newtobudgies

Will definately post some photos of them. I'll try to do that tomorrow. Also, I've posted another topic about the use of Vetafarm's breeding aid, I'm using this every second day at the moment but should I be using it daily? I also use other Vetafarm products, soluvet and calcivet once a week each with plain fresh drinking water every other day, am I doing the right thing? I feed them Trill budgie seed every day with a fruit and vegetable dish every day as well, this includes a mix of apple, celery, zucchini, brocoli, and carrot, is there anything else I should be doing? Cuttlefish bone is also in the cage as well as a calcium and charcoal bell..... Thanks all.

Some great ideas there. What a good idea, I might have to try that as I was wondering how I'd manage to keep the nesting box clean without disturbing the parents. Thanks everyone.

I'm using Vetafarm's breeding aid and was wondering if I should be using it every day in the seed? At the moment I'm using it every second day, as the seed needs to soak for 24 hours I'm only making up enough to get me through.

I've got my first pair down at the moment and I never even considered the season! Silly me!! I have them in the garage, seeing the car is never in there, and the temp is at 24 degrees in the evenings, during the day I pull one of the roller doors up to let in extra sunlight and open up the window, making sure there is no draft of course. Are the birds going to be okay?

Thanks for the replies. I've been keeping an eye on them as this is my first go with breeding I'm a bit nervous! I'll keep you all posted and hopefully soon will have some good news and pictures! Another quick question, is it normal for them to drop a few feathers in the box? I haven't put any nesting material down as I was told not to bother as the hen would probably pull it all out but I've just noticed a few stray feathers in the box. They aren't feather plucking so it's not from that.

Hi everyone! Just a few quick questions I'm hoping someone may be able to answer for me. I've set up two of my budgies in a breeding cabinet, they were in an aviary together with others but seemed to pair up the instant they came out of quarantein so I thought I'd try breeding them. Both birds are just over a year old and are in condition. They've been in the cabinet for two weeks now and at first showed no interest in each other so I was going to give up but had to rush to my Grandmother as she had a health scare. Now I'm back I've noticed they are all lovey dovey again! Sookie the hen will let Barney the cock into the nest box with her, is this normal behaviour? Sookie doesn't spend a great deal of time in the nest box but they both seem to hop in and out a bit. The entrance hole to the box has been chewed a bit as well, is this okay? The cabinet was brand new when I bought it so I know they are the ones doing the chewing. Sookie also seems to have gained a bit of weight and her rump looks rounder, am I jumping the gun in suspecting that she may be carrying? Any help would be appreciated.

This is Mary my crested budgie, she is such a pleasure and has a stack of character! Here she is at about 3 months old enjoying her time out of the cage. Newtobudgies Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, I'm still not good with colours as you can tell, there are so many variations and at the moment I find it difficult to get my head around them all! Oh yes I know that the cage they are in isn't suitable as a full time home so once quaranteen is over I will be pushing hubby for the aviary even if I have to go get it myself! I'll tell him it was on special and at that price I just couldn't leave without it! :mellow: I'm letting the boys out for the first time this weekend for a fly around the house, we're totally bird proof as my two girls are out and about all the time and also my ringneck (coffee). Yes I must admit I am adicted to these feathered little friends, budgies are great! I'm used to having cockatiels and larger birds like my ringneck and a corella or two but budgies have just as much if not more character and I'm thoroughly enjoying learning about them! :budgiedance:

Like you wouldn't believe! I'm such a pain when I'm waiting for something too which makes me worse! I just keep looking at all these pretty budgies and wanting to buy them but I know I can't until I get that aviary! It's my mothers day present so only around 8 weeks to go now, or less if I can convince him I 'NEED' it sooner! What do you mean by this?

No never which is great, they seem to get along really well. They are brothers apparently and have been in the same cage since they went to that silly person who didn't like their chatter! The cage was tiny so they were probably yelling at her to buy them a bigger cage! They are in a tall dome cage until my husband gets me an aviary for our patio, so the dome cage will become the quaranteen cage.

They are handsome fella's I have to agree! I got them off a friend of a friend who was sick of them because they chatter a lot..grrr! I think they are such characters, they are an odd couple for sure, Bert keeps watch on the very top perch of the cage and paces back and forth while Ernie runs down the bottom for fruit and vegies to share! They both don't like eating down low for some reason! Oh and yes they chatter but isn't that a good thing not a bad thing? We're starting to get a hello out of them now which the kids think is brilliant!! okay Dave, still a bit of a newbie.....

Thanks Dmcminn, I have a budgie book here and it mentions a dutch pied which I thought maybe Ernie was as the picture they have in the book is very close. But I'm no expert so I didn't want to rely on knowledge that I clearly don't have! Has anyone got a photo of a dutch pied? Maesie I thought the names Bert and Ernie were appropriate seeing they are males living together! I used to have a cockateil which was a runner, I named her Stumpy! Also appropriate I think! :(Laughing out loud):

Here are my new boys, Bert and Ernie...original names I know but once again the kids got to pick! Anyhow I know they are both boys but can someone please tell me what colouring they are? This is Bert, he has a dark blue tail. And Ernie, he has a white tail and a white patch on the back of his head. Bert has blue and black wings and Ernie white and black.

Some new pics of Mary........ Check out the feather on the back of her head, it's so cute!! Ooohhh such an exhausting day playing, time for a nap... Preening Goldie. Who's a pretty birdie?

Awesome photos! Well done!!

Oh WOW! What a pretty budgie you have there, absolutely stunning colours! As for the sex I won't even fathom a guess as I have no experience in that department at all BUT I have read somewhere that baby girls have white rings around their nostrils and boys don't, one of the more experienced members may be able to tell you if this is correct...

Thanks everyone! Mary Mohawk, see it's catchy hey! I got some great photo's of her today while she was having some out of cage time, so I will post them tomorrow. She's such a cutie and has a great personality as well. I figured she was a boy as I've heard girls bite but Mary has never bitten, not even once! Where as Goldie our other girl budgie, she would maul the hand that feeds her without a second glance!

We nicknamed her Mary Mohawk! I had no clue about tufted or crested budgies until I did a bit of searching on the net! I'm not looking to breed at the moment, maybe one day, not until she's old enough anyway. She's going though a moult at the moment and the three feathers that stand upright above her cere have remained, she's also got one on the back of her head which you can't see in those photos, that sticks out too, it is so cute! I am glad, my youngest son got her off his kindy teacher (Mary) and he was so determined to name her Mary regardless of the sex! Her full name is actually Mary Erin Louise, after his favourite kindy teachers, pretty cute I think!

Thanks everyone for your help!

A hen...that's a girl right? Sorry, I'm not experienced at all! Also is Mary tufted?

Hello and welcome to this amazing forum! Your budgie is such a cutie pie, I have no idea about sex as I'm not experienced but I'm sure you'll get the answers you're looking for as there are some fantastic people here.

Can anyone out there tell me the sex of Mary, we have been told it's a boy...also what colouring is it, what ever it is Mary is just gorgeous and is absolutely beautiful in my eyes!!

Thanks for that Kaz, it's nice to put a name to the face so to speak! Thanks to everyone who has helped with Goldies issues, it's been a fantastic help. I'll have to post some pics of my little Mary, a tufted budgie but I'll do that another day in a different topic. Thanks again for all the help.

So is it okay for me to sigh a breath of relief and to believe it's a genetic disorder and not something more sinister or am I jumping the gun? Oh I am glad that Goldie is a girl, you see I have 3 son's and all the other animals are also male so I need another girl in the house so this is great!!! Also is it possible for someone to tell me what sort of colouring she is?