Elly

Congratulations!!!!!

Salt in budgies is very harmful they do not need more salt intake then what their regular diet is. In fact the food to avoid are salty ones their body's can't expel the salt the way we can.

All I see is the recessive pied in him not any opaline if you have a picture of the back of him it may help see if he is carrying the opaline gene. It is a rarity to find a male opaline (more common in females) since it is sex linked. From the look of the cere he looks like a he too. . Congrats. Is 35.00 a normal cost for you? In the US our recessive pieds are around 14 - 19.00 but because of the conversion things may be more and if handfed or handled around 35.00? Just curious :fear

Oh my goodness how sweet and the blue one looks like my Merlin

Well done very cute!!

great suggestion, I will have ask ADMIN or any of our G. Mods if they have one they can share for our FAQ section.

Your Lutino is a male for sure. His cere reminds me of Pretty's who was a recessive pied and their cere's stay pink in the males too.

that is how I feel too Missy everyone but our husky (who is now 14) has been a rescue, abandoned or FREE to good home because of an unwanted litter...even Merlin was a rescue baby. OH I must correct myself Pretty was a pet store budgie which I won't do that again (nothing bad about pet stores) but like you said so many are unwanted and need homes.

(Laughing out loud) Nick that is what I have heard from the members on this board. I have only had males and YES I have heard hens are mooder too (I can say that since I am female )

I love that last picture Daz (Laughing out loud) reminds me of budgies on a clothes rack They look wonderful

welcome the youngest budgies are the easiest to handle and if they bite is determined by factors of being fearful, their personality, it is said that hens bite more the males...

How old are the budgies you are breeding? Is this their first time?

Lady which picture do you mean? Yes I have heard girls can talk too so keep on talking the more the hear it the better even whistles are excellent because that is the first stages of copying you.

I understood that it wasn't your bird and you were just asking the mutation. As for banding I am sure the breeders on the forum can tell you better. If you are getting back into breeding it would be I assume for not only mutations but health, quality and maybe show and if that is the case then I would common sense thing that getting a bird with a leg band is good because you can trace it back to the breeder.

it is not uncommon to see your bird drink when she was healthy did you see her drink?

Yes that would be wonderful and if you can do it in the natural light without a flash that would be wonderful since the flash does wash out the coloring and can make the bird look like a hen when in fact it is a male.

you have been giving good advice, also make sure the room she is in or the cage is at least 80F (it needs to be very warm), please keep us updated. Also make sure you are taking her to an avian vet, I noticed you just put vet. Avian is very important because they are specialized in avian care vs a regular vet that is focused on dog/cat care mainly and will see birds on the side.

I was going to say boy too at first but then I saw the large white nasal rings I think within a few more weeks it cere will change more and it won't be so on the fence.

Yes I think hen and she will be able to fly once she molts out there should be no problem. Merlin learned okay.

Awesome then I accept thanks Daz..

that is what happened to Merlin too I believe Kaz

Oh they sound beautiful, look forward to pictures. Welcome :grbud:

with how large the white rings around the nostrils are I am going say hen

There is no picture or link showing up did you forget to add? If you need help adding picture there are instructions right under Budgie Pictures and you can ask any g. mod too for assistance.

Each budgie is different in the amount of time they need to be trained but I can tell you that the more time spent with them on a positive level the faster they train. It took a good 6 months for Pretty to come out of his shell and by 9 months he was talking and tamed :grbud:. Merlin because he was handled as a chick was very very easy.