Sailorwolf

Thank you. The babies are starting to come out of the nest box now. However Izzy was trying to mate with one. The poor bewildered thing. It was asking for food and instead of being fed it was being beak bopped on the beak. Luckily Izzy is a push over and the baby was able to defend itself with out him getting grumpy or anything. They are really silly babies, they like to flap their wings at full speed inside the nest box and hit mum and brothers and sisters with their wings at the same time. The youngest baby is such a sweety. It always tries to snuggle into my clothing and today it fell asleep on my lap, all snuggled in. It's so cute. Also, my babies are getting a little bitey. Any ideas? Are they "teething". Do all babies go like this. Or are they just extra naughty. Or are they trying to groom me but doing it too hard. Or are they trying to see if I'm edible. They tend to bite and ibble me and use their tongue the whole time. And they also do a bit of lunging. Best line of defense or attack would be...?

When their legs go out at right angles to their bodies. Like they've been horse riding all day. Spread-eagled, doing the splits. :hap:

I guess their cere is pied too

Saffron has just laid another egg. I don't know what to do really. Whether to leave it with her or what. I don't like the idea of addling eggs as I'm worried I won't do it properly and will end up with a deformed baby or something. Isis has eggs at the moment too, so if anything goes wrong, I have her to foster out to (although she is also a new mum). I am moving in 2 months time so she is cutting it a bit fine.

Good luck

I love boy budgies they are so silly with their little happy dances. I know what you mean though Terri. I had just Izzy and Saffron by themselves for ages and Saffy would always bully poor Izzy. He is such a push over though he didn't really care and she is such a grumpy pants that she does it to everyone, even me. Since getting four budgies though, Saffy and Isis (the new girl) have hardly even talked to each other. On the other hand Isis and Arkady get on beautifull, they love each other and treat each other very equally. I think it really depends on the individual.

I want a blue footed budgie!

You don't have to quarintine for 6 weeks. It is 30 days minimum, so basically 4 weeks. They won't usually breed without a nest box, so you are generally safe there. In regards to her becoming less tame if she has a partner; it depends on the individual, some become less tame some stay the same, if they do change it isn't often much. Sometimes the older budgie helps to make the newer budgie tamer. Welcome to the forum.

Wow that is so cool! How did chucky get chosen for the photo shoot?

Are alfalfa sprouts okay for budgies to eat. They sort of look like seedlings from budgie seed mix. Thank you

Those were some really good ideas Turbs. I would just worry that the budgie's claws would get caught in the toweling. Maybe a different type of material could be used.

That was really good. Thankyou very much.

He looks like a clearflight pied to me

Ha ha. How cute.

Yeah and you could treat yourself to takeaways and motels or a scenic route. All sorts of fun. You could drive there on the first day, take a rest in a motel or something overnight, and then pick your budgie up and drive back the next day.

Budgies come from very dry places i.e. the outback and because they are desert animals they don't really drink that much water. Especially when they are new, they will be a little scared to drink while in your presence.

Females love to chew up the nestbox. This is their way of making it theirs. The female will usually make little high pitched chirping tones like a chick. Those are breeding noises. That's what my budgies did.

All budgies have iris rings. However in babies and recessive pieds (and other mutations) the iris is a very dark brown. You can always see thei pupil if you look close enough.

Her leg ring should tell you her birth date. She is a cutey.

I breed, because I really love the experience of seeing new life and babies. I love being able to interact with them and it excites me to see what possible colours will pop up! There are so many hidden recessive genes! Specially with Saffy my DF spangle, she could have anything under her coating of yellow. (surprisingly clearwing, cinnamon, blue, dark factors, whoa, it's mind boggling! ). I just love the experience.

Maybe you could go as a holiday!

They're lovely

Oh yeah. heh. Isis laid her second egg today. Will get pics. Camera was full.

I know vinegar is very good for cleaning poos off of cages. Perhaps it would work well on your babies feet. 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water.

Well she is definately old enough to breed. So that is okay. I wouldn't worry about it too much as you feed them a good diet and look after them well. When the babies have moved out of the box then you could remove the nest box. Do you have any pictures? We love pictures here.