the pie

My young fella inside was offered them and eventually took to them, he was friendly and starting to trust what I gave him, added a small bit of brocholi to the top of his cage with his toys one day and thinking it was another toy got the hang of it. (he doesn't like hard vegies, big sook- to hard to bite!) The aviary birds I used to hang a millet spray in the same spot all the time then started putting the carrot sticks and such there and they just took to it- now they will eat grated vegies in a bowl. (they murder the carrot sticks though- they love hard vegies) On this note- my bird loves brocholi but he stinks the next day from it- anyone else get this?? He loves to sit near my face maybe thats why I really notice it

She seemed quite intent on hanging around, it was real windy and the tree she was in was knocking her about but she hung on! Put some seed on the roof of the aviary, then grabbed turfed the inside budgie out of his cage and set that up with a length of cotton running from the door around the side of the house so I could pull it shut when she went in. (has worked before!) BUT I got sick of waiting and walked up to her with the bird net distracted her and scooped her from behind.

5 kg = 11 pound. Does it keep okay with the oil- if it were sitting for a bit, the oil doesn't go sour? Might give it a go- any oils you shouldn't use with birds (besides the obvious!!)

Yep thats all you can do- don't be put off handling them though!! My hen was an aviary bird- never tame, but since her clutch she even steps up onto my hand in the aviary and is so cruisy now.

The cheek patches are a very pale (but iridescent) baby blue, very similar to a greywing male i have. Hers are tiny little patches though. opaline, spangle, cinnamon grey ( I was thinking she was a greywing at first due to the faded colour but then the cinnamon mask spots showed themselves) The male - her cheek patches are the same sorta colour

Boy Mines 5 months gettting more purply and iridescent so agree with Lovey- should be blue by 7 mths Good luck with the taming

yep they do that!! Mum'll get used to you, my hen likes to come stand on me when I'm holding them- keeping an eye on me I spose She's pretty good though they all get worried when they squark

Yep bottlebrushes and gums/eucalypts are okay for them, I have found if you have a bottlebrush that is quite 'nectary' it can bring ants into the aviary (Kalgoorlie has bad ant problem anyway) they make a good 'natural water sweetener' if you dunk the flowers into a jug of water (for you not the birds) Most native trees are okay- all the trees in the bush around me are natural habitat for budgies anyway so its easier I just go out and grab branches and renew them easily. Hollow logs are good but so are commercial nest boxes- logs can be harder to see into when there is babies and they are heaps more expensive if you have to buy them. Also takes a bit more effort to hang them. So personal choice on that one, I have one large one that has a swinging door at the back so I can get into it but the rest are just boxes. Make sure you leave room between the boxes so as not to cause territory fights between hens. Plenty of different perches- it is good to watch the birds interact in an aviary I've always had one bird inside and some outside. Best of both worlds

Not quarantined as she had already been talking to my birds through the wire and I'm all out of spare cages. Have been to every petshop in the area, notice boards and rangers (thats all we have being a small town) and left notices. No plans to breed her just giving her a good life for now.

yes actually!! Hoping to be moving to Darwin sometime soon, been looking at houses for sale up there lately but only on the computer. They are typical little bi..... girls :hap: always using their beaks! Yep the parents were a Dom pied male (split opaline so we found out!!) and a green female. Was really expecting at least 1 pied but got the three terrors and 2 green normals- they have HUGE amounts of feathering though and fat as!!

This was staring at me while I was watering the garden the other day- at first I thought I'd left the aviary door open and went into a panic- even though I don't own a white budgie!! Have tried to find the owner but no-one has come forward so I am more then happy to keep her. She is a pale grey, cinnamon cheek spots (not cheek patches), opaline, doesn't look spangle in person but does in the pics, some sort of dilute (greywing??) she seems to have a mix of quite a few mutations Anyone??

Bubs have fledged, look like little Elvis impersonators with the big hairdo's!! They are 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 wks the youngest is a bit of a mummys boy and is still in the nest with her!! Very happy to look into the nest box this week and finally see some Pieds (as I got none from the above mating!) and see two pied bubs from a Lutino Hen and DF Dom Pied Cock. YAY The grass is due to a finch deciding to share the nest box with them this week (laid egg, I removed, laid egg I removed, this morning 3 eggs, I give up!!) You may be able to see it in between the 3 budgie eggs :hap:

What gorgeous birds, lucky you!! Keep us updated and... more pics pls Banjo :hap:

I love them, have done since I was little and saw them at a show!! Any chance of post packin a few over?? :budgiedance:

You won't need to get a Dom Pied female as the male is already Dom Pied. Although I just crossed a Dom pied male wit a green normal/pos Dom Pied female (now I know she isn't!!) and got NO Pied babies!

