Jabberwocky92

Thank you so much for those tips, I have to say I kissed Dalek a lot. I just feel so bad about causing something to die from not knowing the signs to show illness. I know that with Flipper I will be a lot more vigilant with how he is feeling, and openly question my vet about it. I will also look at getting help from breeders who live close to me, if something really bad is happening. Thank you for telling me the real reason behind Dalek's illness.

I have looked back as well and I do agree with you. As much as it kills me inside to know that I made him suffer and it does make me feel that I don't deserve another budgie. I made a mistake and I didn't have to proper care available and i only just found about the aviary vet a few hours away the day before he passed. Sadly the vet only worked on one day of the week and was full booked out. I feel horrible about this and like the worst budgie owner ever.

We suspected it for a long time due to his behaviour, and when we went to the vet he said it was very likely. It would explain everything and then explain the sezuires that came later in his life. It is very hard to tell if a budgie has brain damage, as you can't really do a CT scan on the poor thing, so it is mostly guess work. But we were all 90% sure he had some type of brain damage.

Hi guys, i'm wondering if I could get some feedback about this little piece I wrote about my time with Dalek? I would like to get it to a point where I could put it in the local newspaper, to get people aware that special needs animals can be loved and have a good life. A special needs budgie. My time looking after a budgie with brain damage. Dalek was born early December of 2010, the first chick that we had hatched out in our new adventure in to the wonderful world of budgies. As soon as Dalek was born, we knew that something was wrong with him, he wouldn't chirp that much, he liked to huddle with his mum or on my mother's hands. Unlike his siblings who were all bounding around the nest and chirping loudly and proudly. He developed (body wise) normally, but he still stayed the same mentally, liked to be snuggled and held and was not an active bird. I know that some breeders would have put him down, and I did think about doing it (to put him out of his misery). But he wasn't in misery, he wasn't in pain and he wasn't getting any worse, he just stayed the same. Unlike most budgies, he didn't make much noise, but after a month or so he learnt to communicate with his bell. If he wanted my attention, he would ring his little bell until I came in and gave him cuddles and head scratches. I've had a lot of my friends ask me if keeping him was the right thing to do, and even now I look back and think that I would do it all over again if we got another special needs budgie. The hardest thing to come to terms with is that he had a death sentence, he wouldn't make it to a year old. And trying to look past that, to give the bird as much love and the best life you can, is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. When I first found out, I was heart broken and also very, very torn. A budgie's natural thing is to hide its pain and weakness, so how would I know that I was giving him a good life? I think that this is what makes most people weary of special need animals, they can't tell if the animal is okay or just hiding the pain. I spent the rest of the day watching Dalek, and he spent the rest of the day watching me (in between having his head shoved in the food dish, he never really did get table manners) I always look back, even now, three months after his death, to see if I could have done anything more for him. But I look back at the photos of him, and all I see is a very happy bird, until he started to go down hill. The more you tried to ignore it and keep living life as if he was healthy, the harder it got. I think that if you are going to get a special needs animal, or keep a special needs bird, you need to accept that it has a short life span. That's why some people euthanise the birds, because they know what was in store. I didn't realise what was in store for Dalek, I didn't realise how fast he would go down hill and how useless I would feel watching him slowly fade away. His daily food intake was normal. His poo was normal. Even up until his last day, he was still eating (He passed away while eating). It was just brain damage. I sit and think each day, with the knowledge that I have now, would I have taken on a special needs budgie? Or would I have euthanised him, knowing what was going to happen to him. Religion does have a part in the choice to keep him, I believe. I was raised a Catholic and raised to believe that every life is sacred and has a place on this world, no matter how short that place is. But in that saying, does that life still want to be here, even through the pain and suffering hits them? Humans can sometimes tell us, but animals can't. And that is where we, as the owners/breeders come in to it. We have to make that choice for them and I honestly believe that the choice is the most scary choice of all. Some breeders can euthanise animals with what seems like no second choice, but that's not true. They do it because there is a reason and sometimes that reason is to huge to handle. Dalek was a huge responsibility, I had to have him with me almost constantly when I was home, snuggled under my jacket on my collar bone. I had to wash his vent area and his head and also mush baby food with his seed so it was easier for him to eat on the really bad days. In the end, he spent his last few days constantly on me, only going in to his cage when I went to sleep or had to go down the street or outside. When his time came I was faced with the same decision as before, euthanise or let him live his life out at home. I chose letting him live his life out at home, it prolonged his death by two days, and yes, it was probably selfish of me to do so. But I couldn't face seeing him put down, I would much rather have him at home surrounded by his favourite bells and his favourite seed dish, then in a strange place being held by a stranger. Friends ask me if I had a million dollars, would I have done anything else to keep him alive? And I say no, not because I didn't love him enough to do that, but because I loved him to much to do that. It was his time to go and I don't think if I had taken him to a bird hospital would he have survived. Dalek died on a Tuesday morning at his favourite food dish, he had made a mess like he usually did and died of a stroke. He went without pain and surrounded by his favourite bells. I wouldn't recommend having a special needs budgie unless you are ready to accept that they have a short life span. And no matter how much you pray that they fight the odds and live, most times they do not. My first budgie was a special needs budgie, I went in with only knowledge of brain damage of children (as my brother has mild brain damage due to CP ) and I came out with a whole new understanding of another side of pets. A side that is hardly ever shown or ever talked about, but needs to come out of the dark and be spoken about.

