Rainbow

Hi Elly - WATCH OUT! Since what we get here eventually makes it's way to you in some form..... It was -15 F (-26 C) this morning when I went to work. We have had almost 2 days where the high for the day did not reach 0 F. It is dangerous to be outside for long as with the wind chill, temps are around -30 F or colder. It will warm up tomorrow, but then we are to get more snow.

That is incorrect. Parakeet is not a North American term to describe parrots with long tail feathers, that is the definition. They are not unrelated, by being in the same category (parakeets) that implies a relationship of some sort between each species. It has nothing to do with locale. Your first definition of parakeet was more correct. I think you may have confused something there as your post is at odds with itself. :0 I agree, Jimmy, they are classed as parakeets first, then more specifically they are budgerigars. Although I've never heard budgie being a nickname for a parakeet??? I've only seen budgie as a nickname for budgerigar. That is not an American misconception, I have never heard that we Americans think budgie is a term Australians use for parakeets. To follow up on what krosp has posted as a typical conversation: I think much of the problem lies in discussions between what people feel a passion for - in this case those that love parrots and those that do not share our passion for them. Those that do not probably would not know or care whether they used the correct terminology or not. That is the case though, with anyone who does not share a passion with someone else, not only regarding parrots/parakeets/budgerigars in this case but regarding anything someone is not overly interested in. I'm sure there are many topics out there that groups of people share a passion for that I could care less about - and would not be able to carry on a conversation about using all the correct terminology with someone who loved it. My lack of knowledge on the subject wouldn't be because I live in America or anywhere else for that matter, but because I may not have the same level of interest about whatever the topic is. Once you start lumping a group of people together in a category you cease to be impartial and begin to be sucked into an us against them mentality. I thought we were here sharing a common passion for these little birds... This thread has been an quite an eye-opener, to say the least.

That was my first thought - what size cage are they in? If they both are hens they will need more personal space than if you had a true pair. The fact that the angry dolphin noise is happening more and more frequently is cause for concern. Take a look at the immediate environment from your bird's point of view...is there anything that has been added to the room, anything rearranged differently since before she started making the noise? Is there more than one feeding station? Was Cilla placed in Sy's cage or did you get a new one for the both of them? If she was, did the birds decide she would share the same cage after quarantine or did you? I don't believe it is a dominating thing, budgies are flock animals and there is no dominance in the flock, all members share equally in flock activities, ie looking for food and watching out for predators. Dominance occurs in a pack heirarchy, and a flock is set up differently. I think there is something in the environment or routine that has Sy on edge.

I am playing Zelda-Twilight Princess now too. :budgiedance: I also have Wii Fit, I'd recommend getting it if you can find it, it's fun. For kids maybe one of the Mario Party's or Mario Kart?

102. When everyone else thinks they need to grow feathers to get any attention from you.......

Because they are 'keets. The term parakeet is a correct general term for a budgerigar. You have agreed as much in your definition. A budgie is a type of parakeet. It is not wrong to call it such. Just like calling an Amazon or an African Grey a parrot, or a Collie or a Schnauzer a dog, it is not wrong, it is just a generalization. I believe this topic has been hashed about before, hasn't it?

Good point Jimmy, it could be confusing to think of a color as a mutation since we tend to think of a mutation as being a pied, DEC, etc. I think technically any variance from the norm is a mutation, so blue would be a mutation from the normal green. Merriam-Webster defines mutation as: 1. a significant and basic alteration.....3. a relatively permanent change in hereditary material involving either a physical change in chromosome relations or a biochemical change in the codons that make up the genes...an individual strain or trait resulting from a mutation In the wild any color other than green would be not normal.

Normal color for a budgie is iridescent green body, a yellow head with black barring, and a dark blue/teal tail. Any other color is technically a mutation, although these mutations have been around for some time now so colors like blue seem normal.

My guess was olive for the color, but did not guess the pied part, did not think opaline either. I've missed any pied characteristics (ie head spot, odd color flights?) I'm guessing the mother of this bird was a normal? Would love to see a picture of her also.

I am a believer in 'natural' remedies as a first course, and I love it that you used peppermint and lavender in the water. They are both wonderful herbs for de-stressing and relaxing. That with the steam I am sure helped her to pass the egg. What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing!

The sound of the vacuum cleaner entices a lot of birds to take a bath in their water dishes....they will also compete 'volume-wise' with the vacuum. I've never had a problem with them being afraid of the vacuum cleaner, however a broom is another matter entirely!

Hello Debbie, I read an article today that reminded me of this post - it was an article about renal disease and one of the symptoms was the chewing off of feathers, particularly of the tail - sometimes to the point of bleeding. I am not a vet, so am not saying this is what is wrong, but when you take Gemma to the avian vet please ask about kidney function and what tests may be helpful. Hopefully you can get to the bottom of this, Gemma must be uncomfortable in some way to chew herself like that. Please Keep us posted as to what you find out, your experiences might help someone else down the road.

