Elly

hmmm...honestly the bird is way to young to have arthritis if you told me he was like 12 or 16 I would opt to say okay but the way it sounds arthritis is inflammation of the joints and there is no open wounds with arthritis. I believe there is an injury that needs to be treated.

I would keep an eye on the leg for possible infection. If it is warm and very red you are looking at an infection and treatment will need to be done or else it can spread and make your budgie even sicker.

Good luck Becs I am interested to follow the journey with you.

Oh no Chirpy, Teapot is such a special budgie here on the forum. I am so sorry

Kaz and Libby are absolutely correct about the cage set-up and more. Just my personal suggestion would be to get a budgie cage like Kaz suggested or you can see other member's set-ups first before you even get into breeding. Make sure your birds are condition, healthy, eating their veggies & fruits, pellets, seed and more to ensure healthly parents and babies.

I agree with Kaz it can be bumblefoot too where the foot is inflammed because they don't have enough of different size perches and their feet are not exerised. Was the bird taken to an avian vet for confirmed arthritis?

Beautiful birds Kaz and they are so malnutrioned just kidding they look big and healthy. I love Big Vinnie's daugther.

Wonderful to hear

Nick I am glad to hear his turn around how wonderful and relieved you can be now and simply enjoy him and her

He is gorgeous Bec

The Double Factor Spangle, eyes will lighten up and you will see the iris rings their eyes do not stay dark as you mentioned above, the male's cere will turn blue. The DF spangle has 2 spangle genes vs 1 like the single factor spangle where you can see the spangle markings. The Dark Eyed Clear, eyes will stay plum and will not lighten up so the iris ring is not visible (hence the name dark eyed), the male's cere will stay pink. The dark eyed clear is a combo of recessive pied & clearflight pied.

very awesome post, I sadly don't have any experience yet with older budgie except for my grandma's who lived to be 15y (out lived her in the end) and was in a tiny cage, ate seed and lettuce for treats and had a MIRROR (Laughing out loud) kind of like someone who smokes and lives to be 102 .

sounds like fun you will have to get pictures of the excitment at your house

Again complete hugs and prayers through this difficult time. I can't even imagine the pain they are going through at this point but I know with my 2 children I would feel like I died too if something happened to one of them.

Budgies have hormonal periods and you have to work through them. The first thing you can do is simply ignore the bits and yes I know they hurt. Merlin does it too me when he is grumpy. Budgies are usually grump right before and during their molt and how often they molt really depends on the bird since we live in artifical heating and cooling. I have noticed Merlin molts every 4 months and so at this time he is his quietest and bitest and I usually leave him alone since I know he is not feeling great. The best thing you can provide during this time is optimal nutrition and a warm water to take a bath if your budgie likes to bath. Your budgie should be coming up on his first molt so that is probably what is causing the behavior change and you will notice in a couple weeks he will be back to his old self. Are there any mirrors, reflective toys in his cage or anything that he is very attached too? If so removing them is very important as you want your budgie to continue to be attached to you and not have to stress over protecting in aninate object. I hope this helps.

If he continues to shake I do believe that may be a good option to ensure he continues to live a happy life. Good luck with him.

Welcome to the forum. I believe the secert to good budgie breeding is "knowledge" and knowing what you are going to do with the babies afterward. Since there are so many homeless budgies out there (and pets) ensuring as best as you can a wonderful place to live. Welcome to our forum.

Kaz? Do you have to bake the gum tree branches on low for about 25 minutes I know I had to do that with the maple branches to kill any insects.

looks great Bea

How cute is that, (coughs) Budgie of the Month Picture yes yes.....

Nick your right it is an attention getter for sure :oliveb:, like I said Pretty would really do it more. Merlin does the calling then the acking.

yes and this is the best time to talk to them because they are really focusing, I wouldn't be surprised if she started to mimic whistles you do and maybe talk :oliveb:

I have read it can help with digestive I know with dogs you can buy charocal biscuits where it helps with "passing gas" I used to feed them to my late dog Skippy. I know there was a discussion before on this on the boards last year sometime if you want to do a search too.

Really I never wormed either one of my birds? That is interesting Kaz that is the first time I heard that they should be wormed if they are for pet purposes only Do you think there should be something in the FAQ? I have never read about worming them at all unless they were aviary. (Not disagreeing with you, you know more then I just asking since there is nothing ever said about it when you bird a budgie home). Do you worm all your babies or do you suggest the person purchasing to worm them? Like cats and dogs we all know (we hope) that if they are bought from a breeder that they have been wormed or are being wormed.

how cute thank you for sharing it is interesting to see the stories of the rescues and pictures too.