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thk

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Everything posted by thk

  1. Interested to read this Glen. I have two budgies, Charley is totally tame, wouldnt bite if his life depended on it, Maxie (hen) is totally aggressive towards me. They are in separate rooms and havent met. I can not get anywhere close to Maxie as she puts on that aggressive "i'm going to get you" pose, even if I pass my hand too closely to the cage. When I put my hand in she retreats to the furthest corner and if I get too close, she'll attack (definitely a "fear" thing I feel). I have had her for almost 2 years and she has never relented so I have given up. I talk to her gently and sweetly, thats the closest we get to a "relationship". I put her aggression (fear?) down to the fact that she was petshop bought (Charley on the other hand was handled by his breeder) and that perhaps someone in the petshop, either owner or children, have imbedded a bad experience into her. How would you know what she's been through to make her this afraid and "angry" of humans. I still love her dearly.. but always from a distance. Happily you sound like you are making progress with Angel! Dont give up. She sounds more promising than Maxie!!
  2. GREAT SHOT.. and I love the "verse"...FOUR LITTLE BUDGIES, SITTING IN A TREE, N-A-P-P-I-N-G. :thanks:
  3. I particularly like this photo where one is just taking flight. Birds in flight look beautiful, I love the wing span.
  4. Looks like you"ve found a new breed...... a "BUDGIE BAT"..... or "FLYING FEATHERED FOX" ....??
  5. Is it just a case of "crest gone wrong" on a crested bird? Is there such a thing? (like the crest has slipped from his head to his tummy?) Looks cute!!
  6. thk replied to Pearce's topic in Budgie Pictures
    I just LOVE this one, looks like he's having a good old giggle to himself!!!!
  7. thk replied to sunshine*'s topic in Off Topic Chatter
    Hope it doesnt get to your place, its scarey I know. I was in Canberra when the fires wiped out my mother's suburb and the fire came as close as her front door but luckily neighbours were able to keep it at bay (she was in aged persons units). We had to go and pick her up, and fled from the unit in my car. We couldnt see a thing as it was so dark, even though it was 3pm in the afternoon. Totally black and we just drove "blind" to get out of there. So I sympathise and fingers crossed that your place and yourselves will be okay!! Keep us informed if you can!!
  8. Now.. if I can ... arrrrghhhh ... just turn around... I can ... errrrrghh ... swim to the <ouch>…. other…. side.. but I think I might be ... arrgghh ... stuck!!!
  9. I also have one and it is Charley's very favourite toy, he's never had a problem with it YET but I'll be sure to keep an extra eye out for any danger. He would be devastated if I took it out. I guess in some ways one can see danger in most of their toys and it pays to be aware of this. I have removed the odd toy when I realised he could get his head stuck in places! THank you for bringing it to our attention, always appreciate such warnings.
  10. thk replied to Elly's topic in Off Topic Chatter
    Love the chuckling baby, makes me giggle each time I watch it!!!
  11. I got 19 but after a bit of chopping and changing (taking out spaces where I shouldnt have any.. and putting in spaces where I SHOULD have!!! Good fun and kept me out of trouble for a few minutes!!!!
  12. Granted, they do provide good care and were wonderful with Charley. However I do think they should advise when something is going to cost more than the quoted amount. e.g. "wing clipping is $6.50 .. and would you like a health check?? it will be $80 extra for a thorough check...".. I would possibly still have opted for the health check but would have been prepared with the payment instead of the rude shock I got when I had counted on approx $50 and was fronted with $183!
  13. Very true re the raw mince. Our Golden Retriever had 10 pups once and I had so much fun at feeding times! Raw mince and milk (and a little farex when they were really young) worked wonders. They loved it. When they were still being fed by Roxie I had a baby bassinet (the pre-feed basket), in which I would put the 10 puppies I would give her 3 pups at a time, and when they were fed I would put them in a washing basket (the post-feed basket!!) and grab the next 3, then the last "shift" was 4 puppies. (had to keep an eye on which teats I used as well!! ) When they were old enough to be supplemented I would feed the 10 one at a time with a dropper and also move them from bassinet to laundry basket. It was a full time job for me, every few hours was feeding time.. in hindsight..... one of the best times of my life!!! :hap:
  14. I posted a topic re my visit to this same vet around October when on booking over the phone, I had been quoted $16 to have Charley's wings clipped. In a nutshell...they asked would I like a health check for him as well .. i said 'sure" (that would be nice). On my way out I was given the bill (from memory) $185. Although in hindsight I was wrong not to ask how much extra a "health check" would cost, I feel I should have been given SOME warning of the cost! I will think twice about going back there.
