as cooked grains. Don't worry overmuch if he ignores them at first, just keep offering them and eventually they will get nibbled on. Also look to the items in the cage - is there a particular toy he may pick at that could break off the tip of the beak, or does he pick at the bars any?

What a thrill. I would have loved to have been there with you guys...so much to see and learn! I'm glad you had such a great time and were able to be so active in some behind the scenes work. :hap: Thanks for posting up all the pictures, they are some lovely birds!

Clipping only one wing can be dangerous and quickly helps erode any confidence the bird may have in his ability to get around. If you are going to clip, please do both wings equally. I don't clip my birds, but the safest clip for the bird I have seen involves trimming the feathers at the base of the shaft. (link here) No pointy feather shafts to stick out and cause irritation...and possibly begin a feather-plucking problem. This seems to be more of an issue with larger birds, budgies typically do not have a tendency to pluck without medical cause. When you clip the feather halfway, the end of the shaft can poke the bird, causing them to start nibbling on the feather in an attempt to make this sensation go away. The more they nibble, the more the feather splinters (I've seen this firsthand), and the more painful it becomes when the wing is close to the body (which is most of the time). With larger parrots especially, this can be the trigger for long-term feather destruction behaviors. As you can see from the pictures, the scissors are very close to the wing itself - for safety's sake if you are interested in this type of clip and especially if your bird tends to be wriggly have your veterinarian help you do it the first time!

this may sound silly but what does IMO means? IMO = In My Opinion This is one reason we limit shortcuts - some are quite common, others not so much, but if you've never seen it before, common or not, you lose something in reading the post. Sometimes it's quite frustrating.