Rainbow

What sex are they? Hens will generally be quieter than males, who tend to chatter constantly.

You can tame them all. At one time I had 11 that were tame...well 10 were and the 11th followed the flock, LOL. They were flighted as well. It just takes time. But be aware that the flock mentality will be strong, and that you can make that work in your favor instead of against it. But it can be done. And I love to watch birds be birds too. There is not much that is better.

Daz, I am so very sorry. I know you were attached to him.

I would say the bird on the left is definitely a young female, as the bars are still near the cere. The other bird is also young it looks like, and I would guess male on that one, but I agree it is hard to tell cere color from that picture. Could you post more pics?

He looks like he is missing all his tailfeathers also. Any chance he is being plucked/picked on by other birds?

OMG Bea, how scary!!! Believe it or not, I have a site that explains avian CPR. I really hope you never have to use it. The other links on the site are good to know also. http://www.wingwise.com/cpr.htm

Molting will not make him vomit. Birds don't normally vomit, so anytime that happens there is a reason. I would guess he either ate something that did not agree with him or he has an infection of sorts. Since he seems normal today I would lean towards eating something a little "off". What else does he eat besides seed?

Thanks eterri. I'll jump right in.... Putting aside whether you agree or disagree with wing-clipping, three very important questions you need to ask yourself are 1. In your particular situation, which way will they be safer? 2. How well can you control them if they are flighted? 3. How comfortable are you with that particular level of control? If they cannot be kept safe because you can't handle them or can't keep them from flying away from you and possibly injuring themselves because they are afraid, your question is already answered, isn't it? Because there will be times where you need to have them instantly, either for safety reasons or because you need to leave the house and don't have 3 hours to chase them to get them in the cage. For any unforseeable or unimaginable circumstance you may find them in, just pick one. Budgies are good at getting themselves into situations you NEVER saw coming... It is something some people don't like the sound of, but I believe if you are going to have a bird you keep indoors that bird needs to be obedient to a certain extent. For his health and safety as well as your sanity. For any animal that is brought into your house, you have a certain level of what is acceptable behavior and what is not. For your dog, it may be that he comes when called and doesn't pee all over the carpet. Or it may be that you expect complete obedience training, ribbons, and awards. For your cat, it may be that they don't use your best furniture as a scratching post and know what a litterbox is for. Or maybe you don't care about those things. Everyone is different. I think some level of expectation is a reality for most people. The rightness or wrongness of trimming is secondary, and made an issue only because of how you think about it. Since we are bringing a bird into unnatural surroundings to live, it is our responsibility to ensure their safety as best we can. I have a personal belief about what I think is best for the bird, but on a case by case situation with each bird I have, if that personal belief is in conflict with what is safest in my house, I must put that aside and go with what is best for the bird. Just something to think about. ****hops off soapbox*****

Here is an introduction from a new member... Hello! My name is Kathy. I am from Riga, Latvia. I am an old budgie fan but unfortunately couldn't keep them for quite a while. I grew up with a couple of green and lutino budgies. The cock died when I was 14 and the hen - the beautiful lutino escaped due to an accident when I was 16. Since the I had only cats, dogs and fishes. I've bought a couple recently - a blue cock and a lutino. I cannot figure out the gender of the latter. I would really love it to be a hen... We all want chicks! My new birds are not as friendly as my childhood couple. They only care about each other and very much so! Seems like they dislike people and dogs (I have a dalmation girl). I used to let them fly in the room but they do not go back to the cage. Once I was tired and left them out of the cage for the night. I ended up catching the at night because they panicked and flew amok all over in the dark. Is it possible to tame budgies if they are so engaged in each other? Can one determine the sex in a lutino? The yellow bird is more gentle, doesn't bite and doesn't sing much. maybe behaviour also differs? I will be grateful for any advice on the matter!

Hi Silver and welcome. You may get more of a response if you create new threads with your questions. But yes, you can tell the sex of a lutino. Females will have a brown cere when mature, like all other mutations. Males ceres will be pink.

How exciting! I never marked the eggs either, but you can tell pretty much what order they were laid by when they hatch. Both of my clutches had a 4 day period in the middle of hatching where a baby should have hatched but didn't. The third egg each time didn't hatch, and the first didn't either, as the babies started hatching at day 20 instead of day 18. Just mark on your calendar when they are laid and when they hatch, and you will be able to tell. Please keep us updated!

