Rainbow

I tried using shavings, no luck. Then I tried the bedding I use for my hamster, as it's much softer (Carefresh). No luck there either. Rainbow kept kicking it all out of the hole, although the bedding did stay in longer than the shavings. I finally gave up, and they were perfectly happy with nothing but themselves, the eggs, and a wooden floor. (He was very determined that every bit got taken out too.) They managed to keep the nest box rather clean, as Rainbow would also kick all the droppings from the babies out of the hole also. I didn't have a problem with splayed legs - I thought nesting material was for sanitary reasons only? But whenever they breed again I know not to bother with anything but a box, because anything else will all just end up on the floor of the cage... :bluebudgie:

Wonderful pictures, Adam, especially of the babies! :bluebudgie: But I do have a question... My birds wouldn't keep any nesting material in the nest box - Rainbow would kick it all out the hole until there was just the wood bottom. In your experience, is that normal?

:bluebudgie: It is a shame that the exhibition type budgie has a shorter life expectancy.

When mine first left the nest box, it took about a week for them to leave completely. They would float in and out, but would always be fed by one or the other of the parents. It wasn't until the second clutch of eggs began to be laid that Skittles wouldn't let them back in the box. Your male should feed the chick if he/she isn't allowed back in the box at all anymore. But I would watch them closely to make sure.

I'm not sure whether six is too old or not. My male began breeding at three. Maybe fertility might be a little lower as they age, but since they can live to be 15 or so, 6 doesn't seem especially old to me.

Welcome to the forum. How exciting for you! I have some experience with mating budgies, but as my birds have only had 2 clutches, I don't consider myself a breeder. I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer a few. - After the birds mate, you should expect eggs in about 10 days. - I think it is normal that one of your birds expresses interest in more than one hen, but I'm not sure about this one. One of the breeder's on the forum will answer that one for you. - I think they should settle on one nest box before the eggs are laid, but again I'm not sure. I think right now they are probably determining which box is prime real estate and that's why they keep going in and out of all the boxes. - The male may not necessarily be allowed in the nest box once eggs are laid. Some hens will allow him to enter, some won't. The female determines the nesting site, so right now your males may not be going into the box because their mates haven't quite decided which one they want. They are just waiting patiently... Hopefully this helps a little. Good luck!

Oh, poor dear. If you didn't realize he was sick, then you didn't realize it. That doesn't make it your fault. As much as we love our birds, sometimes things happen like this. At least you know he is in a heavenly place and feels just fine now. I'm sorry - I'm sure it was very hard for you to have to make the decision to put him to sleep. I'm sure when you eventually want another budgie, you will be able to pick out the perfect one for you. When you get to that point, if you still have doubts about picking out that bird, just ask anything you are unsure of. This is a great forum to get answers to your questions.

I like that name. What does he look like?

Thanks for the info!

Hmmm, I can't get the page to load tonight. Is the magazine only available over there? I'm always looking for bird-related magazines. There's really not much out there (at least not where I am) - only 3 that I read regularly - and two of those are printed in a different country than mine...

When I was small, I had a hen that would tell me "hello". She was my first budgie. Skittles will wolf whistle occasionally, but only when she thinks no one is watching. With other birds around, they just are not that interested in speaking my language. But they have got to be the most acrobatic birds - both in the cage and in the air!!

When you quarantine a new bird, you keep them in a completely different room from your original birds. You should feed and interact with the new bird last, and wash your hands well after handling him/her or cleaning the cage, etc. Some people even recommend changing your clothes after being around the new bird. A usual quarantine is 30-45 days. This is to (hopefully) be able to prevent your new bird from passing unapparent illness to your current birds, as most illnesses will make themselves apparent in that amount of time. When the quarantine is over, you can introduce the new bird to the old ones. I usually just move the new bird's cage to the same room as the first birds, where they can see each other, but not get at each other. I leave them this way for about a week, then I will supervise them both being out of their cages at the same time. It seems a long time to keep them seperate, but believe me it is worth it. If the new bird ends up being sick and you didn't quarantine, then you have to medicate all the birds and instead of only having one bird hate you for awhile, you have them all feeling that way.