Little lattice bells are fine, just watch what is used as the 'jingle bell' inside. Most budgies won't break them, I take them apart and put them on the floor of the cage or on top of it for them to throw around. They will play with them that way, if I leave them together and hang them from the top of the cage they will immediately go and unhook it and throw it to the ground to be further ignored and pooped on...... I think good toys are anything shreddable, like small parrot pinatas and those balsa wood shredders (bird kabobs). My budgies won't touch typical plastic 'parakeet' toys, so I either make my own or get them the shredders. You can also cut paper towel roll into small pieces (dont' use the sections with any glue) and hide millet inside or some other foraging treat and pinch the ends closed. You may have to leave these open at first and use a huge piece of millet so they know what it contains if your birds seem afraid of the tube, but usually the desire for millet overcomes any fear of the tube in short order and you can start closing the ends and using smaller pieces of millet. These can be hung or left on the cage bottom to be destroyed as the birds try to get the treat out. These types of toys are enriching, as they give your bird something to DO, instead of sitting around. Rope perches are nice on the feet, try to stay away from manzanita perches only because they tend to be very slick until you rough them up a little, and are such hard wood that although they will last practically forever with the little parrots they are too hard for the birds to chew so will not be much fun. They are fine to use, I have some myself, but found the birds would rather chew up dowel rods or wooden ladders (I go through lots of these - they chew the rungs off!) and don't spend much time on the manzanita ones.

I agree with the above but I do believe you need to be careful with egg Most definitely, but I figure deviled eggs are good the next day, so the mix is probably good for 2 days also. Very good point, splat.

My general rule of thumb is three days, max. Depends what it looks and smells like on the third day - I won't eat leftovers out of the fridge after 2 or 3 days, so I won't feed them to my birds either. If you have more than 2 days' worth then take the rest and freeze it. If you put it in individual servings (like in the ice cube tray) you just pop out a cube, thaw, and serve!

Some medical conditions will cause overpreening, one of my budgies barbers slightly due to liver disease. Have you taken her to the vet to rule out any medical issues? If by chance mites are the source your vet is the best course for treatment - please do NOT buy those mite protectors you hang on the side of the cage as they give off fumes toxic to your bird. There could be any number of causes, stress also comes to mind as common. How long has this behavior been manifesting? Has anything changed in the immediate environment? How large is her cage? The newest research I've read on feather destructive behaviors that are of unknown origin - psychological in nature (ie not a result of medical or immediate environmental issues) are that they may be tied in to the practice of pulling babies from the nest and not allowing the parent birds to raise the babies to fledging (unnatural weaning). There was a great article in Parrots Magazine not too long ago about this - I'll see if I can't find the issue # if you are interested - This seems to pertain to larger parrots, I'm not sure but think this is probably rare in budgies as most are not handfed and so they know how to be birds. Feather chewing is unknown in the wild, this is a result of captivity, so a vet visit would be the first course of action, and a careful check of the environment would be second. Good luck, I hope you are able to find the root cause, this can be a tough behavior to figure out.

Hello and welcome back! If you have any pictures you can post up, we'd love to see your birds. :rofl: I look forward to hearing about them.

All birds do have iris rings, they are part of the physiology of the eye. Dominant pieds will have visible iris rings, recessive pieds will not. The age at which you can easily see them varies as well, sometimes not until they are over a year.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the picture...nice birds Neville. I'd love to see more pics as this chick gets older.

They are not just playing around. It is normal for them to start another clutch before the first one has fledged. It is the male you will have to watch as they tend to be the most aggressive towards the youngsters that are slow to leave the nest. If there are no other environmental stressors, he should still take over the feeding duties when the chicks are about 3 weeks old, and usually by the time the second clutch begins to hatch the first clutch will be old enough to leave the nest box. For your pair to be breeding again already sounds a bit soon if they laid 7 eggs, they wouldn't have all hatched yet? Are you sure it's not the youngest that is 11 days? Or are some of the babies in the aviary from a different pair? Anyway, Count out around 10 days before the first egg is laid once the pair has begun mating again, which makes that baby in your post 21 days. Within 10 more days s/he will be fledging and depending upon the # of eggs your hen will lay would make around 5 in the nest box from the new clutch at that time with none hatched yet. It is pretty rough couple of months on the parent birds raising babies. They may start another round but 3 clutches in succession is too many so the pair would need to be seperated at that point - the hen being by herself to recuperate (she will look a little rough) and the chicks with the male. It's been awhile since I've heard the peeping of baby budgies so just going on fuzzy memory here - if I'm incorrect one of the breeders will bring us up to speed here.

Hello Maureena, I've had a budgie with a kidney tumor. I will share my experiences if you would like. Please give an update when you are able.

I am leaning toward boy due to the head shape...how old is baby?

This depends. Are you giving the meds by injection, orally via syringe, or in the water? If you are giving meds in the water then remove fresh veggies and sprouts from the diet until the meds are over. Many birds will get their daily requirement of water through foods and if you are feeding fresh veggies they have a high water content. Your bird would not need to drink, therefore would not be getting any of the medicine. If you are giving meds orally or via injection, check with your vet first, but I don't think feeding fresh foods then would be an issue.

Sprouted seeds are so much better for them nutritionally than bagged dry seed...if you are able to feed every day then do, and cut down on their dry seed. Just be careful as they can go rancid much faster than dry seed. If they smell or get slimey toss the batch and grow more. They are only good for a few days in the fridge. Sprouted seeds are live food, and contain many more amino acids than dry seed, they are a better quality food in my opinion. Your bird will only become overweight on them if they consume more calories than they expend, same as with any other food you offer.

What a hoot!!!! Sounds like you had a cool Hallowe'en. I'm wondering about the hearse for the wedding though, what does that say about their future together, LOL??????? Love the photos, by the way....