Greywings are very cute.....but this one is my favourite out of the three ( well 2 GW's and a dilute ) Oh what a little beauty, Kaz! That's really sad about not having a test, I've been reading up on feather dusters and it seems that people are divided right down the middle about them. If you do keep them alive, do they feel pain or can they have a good life?

Yes she is..........I think 3 out of 9 ? were feather dusters. If her partner carries the FD gene I am sure we would see some in this nest. Hopefully he doesnt carry the FD gene. From what I gather she is NOT a first time mother and has produced no feather dusters yet. Is there a test you can do for the FD gene or is it just trial and error?

If that is true, is there a point to the cere being the same colour as a full grown male before turning in to the colour of a hen? Or is it just how budgies are?

And just a hint for your cage, which I find works wonders. Put some newspaper down in the bottom tray, so that you just have to chuck it out instead of having to clean all the poop off the plastic floor. When you put news papers down it means they can walk around the bottom of their cage, instead of having to grab on to the plastic bars. Edit: Sorry, my computer screen was out of whack and it looked green.

Looks like the green one is a boy and the other is a little girl from that angle. The best way for us to tell if you get us a photo with them facing the camera so we can see the cere, and we'll be able to tell you then. But from that angle, I would say that the green one is a boy, because it is blue and the other looks more female due to it being a little more pink with white on it.

I think that single mum needs a reward once the kids leave, maybe a nice holiday to relax. It really is amazing how some birds can just have the strength to do that, and those chicks look lovely. I would snap this one up in a second, just a beautiful colour and pattern, and the photo is a lovely one.

Here he is guys, my beautiful little boy, Flip. Please excuse the quality, my camera is dying and it's quality has just dropped badly. This afternoon was just filled with leaps and bounds towards him settling down. Not only did he happily chatter away, but he felt safe enough around me to groom and feed, but the best thing was he ruffled his feathers and before he settled down to sleep, he started to beak grind. I nearly jumped off my bed in joy at how relaxed he is. He is sulky due to moulting, and his head is annoying him, but I am going to use some warm water to gently wash his head tomorrow to see if that will help him. His personality shines through between sulking sessions due to the moult. He is a really cheeky boy who is already looking for a way to get rid of the pegs so that he can come out and explore my room. I will start getting him to step up on my finger and used to that next week when the boys go back to school and the house is more quiet then it is now.

My goodness he is a chatter box! The house is quiet because mum and dad took the noisest brother out shopping with them lol. And all of a sudden after I was whistling a tune, Flip starts to whistle and chirp back at me. I nearly fell off the bed in shock at it, because he hadn't made a noise since he arrived. But now he's happily exploring the cage and chirping away. He's also discovered the bells, but freaked out when they jingled after he pressed them with his forehead. He's started to groom himself, which I heard was a step forward in him relaxing in the environment? He's still a little spooked by me talking to him, but he loves it when I whistle.

Sorry for the picture quality, my camera is on the way out and it's really hard to get good photos. Sadly it has washed out Padfoot's face, because it is a beautiful yellow colour. Hopefully Santa will bring me a new camera this year for Christmas. These are three birds that live in my parents aviary outside, I own two of them (which I hope to breed next year) and the other hen is my fathers pride and joy. Ophelia: 1 year old Golden Faced Hen This is the detail on her back I got Ophelia and another bird at the bird auction for only $24, he was selling Ophelia because he thought she was extremely ugly. I think she is one of the most beautiful hens I have seen. Padfoot 2 year old Yellow-faced cock. As you can see, his yellow face has been washed out in this photo. The detail on his wings and back, including his patch. Birdie: 3 year old yellow-faced grey hen The detail on her back and wings. And there you go, they are three of my favourite birds in my parent's aviary. There are other birds that I like, but these are the three most striking ones to look at. I hope to breed Ophelia and Padfoot next year, after I build myself a breeding cage.

Nope, his poops are fine, and he seems to be settling down now, his breathing has started to go back to normal, but he still tail bobs when he gets a little stressed. He slept on the water dish last night, but he's on the perch now, so that's a good sign. He's also eaten some seed and the millet. I'm gonna give him a little bit of corn on the cob for him to have as a treat. The boys have been sent away from him, and the door is closed with the radio on softly for him to settle down even more. And he is a lovely little bird Splat, just a little sweetie. We only had one night fright last night and at one am in the morning he figured out how to open the doors on his cage. He was very proud of his new little trick till I stuck pegs on them so he couldn't get out. But I am completly in love with him