Sailorwolf

Well I connected the thick doweling to the board by first drilling a 2.5mm hole into the base of the doweling, where the screw would go though. I predrilled all of the holes. I sanded the bottoms too so they'd sit flat. Then I put the screws through the board and into the fat dowling. When I connected the skinny doweling to the fat doweling I used a 12mm wood bore (the same width as the skinny doweling) and I drilled down into the fat doweling by about 4mm and the perches sit in it quite tightly. I used glue on some of them to keep them in. It has cost around 50 dollars so far to make, which is almost one quarter the amount it would have cost if I had ordered it brand new. I still need to add some eyeloops to hang toys off of and buy a swing for it.

Well after seeing Pika the budgietiel and his beautiful play gym, I went to Bird GymsRUS and has a look at their gyms. They were all so cool, but way too expensive for me to buy. So I printed out the picture I liked best and after doing some work with perspectives and using the size dimensions given to me, I managed to figure out the sizes of everything. It was a bit big so I scaled it down. I feel really proud of myself, I was actually able to pull it off. It isn't finished yet, I still have to put skirting around the platforms so that I can put some sand on them, so their poos don't stain the wood. . Anyway here is a picture of it: If you want I can try and give you the plans (most of it is in my head) So far the budgies love it, I'll try and get some pictures of them on it. I hope I'll have it all finished and ready for Arkady's big move in. :yellowhead:

I have that cage (just not the same colour). I use it for my Chinchilla. If you want you can actually take out the middle floor and make it one big cage, which is what I have done. My chinchilla loves it. :yellowhead: It is also a lot bigger than it appears in that picture. Mine is just taller than me. Sorry, i was talking about the first cage yuo posted. They are different to each other. The second one does not have a floor between the two levels. Get the first one it is much more practical out of the two as you can actually seperate your birds or have it as an entire cage.

I really love his colour, he is so pretty. I like the first picture where his head is all fluffy.

My budgies really enjoy shredding shredded paper. Like the stuff put in a shredder and its all long and stringy. I put a handful of that in their cage and theyshred it all and love it.

At the moment I have 3 budgies, two of which are fully flighted and the other is clipped. One of the budgies, Saffron, I have not clipped because she cannot fly very well at all any way and I do not want to clip her because she is actually getting better at flying as time goes on, so I don't want her to lose all that hard work. When I first got her the pet shop clipped her wings for me and she has never flown since, (this however is not common, most babies that have their wings clipped when bought can fly when their feathers grow back). She is not a confident flier so clipping her wings would make it worse in her situation as she can't land very well. My clipped budgie, Izzy, had his flight feathers and has never been clipped until recently. He is a very confident flier and can land very well. However he was starting to get very cheeky so I decided to clip him to make it easier to tame him (it is working very well at the moment). My last budgie Arkady I only just recently got (he is still in his quarintine cage). I have decided not to clip him as I want him to be able to fly but be tame as well, so that he has that choice of whether he wants to be around me or not. Thus I think if he chooses to stay around me and bestill able to fly, makes it seem all the more special. The bond wil be stronger between me and him. I prefer to have budgies with full flights as that is their best way to exercise and offers them the most amount of freedom. However sometimes you may need to clip because someone (like Izzy ) gets a little cheeky and doesn't wanna know you. The reason why I'm telling this is because I have three very seperate and different situations where the solution has been worked out to the benefit all. And that is the best way to do it, apply it to your situation. By the way I intend to let Izzy's feathers grow back, so he and Arkady can go on flying adventures together, while miss grump (Saffron) watches from her perch. :ausb: (Also while he is walking around on the ground and looking to me for support it will encourage Arkady who is flighted to come to me for support and friendness as well)

Good on you for asking questions and doing research before you start breeding:). That is what makes an okay owner a good and responsible owner/breeder. I would also find out where your closest avian vet is And don't worry about asking them a few questions becuase that is where you will get the best answers. :ausb:

Are celery leaves okay? Because they aren't as watery as the stalk and they are nice and leafy.

I love miss Tobi she is very pretty.

