chirpy

I also tend to have curtaind shut with just a PLEASE BAN ME!! of light coming through when a new bird is learning to navigate the room. Like Allycat, I gradually open the curtains as the bird gets more confident and aware of his surroundings. I agree with all of what Alycat says actually, some good advice there. Also, beware of mirrors, birds do tend to fly towards that lovely bird flying towards them..... BUMP!I got round this by dangling a couple of pairs of ladies tights over the mirror at first, looked quite a sight, but it did the trick The only fully flighted bird of mine that I will take round the house is my Teapot, because he will litteraly return to me on command everytime. Its not that often you can get a budgie to be so 'recall obedient' though, I guess I struck lucky with cheeky Teapot! Also, if your bird has freedom of the whole house, it can be sooo easy to forget that just ONE small window may be open, and that could be the last you see of your precious friend. It sounds like you are doing wonderfully with little Chicken, what a gorgeous bird!

When that first budgies wings tired, I reckon the Angels took over and and carried him to that boat. He certainly had help from some form of higher power. Wonderful to read. Same with the other ladies budgie. Anne

I think Teapot weighs about 17 stone. At least, he should do, the amount he eats and steals (Laughing out loud)

What a gorgeous budgie! Im going with the 'boy' beliefs too! Heheh, the 'stretch' picture brought a unisex name to mind though, 'Limo' as in stretch limo, (Laughing out loud)! A warm welcome to the forums to you and your beautiful little bird. Anne

Does she love her millet? If so, hide the syringe in your hand with some millet; so a bit of millet is still able to be held in your thumb and forfinger. Also, allow the tip of the syringe to be just past tip of thumb and forfinger. The medicine should be quite easy to slyly inject into her beak from there, especially if she is stood on your knee gobbling up her millet. Your free hand can press the syringe down. Worked a dream with my piggy little Teapot. Im wondering if the poop she is producing could be a bit acidic? This would cause quite a bit of irritation around her bottom, and encourage over preening due to the irritation. What does her diet consist of? Does dhe eat much/any acidic fruit? Id also ask your vet if theres any chance of a yeast infection around her vent. A gentle topical avian prescribed ointment would give her great relief if this could be the case. Im glad that in the meantime she seems to be improving though. Also, condolences over your little rat. Ive had rats, they are adorable. And hats off to you for insisting on a good sedative prior to the euthanasia. I have always insisted on lght anaesetic prior to the injection. Please keep us informed. Anne

Julie Im so glad to hear its nothing potentially serious. Do you remeber when Teapot was in a constant moult? Nearly drained him of his life a couple of times. However, his vet prtescribed ACEhigh vitamin and mineral suppliment, a cslcium suppliment, and also a probiotic. It took weeks, many weeks, but with the huge boost to his system, Teapot stopped Moulting. He still losed feathers now and again, thats good and natural, but its been about 6 months or so since he had a huge feather loss. Id deffinately recommend that you ask your vet about the ACEhigh suppliment. Its about 20 pounds unfortunately for a tub, but a tub has a year long shelf life, more sometimes, and you only use the tiniest pinch once a day. So 20 pounds isnt at all expensive when you think it will ghive your bird/birds a fabulous boost for at least a year. Its also wonderful to have in for when your birds have 'off days', boosts them right back up again. Hugs to you and little Budgie2 Anne

Send him to Chirpys boot camp Julie Budge2, pay attention! okay, 4 laps round the cage please! ladder runs now please Budge.. UP 2 3 4 DOWN 2 3 4 UP 2 3 4 Down 2 3 4! Side stretches next Budgie2... left wing DOWN right wing UP right wing DOWN left wing UP. There you go Julie, a few days of this and he'll ,lose all that unbudgielike belly-blubber and be preening his tail with all the grace of a ballerina

Joeys wings look clipped to me. Im sure that they will develop fully after a good moult and he will fly with much more comfidence.

Put your hand underneath him Julie and ask him to cough To me, it looks male

If its any help, my two male 'tiels have been behaving 'effeminately', nesting, huddling their rear ends into corners, looking like they are about to lay. Apparently the males will do this nesting behaviour at times to entice the hen, by showing her what a good carer and nest builder he is. Id imagine the same thing could apply to budgies.

