Angelic Vampyre

(Laughing out loud) glad to know I am not the only one! I mix my toys up cause I have a big cage but as that is in storage I have the boys in smaller cages at the moment so Harley gets different toys every few weeks, he has this swing mirror that he LOVES I put it in there the other day for the first time in a over a month and he went nuts! Everytime anyone goes near the cage he races up to it scared they we are going to take it away again!

Been meaning to post this for a few days. Endruo passed away they think it was just all to much for him. Katie has been really good about it and went to the vet to say a final goodbye. We are now on the hunt for a good breeder, however I do know the lady who I got Harley off so going to call her and see if she has any, also the breeder that I got Queenie off I think has a hen sitting on some eggs so we will see what happens there. Thanks for all your well wishes. Also the RSPCA told me that they are going to fine the "breeder" and ban him from owning birds again. I did ask them if there was a reason behind the downfall, eg mental or financial... the agents say that they could not see one. he has a new car in his garage and works full time, it just looks like the aviary fell down and he could not be bothered to replace it. Makes me sick!

Thanks, Porr Harley he is so grumpy at the moment, normally his molt does not last this long but it just seems to go on and on this time around. We use to joke he could molt on command, he would molt for about 2 days and be done and was never really prone to pin feather but this time around he is geting so fustrated. He was out of his cage the other day and pushing himself along the carpet strangest thing I have never seen! Poor baby!

Nope just says suitable for most parrots. their Budgie mix is for Canary's as well, hmmm will put their bells in and up the vegs in case they don't eat and and just have to hunt around to find some more. Harley is very picky about his seed mixes, I know I could just use Trill for Blue but Harley will not touch it! I have a few sticks and bells so will give him those as well and hope I can find some more in the next few says otherwise I am going to have to look for another brand that he will eat. Thanks anayway.

Another idea is to form a route from the bottom of the cage to the top. In my cages (cause Harley can not fly) I always run stuff and down the cage so that he cage climb around the cage without having to cage crawl (crawling using the bars)

Harlye loves "Bird Munchies Budgie Gourmet Blend" However last week I was running low so I went to buy some and the shop near me was out, so I then went to the other safe way and they where out. I have been looking around for a few days but can't get the Budgie mix. This makes up the base of his diet. He gets other things and have been upping his vegs to strech it but still I am not out and can't seem to find it. So I bought the "Parrot Gourmet Blend" Is this okay? Should he be right on this until I use it all and then move back to the Budgie mix or should I switch back ASAP? Thanks in advance AV

Don't get me wrong she may not pick it, but at the same time if she does then that opens a whole other can of worms. She knows that the bird may not make it, both myself and her mother has talked to her about this. I think if it does not make it she will accept that and get another bird down the track.

girls will be about 10 - 13 years of age. As blue is clipped I am not so worried about taking him out of the cage however that will be a see how he is feeling on the day and also see what the situations is. I will not be passing him around there will only be two people to handle him me and the other girl. nah just take a snow pea! I can dangle millet infront of him and he ignores me, someone on the other side of the room holds up a snow pea and everyone in our block knows about it! yeah I will, they have also talked about which room to hold it in as I said if they held it in the gym then he would not be allowed out. They are going to look for a smaller room for me.

No I just want to put a list together that will go with a pack of information. Basically it means that if the child goes home talks to their parent and decides to get a bird they can at least call a few breeders instead of going to the local pet shop and buying one that is "fluffy" I am not giving any kid a Budgie however more telling them about them and giving them the op to talk to their parents and decide if it is the right pet for them, I also want to give them other avenues then buying one from a pet store, not that I am anti pet stores cause Blue my new one is from a pet store, just want to give them options

Yeah I hope so to! (Laughing out loud) If I thought I could I might just but I think she is to bright for this. I am just crosing my fingers and hoping like there is no tomorrow!

