Molly_Cule

Just to update you, yes, I did send in a letter to the editor, and yes it did get published today! It's in the Sunday Age if anyone in Melbourne buys the paper, but a copy of it is online too - Scroll down to the bottom of the page. They've paraphrased it quite a bit, but I was expecting that and I think the germ of it is there. Tal - It's hard discussing an article without being able to produce a copy for people to read! I think when the "expert" was talking about budgies, she was talking about them as house pets, as she goes on to discuss avaries - albeit briefly - a little later on. UPDATE! - Wait, they have published the article in question online - Article Here . Have a read for yourselves and let me know if I've overreacted. And yes, it does recommend having two budgies, but I've seen many cases of people (mostly childhood friends back when I was a kid) having a pair of budgies in a little cage with little or no toys, and the two birds sitting miserable and puffed up in silence. They'd turn to me and ask what's wrong with their birds, why don't they act like your budgie? It worries me that it states that budgies need little interaction as opposed to "pet" birds.

Sorry guys, I didn't think edit the name of the expert or her business (which I believe proports to be a cattery/kennel/holiday home type thing for birds rather than a pet store per se, but that is just going from other articles published in the same paper, not from personal knowledge). As pointed out, I thought since the article was in the public domain anyway it would be safe to produce a straight quote. My letter to (newspaper) didn't discuss their 'expert' personally but rather the very fact they published those views DESPITE obviously talking to one owner who loves and respects her birds very much who seemed to be advocating that budgies need a lot of out time and socialisation (however brief her bit was). It was obviously written by someone with no real interest or knowledge of birds as pets or friends at all: for example, the article also placed cockatiels in with galahs and cockatoos as the "correct" type of parrot to keep as a "pet" (as opposed to "ornamental" or "breeding" birds). Encouraging anyone to believe that keeping a galah is exactly like a cockatiel is just bizarre and irresponsible! Plenty of people have opposing views when it comes to pet ownership - Dr. Harry, for example, says on his shows that rabbits are happy to live outside on their own, but if you speak to anyone with a house rabbit you'll find some very strong opinions on that!! I'm not slandering their expert, but I do disagree - wholeheartedly! - with her views. (Here's another link to another article from the same paper I have beef with - see the bit about the birds and rabbits Pets & Toys. I can't find the actual article printed online though )

Hi there, I know I haven't been on the forums for months, but my new job has taken a massive slice out of my life. That said, reading the article in the weekend's paper has prompted me to poke my head back in the room and see if anyone else read it. In the M magazine in the Sunday Age (presumably there is an equivalent in the Sydney Morning Herald, and possibly other Fairfax papers around the country), I was delighted to see an article about budgies. It started off lovely with a 29 year old woman talking about her pets and how great budgies are. How sweet. But then, and I quote: "Bird expert ********, owner of ******, usually recommends that people buy two birds rather than one, especially if they are buying small ornamental birds such as budgerigars , finches or canaries." It then goes on to state that: "Ornamental birds . . . . which are mostly on display and live almost exclusively in their cages" and "need only a little love and attention to keep them happy." Needless to say I'm somewhat miffed about this. I'm not sure if this is the right forum topic for this sort of thing, but I'm interested to see what others who saw the article thought. I've already written a letter into The Age to express my view at the risk of sounding like a nutty old crank. The previous weekend had a similar 'advertising feature' on pet toys which claimed that birds and rabbits needed little to play with, which put my nose out of joint too. Sorry for ranting, but some things just need to be gotten off your chest.

I wasn't sure whether to put this one in food and nutrition or behaviour! Do your birds go crazy after eating a particular thing? Beaker is showing a predeliction for bok choy. She goes crazy for it and after it. She chats, flips about, runs in circles, bobs her head, flaps her wings and generally goes nuts :budgiedance: about five minutes after eating it (which she does rabidly). The only problem is, she gets really really *bitey*, which she has never done before. She'll yell at you and tell you off ordinarily, but after bok choy she will chomp down on any fingers in the vicinity! In saying that, we're using bok choy now as a treat to try to coax her into being a little bit more personable, so we'll see how that changes things. Any other magical budgie foods out there?