If you are worried about it being hard and not digesting you can make him take a little flat lemonade/water and gently massage the crop til it loosens up enough to digest. This works when you get a handraised bird that has been fed mix that is too dry or gluggy.

Nope I can see the funny little pink blob. YAY- how many to go?

I've got my fingers and toes crossed for him too. Good luck I start nights again tomorrow night which leaves me feeling a bit....something anyway as it means coming and checking on everyones feathered families gets limited, but 4 days on, 4 days off cant' whinge as I get heaps of time to be feathery again on my days off!! Hope the little fella goes strong.

Not sure what direction the sun comes in on but you could alfoil/ silver foil the window too, but you would have to have additional lighting then.

Yep he's starting to get into everything and he's only 5 months old, its only gonna get worse from here on!! Brought one of the babies inside today for a cuddle, he is about 34 days old and towering over Chooky already. It totally spun him out to see another budgie it was hilarious. The snake I have is just a Stimson Python male, fully grown, but there are plans to get more- not sure what yet as WA has weird licensing on different breeds so a bit of researching coming up

I'm not going to write exactly what you will get as it will take up too many lines!! But the opaline would prob get you more what you will be looking for colour-wise, if you cross with the Dom pied and you got Double Factors would you get the other colours come through as well? Me personally wouldn't bother with the recessive pied cross but that is just me - it may produce some nice birds too depending on what other mutations the rec pied has. So have you got the birds yet?? :hap:

Here is part of an article I was reading on supplements etc..... Take it as you like as most articles contradict the one written before/after it which can be quite confusing. GRIT It very much depends on your species of bird whether you should be giving it grit or not. Hook bills (all parrots and parakeets), canaries, and most finches hull their seeds (take the outer shell off), and therefore do not need grit to help them break the food down. It has been common practice until recently that budgies and cockatiels are given grit, but it is of no benefit to them, and can cause serious crop problems and impactions. However, other birds, such as quail, chickens, and doves do require grit to digest their food, and should always have a supply of grit or sand. Mineral Blocks & Cuttlefish Bones A mineral block is usually put into the cage to provide calcium and other minerals, and can be pretty good for your bird to clean his/her beak on (unless the mineral block is brown and the bird is white!). A mineral block is usually a good idea, but make sure that the mineral block does not have added activated carbon (no benefit for your bird unless your bird eats something poisonous). Cuttlefish bone is often sold in pet stores as a calcium source for birds, but the calcium it contains is not easily absorbed by birds. It makes a good chewing/shredding toy for the birds, but that's about it. If your bird only has a cuttlefish bone in their cage for the calcium, it is important that you supplement with other calcium sources, such as boiled eggshells and a more effective calcium and vitamin D3 supplement. Vitamin Supplements It is advisable to include a vitamin supplement in your bird's diet if the bird will only accept a seed based diet with limited intake of fruits, vegetables & other food items. They can help to make up for important vitamins lacking in the diet, and can be used whilst trying to convert the bird to eating a more well balanced diet. These supplements can be given regularly, once a week. The liquid supplements that are administered in the bird's water are more affective than the power supplements that get sprinkled onto the food, as the powder sticks to the shell of the seed, which is discarded by the bird. However, problems can arise if water that has been enriched with a vitamin supplement it left more than 12 hours, as a rapid bacterial growth can occur. It is therefore vitally important that bowl hygiene is carried out regularly to avoid this. Water soluble supplements are not to be confused with water administrated medications. Supplying added vitamins to a deficient diet via the water can be a great way to get a fussy eater to consume much needed vitamins and minerals. But with medications, it is never recommended to administer in the water because the bird needs to consume a specific dosage of medication that is not assured by this method.

New pics of the bubs- its very hot today so I went out early and gave them grated vegies and took a few pics Mum, dad and a couple of little heads, and a hanger-on, the yellow DF Dom pied male just keeps an eye on progress "Ready on the count of three...1,2,3 Bite....." "Hee Hee Hee Hee!!!!" The 'nice' ones (non-biters) The Kelly gang themselves: Little bundle of female trouble!

You could name him 'Scarface Claw' !(sorry my nephew is into pirates at the moment and I couldn't resist!)

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