I am putting together this thing to help with getting awareness out there on Budgies. Anyway I want to give the kids that I am going to be talking to a list of Breeders to be able to either purchase from. If you want to be on this list then feel free to either PM me or reply to this and we can have a chat.

sorry I so forgot to post that bit She has called the little boy "eduro" which is Latin for "to last , endure". The vet called me today and still said that he was pretty sick and had not picked up as much as they would have liked over night. They are going to do some more tests tomorrow and see what's what. However he was drinking but nor that intrested in food which was a good sign sort of. As for the "breeder" and Kaz I use that term with air quotes and a look of disgust on my face! The RSPCA went to talk to him today, he claimed that the birds had only been in the smaller cage for about 24 hours tops. However the vet had kept the cage and says there is almost 2 months worth of waste on the bottom of the cage so that has been taken for evidence. If I get off work early enough tomorrow I am going to take Katie down there if not her mum is going to go with her tomorrow, I really hope the little guys pulls through. Will see about taking a photo of them both to post.

Thanks feathers got that took a bit but great will def use if you are happy for me to do that. My other friend suggested maybe doing little show bags style things. That has info packs in it some stickers, a list of breeders to buy from in the Melbourne area and business cards for the vets. I am starting to like that idea just have to work out how many kids there will be.

Time wise they have said around the end of september so I am working on a month from now.Yeah under Purchasing a Budgie I was going to say that at the end of the day a healthy budgie is the best way to go, I have purchased from both in the past however I do feel that you are more likely to get a healther bird from a Breeder then a pet store but then again after this weekend that theory went out the window!Yes I would love people to put in the information. If anyone wants to write an article or give me an article they have written before that would be great! I would love to say that this booklet came from this board because this board is very kid friendly so the kids could get online with their parents and have a look around and see people who wrote articles, I think that would be kind of cool for them.Also I suck at writing stuff like that, give me a software training manual and I can write that in about 3 hours but anything else ends up really bad! WOW thanks for that, will have a look. Yeah there are some great articles but I don't want to use them without asking the authors first. Will also direct all the guys here to get more info. HMMM pdf and link does not work. :rip:

Thanks for the feedback, called Katie and told her what you all said she says thanks as well but does not think she did anything special. That kids suprises me! She got her mum to drive down to the vets today so she could see her Budgie!

Yeah I want to keep it simple. I have said that if I bring the bird in they have to cover the windows. As for getting high, Blue has his wings clipped he can fly but can not gain height. I was going to give them a booklet to take home that has lots of info in it but is still easy to read and then do a powerpoint presentation with pictures etc that is more fun to look at. Blue is pretty good at just sitting on my shoulder and trying to eat my earings so I figure he will be more then happy to stay there. thanks for the feedback.

I have been asked to come in and talk about budgie ownership for a group of year 6 girls at a local school. I asked why they did not want to bring in a vet or a breeder, they said that they had done this and all they got was alot of technical stuff and no emotion so they asked me to come in. One of the girls (who I know well) said that the vets or the breeders come in and lecture to them not talk to them. They also want me to bring Blue and/or Harley in. Now Blue I have no issues with, Harley is a big no. Blue would not be passed around however I think that no one has ever brought a bird in with them before, there is only one other person who would handle him and that is a girl who he knows and has handled him already. Now having said that I want to put together a pack/ info booklet to give the girls so that they have info to read and talk home and discuss with the parents. Also alot of the info they got last time (I have seen it) is great but parts of it went over my head, really they do not need to know if you cross X color with Y color then you have X% chance to get this and this is due to dominance blah blah blah, I did not get half of it let alone a 10 year old understanding it! I could just hunt around the board and find stuff and alter it but thats just wrong and I would love to credit. I am making no money from this. The topics I am thinking about are, - What is a Budgie, where did it come from - Cage set up / Cleaning - Purchasing a Budgie - Pet Store vs Breeder - Breeds / Colours - Feeding - Vet Care / Health Care - Wing Clipping - Taming / Bounding - Teaching Tricks / Teaching to Talk - Other info. I may not cover all these in the talk but more so that they have the info to go home with and talk to parents. I would love to put the booklet together for girls around the age of 10 - 13. As I said I would love to credit and if the mods would allow it would love to put that the booklet was complied by members of this forum if the mods so allow. Anyway if you have any suggestions please let me know. Also any other recommendations that you might have would be great. I would be happy to supply the soft copy of the booklet to anyone else that wants to use it as well. Thanks in advance