**LOL...Rainbow sneaks in while Cheeta's hair is being checked...tee-hee!**

If she is completely white with red eyes, she should be an albino. The greenish tint could be picked up from the lighting of the flash against the green of the other bird. Snowball is a dark-eyed clear, and just beautiful. They both are.

Daz, will you trim the feathers around his face, or allow nature to take it's course? Do you think he is aggressive because that is his nature or because it is an aspect of the defective genes? I have never seen a feather duster in person, and to be quite honest, have never read up much on them. Would you mind keeping this thread updated on a regular basis so we can all learn what is involved in caring for a feather duster? Poor little mite. :bluebudgie:

She is fabulous!!!! How old is she? I may be blasted here, but doesn't it seem like the most beautiful budgies end up being hens????

Just a few thoughts about the night frights for you to consider...first off, do you cover the cage? Does the cover completely cover the cage, or is there any space at the bottom the birds could see out of if they were down there? If you cover them, does the cover block out all light, or is it thin enough that they could see any shadows from movement outside the cage? Is there a window near their cage? Shadows from trees or leaves moving outside the window could spook them. Do you have any animals that might either be in the same room with them at night or could be heard by them (ie hamsters)? When they have night frights, do you go into their room, turn on the lights, and/or uncover them until they are settled again? How many birds are in the cage? I used to use a night light too, but have not had one in their room in some time. If you suspect they are seeing shadows from something at night, the night light may be a good idea to at least try if you don't have one. I stopped using one when I moved, but I use a new cover now also (this one actually covers the entire cage so they can't see out at the bottom). Hopefully they don't have any more. It really wakes you up a lot quicker than you would like at 3 am, doesn't it?

I don't think I've ever seen a good representation of a whitewing. Has anyone?

Just gorgeous!!! I can't wait to see the rest.

Nerwen, I think you are right. I thought I saw blue edging on the first pictures, but after really looking at them again I'm thinking it is just my aging eyes...getting older is just a bear.

Aw, great video! Trooper is aptly named, isn't he? Oh yes, and please tell little Trooper my birds said "hi" and sent many congratulatory chirps his way while they watched his video. LOL

Blossom is yellow and seagreen...she doesn't have any white. Which picture are you looking at? **edit** Oh duh, you mean Anna's Blossom and not mine! **blushes furiously and hopes no one really reads above posting** Cheeta, the absence of any barring on her back, combined with the reversed barring on her head made me say Anna's Blossom is opaline. The barring on her head is a lighter shade than the black on her wings, if she were not opaline the barring on her head would be the same shade.

Galvanized wire contains zinc. I would not use it. I think there is some way to remove the zinc, but I don't remember where I saw it. I think it sounded more trouble than it was worth.

Here is the link. http://www.vikingswain.freeserve.co.uk/ Hopefully it comes up soon. I'd like to look at them all again too.

No matter whether you keep the cage tall, or make it long, the amount of interior space will not change. To keep the birds happy, I would put no more than 4 in it. Especially if they are all hens. Then they will really need all that personal space. Be careful when adding extra wiring...quite a bit will contain toxic elements you do not want your birds to ingest, like lead and zinc. How will you hide the edges of the wiring where you attach it to the cage so there are no sharp points?

Dingo, that bird is not an opaline. You may be able to find some good pictures here. I like the type 2 yellowface skyblue on the perch on the left, and the yellowface grey on the right on the main page. :) I am by no means a judge, and do not even pretend to be up on what the standard is. Pictures of the standard look exaggerated to me, and there are probably no birds that are exact to it. None of them should look like they have french molt. Missing flight and tail feathers would be a definite penalty. To constructively critique the bird in the link Dingo posted, I am guessing this: He does have great depth of mask, which makes him look a little funny when you are not used to seeing it. Maybe even when you are...His spots look to me to have been trimmed for shape, he could have had too many, or the feather could have been the wrong shape. It does also look like the feathers around his legs are too long, maybe that is buff? His back line could be a little straighter, his beak a little more tucked in, but the angle of the photograph has a lot to do with that. I think he could be a little straighter in his stance, and if he were the beak and the blow would would probably correct itself. I would like to understand a bit better about the standards myself. I have read them, but it is easier for me to see and understand than just read and understand. Daz, hath, can either of you critique my critique?