Oh dear Julie, that is a worrying thing. I hope its something that can be easily rectified, like a simple diet adjustment. How are his tailfeathers and flight feathers? Hopefully your vet will do a range of tests on Budgie2 and give you answers as soon as possible. Keep us informed of how he goes on. Hugs Anne

You could have an extremely sick little bird there, watery poops, sleepiness and fluffing are not brilliant signs.

It does sound like she could have been attacked, and I would deffinately remove her from the other birds at the moment. The little girl needs to see a vet asap, if its the result of an attack, infection could set in, and if its an infection NOT through an attack, then it needs treating quickly anyway. The rubbing and sneezing tells me that she is in quite a bit of distress, she's deffinately not comfortable. The ONLY good advice I can give you over this is get her to the vet, as fast as you can. Please keep us updated, and good luck. Anne

Yes, looks like you are filling it with plenty of toys for them One thing they might enjoy, you know those long, multi-coulored ropes with an attachment5 at each end? I bet they'd love one of those stretching from high up the cage to low down. My budgies have one, and they love it. :glare:

great cage Budgie-Boy, excellent value for money too! Is it a Montanna cage? I have my birds in Montanna cages, they are lovely and spacious arnt they. I love seeing extra large cages set up for birds

as far as you know, has Joey had his wings clipped whilst very young? If his wings have been clipped at too young an age, he will not have been able to develop the neccessary chest muscle needed for flight. Do his wings look even, could there possibly be a wing injury? As alreadt sated, an avian check up would not go amiss here.

Its a great idea to teach your parrot/parakeet its adress isnt it! Even the phone number could reunite heartbroken friends. Lovely story there Eterri

if you've had it for 2 months, and its been open, dump it.

Hi, sorry youre having worries with your little bird. First of all, is your vet an avian specialist? They would have far more idea as to which avenues to investigate regarding your budgies wing. Its possible that the lump, and they way he holds his wing are entirely unrelated. This needs to be assessed. My budgie Teapot started holding his wing at a similar angle about a year ago. I rushed him to my avian vet thinking he may have a small fracture, but it turned out to be nothing more than a couple of misplaced feathers under his wing. They were jabbing at an awkward angle and irritating him, hence the odd wing angle. As he was in full moult at the time, we decided to let nature take its course rather than distress him by plucking the offending feathers out. The lump could possibly be nothing more than a bit of bruise tissue if he's banged his wing on something, it could be something more serious like a tumour. Related or unrelated, the two things need investigating as soon as possible. Please let us know how you get on. Anne

A good glug in your bath is marvelous for your own skin Daz Greg, when you say you are concerned about your budgies health, does he appear ill in anyway, or are you just concerned in a 'preventative' way?

Hi Greg, I use aloe vera in my birds mistings. I boy a bottle of 100% pure aloe vera juice from the health shop, and add about 1 tablespoon of the juice to a pint of warm water. Then I mist the birds with it. You have to be careful not to add too much aloe though, because it can make their feathers sticky if you do, and lead to overpreening problems. Used carefully, I find its great. Anne

yes, budgies CAN get constipated, and it needs taking seriously. It could be something like a blockage of the intestine, it could be that his vent is clagged up. Ether way, it dosent sound right to me. Let us know how things go tomorrow! Good luck

This bird MUST be seen by a vet as soon as possible. By showing signs that he is unwell, he'a telling you that he has been ill for some time already. Put him in a smakk cage or travel box, cover it to make him more secure, and rush him to the vet. When youre there, dont forget to tell the vet that your budgie has been sharing airspace with another bird, or better still, take BOTH birds in.

Are this birds wings clipped? Quite often over-clipped wings result in broken keel bones, as the bird lands too heavilly on its chest when it descends from flight, or tries to fly from a highish place. If not, could anyone have grabbed the bird too tightly as this also can result in a broken keel bone/wing/ribs. For the time being, I would definately pad the cage floor well, so if the bird falls again at least it has a cushioned, soft area to land on. I hope the little thing will be okay, keep an eye on its breathing as difficulties in breathing can arise from such injuries. Good luck to you and your little bird.

Hi Una and welcome to the board. You've been given some good advice about rearing the chick, and you seem to be doing well. Have you spoken to your vet for advice aswel? He may be able to supply you with some nutrients etc, and guidance for the continued rearing of theis chick. Also, please note that we do NOT allow short cuts on this board (ie TY) This is because people of many nationalties use the forums, and text short cuts can make things very difficult for some people to understand. No more short cuts please.