If you've never done it before, I wouldn't recommend it. I think there is a blood supply and nerve endings in the beak, so not only could you hurt your bird if you do it wrong, you could make it so that it would not be able to hull seed. When you take her to the vet, I would ask for other tests to be done to find out why her beak is growing so quickly. It normally doesn't happen in healthy birds. Maybe your vet would allow you to partial pay some $$ now and the rest in two weeks. You could always ask. If not while you have them on the phone you could ask if there is anything you can do at home until you can bring her in.

Rainbow used to sneeze a lot also. We went through some trips to the vet and several nasal flushes (which didn't help - he wasn't sick but we thought he might have had a hull stuck in his nares). Then I accidentally stumbled upon a cure for his sneezing. I changed his seed. Now he rarely sneezes. I don't think he was allergic to any ingredient, I think it was a little more dusty, because he also sneezes sometimes after eating millet because he gets the hulls in his nose. He just seems to be more sensitive to dust than any other bird I have. Is there a pattern to when he sneezes? If you have the a/c on very cool it will make the birds sneeze also. As long as the sneeze is a dry sneeze he is probably okay. If there is discharge when he sneezes, that is a different matter. I have always taken any new bird I got to the vet within a day or two of purchasing them, so if he hasn't been yet it might not be a bad idea if you are concerned.

Mine won't touch it.

You're welcome. I'm glad he seems better.

Well, what kind of diet is your bird on? Since you saw one normal stool since, it could be nothing to worry about. Maybe he ate too many greens or fruit, and his system is clearing it out. There are a million reasons for the odd stool. Your sample is only good for maybe about an hour if you want the vet to do a gram stain with it, as once it begins to dry it is no good. Since this seems to have been going on for less than a day, I would check on your bird again in the morning and if there is still a problem, call the vet's office. Hopefully he will be fine tomorrow.

Maybe they do mate, but only when no one is around. I have read that sometimes matings aren't always successful the first time or two if the pair has never raised babies before. If she is laying again I would just leave the box in. Once she has her clutch, I would let her sit on them for the full term. After that you can judge from their behavior whether to take the box down for awhile or not.

Mine get fed people food every day. When they were raising babies, their intake of green food rose considerably. They seemed to crave it. You could try adding broccoli or baby spinach leaves if the parents are used to veggies, otherwise I would wait to introduce it until after the babies fledge. If they are already used to fruit I don't see where it would hurt to feed it. If they don't want it, they won't eat it.

Two weeks is not long enough for your budgie to become used to you. He may not want to be stroked-some birds don't like it. Most of mine don't. When he fusses at you he is saying "leave me alone right now". I would try to only work on the finger taming for right now and give him some time to get used to his new home. If he does bite again, don't respond to the bite by jerking your finger away. Just try to ignore it and distract him with something else like having him step up onto a different finger or perch or put him down. I think by giving him a little more time he will settle down and become sweet again.

Do you have any friends who have birds that you could ask where they take theirs? Or are there any breeders (of any type bird) in your area? (Maybe do an internet search.) If so, you could call one of them and ask what vet sees their birds. If both of those are no good, I would make an appointment with the vet's office that was most helpful to you when you called around looking for an avian vet and take your bird in. There are also many vets who may not be a certified avian vet, but who take a special interest in birds and keep current with the latest developments for avian patients - you could ask the vet's offices where you are if any of the doctors have a special interest in birds. Since it has been a week already and there has been no improvement, you should have your bird seen by someone. By the time you can tell a bird is sick, they are really sick because they hide illness as long as they can. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens.

I think it is normal. Skittles didn't get normal sized poop until she began spending more time outside of the nest box when the babies were older. It is so big because she is not leaving the box very often, and probably only goes a few times a day instead of every 15-20 minutes as usual. I think the babies were probably about 3-4 weeks old before it began to look closer to normal.

Please do - I love looking at pics of everyone's budgies.

I didn't know about the bacteria part. I left the unhatched eggs in the box for several days after the last baby hatched (5 or 6). Then I took them out on different days so my hen wouldn't get upset at them both being gone at once, because she still sat on them. If they get very dark, I would take them out, just in case. Have any hatched yet?

Chirpy, I don't think he's immature for his age. Not too many babies I know have such a colorful vocabulary... All the bars on the head don't disappear at once, they just recede gradually at each molt. At this point I would guess only the first few rows right above the cere are a solid color (maybe two)?? I believe the iris is very gradual too. Some of my babies are already beginning to show the slightest hint of the iris (you really have to look, it is more a dark grey color and very thin) and others are still solid black. I would say his cere will change (if it is going to) by the time he is a year.