Jump to content

PuddinAndPie

Site Members
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by PuddinAndPie

  1. This is 4 months after my last post, where I was extremely sad and guilty about my new budgie. He is now around 5 months old and even after more perseverance is still very nervous and flighty and I just don't see him becoming the companion bird that I would have liked. He is vaguely finger tame and will begrudgingly step up, he lunges occasionally and will bite lightly every now and then. Not really a big deal, but I know the lunging is some kind of body language that means go away. I have absolutely no time to tame or bond with him. I thought I would, but I just don't. I work 5 days a week in an incredibly stressful retail setting, and I just want to sleep as soon as I get home, then my days off are full of errands and chores. I feel absolutely awful for doing this, but I think I'm going to have to put him up for adoption to someone (trustworthy) who wants an olive boy to breed, or to someone with an aviary where he would have some budgie friends. He has been to the avian vet several times now and is very healthy. His name is Boots, and he is absolutely gorgeous, he burbles away like a brook, and has even picked up a bit of the canary singing next door. I am just cripplingly guilty about the fact that I have no time for him. I have realised that I bought him to replace my old Budgie who died, and that wasn't fair. I also put unrealistic goals on him to be tame quickly because my last budgie was such a tame and gorgeous friend. I'm sure with some work, he could be fantastic, but I just can't do it. I'm not in a place where I have the time or energy to tame and train him. If anyone knows what I should do, or whether/how I should go about adopting him, any information would be so greatly appreciated. I want to make sure they are trustworthy and going to look after him so well. I don't think I really trust wanted ads on Gumtree, and there is no way the RSPCA is getting involved. If any of you know of anyone who would be interested please let me know. Again, I am just beside myself with guilt about this whole mess... Here is the link to my last post about him: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=32126&st=0&p=377481entry377481 And here is a picture of him at about 8 weeks, his cere is now mostly blue with a bit that's purplish:
  2. Thanks so much Robyn, yeah, I know, I just got really upset because I was scaring him... It's difficult dealing with a nervous personality as my last budge was so extroverted! But yeah, I feel bad for getting so despondent... I think I was also reading too many stories of budgies who were either already tame or who tamed super quickly! But yeah, I'm going to persist with him, he is a sweet little baby. Thanks so much for your reply, I really appreciate it
  3. Hey everyone, So I posted on here a little while ago about possibly getting another budgie, and I have done. About 3 weeks ago now, I got a little baby budgie, who was probably about 6 weeks old and the pet shop sold him as a "tame" baby budgie, but he's definitely not, and I am now regretting not getting a bird from a breeder that was actually hand tame. Also, as a disclaimer I'm not sure of his gender, and I can't post pictures yet... Anyway! I am having real trouble taming and bonding with him. My last budgie I had for 12 and a half years and from what I can remember he was relatively easy to bond with. This one is just doing my head in and I kind of hate him... I know that's bad, and I'm really trying, but nothing is working and it's just killing me. So I got him Wednesday two weeks ago and started out following all the tips I've read online, quiet room, sitting near cage, talking to him, hand in cage, hand near him, hand on belly to try and get him to step, and he will barely ever step up, usually I'll just be able to touch his belly but he won't step and will just sit there frozen and then hop away. So I persevered but also decided that maybe clipping his wings would help (I never needed to clip my last budgies wings, so it was not a decision I took lightly...) I booked him in to see the bird vet (at the Burwood Bird Vet) on the Wednesday after I got him. He had tests for Trichomoniasis and something beginning with M? and has also been given a 10 day course of antibiotics and vitamins for his water to make sure he doesn't have any other illnesses from the pet shop. His wings were also clipped. I spoke with my vet about bonding and how to achieve a good relationship with him. He wasn't sure about the old hand in the cage deal and said that it was better to let the bird get used to you in his own time, rather than forcing yourself on him. So a way to do this was to sit down on the ground and put the bird down with you, while you read a book or have a cup of tea and just have a nice talk with him and let him get accustomed to you. I tried this and the first thing the budgie did was zoom off around the room like a shot. The wing clipping did not slow him down at all. He was especially attracted to flying directly up into the ceiling. Of course I was worried that the little thing would hurt himself! But he eventually slowed down and with a perch I was able to coax him down from the curtain rail and onto the floor with some seed next to me. He stayed on the ground for a while eating, but not really taking any notice of me. I stayed with him like that for a while and then put him back in his cage with a perch (he still wouldn't let me get my hand near him). So then the next day I did the same thing, and the day after that, each time he would fly and go crazy first and then I could bring him down to hang out on the ground with me. But still he wouldn't let me touch him or go near him. So he is still really scared and it has now been a week and I've been trying both methods, hand in the cage, and budgie on the ground. The reason I don't like having him out while he is untamed is that he flies around very fast and hits against the ceiling and I'm really worried he'll hurt himself. But he really is scared of my hand going into the cage, so I'm just not sure what to do. I have another appointment on the 12th of September at the vets to have the full clip done on his wings, and I figure this might help a bit, but I don't know... With my last budgie, the bond happened really quickly and we were great friends straight out, with this one he seems to hate me and I really wish I hadn't bought him. He just fills me with guilty feelings... I don't know whether to put him up for adoption to someone who would want him to breed (he's a pretty little olive baby) or for someone with an aviary (where he'd have budgie friends) or whether I should keep trying (I have really limited time to spend with him as I work 5 days a week) I feel SO guilty, but yeah, it's just a lot more difficult that I remember it being when I was 11! haha. Any ideas would be really appreciated! Thanks so much everyone. ~George
  4. Thank you all for the lovely welcome messages Thanks Bird Junky, it's a great guide. Very informative Thanks Robyn, yes, I have many lovely memories from the past decade (and a bit) Budgies are just such wonderful little companions. I'm sure with lots of love your budgie will live for a long time! I wasn't expecting mine to keep going on for so long, but somehow, she did!
  5. Ah, I see... Not the biggest fan of the red eyes, but I'm assuming it's a faux pas in the budgie breeding world to not use a rare mutation to breed...? Thanks for the info Bird Junky
  6. Hi everyone, I'm looking for a breeder in the Melbourne area who would have any hand reared babies coming through that would be either texas clearbodies (white base) or dark-eyed clear (yellow base). I am looking for a male as a companion bird... Not sure if anyone knows of anyone breeding these mutations, any information would be great. Thanks in advance. George
  7. PuddinAndPie

