Rainbow

thanks hath. There hasn't been an egg today so far, but she seems very nervous. Is that normal?

I wouldn't worry too much. Like hath said, some hens don't start to incubate until the second egg is laid. My bird has only had two clutches, but both times the new babies began to hatch at the 20th day. I think it's normal if they don't all hatch. My hen had an egg from each clutch that turned grey. Neither one hatched, but they didn't start to turn grey until after all the eggs that were going to hatch, hatched. I think they were fertile, but maybe got cold or didn't get turned evenly and that's why they never hatched. Are they grey all over, or just on one end?

I found an egg (broken) on the bottom of the cage I moved Skittles to. They had "night frights" which is VERY odd for them Saturday night, and I think she may have laid the egg then and scared the other birds in the cage when it happened. It was about 1:30 am. and the egg was freshly broken. It took forever to get 11 birds all settled down again. She is in there with the first five babies. When all the birds are out, they have "community cages" (they go in and out of whatever cage they want and eat the food there) and I noticed Skittles is not allowed in her nest box anymore (the two babies still in there guard the entrance) even though she tries to get in. She is real peeved about that too. I would think she would be tired of laying eggs and all these babies by now, but she still wants to mate. In fact she chases Rainbow and tries to get him to mate, but she is definitely not in breeding condition anymore. Do you think she will continue to lay another clutch on the floor of the cage??? Any way to get her to stop?

Adam they are beautiful. Your aviary looks to be a nice size for them.

I've found Budgerigars and other older books at the library. I had it out a few weeks ago. It was a nice book. There really aren't a lot of current books out on budgies, are there?

budgieteen, what are you confused about?

I think he sounds wonderful. It sounds like he trusts everyone, and that is a good start. I agree with tequilabudge - he will figure out what you want him to do with time. Right now he just doesn't know.

I don't know how I've missed this-please don't think I was ignoring you. I can't get a picture up yet, but the cage is 24" x 18" x 32 or 36" (I can't remember the height and they're sleeping now so I can't measure), and the top dome part can be opened and just slides down. There is a nest box door towards the rear of the cage on the side, and the front door opens and uses the lock as a brace, so the door becomes a horizontal platform of sorts that they can land on to go in, but they usually just go in through the top. I have one for Rainbow, Skittles, and nest box, and had to go out and get another one for the first clutch of babies. When the second bunch fledge, I guess I'll need a third one.

Richard-Does she freak out as well when you are near the cage, or just when you open the door and put your hand in? You might try pulling up a chair and just sitting next to the cage and talking to her or read a book or something to get her used to you being near. Then put your hand on the outside of the cage, and keep doing that until it doesn't seem to bother her. (This could take weeks.) Then you can start over putting your hand in the cage with millet or whatever her favorite treat is. It may take a long time for her to become tame. Put in perspective though - If she lives 10-15 years, then you have quite a long time to get to know each other (just like regular friends). You just need patience. I think we all want them to be tamed quickly, but...you know how that goes.

He-he...every time I try to rub Rainbow's tummy, he steps up on my finger! He thinks we are playing the ladder game... I can't pet him any more at all because he does that.

Just keep practicing with her. You are doing well if you have only had her for a month. It takes a long time to win trust from a bird. Praise her every time she steps on your finger (even if she hops right back off). You also might try giving her a treat (like millet) only from your hand as a training aid. Every chance you get, stop by her cage and talk to her. Practice step-ups in the cage as well as out. Good luck!

I think rectangle or dome. Here it is very hard to find a decent sized cage with narrow bar spacing. They are all much taller than wide. I have finally settled on one that is mostly square, but part of the top is dome-shaped, and it opens up. It is still taller than wide, but it is large. Rainbow loves it because he can come and go as he pleases...

I have not had any personal experience with egg binding, but one of my reference books states that she needs to be put in a hospital cage at about 90 degrees F. You have already done that, so that is good. It also says raising the humidity could help her to pass the egg. If she doesn't pass the egg shortly, she needs to see a vet asap. I hope everything will be okay.

I also have a calcium perch, which may or may not be the same thing as an eggshell perch. It is good too, as they will eat it.

Budgieteen that is a good idea, it's not silly at all. You just have to wash them real well and let them dry thoroughly first. There aren't any trees near my house that are what I'd consider far enough from the road so they aren't always exposed to car exhaust and stuff. Plus everyone in my neighboorhood except me sprays their lawn and trees, so I will get all my branches from the store. I'm sure all those chemicals don't stay where they're put.

I don't use them because I have read they can cause foot problems. But I have a concrete perch in the cage for their nails as well as regular wood, rope, and manzanita perches. I have never had to trim Rainbow's nails, but Skittles' nails grow fast even with the rough perch and I have to clip them fairly regularly. They also seem to like to use the concrete perch, but it is not the highest perch so they don't stay on it. Do you use them just to keep their nails trim? Is your perch with the cover the highest one in the cage?

