Silver

This is sad... i wonder what temperature is dangerous for them. I had to air the room with them twice in winter. I moved them to a far corner of the room though.

Hi! Welcome! This is a wonderful site and you will enjoy it a lot. We also use newspaper and a metal grid. But I think newspaper is safe even without the grid. Sand is good, as well as sawdust. We do put them (we have four) outside in the balcony when the weather is fine. It is very cold in Latvia now but we had a spell of nice and warm weather when I could put them out. I covered one side of the cage so that there is no draught and strong sun. They were talking to the sparrows and the latter came to visit. These guys are probably the best little parrots and if you keep one he might start talking.

Hello! That's a lovely family! I also have a family of four. Not sure about the gender. I haven't learned how to mail pictures; as soon as I do I will seek help in determining the gender. I also have a brightly green girl and a blue boy. Also a lutino and an unusual gentle blueish girl Bubble.

I have just come from your wonderful country where I was on a short tour. I am just speechless and I can't speak about Italy here anyway! I just wanted to say that it is a fantastic place for our little friends too! My little daughter who travelled with me was actually sorry we hadn't taken our four budgies on tour to sunny Italy! :fear

I turned out to be a green budgie. It says that we are courageous, but I've chosen to run away from a deadly fight... Are there also some white or yellow budgies on the list? Maybe those are cowardly...

Thank you Phoebe and Bubbles! I feel much better now, especially to find out about the budgies and eucalyptus relationships in the wild! Knowing that eucalyptus is generally a very healthy thing, I was just very surprised when I read about the dried leaves accident. It is too bad that we can get only dried leaves here! But maybe the budgies born in captivity forgot about their wonderful native land?

Hi! I have recently bought some expensive food mix for budgies which contains dried eucalyptus leaves. At least the lable says so. It smells like eucalyptus should as well. Then I reread about the unsafe items and got puzzled. My birds have been eating the product for about two weeks now. I can't tell whether they eat up the dried leaves, those are quite small and can't be seen in the shells which I throw away daily. I think they do chew on them anyway. Maybe that is some type of eucalyptus which is safe for budgies, after all it is their native land tree and it shouldn't be so harmful. Anyway, the birds seem to enjoy their new feed and I hope dried eucapyptus won't harm them. What do you think?

I have a silly question... Do only male budgies flirt?

Hi! My male budgie bites me severly every time I handle him. I actually stopped doing it, and in case of necessity I put on gloves. Then I've noticed that my 9-year old daughter takes the little guy without gloves out of the cage. He produces loud sounds of protests but DOES NOT BITE her at all! Maybe he won't bite me either anymore? I am too cautious to try. Our other bird's bites are weak and gentle as if she feels it all is futile and she won't get far with it.

Oh I see! I hope your little friends do not miss you too much. Anyway coming back to them must be exciting!

Hi Francesco! This is the friendliest place on Earth! Enjoy it. There is a lot of useful information as well. Do you take your birds in your travels around the EU?

Wow! How interesting! thank you all for the information!

Hi! My budgie-boy was caught sleeping on top of his swing (not on the perch, but above it on the metal carcass), which I thought was very uncomfortable. I also found him sleeping attached to the wall of the cage. Maybe next time he will be upside-down like a bat? I wonder if he is alright. The other budgie prefers comfort and space when sleeping. Is this behaviour unusual?

Thank you very much for the advice! I will try to tame them. But I am not very optimistic about it - they seem so self-centered! As to clipping - I am just afraid to do it although it sounds perfectly safe and reasonable. Something has to be done, I can't keep them locked up all day.

They are untame. I know I need to get down with their upbringing! They do not even react the normal way when I turn off the lights. They start flying like crazy and it may become very dangerous for them in the dark. Besides I don't see the blue one in the dark. I also have a feeling that the more often I try to catch them the further away they are from being tame. Bribing (millet sticks) didn't help last time, although they are big eaters. Yesterday they were grounded. I don't know what will happen today.

Hi! I try to let my budgies fly a bit every afternoon. I believe they need it badly and I would let them fly more, but we can't leave them unattended. They fly around, sit on the curtains and chandelier, try out the carpet and walls and then happily go back to their cage as a routine. But yesterday they wouldn't do it! They just stayed out beyond reach looking at us from above. Late in the night I had to start catching them which is a very hard thing to do! What could go wrong? Why didn't they come back at least for a snack? they had been out for more than 4 hours! Has anyone had such experience? I am not ready to let them fly around now since I don't trust them anymore.

The information is good and useful. And of course, true. Birds are not domestic animals. It doesn't mean, however, that we shouldn't keep them as pets. Choosing pets correctly, and creating the best possible environment for our pets is essential. That is why potential pet owners should have such information. Thank you, Lovey!

They are lovely birds! But why is Triton flyless? Is it permanent, or maybe his feathers will grow?

Thank you for the fun! What do those little guys think of us , anyway?

These are wonderful birds! They look happy and content in their new home!

Hi! I also give them millet hanging it up. But we avoid the inevitable mess by tying up some gauze around the cage. I can actually leave the cloth for a longer time and then take it off and wash it twice a week, it keeps the feathers from flying around too! I cover only three walls of the cage, the front one is always open. The gauze iz light, transparent, hygienic, and almost invisible. It is completely breetheable. And there is no mess!!! Well, just a little bit... :ausb:

It would be both interesting and useful! Can't wait... :bluebudgie:

Hello budgie people! You have given me so much hope with your wonderful stories! I have got only two budgies, but they are not tame. And yes, I just love to watch them. But it would be nice to have them trust me. They have been with us for a month and a half. I guess it will all come!

Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone. Fortunately happy endings like yours can also happen. :sad: I lost my old friend - a lutino budgie a long time ago due to an open balcony door. I was away, and the bird was loose in the room (with that only bird I never actually locked the cage - she also knew how to open it with a little bit of human help - she was so smart). My mom came home and opened the balcony door to air the room. I don't know what she was thinking about, it was December, freezing! When I came home and realised that the door was left open and I had lost my bird! I rushed outside to search for it in the snow. It was dark, the snowdrifts were deep. I still cannot understand how the bird could fly in such temperature - I couldn't find any track of her in the vicinity. :ausb:

Thank you. I'll try to get some brocoli for them. It should probably be steamed...