I hope he makes it to, it would mean that at least one good thing came out of this. Katie really suprised me today, I know that she is very grown up for her age but today took the cake. Even at the vets she was asking questions seeing if there way anyway that we could save them, towards the end she was looking at which ever bird the vet pulled out of the cage and discussing with the vet what was wrong, possible soultions and making the decision to put them down. She also gave each one a final cuddle and held them for the vet as he injected them, she helped the vet nurse wrap each budgie and selected the flowers for them before placing them in the box to send to get cremated (vet thought this was best to stop anything being spread to wild birds) Once we got over the initial crying she sort of sucked it up and had this little determined brave face on for the rest of the visit. I was so proud of her, she now wants to be an RSPCA inspector or a vet.

One of the best things to do to get answers is take the budgie to the vet and see what killed him. I know when I lost queenie I was sure that it was my fault and then found out that he had tumours at the base of his brain nothing I did. Sometimes it is just a run of bad luck, talk to your vet it might be something as simple as no covering the cage (I know someone who lost 4 birds before we worked out this was the issue) through to they are picking something up from where ever you got them from. Did they come from the same breeder? Sit in a chair near the cage is there a draft? I am sure that if you followed the basic rules then it is not something that you did. Sorry to hear about your loss.

okay so a friend of mine wanted to get her 10 year old a Budgie for a pet. The little girl was great, she spent about 3 months getting ready for the new guy and on Wednesday this week she told me that it was time. She had the cage and everything else she was going to need, she was all set. So today Katie and I took off to see a local breeder that her mother had been told about. We had a vet app set up for a little later today so that we could pick the bird up and take it straight to the vet. I figured that this would be a good experience for her and the vet could fill in any of the blanks. So we arrive at this breeders house and get taken out the back and the only thing I could think was that I was going to be sick! His aviary had "fallen down" so all the birds where in a VERY small cage. Think a standard breeding cage and double the width then put about 25 birds in it! The smell was... I can't go there. Katie almost burst into tears. the "breeder" then tells us that he is going to drown, yes drown, them all in a few days as he has no where to put them anymore and will give us which ever bird we want for $5. Katie looks at me; I look at her and then ask "How much for the lot?" Now $5x25 = $125 which as luck would have it I had in cash on me, Katie also had around $80 on her to cover the cost of the bird and the vet visit. The guy turns to me and say "$50 for the lot, $60 if you want the cage as well." So I leave with 25 birds and one crying 10 year old. We went to the vet with the birds in the existing cage, the whole time I was thinking "What the *** am I going to do with all of these birds." Well it gets worst, we arrive at the vet, the vet is sickened and the vet nurse starts to cry which just makes Katie cry more. Pictures are taken and reports filled out for the RSPCA which have been notified. The end count was this. 2 birds did not survive the trip 3 birds literally dropped dead in the vets hands. 5 birds had the worse cases of scaly mites that I have ever seen! One was missing a foot all together and it looked like it had been eaten off! 6 had breathing issues 4 had visible and quite large tumors. 1 was missing the bottom half of his beak 3 so undernourished that they had issues standing and finally 1 that seemed okay, the vet is keeping him in for a few days to see if he makes it or anything else crops up, he does have mites but not that bad and it's hoped that he will pull through, this is the bird that Katie will take home if he does make it. He was very young so fingers are crossed. The vet did tell Katie that she did not have to take him and that she could always get another bird, at which point she looked up at the vet and said “If I don’t care for him who will? If I just leave him then I am no better then that *******.” Yes that is what she said with a very determined look on her face and a stamp of her foot. So the end result was a total of 19 birds being put down by the vet, 5 birds dying and one little one struggling to make it. I rang the breeder and gave him a dressing down about it, his response Breeder - "Well if you want to return the birds then I will give you a 50% refund." AV - "They are dead!" Breeder - "Did you feed them?" At this point I just hung up the phone! Poor Katie, so excited today and then this. It would have been better to take her to the local pet store then put her through what she went through today. Is there a list somewhere on this forum of GOOD breeders and the areas that they are in? Katie’s mum got the number of someone who got a bird off the "breeder" a few years back and said how great he was, it just makes me sick. The vet was great however, did not charge us for the birds and told Katie that if the baby did not survive then they would not charge her, even then I don't think that she would be charged that much if he does make it. I was so worried about my guys catching something that I came home, jumped the back fence (something I never want to do again OUCH) to go in the back door. My sister had locked the budgies off in the living room and toweled the doors shut, stripped in the laundry and took the hottest shower that I have ever had! I came out looking like a lobster! My clothes all went straight in the washing machine on HOT going through twice with bleach! I also have not handled my guys today just to be on the safe side. Argh I still feel dirty about the whole thing and a little sick!

