Kim6116

Thanks Kaz, i have re-arranged the aviary and hopefully all will be good. Once again, i truly appreciate all your wonderful advice Kim xx

(Laughing out loud) yep i know the feeling Flower. I have even re-arranged the office so i can see them from the computer and it looks like i am working if hubby comes in......... well okay lets be honest - the looks like i am working is really me frantically exiting this site!!

okay here is the clan, still learning types etc., so any help as to what they are is appreciated. Stud Muffy Stud and Muffy Taj Puff Taj and Puff

awwww thank you Phoebe, Muffy would love that you said that. I love her too, but because she is the quietest of the 4, most people look past her when we are sitting looking at them chattering. I will go and tell her now, it will make her day!!

Hi all Just wondering if there are any members in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area. I have been reading and researching and learning for 7 months now and think i am ready to start - my birds do as well from their behaviour. I think this site is the best site for learning, but also thought if there are any members near me, watching and looking and talking would be a great learning experience also. On a different note - i have in the last few months worked out the worst thing about budgies - they make your business go broke and your house a mess - simply because i spend all my time either sitting watching them or on here learning and nothing else gets done!! and i wouldnt have it any other way

Thank you Rainbow, I had Muffy and Stud right in my guestimations, except for the dilute part of Stud, which i am heading to read up on now. Taj has very light grey markings on his wing and bars and I am sure would be so happy that there is the word "normal" in there somewhere. Poor baby with all his wacky feathers everywhere, I am always being asked whats wrong with him. If he was to breed, would he pass that along, or is it just something that happened with him? None of his brothers or sisters had it. Whether they breed or not is entirely up to them (obviously), but if him breeding would cause the same and people thinking there is something wrong with the babies, perhaps its best to make sure he doesnt? Puff is very gorgeous - and she knows it! Thank you for your help, I am off to the mutations topics to read up more! Cheers (will get some more pics today - should i keep posting them in here?)

Thank you Rainbow. I have been researching and learning all about breeding and now i am trying to get my head around the different types/mutations of budgies. But all i have managed to do is confuse myself more! If anyone gets a second, could you let me know what my bunch are? Sorry to trouble you, I just thought it might make it easier for me?

thanks everyone, okay, i am going to make an attempt at putting some pics on, crossing my fingers! First is Puff and she is the boss of the gang and what she says goes, all the time! She even has her own seed and vegie bowl, she doesnt like to share. She is also the tamest of the bunch and loves playing soccer with her ball and nibbling on hair! Next is Puff's admirer, Taj. He is the one with the most personality and is so funny to watch. His feathers grew a little tatty, but i have had him checked and he is okay health wise, just didnt get the feather thing together. Stud is next and after looking at his picture, i will need to get a better one, his colours dont show up as bright as they do in real life. Stud is Muffy's hubby and the best husband in the world. He feeds her, preens her and is very rarely from her side. Last, but not least is Muffy. She is the quiet one, maybe thats because Stud spoils her too much! They are my babies, perfect or not, i love them all

Morning everyone, I have been here pestering you guys for information for months and really really appreciate all the help and wonderful advice i have both received and found from other posts. But i have never introduced myself or my babies - i'm sorry. I'm Kim my hubby is Darren. we have 2 kids, Tayah who is 12 and Tyson 16, our dog Cleo and our 4 feathered babies (who arent babies, but i think of them as my babies). i dont think any of them would win an award or prize in a show, but thats okay with me. the joy i get from watching them every day is all the reward i need. i even caught my 16 year old son and 2 of his mates sitting on the bench near the aviary watching them at the weekend. I thought it was so cute - my tough footballers relaxing to my budgies antics. Its become a bit of a tradition when they get home from school, they will find me at the aviary and the 3 of us will sit and talk about our day while we watch them. I love this forum and the people in it - thanks for having me. Will put some pics up when i figure out how to do that Kim xxx

Hi all, In another topic, i spoke about my new aviary, and have a quick question which i thought would be best asked in here. I have 4 birds, both paired, however 2 are much more loving than the others - they just wont be seperated! I moved them into their new home yesterday morning and everyone is happily investigating their new abode, except for one. Unfortunately she is the female of the totally in love pair and her "husband" is very keen to christen their new home. I have set up nesting boxes, but my question is.....because she is happy to just sit and let everyone else explore, will she know where the nesting boxes are if she needs them, or should i put her in one so she knows where they are. I'm not trying to force her to breed (her hubby may be a different story though!), i just want to make sure she is okay if nature does take its course. Thanks for all the help guys PS Feathers, i hope you dont mind, but i "stole" some ideas from your aviary (the skipping rope and trellis) and they love it, thank you

