Kestral

Smudge liked music with a bit of guitar in it, though I have a sweet video of him on my phone singing along to Destiny's Child...and then as soon as the song finishes he stops singing too! Pip was more of a football fan than a music lover, though when I used to practise my singing for my music GCSE at home when noone else was in, I would generally get about two lines out before being joined by budgie! We have surround speakers on the TV in the lounge and the sound of the crowds chanting during football matches used to whip him up into a frenzy...so much so that numerous times my Dad had to show him the "red card" and get me to take him upstairs. Noisy household appliances seem to go down very well too, things you'd think would frighten a little bird, like the hoover and hairdryers both my boys used to enjoy. I think for budgies it often seems to be more about volume than the sound!

It amazes me that so many people still have the opinion of having budgies as pets as "oh, well it's JUST a bird." They are so much smarter than they are often given credit for, and yes, they do know the difference between humans. I think they definitely establish a list of who their favourite people are. With both my boys I was always favourite person (though I was the only one who really bonded with Smudge in the short time he was with us as he was a more nervous personality), and for some reason, both birds were not at all keen on my brother...he was never mean to them in any way or anything, they just would not seek him out to sit on or sing to. Pip's opinion of my brother did improve during his ten years with us, he was fine with both my parents...he even adopted a pair of my mum's slippers as a favourite "toy" to hide in. One person who did have a special place in Pip's heart was my granddad, even though he didn't see him that often...Pip liked to sit on his head and look at himself in my granddad's glasses and my granddad used to whistle a lot which he seemed to like too. In fact, the only time I ever have come close to losing a bird out the door/window, was when my grandparents were leaving after a visit, and despite my best efforts to keep him occupied, Pip saw my granddad leaving and flew after him, landing on his cap, with the door wide open in front of him. Obviously there was something about my granddad that Pip just could not resist....I wish I knew what makes them like some people above others, particularly when they are not the one that feeds them and takes care of them.

Perhaps you can train Cookie to hit the button you point at and he can do your typing for you? My first budgie Pip had a thing for picking up playing cards which then I used to entertain my family...it's definitely more fun when you're doing card tricks and instead of asking your Mum to pick a card you can get your budgie pal to pick one (and pull it out of the pack) for you!

Aww they looked so sweet all eating together and then Oz's "Crest Envy" kicked in! What I want to know is during the video, where Blinkie and Cookie ran over the keyboard did they manage to type anything interesting with their little feet? Hee hee

I'm sure at some point I will end up with another feathered friend....budgies just get you hooked somehow....that endearing, happy-go-lucky, fun loving attitude you just can't resist. I'm so shocked by the way he went from perfectly lively and happy, to dying, in just 24 hrs. I hope he had some comfort from me holding him when he went...obviously somebody up there needed a handsome yellow face angel.

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I think it was just all too much for him. I'm just grateful that he wasn't alone when he went. My Dad and I are going to lay him to rest with my other bird Pip later today when it stops raining. The house is so quiet again with no budgie chirruping.

Smudge went to the vet this afternoon. The vet said he had an infection of some description and gave him an antibiotic injection and gave me some probiotic for his water. I put him in a quiet room but when I went back to him a short while later he was on the floor of the cage. I picked him up and he shook in my hand for about 30 seconds and then was gone. I am utterly devastated at losing my beautiful turquoise boy, especially so suddenly and so young. RIP my little one.

Well...this morning Smudge is definitely not his usual self. He's very sleepy this morning, though he has eaten and played a little bit, I've barely heard a cheap out of him. He also slept on his low perch which is not like him, he normally sleeps on his swing. The male budgie I had before Smudge used to regurgitate to his toys, and what I saw didn't look like that really...if he was a cat I'd say he looked like he was trying to cough up a hairball, and he kept shaking his head and flinging seed out. His poops during the night seem to have been a bit on the loose side too. I'm going to ring the vets when they open, but I don't know whether I will be able to get an appointment for today, I had to wait a day and half when I tried getting an appointment for his wing clip. Anything people can recommend for me to do in the meantime to perk the little guy up? I know people often mention heat lamps to keep sick birds warm...we have one of those red lamps you use to ease muscle pains, but it does get very hot and I don't want to toast my boy. A bit of comfort food perhaps? I have millet in the cupboard.

I have had Smudge for about 5 months now and he has always been a fairly timid bird. Since I had his wings clipped I have been working on getting him used to being out of his cage, since without the clipping he flew to the curtain pole when brought out (he never comes out of the cage of his own accord) and stayed there petrified. On one of these first flights he began either regurgitating or vomitting suddenly, so I picked him up and put him in his cage again as it was apparant even without the regurgitating that he was very frightened. The regurgitating/vomitting stopped a little while after and he was fine afterwards. This was about two months ago. Tonight, after being his noisy playful self in his cage, I got him out and sat him on his little play gym, he let me give his head a scratch and suddenly the regurgitating/vomitting was happening again. I have been getting him out every day since his wing clip so I thought coming out was becoming less stressful for him...I put him back in his cage and again, after a little while it passed, he was even trying to play with his bells and eat whilst this regurgitating/vomitting was happening. In all other respects he's been a happy, chirpy, playful budgie....just wanted people's thoughts as to whether stress could be causing these two episodes... it just seems so strange if it was an illness I would have expected to see him looking ill or more frequent regurgitating/vomitting...I have been at home most days and when I'm not around my parents are so I am sure that if he'd been ill in between these two episodes someone would have seen it. Just want to hear some thoughts really as I'm a little puzzled.