I was shocked, have always used them and never had an issue now they are banned!, blue has recovered and is currently standing on my head! I like he like the movement on the computer screen!

Harley is going through some bad feather days at the moment and does not want his picture taken! Blue is just cheeky! and has an obsession with my thumb and the top of my computer screen So yeah these are my boys at the moment, blue is currently crawling over my shoulders and making a mess of my shirt! not to mention that he tickles!!!!!!

Clipping wings is a hot topic. Some people are for and some people are very against. I was always against until got Blue, it was recommended to me as he has a VERY short attention span and thinks flying away from me is a game! We clipped all but the outside ones on a recommendation that leaving the outside one will protect the insides ones as they grow back (will try and post a picture tonight) Since then I have done alot of what I call Cup Holding, getting the bird to sit on your thumb and cup your hand around his back. If she trys to push through your hand place the other one in the same position and let her tunnel though them. I then settle down for the night and watch TV, I let him fly off my finger a few times, but now he is use to me he is starting to just run up and down my arms, off my shoulder to the back of the couch and onto my sister. Even how almost a month after I got him he still does not get the "step up" command. When I first bring him out of the cage he freaks out a little before settling down. It is a long process and may take some time. Harley when I first trained him it was about a week and he was actively seeking me out, Blue is a very different bird so I am in for the long haul. Take your time, have cuddle time at least twice a day for no less then 20 mins (unless the bird gets stressed out) If she is not going to let you catch her when you let her out for free flight then I would recommend clipping her wings BUT get a breeder or a vet to do it! Also there is a really good post on this forum about different types of wing clipping. Lots of rewards, find something she loves to eat and only give it to her when you are handling her. Also I believe that it is not good practise to let the bird sit on your head, you should try and keep them below eye level at all times. Hope my ramble helped, I am sure someone else will be able to help more!

Thanks for that, feeling alot better. I know that with their feed containers that I give them a REALLY good wash after washing them in the dettol so that they do not end up eating/drinking it. I am thinking I will just make sure that my birds are never out or that I am claning the cages or anything to do with the birds when she is around!

For 7 years I have always had some sandpaper perch covers or shellgrit perchcovers in my cages for Harley to files his names on. Blue paces the poles and this is what his pole looked like after 2 hours yes that is blood he filed one of his nails way back! I was shocked, I mean mum and dad always had this stuff in the breeding cages, I have always had it, almost every pet store carrys it and recommends that you use it. NEVER AGAIN for me!