    Hello!

    Hi everyone, My name is George and my beloved budgie just passed away last week. She was 12 and a half years old and I had her for over half my life. She was absolutely amazing and just the best little friend I could've asked for. She is in my profile picture, and is (I think) an Opaline Spangle (correct me if I'm wrong! I'm new at colour mutations). She was also actually a boy, haha. But she had too much oestrogen being produced and so her cere was a brown colour predominantly, we always thought she was a girl, up until earlier this year when she went to the vet with some issues and he assured me she was a HE! I will continue to refer to her as a girl though, haha, 12 years is too long a time to break a habit like that! I wasn't sure if I would want to get another budgie, or a different small parrot (was thinking a Lineolated Parakeet or Bourke's Parakeet for a while) because I didn't want to get a "replacement" too quickly. But I've been meditating on my emotions, and I think that, while I am desperately sad that she has passed, I am also quite proud of myself for making her life good enough that she stuck around longer than the average to be with me. So I would love to give another little bird that chance. I have been looking at the different colours and have decided that this time it would be nice to have either a dark-eyed clear (yellow base) male. Or a texas clearbody (white base) male. I also really like the look of the blackface birds, but I think they are probably extremely rare...? As are the texas clearbodies, I've heard? So yes, I'll probably be posting in the "Wanted" section soon, and also perusing the "For Sale" threads too. Does anyone know if there's anyone local (I live in Camberwell, but am happy to drive up to an hour from there) that has any of the rarer colour mutations? and also hand rears babies? So many questions! Really glad that I joined the forum though, am happy to be here with such knowledgable people!
×
×
  • Create New...