Our Pippin would eat capsicum (as long as it was part of a human dinner!!), but would prefer rice or pasta, and Beaker has eaten a little bit of capsicum. I've tried her with some again today by putting it in the place we normally hang the spinach/bok choy so hopefully when I get home I'll find some beak marks. (Incidentally, red appears to be more popular than green, but it's early days for the veggies yet!!)

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Our avian vet does stock a range of pellets (Harrison's included), and all the vet's I've seen at that clinic have all stated that seed diets are unhealthy. I think I might have to weigh up the costs and see how my girls go - I was hoping to find an Australian-based website that sold them, but there doesn't appear to be any around. I can't see Bunsen eating pellets anytime soon, since she still seems to prefer just one *type* of seed, so I might have to wait until she's a bit older and at full strength before getting too carried away!!

I'd like to get my two onto pellets or a pellet/seed mixed diet when Bunsen is better, but I'm unfamiliar with pellet diets and what's good and what's not. Does anyone have any recommendations? Where do you get your pellets from (in Melbourne or Australia in general)? Can you order them online? I ask, because most of the pet shops around where I live aren't terribly great, so being able to purchase online would suit me if they're not stocked nearby, but failing that, I'm willing to travel around town to source them if it's near public transport.

They're all so sweet - a common tactic used to hide the evil indeed!! I love the one with Ozzie playing with that budgie-toy - our Pippin had one, and that was his favourite toy ever! If you ever wanted to get him back in the cage, you just wiggle it around a bit, and he'd rush in to check that it was okay before feeding it some more!!

Thanks for the reply Elly - she does look very small, but the good news is that she's put on 3 grams since those photos were taken!! Back at the vets today, the news was much much better. Polyoma and PBFD have all but been ruled out, and as mentioned above, she's put on weight and is now 22.3g up from 19g on Tuesday. She's lost her 'puffball' appearance, and seems to be more 'budgie shaped' and streamline. I saw a different vet today, and she was much more positive about Bunsen's condition. She did mention that at Bunsen's weight and condition, blood tests and x-rays could be potentially fatal if she goes into shock, so they weren't done. But regardless, it appears whatever bug she did have has been blasted by the antibiotics. They did another test on her feaces, and there was a bit of yeast and just one coccidia present. She didn't think it was cause for alarm, but gave her a dose of something that treats coccidiosis anyway which Busen *really* didn't like the taste of. Bunsen now has probiotics in her water, and is on Nilstat twice daily. She still has the heatlamp on, and she's expected to pull through as long as there are no changes in her weight or condition- I think all the sudden onset of constant eating is a sign that she's on the mend! (currently, both birds are chirping to each other from their respective rooms )

Here are some pictures of Bunsen taken last weekend - more info here on how she's doing. We've also got a hilarious video of her climbing the play equipment the wrong way, but I don't know how to resize it! Pretty artistic shot http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/still...unsen-Preen.jpg Mmmm . . . feathers . . . I made it!! Still playing All tuckered out!

Not looking good for poor Bunsen. I took both the birds to the avian vet this week, and was told that there was a good chance Bunsen wouldn't live to adulthood. She's underweight, and has been put on a course of clavulox, which she is reluctant to take (it's hilarious - when i grab her in the flannel she clamps her beak as tight shut as she can!) I rang the vet's back today to get some advice, because I've noticed she's spending a lot of time eating and the consistancy of her poos has changed - sometimes solid and light greenish, sometimes solid with seed in it, and sometimes liquidy. I'm worried she's not getting the nutrition she needs (and yes, I'm aware that seed is not the best thing but I need to research my options better). I wanted to have a chat with one of the vet's, but the nurse advised me that I take her straight in ASAP. She's cheerful, playing, chirping (and climbed up my arm!) and looking like a happy bird - she's just not entirely well. I'm going to take her tomorrow, but I can't help but wonder if it's a knee-jerk reaction or if I'm doing the right thing! Also, when the vet looked at Beaker earlier in the week, he couldn't find any reason why Beaker wouldn't be flying. He said her wings were normal, her crop sample was normal, everything about her was perfect - she just doesn't fly. He suggested it could be that she suffered a fracture some time ago, which has weakened her body structure which is why she can't get any lift or direction, but we may never know. It's sad, because she started off flying, but I guess she doesn't seem so bothered. She has the rabbit, and she can climb *really* well (I just saw her climb up the clothes horse for the first time ever! She so good at climbing, my friend calls her 'sherpa Beaker'). I really hope Bunsen pulls through. She's such an adorable, friendly little thing, I would really hate to see her little life cut off so short. (My poor rabbit's got an eye ulcer too at the moment, so I'm just a tad stressed out emotionally, physically and financially )

