Feathers

I'm really pleased to read that he got such great treatment fast and is getting better.

Hi Irene, so sorry about your little one. Budgies are very good at hiding illness so they don't get attacked by theor predators, so he may have had an injury that wasn't picked up. I don't know anyone in that area either, but I hope you do find another one for you and your girls to look after and love.

Yay, I got all mine right ... but I didn't do number 6.

Vonn, they are such entertaining little things, aren't they. I could waych them all day long. My cats certainly think the cages make great tv viewing. I re-arrange my cages everytime they get a proper cleanout on the weekend, then I love to watch them go from place, checking everything out. "Hmm - this swing is over here now, yes, I like that. Hello, toy, haven't seen you in a while, but I'm glad you are back" etc

Can you try to cover them earlier with a dark cloth? The play time when you come home is really important and I know that they are in your living room, which is where you are, but that doesn't mena that they can't go to bed until you do. I pretty much live in my bedroom, it is my dining room and my living room and my birds are in here with me. I leave the lights on until around 8 - 8:30 pm and then I cover the birds with a dark cloth cover and turn out the main light. They settle down and get to sleep fairly quickly, even though my TV is still usually on and I use a lamp, it doesn't bother them.

My kids are the same, they eat the whole thing.

Chryso, she is going for world class gymnast. I have a couple who have learnt the same skills. Squee does a near perfect front hip circle, followed by a reverse giant in eagle grip. I love it I don't have current accreditation for judging Budgie Gymnastics, but using the old code of points I would give her an 8.75 out of 10. Well done Squee! Feathers

Caveat Emptor "let the buyer beware"

I try to give mine at least 11 - 12 hours.

[sobs] we tried Phoebe, we tried.....

Welshman, I can't tell you how happy that photo made me feel! From your initial post, which really was the sound of a hard grown man's heart tearing apart, or so it seemed, poor little Jim has been constantly on my mind. To see him getting better day by day (thanks for the posts and pics) has been the most wondrous journey for me, so I can imagine, how thankful you have been with the recovery he has had. You are an amazing man with a very big heart, for a very little bird. I can only imagine that those qualifications bode very well for the new infact, soon to be included in your circle of love. Thankyou for including us in what started as very dark moments in your life. Feathers

A Few of mine do the 'hovering' thing. Especially a couple of my younger budgies. I was watching them last night and was really amazed at how a couple of mine could fly so well, and 'hover' or change direction so easily to get where they wanted to go. Whereas with some others it is like, "oh damn' there's a wall there, what shoud I dooo" [splat] "nevermind". Feathers

That is just brilliant news. Sounds like Jim is perking up a bit.

Aww Vonn, that is so great... it is probably the highlight of Lukie's day :budgiedance:

Ditto for me re feeding corn... mine love it and get it fresh on the cob. As Bubbles said it could be the salt in the tinned variety.. did you rinse it well first? Also, regarding the lettuce, iceberg is the main problem, if you have been feeding cos or any of the darker leaf lettuces they are usually okay.

Hi Tony, welcome to this great site! You asked some great questions. I use newspaper on the bottom of my cages, so I don't use anything special. As your birds are already clipped, use this time to train them to step up onto your finger and learn to trust you. Out of cage time is very important, especially if the budgies only have a small cage as they can get some much needed excersize. As I have a lot of pets and children I use my room for their flight time. When they are out I always put a note on the doors, obscuring the door knobs, warning that the birds are out of their cage. Having a semi ensuite into my room, if someone wants to come in they have to go into the ensuite and shut the door behind them, making sure no pets are in there before entering my room. You can decide before their first moult whether or not to keep them in this condition. If they are tamed by then, there should be no need to continue to have their wings clipped. As to millet and vegies, you have been given good advice. Millet should only be used as a treat, and can be great as a tool to help train birds. Fruit and vegetables, especially, need to be fed to your birds to ensure a long and healthly life. Keep trying with them. I had very little luck with whole heads of brocolli and wedges of apple etc. This changed when I started to cut it into small pieces, and used grated carrots, apples etc. So experiment until you find what suits your birds. Large chunks, or small pieces, fresh vegies, or cooked? Sprinkling seed over the fruit and/or vegies can help to get them started. Iceberg lettuce is not bad for them, but like celery, should be fed only occassionally, if at all, as it contains a lot of water, which can give the birds diahhorea. Some birds love to bath some don't. I have a couple of baths in the bottom of my cages which is used by some birds to bathe in, while some of the others think it is there to drink from and to rinse their vegetable in before they eat them . I also mist my birds quite often, which most of them love, especially in hot weather. Again, experiment to see what suits your budgies. There are a heaps of great members on here with a lot of experience that can give you an awful lot of information. Hope this helps, Feathers.

Yay, go Squee!

Oh goodness, well it has taken them long enough to work out what they were meant to be doing Good luck.

Fantastic that she is being treated. Sounds like you have at least another 4 weeks of alone time with her before she rejoins her feathered friends, enjoy it!

a few drops of whisky or brandy, can be added to the drinking water. I just love this advice... very 70's.. often just the tonic offered to humans in the same era if they were feeling off-colour

Personally, having never seen this thread before now, I read through it and thought "What a great post". I was then really dissapointed to read on to see that people thought it should not be posted as it was from a 'controversial organisation". I read the post for what it was... spreading really good information that many people don't think about before purchasing a bird. Information that may have stopped one or two people from purchasing a bird thoughtlessly, which then ends up in a rescue somewhere. I am all for posts like this, regardless of the source.

As long as the parents, especially mum, is okay, there are no problems. Just make sure that they get lots of nutritious food. Maybe even some extra vitamins that can be mixed with the seed. How are the bubs going? We would love pics. How many hatched?

Oh Tinsel is precious, they are so naked and fragile looking when they are born. Mum certainly is adorable

Wow, what a cutie, especially the first picture where he is all ruffled up, he looks much more comfortable in the second picture

That is great to hear, I was really worried after your first post.