Rainbow

You don't need to change our minds! ...I don't think I am wrong. Look at it this way, like a heirarchy. At the top you have parrots. Then branch off to one subtype of parrots - parakeets. This subtype includes many different types of parakeets, of which budgerigars are one type. Then under the broad heading of budgerigar, think American (small, close to wild type, flighty, etc) and English (bred as a larger bird, fits a different standard - of which size is a requirement, etc). American budgies are known as "American" budgies because over here the type was kept close to the original wild budgerigar. English budgies are known as "English" because the English began to breed them to a different standard, of which now they are very different in appearance and even temperament than the wild type budgie. I think if another country had begun to breed for a different type that country would be used instead of the term English. It just happened to occur in the UK. Both American and English budgies can be pet budgies. But they are two different types of Australian budgerigar. They can be bred together, but I'm sure any breeder of English budgerigars who is also showing them would likely be horrified at that thought! Wouldn't you think it would "pollute" the gene pool so to speak?

**goes to the store to buy bird carriers...thinks of ways to get to Bubbles house...wonders how many babies will fit in each carrier....** :angel1:

I can imagine. I'll bet there is never a dull moment at your place! How wonderful to be surrounded by all those birds!

It's very possible the cat didn't get Scooter at all, that he just knocked the feathers from all the frenzied flapping around the cage I'm sure he was doing. He could have gotten a wing caught up in a toy or the bars of the cage and the damage was caused as he extricated himself from being stuck. Hopefully all the racket is what scared the cat off and Scooter was never touched. I'm glad he seems to be acting normally. I would take a glance at the wound for the next day or so just to make sure it does not appear to be getting infected.

They are all so very cute. I'm glad she didn't have any issues bringing these babies up. Since she is into having a second clutch you know she is in good shape. Will you let her do this again next year?

White potatoes are bad if they are raw. Sweet potatoes I think are okay either way, but I can't imagine eating a raw sweet potato. I'd cook it and peel off the skin. Not sure what a kumara is....

They all look great! You have quite a few birds. Marley looks like a character, how old is s/he? Does s/he ever have contact with any of your other birds? There is a huge size descrepancy, but I know of others who keep larger birds in the same room, they just don't have out of cage times together. Just wondering how you handle that. Oh, and Fleur is just gorgeous!

Are there any other behaviors that accompany the wing twitching? Does she make herself tall and thin when she does this? That is a definite fear indicator. If she is moving toward you while doing the wing twitching, fluffing her head feathers, lowering her head for scritchies, etc. then that behavior would indicate a begging response. Does it only happen when someone approaches the cage, or can you "spy" from around the corner and see the behavior occur when no one is in the room?

Hello and welcome! We are glad you've decided to join us! I agree your birds are lovely, and look forward to more pictures. If you need help with anything, feel free to ask.

If they just began mating, in about 10 days you should see the first egg. They are laid on an every-other-day schedule, and the first egg should hatch 18 days after it's appearance in the nest box.

Hi Ram2006, and welcome. Your budgie really shouldn't look any different when breeding, with the exception of a slight swelling around the vent roughly 12-24 hours before she lays the egg. The area may look bruised, but this is normal, it is not actually a bruise. If your budgie looks "pregnant" there could be something else going on. What environment is she in (cage, aviary, breeding cage, free-range budgie )? Have you been trying to breed her? What is her activity level? Does she act normal or has there been a change in her behavior?

Nyos, do you mean this one as the other greywing? I believe he is dilute. His flights are all white, with the exception of one light grey one. It is much lighter than Blossom's though. The closest I could come to a picture with Rainbow and Blossom in close proximity is this one. Blossom is in the cage on the perch (right), Rainbow is on the left. There is a lot of difference in their coloring.

budgie lover, Please ask for opinions, not demand them. A better picture would be helpful.

Welcome! Oh, that picture of Snow is the cutest!!!

Yeah, Cheeta, I always thought Blossom and Mystery were greywing normals. I mean, you just don't get two identical dilutes like that in the same clutch. They were the only normals, and they are almost identical. It is weird the two normals would be greywings - that gene only showed up in the normal birds, not the pieds. But you know something, I flipped back and was looking at all the birds, and am now really wondering about Rainbow. I am positive he was dilute, his colors were so pastel he could be nothing but. Plus his wings, barring, and spots were such a light grey sometimes you had to look hard to see them. He had the clearflight gene, pied with the white flights and white tail. But then genetically some of his offspring don't make sense, do they? I wish I knew what his parents looked like. I have never heard of a greywing that had no grey in the flights at all. More pics of his backside, LOL (forgive the bad lighting, please, these are really old): Just when you thought you had it down, there is a flaw in the logic.....can any of the other geneticists (**grin**) on here help me figure this one out? Is there something in my first post that is not correct maybe?