Just to update you all, I ended up getting a rats cage! It had horizontal bars, it's long, short, and has platforms. I've put loads of ladders and eucalypt perches through it as well so Bunsen will have loads of areas to walk around on, and I've put some toys in as well. The cage is set up in my room for the quarentine period, and if Beaker and Bunsen really don't get along when they've had chance to meet and get to know each other, Bunsen will live there more permanently (otherwise Bunsen will live in the lounge room if we can find space!) He/She will be arriving this Thursday, so I'm really excited now!! Everything's all set to go, just awaiting the new arrival!

Beaker 'gets jiggy' with some of her toys too, which is why we first thought she was a boy!

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear your sad news, Lovey - I've been away from the forums for a bit so I had no idea! Poor Pretty, he looked so much like our Pippin it was almost like seeing double. I've never had more than one budgie at a time, but I'm certain they grieve. Our Bobby, my budgie when I was a little girl, was so bonded with me that if I went away for more than a weekend he'd start pulling feathers and stop chirping, so I believe they feel loss keenly. That said, if you look after Merlin with all the care and attention you can (which you're doing anyway!!), I'm sure he will heal in time. I'm know they're completely different species, but when we lost our rabbit Kyoko, poor Rubi pined for so long. The first weekend after she died we were worried he would soon follow suit as he was refusing all food, even his favourite treats. But we persisted, and spoiled him rotten with lots of fresh veggies, and now he's a changed bunny (albeit harrassed). That may seem a little O/T, but what I believe is that most companion animals know when they're loved and looked after, and Merlin will really appreciate all the love you're giving him at this difficult and confusing time for him. I hope you're doing okay, Lovey, and look after yourself too.

Beaker doesn't seem to play much yet (unless you count the rabbit as a toy!) but our Pippin always loved his 'baby' the best out of all of his other toys. His baby was a little plastic birdhouse with a budgie head on a spring poking out of the hole. It was attached to the side of the cage right near his food dishes, and he was forever feeding it, grooming it, and talking to it (we always thought he would make a fabulous dad!). If we wanted him back in his cage, we would stick our hand in and wobble the baby, which would make a rattling sound, and Pip would get all agitated and fly back in to make sure the baby was alright, making a load of concerned sounds on the way. He loved his baby right up to the end - during his week long stay in 'bird hospital' before he passed away, he had his baby with him in the incubator, and the staff said he was one of the most cheerful, playful little budgies they'd had. Despite being terminally ill, he was happy and playful until the end.

Aww, they're all so sweet!! When I was explaining to Mum that I was getting a runner budgie, for some reason she got it into her head that they're called 'creeper' budgies, so she keeps asking me 'when's the creeper arriving?' :(Laughing out loud): I think penguin sounds much nicer

Thanks everyone - they are great images to compare! I brought Beaker through from the loungeroom and had him side by side with the images, and the more I look he really does appear to be a she. Her cere has gone much lighter in the past couple of days, and she'd be just about 4 months now (her beak has also gone dark green, but I suspect that might have something more to do with sharing spinach with the rabbit!). I guess I'll just have to get used to calling her a she now! And a complete aside, what's been really nice is while I've got her is that she's been sitting quietly with me, listening to me, walking calmly on my finger, sholder and desk, with only minimal angry dolphin! I might have a friend yet

Awww, Saffy and Triton are both sweeties :-) Sorry, Bethgemm, but your picture of Billy won't come up! Good info, though, thanks! I am intending to take Bunsen (& Beaker) the the vets as soon as I can. It's not a cheap journey, though - the taxi fare is $50 for the round trip and some drivers aren't too keen on a bird being in their taxi - but I'd rather they be safe and healthy than risk anything.