  15. thk replied to jwancia's topic in Budgie Behaviour
    that is tooo cute! In love with his own feet!! I love it!Charley is totally in love with my nose, he rubs his neck on my nose and it (nose) ends up right inside the "down" where his scrawny little neckbone is!! Its hilarious.. he smells nice luckily (like clean fur!!) but it feels rather awkward as his neck is so scrawny and he keeps moving his little head around so I get the right spot. He also does the regurgitating actions now and then but (luckily) doesnt actually bring up anything (into my nose!!) I think its cute the fact that he loves my nose enough to do that! and just to add.... my other budgie, Maxie, dislikes me with a passion!!! When I venture near HER cage she gives me a cranky little "twitter"... and raises her beak in a threatening attacking mode!! I have had her longer than Charley (they are in separate rooms) but I guess some budgies just do not want human interaction. I spent a lot of time initially trying to tame her however she has never shown the slightest interest. I've given up. I still talk to her sweetly but from a little distance. I put it down to the fact that I bought her from a petshop and perhaps she had bad experiences with humans in the shop, maybe handling her or just poking fingers at her. Charley was from a breeder who handled him constantly so was tame from the day I got him.Just interesting the difference in their little personalities!!
  16. thk replied to thk's topic in Budgie Maintenance
    I havent had Charley out recently but today he was walking around on the carpet for the first time in weeks. He had a lot of trouble with his toe nails getting caught and he was not able to walk properly so he realy wasnt happy and headed back to his cage. I put a sheet down and tried him on that but same thing happened, his nails caught and he seemed awkward. I checked his nails and they do seem to be a little longish although I cant say I really took much notice before so cant say if this is a recent thing. I decided to clip the biggest one with a pair of tiny nail clippers, it worked well (was very careful to only take the tip bit that curled over, he has white nails so easy to see where the blood starts). However it was quite difficult to hold him, hold his little foot out and clip so I didnt bother to do anymore. I then found on this site that it is not really necessary to clip their nails, and feel I should now leave them alone. What do you think? THey are not OVERLY long and dont seem to bother him in his cage, it was merely that he couldnt walk on the carpet (which he could some months ago!), but dont know if that's such a problem since he doesnt do that much anyway. He's quite happy to stay in his cage and jump onto my hand for a cuddle now and then. He has branches for perching and I've made sure they are different sizes and shapes. SHould I just leave his nails alone unless he seems to find them awkward at some stage? OR would it help to get him one of the "cement" perches?? What do you think??
  17. I posted some weeks ago about Charley's vet visit here in Brisbane. Cost me an unexpected $185 for wing clip and "health check", very similar to your "Vet no. 1". I was a little annoyed as when I phoned for a 'quote' they told me only that the wing clip would be $16 and then asked would I like a health check as well. My own fault for not asking first how much extra but I just presumed it would be reasonable, say around $50.. however I felt $185 a little steep for a mere "check up" and wing clip! I'm seriously thinking now of trying the other well known avian vet here in Brisbane, and I will make sure I ask "how much" before hand so that I know what I'm up for. I have no problem of course paying for any treatment my little man needs but I do prefer to be given a ROUGH idea beforehand of how much it would cost, and they made no attempt to inform me.
  18. Cant wait to see that ad!! I VAGUELY remember seeing it but only fleetingly (probably dashing out of the room in the ad break!!) , must check out those puppies!
  19. What a pity I live in a flat and not allowed pets (budgies and fish I managed to sneak but doubt a dog would work!!) Cockers are my second favourite dogs. I had Golden Retrievers and if I was allowed a dog now, I have always said I would get a Cocker as they are to me kind of like a smaller version of a GR. They have the most adorable faces!!! LOVE them! Cant wait to see the photos, but if I offer to buy one .. say NO!!!!! (I'll get evicted!!)
  20. Do you find, as I do, that they tend to pick "phrases" up even faster than single "words"?? Charley is more likely to pick up a whole sentence than just a word. He picked up "good morning thea, you look nice today" in no time at all, yet "I love you too" took a little longer and "hello" took longer still!!
  21. Thank you for bringing this up. I had found the same thing with a wooden ladder I have for Maxie. It was a pet shop bought ladder, has coloured balls all the way up the rungs. Everytime I wash it (why do they always POOP on their toys no matter where you place them!!) the colour comes off. I was worried about this and even took it out and replaced it with a plastic one (not half as nice!). I think I'll give it back to her now that its more than likely food colouring. Makes sense!! (never thought of it myself )
  22. thk replied to Jodie's topic in Budgie Pictures
    Video is SOOO cute! Love watching them having a bath, they try so hard to get everything wet!!
  23. Aha! No wonder you take such professional looking photos!! Excellent!!! Great "story"!!!!
  24. I have just finished making another Charley video. If you have 2minutes to spare you might like to have a look. Not so much a "look" but more a "listen".. I had to "hide" so was in the bathroom with camera in hand and just holding my arm out (so he couldnt see ME!). I was a little way away so had to zoom right in, hence the shaky picture and not the best sound. He is generally a lot clearer in some things than he is on here but hopefully with subtitles you can make out most of what he's saying!! (although the red subtitles seem a bit hard to read, but I tried black, white but they didnt seem to show clearly either!) My name is Thea but pronounced Taya.. he says "good morning Taya", You may not pick up his "I love you too".. he's only JUST started saying that, so it is not totally clear in this video.. he even says "I love too you too" at one point so is still a little confused over that one!! Sometimes he says it clearly, other times not so! Take a look anyway, see if you can pick up some of his chit-chat.. and it will give you an idea of what I hear pretty well constantly, most of the day... day in... day out... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIO68hnO5Y