I have 2 pairs right now. they were in a large cage together waiting for that "just right" aviary to come along. But i noticed Stud and Muffy getting closer and closer, feeding/preening etc and so i seperated them because i didnt think the cage they were in was suitable for breeding. After they were seperated, they didnt stop calling each other day and night and Muffy stopped eating (perhaps she was fretting?). i couldnt stand her being so heartbroken, so i put them back together with a nesting box just in case and stepped up the search for an aviary. i guess things come together when they have to, because the "just right" aviary came along that afternoon! Now they are happily in the aviary (it looks so big with just the 4 of them in there). Stud is chasing her everywhere. the nesting boxes are placed on a shelf up high (Muffy was never one to be on the ground at all). i understand about colony breeding and if i get more pairs in the future, i would go to breeding cages, but with just the 4 of them, and already couples, i didnt think i would have much drama? if/when they breed i have homes lined up for 12 babies, so i know they will all be safe and in loving homes. Do you think that even with just the 4 of them i should put them in breeding cages? i really appreciate your advice Kaz, you have so much knowledge. PS definitely going with a slab, just waiting for the rain to stop so it can be poured.

Hi everyone, I havent posted anything on here for such a long time and I apologise, but I am still spending hours reading and getting as much info as possible. Well the time has come and I have bought an aviary. I am so happy! My question is....the aviary has not been used for approx 2 years and nesting boxes/perches etc have not been cleaned out. I have decided to just throw the nesting boxes out and get new ones as they are really filthy. As for the rest of the aviary, i am wondering what is safe to clean it with or alternatively, would water with a little detergent from a high pressure cleaner do the job fine? Yesterday was raining constantly and so the aviary is still on the back of the ute, but hubby has promised rain, hail or cyclone it will be off the ute today! We will put down a concrete slab when the rain disappears (dont get me wrong, i am so happy for us to get rain, if it just could have waited til my aviary was set!). in the mean time, a week or 2, will the birds be fine just on the grass? Its impossible to put tent pegs to hold it to the ground, so we were thinking ropes across the top with them tent pegged into the ground? Off scouring the bush for natural branches now. Thanks everyone for your ideas and opinions

Thanks for all your help Daz and everyone, Just one more question - I looked on the list of toxic and non toxic plants ets. - huge help but could you tell me if banksia or bottlebrush are okay? i found some great branches that i wanted to put in for them to chew climb over, but want to make sure that they are okay first? Thanks heaps [....rubbery little pink blobs they are such beautiful rubbery pink blobs though!!!

Your website is amazing Daz, i will definitely be going back there often! We have decided to go with a breeding cage, which will arrive on Wednesday. After all the reading i have done, i thought it would be better to start out small with just one pair until we have learnt more. Is it true though that if we started with 2 pairs they would be more likely to breed faster (they copy each other?). When we do have 2 pairs breeding, we would then perhaps breed the chicks from opposite pairs and go to an aviary type situation. I would prefer to have them breed in breeding cabinets so that we can keep track easier to start with and ensure that they are not interbreeding. I have also heard it is very difficult to buy a hen as breeders keep their hens who breed well and the hens in pet shops are usually the discarded ones from breeders? I'm not sure how true that is, but if anyone has any advice i would appreciate it. I am in Newcastle if that helps? As for Puff, she will stay our pet bird. As much as her biting causes yelps of pain from us, we do love her to death. She gets very excited when she hears birds flying over outside, my only concern is that she will feel alienated if she hears new birds at our home that she cant interact with? Thanks again for all your help

We are on the hunt for another pair. Puff is too young - although when we bought her we were told she was a he - but as it turns out she is a she. she is tame - although has a very bad attitude - looooooooves to bite and bite hard!!! she enjoys playing soccer with us with her ball and we love her to bits so we are undecided as to whether to breed her next year when she is old enough. I am a little concerned about putting her near the pair we buy in case she becomes not as tame, but i think she will always enjoy our company as well as her new feathered friends. it seems hard to find a hen in newcastle - everyone wants to keep them, is that usual? the pictures of your baby karen is absolutely gorgeous - can you handle them when they are that young?

thank you Karen and i absolutely will be sending in pics etc. just as soon as i work out how to do that!!!! meanwhile i will be reading and reading and probably asking and asking. I hope that doesnt annoy you all too much!!

Hi everyone, My daughter has been asking me for a while if she can start to breed budgies (she is 12). We have always had budgies as pets and tamed them successfully and loved them like they are part of the family, but have never attempted to breed. It is something i have always wanted to do and now that she has asked if she can, we are both very excited. Being new to breeding, i have spent the past weeks scouring your site and reading everything i possibly can. While i am nowhere near an expert now, i just wanted to say thanks to you guys for all the great tips and information you have on here. This is the best site i have found!!! Well done!!!!!!