Rainbow

Sometimes you can tell when they are still in the nest box, if you know what to look for. It is not easy to do though, and sometimes you can't tell until they are close to the first molt. At 7-8 weeks it could be easier to tell. If you can post a picture of your budgie in the pictures section or mutations section, we can give it a guess. If you don't have pictures, if the blue is light, or there are white or very pale blue "rings" of color around the nostrils that are lighter than the rest of the cere, you probably have a girl. If the cere is darker and closer to a purply-blue with no real color intensity changes from one part of the cere to the next, you probably have a boy.

Both mom and dad are split to blue. This means that they each have one gene for green and one gene for blue. In order to get a blue bird, you must have 2 blue genes, as blue is recessive to green. For the blue baby, they each just happened to give that gene for blue to the baby. Very cool.

You need to be careful of the hooded dishes, only because many budgies won't go near them to eat. They can't see around them, so are (to them) vulnerable to attack whenever they stick their heads in. I agree, what you describe is normal juvenile behavior. It seems to be more prevalent in hens, and if memory serves correctly lasts a few months. It sounds like your bird has already gone through the first molt if the bars are already gone up to the eyes. How did you get the bird? It sounds like you found him outside from your description! Or am I taking it too literally?

They are all just lovely! What a surprise! I just love the three twins - such a soft color. Just beautiful. When I had the twin greywings, the only way I could tell them apart was to look at their wing markings, as the pattern was slightly different on them, and also the longest tailfeather was different. I found the tailfeather was easiest, because I kept forgetting which bird had the narrower shell markings! There is probably something unique in a marking somewhere on each bird - you just have to find it. Oh yeah, and then remember it, LOL!

You do need to be a little careful with string toys. What shape is this toy in? Would they be able to get their nails snagged in it if they were climbing on it? You can always trim off the really frayed parts with scissors, but if there is any chance they could get caught in it somehow I would replace it with a new one just like it if they really love the toy. Another worry is if they were to ingest it. Most likely they just preen it, but if they were to actually eat parts of the string the results could be tragic, as it could get impacted somewhere inside them.

I am concerned that you say he can't fly anymore with only one feather gone....one feather should not make any difference in how they fly. When birds molt in the wild they sometimes have a few missing and it does not affect flight. If it did, they would all have died off as a species long before now. Is there anything else that makes this bird stand out from the rest of the flock?

I don't think my budgies got that memo!

Ditto - lovely girls! I find females to be friendlier overall and a little more curious, especially where food is concerned. (LOL I noticed the millet in there! )

One lone female budgie, as long as she is happy, will not make much noise at all. But noise is a relative term here, all budgies will make noise. If you hear a lot of screeching or that "ack-ack-ack" noise, she is unhappy about something. Happy girls will mostly make soft noises, single chirps, and some warbling sounds - nothing that would be termed "annoying" by most people.

I began handling mine when I had to start cleaning out the nest box, I think the oldest baby was about three weeks. Before then the parents were able to clean out the box quite nicely by themselves. You can probably handle them now, but I think the less intrusion on your part the better when they are not feathered...less of a chance the parent birds will take out their frustration with human interferance on the babies I believe. If you talk to them frequently throughout the day they will know your voice even before they see you.

Beautiful birds, Bea! I like DimSim...she has such perfect spots!

Hello and welcome! I have never used any of the medicines mentioned, so I can't help there. But I'm glad your budgie is on the mend. However I can help you with the sprouts. My birds get sprouts most every day in place of much of their dry seed, and actually prefer them. Go here to see how I grow them, or go to www.sproutpeople.com and read their instructions. It is a great website, and I have ordered from them before too. The quality is fabulous, and they really know their stuff!

I guess you would have to know the background of the chicks, because I looked at those pictures again and the babies have normally marked wings. It seems the odd color of the tail is what catches your eye. If you were to just see the baby without knowing what it was, I'll bet most people wouldn't guess spangle as the mutation. I know I wouldn't.

It does look very red, but I think that is just the skin showing through. The last picture looks more "filled in" than the ones before. I think it may look so red because those feathers are white...so provide a dramatic contrast to the pink of the skin. Plus there are a LOT of them missing. He does look very itchy! Will he let you scritch those feathers around the cere? If he will, take them and very carefully scratch around the base of the cere with your nail, then if he doesn't object very very gently twist ever so slightly up the feather between your thumb and fingers. Blueberry loves that, even when she is not molting! He might also like you to scritch the skin along side of the beak where there really aren't feathers. You just have to be careful, because those feathers and the skin around them are tender so you can easily hurt him.

Do you want a physics lesson concerning light, or can I just tell you the purple halo is magic??? Really, It's magic. :ausb:

Check your camera lens.

She is just starting puberty, LOL. It sounds like she has learned if she bites you will leave her alone. Biting is a part of having parrots. You will at some point get bitten. It's not that bad. They might draw a little blood but budgies won't amputate your finger. It isn't unbearable pain. And I've found if you expect to be bitten, birds will pick up on that somehow and usually will bite. If you know how to pick them up right they can't bite you anyway, but it takes practice and you need to be quick. I wouldn't worry about the biting part if I were you. I don't see any reason why you can't keep them in the same room like you are now.

Any thoughts of breeding the new grey hen to Ash?

Interesting. Although he says after they molt out the wings look like a 'spangle in reverse'. Isn't this a normal? To me the wings look normal.

You might also consider letting your friend know to take out the sand sheets and not use them for several reasons. 1st, if they are causing his foot to bleed they need to come out ASAP. 2nd, budgies don't need sand, and 3rd, the glue used to hold the sand on the sheet to me is questionable because you don't know what it is, and could be toxic if ingested. If the budgie is eating the sand, he most certainly is also eating the glue used to hold it on the sheet. As far as what his behavior means, we need a little more information. Does the behavior seem repetitive and agitated? Is he also frantically scratching at a corner of the cage while he's down there? Does it look like he wants to hide? My first thought since the budgie is untamed is that he is afraid and is looking for escape. The fact that he is spending enough time at the bottom of the cage to have scratched his feet up so that they bleed reinforces that to me. But I don't have all the facts. But I am glad you are telling him to take the budgie to the vet. If he can, he needs to wash off that poor bird's feet with slightly warm water to offer some relief before he gets to the vet. Thank you for caring enough about your friends bird to offer help. :angel1:

I think the flakiness on the cere is a normal by-product of beak-wiping, and maybe a bit of scratching as he itches the molting feathers above the cere. He looks fine to me. But I am not a vet, so use your best judgement and your gut feeling. (Always go with your gut feeling!) When birds molt, some become withdrawn, some become very grumpy, some become more aggressive. My birds usually have some combination of those three! It takes a lot of energy to grow feathers, so their diet is especially important now. They also itch, so this can cause the grumpiness or withdrawn behavior, as they are a little uncomfortable. If it makes you feel any better, I just took a picture of one of mine during the molt - the brown feathers look just like the picture you posted. She's almost done, so it is not as obvious, but normal.

He is a nice looking bird, Daz. I can't wait to see the other one.

Hello and welcome! Please post some pictures of Moon. What a great name.

You need a cuteness warning for those.

Those feathers above the cere that are brownish look normal to me. All my birds feathers seem to do that during a molt. As far as the crustiness, does it look more like dry flakey skin? An indoor bird would be hard pressed to get mites or scaley face unless you have handled another bird with it and brought it home. Where would the infection come from otherwise? I don't think I would put anything on it without being sure of the diagnosis. Can you post a more recent picture?