Munchkin has similar colours to my budgie Arkady. He too is a yellow face blue, with a blue bum and a green chest. They could be distant twins!! Here he is, its a bit blurry, but Munchy, you may be looking at your funture self

What is the product name of that cage FP? I'm trying to find on the web in NZ and it is nigh impossible. It is such a cool cage and I'm trying to find out which petshops have it, as it would be too expensive for me to have it shipped over to New Zealand from the UK.

The site is http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/ideas.htm. It has heaps of ideas for making great toys out of stuff you find around the home.

At what age does the budgie's cere change colour from the baby colour to the adult colur?

This is the only other kiwi I have met on the site Now I'm not lonely anymore :(Laughing out loud): :ausb: :ygbudgie:

LOts of super whacked out budgie gyms that reach the roof, with brain teasing and shredable toys to test those budgie brains and keep them occupied. And lots of super gourmet budgie dinners and budgie nail polish for their little claws :ausb: . That's where. :(Laughing out loud):

Hello and welcome :ausb: In the pictures section of theis forum, there is an info link that tells you how to post pictures and a free download that resizes your pictures for you. You will see at the top of the page just above the posts in that forum.

I just realised, I thought the raised on the floor method was a way of taming budgies. I didn't realise that you meant that they had been laid on the floor and raised by their parents there. Whoops

What is this raised on the floor method? :mellow:

Talking about holding the budgie in your hands and not letting go even when it screams and bites. Well when I first got Saffron I had her all friendly and finger tamed and everything and then I got out this book that said that to make them truly bond with you you should hold them in your hands so that they can't escape and hold them next to your heart for a good 15 minutes or so. It was a load of *insert euphanism here*. After I did that she was petrified of me. And I am still trying to retame her now. But because of that book Saffron is untrusting. I think the best way, is to give the bird options, if it wants to stay with you it can and if it wants to go it can, but holding them against their will like that isn't the way to bond. Sorry, I was quite annoyed about that.

I remove the husk by going out side and pouring the seed from the dish into a much larger dish from about half a metre above the larger dish. This way, when the seed is falling into the larger dish, the wind blows away the husks. :ygbudgie:

I've seen greyhounds run around perfectly as fast as any other with only 2 legs. I know a wild pukeko that has only one fully functional leg (the other one is broken) and he gets on superbly well in the wild. I think that this little bird will be unlikely to find a home and you are the one who has to decide whether you can give him a home or not. I think that he won't have any problems, however it is your decision. And if you do get him, don't clip his wings and make sure that the petshop doesn't either, because that will be his main mode of travel. Any way when you do go back, ask the petshop people about him and possibly his breeder, then you can figure out what caused his disability and make a better informed decision. However if he is happy, moving about perfectly and chirping heaps, he is probably fine and can cope with his disability well.

That's a good set up. I have that same toy. The one with the straw out the bottom of a green wooden ball and a bell attached to it.

A good way to tell in an adult bird is that the male's cere is smooth and pink (like a baby's), whereas the female's is usually lumpy and crusty. Hope that helps

I just got another budgie on boxing day. See my other post

Bandages: to wrap splints to legs or hold broken wings down onto the body. Saline - for washing wounds out (and cleaning eyes, but only if it is 0.9% (also called normal saline) solution otherwise it is too strong) Iceblock sticks - for splinting wings and legs and can be easily broken to the right length Tea towel - for swaddling the budgie, this stops it thrashing around and hurting itself further (a bath towel would be too heavy for a budgie, but would be okay for other birds) Iodine - for sterilising Cotton buds - cleaning (take care not to leave fluff in the wound) Dish - for putting saline in. Scissors (Iris scissors are best) - cutting badages etc. Sticky tape - for holding bandages together etc. Blunt nosed tweezers - (it might be a good idea to have needle nosed ones as well for those trickier situations. Sterri-strips - these are like stiches but you stick them on instead Little cardboard box for putting the budgie in when carrying it to the vet. Cornflour - to clot blood Eye dropper - for feeding or applying saline to the eye etc. :ygbudgie: :budgiedance: Combine soft absorbent cotton pads - to absorb body fluids and apply to wounds