Rainbow

Generally speaking, if you pair a green bird to a blue one, unless the green bird is split for blue (carries a blue gene) the babies will all be green, as green is a dominant color. You need to have some idea of what colors you want to get in order to know what colors to buy. Do you want blues or greens? Do you want more pieds? Do you want recessives?

Please watch the use of shortcuts.

Mine eat all the flavors, and it makes up a good portion of their diet. It is made with human grade ingredients, so what your birds don't eat, you can. I usually just cut the wheatgrass down when it gets ratty. Watch the base though, if you overwater it, it will grow mold then you have to throw it out. My birds like to dig down into the base, rip out the wheatgrass, and eat the sprouted seed along with the grass, so I have to check the growth medium before I give it to the birds. I keep a new one growing so they will always have a good pot of it.

If you check the ingredients in your seed mix, I'll bet either white or red proso millet ranks pretty high on the ingredient list....it is in most budgie seed mixes anyway. Most seeds are high in fat, millet happens to be high in carbs. Try this site, you might find some information that will help you. http://www.holisticbird.org/

I read them Pass, and I think you have written excellent articles. Boycott is usually a very effective way to effect change, and it's great that you are able to do that. Was it difficult to get the boycott started, especially if there are few or no other stores around to get supplies from?

eterri, that's the one I want too. I saw it in a pet store and am seriously contemplating it.

Lady, they are all so gorgeous! Baby Sky's wing markings look normal to me, just opaline light grey. Such a pretty girl! I want her - I'll bet she would make beautiful babies with my Crystal! What do you think?

What a great story!

Poor Dolly and poor you too. At least the vet was able to give you some hope that Dolly can become healthy again. Cancer or tumors you may not be able to do much about, but even liver disease can be slowed or reversed by diet and medications. The liver is the only organ that has the ability to regenerate itself in people, I think the same holds true for birds and other animals too. Worms or parasites you know can be taken care of. Try to stay optimistic, and please let us know what happens when you go back to the vet on Monday.

It could be throw up, usually it pastes their head feathers, but depending upon how he was flinging it out it could have landed on his chest. The fluffing up and leaning forward I am familiar with, as mine have done that before when they were ill. Sometimes they will sit even flatter and further forward. I'm sure budgies sit like that for other reasons too, but if you are looking for confirmation, yes that posture is not how a healthy budgie sits. It reminds me of a stomachache. The yellowy urates can be caused by different things too. Ruling out dietary reasons, they also point towards a vet trip. zoeandkiwi, please call the vet. Please? And please resize your photos, they are too much over adam's specs. If you resize on photobucket they may automatically resize on here too, since it is just a link. If not, I will have to delete them and they will need to be reposted.

You don't really know what you are asking, do you? LOL they will take over your house and everyone in it. :devil:

Crystal darkened up a lot after a few molts. Here he is as a pink-cered baby.

BOOM! You are right about greywings, but Crystal is not a greywing. Mystery and Blossom are. Trouble, er Crystal's black markings aren't really very dark compared to the other birds. And his body color is very light. But Paris' shell markings are lighter. With the flash, he looks much closer in color to Paris. If you don't think Crystal is a dilute, what would you call him? He's not a greywing, and he's not a normal. He's not a clearflight, as his tail has color. I guess we could say he's definitely male and definitely pied?

An immediate trip to the vet is in order. I can't imagine how much pain that bird is in.

I'll bet you are. I'll be anxiously awaiting those pictures.

I am very sorry about Eric, I'm sure your dad must feel terrible. Let us know what the vet says about bangers.

Just try a different flavor, they don't all smell like cinnamon. :nest: Cream of Tweet or Nuts for Alfredo aren't bad. I took some video today of mine in the wheatgrass, I'll convert them and post them soon. It's funny.

That is a beautiful bird! I wonder what the standard on a frosted pied is? What makes that particular bird a "frosted" pied?

I'm glad you have more birds now, hath. Just grab a chair, some tea, and go sit in the bird house, close your eyes, listen to the birds, and relax. :nest: They will still settle in, and you will have a most wonderful day. It's what you really want to do, isn't it? Enjoy.

LOL, they won't choke on it. It is a little smushy, but if you let it sit covered on the stove to cool a lot of the water gets absorbed and it is not so smushy. Did your birds try it or were they afraid of it? :nest:

they're not brown at all, I think it is just the yellow cast on my picture. I'll look for a better one. My Crystal, aka Trouble is a dilute. (he's the one I think looks like yours. :nest:) Found one - the flash messes up the colors a little, but the greywing you can see, Skittles is hidden a bit but you can tell the difference in the normal colored flight feather versus the grey ones. You can also see the body color dilution as well as the tail feather dilution. Both birds are type 2 yellowface skyblues, but the difference in the intensity of the color I think is due to the greywing factor.

Mystery and Blossom are greywings. Part of the definition of a greywing is that the wings and markings are about 50% diluted from normal. The body color is somewhat diluted as well. For comparison, Skittles is of normal color - she is in back, the two greywings are in front. Does this help?

I'm in agreement with Bea. Start with the outer feathers. Don't leave the outer feathers and clip the inner ones - it leaves those feathers too unprotected and makes it easier for the bird to knock them. 7 feathers usually will make your bird very grounded - unless you have a really strong flyer that is too many.

I think a bird is either pied or it's not. Piedness isn't a recessive gene. I don't see why you can't have a pied spangle.

Adding medications to the water is not the best way to treat birds, BUT if they still drink the water they will get the medicine. The medication is dosed with a ratio of medicine to water based on the birds weight. Vets know budgies don't drink much, and that is factored into the dosage. The problem with dosing in the water is many birds won't drink as much when they are sick, or sometimes if the water looks, tastes, or smells "off" or "not normal" they will not drink it at all. Adding things to the water (even vitamins) also increases the rate at which bacteria will grow. It's not necessarily that they are stubborn, it's self-preservation. I'm sure you've noticed sometimes the bottom of the water dish is slightly slimy when you wash it out, due to poop, vitamins, medicine, seeds, whatever being in the water. Ideally, that should never grow in there. You rarely see it if the water you are changing still looks clean, or is only a few hours old. I change the water in my birds' cages at least twice a day, more if it is fouled. I would continue to dose the water until the medicine runs out. I would allow both birds access to it. Sometimes the bacteria is stubborn and will require more than one round of medicine. Mine have always been 10 - 14 days worth of medicine constitutes a round (this is for antifungals as well as antibiotics). If you've already given oral medicine for two weeks, a new medicine for another two weeks may kick the problem. It's possible the vet feels another two weeks of oral meds may be too much and so dosed the water instead. I don't know. I do know this is really worrying you so for your own peace of mind, call the vet back and ask lots of questions about the illness your bird has, the different methods of treatment, and what dosage to give orally if that is the way you feel better about getting medicine into your bird. Do an online search about whatever illness the vet told you your bird has. If you have a little knowledge before you call them back, you will be better able to ask the right questions. (((hugs)))