No. The babies were 2 normals and 7 pieds. Blossom and her twin Mystery, were YF2 skyblue greywings. They were almost identical, but I could tell them apart by the patterning of the shell feathers on their wings, and by how far the grey went down the shaft of their tails. I guess they could be well-marked dilutes, but it is really weird that two identical dilutes would come out of the same clutch, don't you think? The 2 normals were 2 days apart, hatchwise. Out of the 7 pieds, 2 were DF dominant pieds, 5 were SF dominant pieds. Here's a picture of the bubs: Blossom is third from the right on the top row, Mystery is right below her. Out of the pairings there were 2 violets, 2 cobalts, and 5 skyblues. Rainbow's flights were as white as white could be, there was no trace of any color on them anywhere. His tail was the same way. I can hunt down a picture of his backside if need be. As far as breeding Blossom, she will be 3 in February, and she is a little overweight so she will never be bred. I have no male birds now.

Welcome to the forums! Good to have you aboard, and I look forward to reading about your progress with Billy. :budgiedance:

Hi Vanny and welcome to the forums! You definitely have a hen budgie. Is your vet an avian one? I'm a little surprised you were told T was a "he". She is a real cutie, and I'm sure you will love having her around.

Very close! She is opaline, she is greywing, she is YF 2, she is not dominant pied. She is not pied at all, she is normal. She picked up a normal gene from each parent. Dad was opaline. Both parents were blue. Skittles is not a dilute, she is normal. But dad was dilute. Looking at those pictures, I am a little stumped! My understanding is that with greywings the tail is a greyish color instead of normal intensity. But the shell markings on Baby are pretty light, and a greywing will have the same shade of grey on those feathers as on the flights. The lightness of those feathers makes me think dilute, but the tail makes me think greywing. LOL, I will need to do some more research on Baby! She's obviously type 2 yellowface as well as opaline and greywing . And the prettiest Budgie I have seen in a long time AAWWWEEEEEE........ I think she is a cutie too. As greywing is recessive, it takes two greywing genes to produce a greywing. So both parents had to have been split to greywing, right? Neither parent is clearwing. Rainbow was a clearflight...and those two genes (clearflight and greywing) reside at different places on the chromosome. I believe greywing, clearwing, and dilute reside in close proximity on the chromosome, but are actually on different places. I could be wrong there, but that is my understanding. Unfortunately, I do not know definitively all the hidden genes they could be carrying as both parents were pet store birds. But your question raises more questions, doesn't it? Because I see now if Rainbow was dilute, he could not be split to greywing. But greywing is a recessive gene, so you need two of them. Blossom is almost the same intensity of skyblue as Skittles, and I know Skittles is normal in coloration for a YF type 2 skyblue. Blossom has much more of a yellow bleedthrough though. I sometimes wonder if she (Skittles) is carrying 2 dark factors, as the black on her is very dark. Give me your thoughts on the parents - I thought I had it all worked out! Mom: Dad: Babies include 2 greywing normal 'twins', 2 DF dom pieds, 5 SF dominant pieds. 2 violets, 2 cobalts, 5 skyblues. DF dominants were clearflights, 4 SF dominants were clearflights (2 dilute), 1 SF dominant pied, normal wing and tail (a violet).

Welcome to the forums, and I'm sorry to hear your little bird is sick. The flaking skin could be any number of things. If she is going through her molt, it could be all the keratin sheaths that house the new feathers. If you have noticed a lot of pinfeathers, or flight feathers growing in and they are about full length, as the keratin flakes off to release the new feathers it sometimes looks like dandruff. Another possibility is very low humidity. That makes people itch too, as the skin dries out. If you have access to a good avian probiotic, I would give her that. Antibiotics many times upset the gut flora, and if her immune system is not strong to begin with she could get an overgrowth of yeast in her system. That will make her uncomfortable. Maybe you could get a probiotic from your avian vet, or at least he could recommend what type to look for and where to look. You can use people probiotics too, but your vet will need to know the brand among other things to mathematically work out a dosage for you. Medicinally, what is okay for an adult human is vastly different from what is okay for a one ounce little bird. I'd say that would be a last resort, as I think it would be a pain to do. But it is an option you could discuss with your vet if need be. I hope your little one continues to improve. Let us know how she does.

Thanks! No other takers on what mutations produced this one? Or what mutations Blossom is carrying? C'mon - I know there are plenty of you that can figure it out!

That was wonderful! He talks so well. My girls went wild over all the bird noise in that video. He is just too cute - and did you see where it won an award? Congratulations!

Goldenface gives a buttercup yellow, while the 'regular' yellowface gene is a lighter yellow. Stumpy's face is a very deep yellow isn't it? He's very lovely. All of them are.

Sexing is the same with albinos when they are young. If the cere stays pinky-purple, you have a male. If you have a hen, the cere will turn brown as normal. If you can post a good clear picture of the cere, we can help you determine the sex.

Call your vet ASAP. If your hen is eggbound, she will be in obvious distress. Probably not in the nest box, but on the floor of the aviary or cage. She will be in quite a bit of pain. She will most likely whip her tail back and forth and strain in an attempt to get the egg out. It is possible for hens to die from being eggbound. Your vet would be able to walk you through the initial stages of helping your hen at home, then would be aware you would probably be bringing your bird in and would be prepared for it. It is not a normal occurrance in a healthy hen of correct breeding age. In all likelihood you will never have to deal with an eggbound hen. Do you have a hen you believe is eggbound? What has happened?