What lovely birds you have! Apollo is absolutely gorgeous

I'll try taking some more photos of him soon with the digital camera. These ones were done on my mobile phone and they don't do his lovely colouring justice at all. I love his daft nature...today I tried him with some carrot in his cage and instead of ignoring it, or eating it, he decided to dance at it!

Haven't posted any piccies of Smudge since I joined here. He's still taking his time to come out of his shell. Had his wings clipped so I could get him used to being out of his cage in my house, since we have an open plan downstairs so he could fly from the living room and into the kitchen and into a whole heap of trouble. Hopefully he'll gradually gain in confidence as he gets used to being out of his cage. Behold, Smudge and his amazing budgie trapeeze act! I'm the king of this castle And just look at the view you get from here You can't escape those darn paparazzi, even on your own playgym! Well it takes effort to look this good, you know Maybe if I do this she'll go away Oooh that's the spot! okay, if you insist I will pose for you, I am extremely handsome after all

I guess the dog bowl looked like the perfect bird bath in Ozzie's eyes! I wish I could convince Smudge that his bird bath is not going to eat him!

He's very handsome indeed! I love the name Scuttle for him too :hap:

Haha they're so naughty!! My Pip used to demand a piece of my toast every morning by repeatedly flying from his cage, onto my head in the kitchen, chirping loudly, the minute he heard the toaster being taken out of the cupboard...and even if he got a bit he'd invariably try to get a bit more off my own chunk before he thought about getting stuck into his.

This might be a silly question but is it bad for budgies to be on the floor? Obviously there might be a risk of someone stepping on them if they didn't know they're there, but is there something else I'm missing? My first budgie Pip spent half his time on the floor of our living room playing with his toys, any food you gave him on a table he would quickly throw onto the floor to eat there instead. Now Smudge has had his wings clipped so I can introduce him safely to the world outside his cage he's been alternately on the floor with his toys or on his playgym. Should I not be doing that? I also agree with Bea that Shoo is the biggest game to some tame budgies. Pip used to enjoy sitting on the dining table and trying to get at mum's plants and every time you'd shoo him off the minute you walked away from the table he'd fly straight back!

It's a bit like buying toys for little kids....you get them a toy for their birthday and they spend an hour playing with the wrapping paper! Smudge can entertain himself with the metal thing that attaches his cuttlefish to the bars of his cage...I wish I was so easily amused!

My old boy Pip did indeed start to show his age and slow down. He was healthy and happy, but he did tend to sleep more, and didn't stay out of his cage as long as he used to. He never had anything like you describe as anxiety attacks, though he did get more "out of puff" from flying. I think the best advice if he's been checked over by a vet and he's healthy would be just to treat him extra gently with plenty of tlc as you would with any ageing animal. Pip was treasured until he left us two years ago aged just over 10, we just provided him with everything he could possibly want and that's all you can do I guess.

Haha so it's not just my birds that like the sound of their own voice echoing!! My old boy Pip used to spend about half the time he was in his cage hanging upside down from the roof...my mum used to say he wasn't a budgie but half bat and half dog Smudge, when I put his hanging mirror in every now and again for a half our or so gets hold of the mirror with one foot and the side of his cage with his other foot and hangs like that doing the splits! Often he even preens like this..and once when I left the mirror in overnight by accident he even slept in this position!

Fortunately Smudge was already showing signs of being a yellowface type II (not that I knew that was what colour he was when I bought him!) and was named accordingly, since he looked like a blue and a green budgie smudged together...but he was still mostly pale blue in body. Now he is turquoise-ish on his chest with a green patch on his back and a blue patch around his bum...but he looks different every day depending on the light - colour changing budgies are fun!

Haha..I hope she had washed her feet before she came and sat at the table! My old boy Pip used to try and join in at the dinner table, but that was more to try and look at his reflection in the cutlery than to actually eat anyone's dinner!!

I'd say its just the moulting...or maybe your bird just likes a change of look for each season to keep up in the budgie fashion stakes? My Smudge seems to appear a different colour every day!! He's a yellowface type II (and also opaline with it)...when I first got him his body was very blue, but now most of his chest is turquoise and he has a very green patch on his back and a blue patch around his bum! I think its fun having a bird that changes colour or pattern.

okay, so having had two budgies, one of whom spent ten years with us, the other, my new boy, Smudge, who has only been here a few months, I have come to realise that it seems to be "budgie nature" to do very strange things...such as... My first budgie Pip, developed a liking for a pair of pink slippers my mum had, to the point where whenever she wasn't wearing them he would seek them out, get into them and stick his head into the toe so that only his tail could be seen sticking out of the slipper! He only ever did this with these particular slippers...and they were cheap horrid ones too! Pip also enjoyed, as Smudge appears to now, sticking his head into stuff, such as the water hopper in Smudge's case, but in Pip's case an empty vase of my mum's and then making noises...seemingly just to hear their voices sounding funny and echoey!! Pip found this so exciting he once let go of the rim of the vase and plopped in, and I had to retrieve a rather bemused and dusty, but undetered budgie! So what do your birds do that is just totally daft?

What a pretty pair!! Love the video of Ozzie wrestling with you. My first budgie Pip used to love finger wrestling with me whilst sitting on top of his cage. Who taught Blinkie to make the fart noise though?

My first budige, Pip, used to hump tennis balls in his youth!! He had a liking for anything yellow for some reason, and the tennis ball, and some smaller practise plastic golf balls my dad had both used to see a fair bit of action! So far my new boy Smudge hasn't displayed any humping tendencies, he's just been chatting up his cuttlefish bone. Boys, huh?