Bravo! Budgies make great little friends.

You must've gotten a good deal - some stores here charge almost that much US $$ for pet budgies.

lol - I don't think I've ever been in a house that had a door to the kitchen. If you have one you are lucky. I like your aviary. Sometimes I wish I could have an outdoor one but it gets too cold here in the winter. Then I think we would miss each other if they weren't in the house. They are my buddies. I can't leave mine out all day unsupervised...it's good you have a bird-proof room for them. If I had an extra room I would just make the whole room into an aviary and they could be out all the time. As far as harmful chemicals and such, as far as I know there aren't any. I don't use non-stick cookware or burn candles, the stove vents to the outside, and regular cooking smells don't/shouldn't bother them. I'm pretty careful about stuff like that. But you have to be when you are owned by budgies, right?

Oh PyscoFalcon, that is so sad about your parrot. Obviously whoever clipped your birds' wings had no idea what they were doing. (There is a different clip for each type of bird, and the age and weight of the bird and how adept they already are at flying needs to be taken into account also.) I would bet an improper wing trim was the cause of your bird's frustration. They should be able to glide to the floor, not drop like a stone. They should just not be able to gain much lift. I agree the birds shouldn't be that scared in the first place, but the fact is that in pet stores the smaller birds are not accustomed to being handled on a regular basis. I also agree that there are dangers to having a bird that is unable to gain lift, but if you are interacting with them while they are out, being sat or stepped on shouldn't be one of them. In my house, there is no door to close off the kitchen from the rest of the house. Actually, it is pretty open, and from the room where the birds live (my living room) they can access the upstairs, downstairs, dining room, kitchen, and hallway because there are no doors to block them out. They like to fly in a circle from the living room, through the dining room, into the kitchen, and back into the living room. The babies have pretty much figured it out, but I still have to follow them when they leave the room and make sure they can make it back until they know what they're doing. At first I had to have someone else with me before I let them out because I could not run upstairs and be in the kitchen at the same time They are fast learners, and don't go upstairs anymore. Even so, I just spent over an hour trying to convince all the babies it was time to go back in their cage so I could get something else done, and they were in one room the whole time. Unless you have a LOT of patience it can be frustrating. I finally just sat on the floor and laughed at myself. I think they were laughing at me too! Do you have an aviary? I get the impression most people here do and the birds don't live in the house.

This is a volatile topic, isn't it? Over here (USA) many pet stores do not keep the birds in cages. They have their wings clipped so they cannot fly out of the enclosure (it is open on top). They have much more room this way. By the time the birds arrive in the pet stores, they are older birds and are harder to tame. My birds were clipped when I bought them. They were not nervous because they couldn't fly. They were nervous because they were chased by a strange hand, captured, taken from the pet store in a box to my house, given a new home, and didn't know me from the man in the moon. For all they knew, they were lunch. It is easier to tame a budgie with clipped wings because they cannot fly away. If they fall, you save them. It does create a bond. You still have to go about taming in the same way as if they were flighted, but once you have them hand-tame and take them out of the cage, they are very transportable if you want to take them wherever you go in the house without worrying about them getting somewhere they shouldn't. It also keeps them from falling into water in the sink or toilet and drowning, landing on a hot stove if they fly into the kitchen, and keeps them from going headfirst into the window and giving themselves a concussion. The birds can fly after the next moult, and since my birds are tame, I have left them flighted. They know where it is safe to fly, and I don't have to spend an hour chasing a bird that doesn't want to be caught to be put back in the cage if I need to leave. I don't clip my birds wings anymore, and don't intend to clip the babies. But the babies will be tame because I can work with them very early in their lives so there is no need. I understand why people clip their birds wings and most reasons are for indoor safety. These are not aviary birds. I agree that birds are obviously happier when they can be birds, and that includes flying. My birds get great joy out of chasing each other in flight around the room. The babies are getting into the act too (but that is a total other topic). But maybe this will help you understand why some people clip their birds wings.

I think my budgies are what you are calling "American" budgies, but I always thought of them as Australian. They are like the original wild-type budgerigars, and they are the type we see in pet stores (over here anyway) most often. I've never heard them called American budgies before, just wild-type or Australian. They are about 7" long and more slender. The English budgies are slightly larger - maybe 8 1/2 " - with bigger heads and a deeper chest. I think they have a much stockier look to them. They also seem to have much larger spots on the necklace. Whenever I've seen English budgies in a pet store, they cost a whole lot more! There are some good photos on the budgerigarworld site, thanks Hath.