I've noticed there are quite a few threads on determining the sex of budgies, but can someone point me to a pinned topic or a website explaining how to determine the gender of a budgie? It seems that the straightforward old adage 'blue for boys, brown for girls' might be too simplistic, and with my lack of experience, I'm finding it hard to see how people can pick the gender of birds so easily!! I'm not sure if this would work, but maybe even a topic could be pinned where people could post pictures of their little ones of indeterminant gender for advice, instead of a new thread being started every time? That way those of us 'learning the ropes' can look over past pictures to get an idea of what to look at instead of trawling the boards for past topics. FAQ answer

Thanks everyone, and thanks for the welcome, Bubbles. I'm thinking of sending some of the photos to cuteoverload.com because as much as I love them individually, nothing beats the combined power of cuteness of two little animals hanging out together like friends (even if only one of them thinks they're friends). Sailorwolf - thanks for the warning. S/He doesn't actually eat the hay as it appears there (which is why the photos looks so funny). Usually, s/he picks up strands of it, runs over to the edge and throws it onto the second level. After s/he's done doing that, s/he'll climb down to the next level and repeat the process. As funny as it is to watch, ultimately, I'm not happy about him/her spending so much time around the rabbit, doing rabbity things which is why we'll get Bunsen in the next fortnight so hopefully s/he'll be distracted by budgie things.

It's not a stupid question! I hadn't even heard of runner budgies until my friend said she had two to rehome! My understanding is that a runner budgie was a bird born with wing defects with no chance of flying. But if anyone else has more info that would be great!

Thanks for your responses everyone - there is such a wealth of knowledge here I can't believe I haven't joined earlier! I will go with the long-style cage, despite the extra cost. I'm going to have to think about the set up and the rat wheel sounds hilarious (though after Pip got his toes stuck in another toy, it will be supervised!). The runner budgie (Bunsen) will arrive Saturday week, so I'm starting to get excited by the prospect of having two around the house for the first time!!

I'm not sure - his cere has always been pale, but on the blue side, and his behaviour towards one of his mirrors seems very, ahem, masculine (if you get what I mean). And we're not just talking mere flirting, either. I've noticed it's been a lot paler of late, so maybe we judged too soon. But then, I've had precedents of being wrong. Our poor Bobby, my childhood budgie, was for his whole life called 'he' (and to this day, we still do). When he was taken to the vet when he was terminally ill, it was revealed that Bobby was really Roberta (he was a lutino, and I was only little, but he never minded being called 'he', even if he was a 'she'!)

For those of you wanting to see the two of them together, I've put some photos up in the Budgie Pictures forum (link here ). We will be getting one of the runners (probably the little blue one. My friend also has a blue and white dominant pied, but apparently the blue one has a better temprement), his/her name will be Bunsen (naturally) and my housemate is now freaking out about the prospect of trying to fit in another bird cage into our modest apartment (the rabbit's hutch already takes up a good portion of the lounge room). I am worried that Beaker is now refusing to fly, and doesn't appear to fly back to his cage - when he tries he doesn't have enough strength and flops on the floor. He's happy to climb everywhere else, and scales all three levels of the rabbit's hutch with ease, he's just not interested in using his wings at all. We're trying to encourage him to fly more, but that just seems to be met with a load of angry dolphin babble back at us. My fear is that with a runner he'll have even less incentive to fly, but I'm hoping he's just going through his teenage period of rebelliousness, and return to doing big figure eights of the room once more.

This is Beaker, one very timid, confused little bird (he's a bit more grown up now, he's lost his baby bars). He has some major identity issues, which can sometimes leave the poor rabbit (Rubi) a little dejected at meal times. Mind you, they don't mind sharing the odd bit of hay. Not that they'll admit it on film. I've got a few videos as well of the bird pushing Rubi out of the food dish, and Beaker trying to climb the rabbit with little success, but I haven't worked out how to reduce the file size yet.