Magic Lady

I think so too. Oh well - it is truly a shame. In a perfect world I would take both :hap: , but I don't want to be irresponsible.

I currently have a 18"x20" which Piccolo is in. I have a seperate cage for quarantine, and in the meantime I have a 18"Dx30"Lx30"H on layby that I will be paying off in the next week or two. Thanks for the advice re: balance and the better idea of colouring (that is really interesting! ) . Would the possibility of breeding be an issue? I do feel bad that this little girl has not found a home, and I am a little feminist at heart - think it is unfair that a girl is disadvantaged!

Hello all! In the continuing saga of finding my boy Piccolo a friend, I have finally sat down with a breeder who has two budgies that she is holding onto for me. I have specified that I wanted a boy-friend for my baby boy, and she does have a male there (light green) that I will be definitely taking. However, she also has a sky blue baby girl as well. And from all accounts, this little girl is apparently very cheeky and adorable. The questions I have are: 1. Is the woman correct in her naming of the sexes? Pictures are here of the light green and sky blue cinnamon. 2. What issues should I be thinking about if I wanted to get both the boy and the girl? Obviously breeding is an issue (and probably not something that I am prepared for yet), but should I be concerned about the male:female ratio? (two boys, one girl)? Is there an option to keep the female in a seperate cage, but still let them play together? 3. Considering those issues, should I get both, or just get the little boy? Thanks for your help, everyone! Piccolo is doing very well and sends his love.

Thanks for all of your input so far, everyone! Bouncing ideas and hearing other opinions has helped me feel a bit better about the whole initial situation. I am definitely going to do some more research on my end, have a look at some of the brands of pellet that the vets recommend, and also reassess the seed mix that Piccolo is having too and what types of fruits/veges I am giving him. Guess it is good to get the information now - all knowledge is worth having!

That was the vet in this particular conversation, yes. Haven't gone yet - scheduled the appointment for next week. At this rate, I'm thinking of cancelling the appointment. My idea was to ring around and get a sense of the people. So far, the Bird and Exotic Pet Vet at Mt Gravatt is winning. Her receptionist was so very lovely. KAZ - I try my best to feed Piccolo a varied diet, for more reasons than nutrition. Gawd, I couldn't eat the EXACT same thing day in and day out ....

So I have booked Piccolo in for a vet check - being wonderfully dutiful to my darling buddy! Finding one of the avian vets on the list from this fourm, I go through the details with the receptionist lady on the other end of the phone (age, colour, name, etc.) and the topic of diet comes up. I tell her that Piccolo is on seed and veges. The receptionist goes "Oh that's okay - we will fix that!" "Oh - should I be doing something different?" I ask (as that was the only way I was going to get a further explanation...). "Yeah - we will get him onto a pellet diet." Now, I am not 100% comfortable giving my bird a purely pellet diet. I never did for my previous birds when I was a kid. I also do not believe anyone should be telling me a right/wrong approach on the subject, as I am aware there are many differing opinions (and please give your opinions if you think it would help me make an informed judgement....) So .... if this vet recommends nothing but pellet, should I try for another vet? Or can I just take the advice at face value and make my own informed decisions without being judged as some neglegent bird owner?!

I'm no expert, and I guess when I know I'm no expert, the first thing I do is defer to the experts. So while I'm sure you might get some ideas from people here .... this darling budgie is your bird, and if you have serious concerns about mental issues, the best person to diagnose that would be a vet. There is a starting list here. Many hugs and cuddles to your special little bird!

I'll see what I can find for you on my end. I know that Queensland has had to crack down because our literacy and numeracy is shocking at the moment, so there should be a lot of things that I can find. I have a friend who is doing her primary school teaching degree - she might have seen some things that I haven't seen. Happy to help, keep us up to date with your son's learning! And I second Kumon. I didn't do it personally, but I have heard it is wonderful.

Well, Elly, it IS a nice cage that you have! I am usually an eBay buyer for books and DVDs. I guess I am a traditional girl who likes to see before buying! Ha ha!

Maybe another question is ... are there any programs that you can enrol him in that are external to kindegarden/school to "bridge the year"? Music classes? I started piano when I was very young, and it was the best thing I ever did. My brother did it too. I know that Queensland is making pre-school compulsory now, but I am not sure about the status in Victoria... If I had some books on my end, I would certainly send them your way. I did my undergrad in secondary teaching (years 8-12 English and Music), but our curriculum documents are split into K-10 and 11-12. So maybe I could send an English and Maths one down your way that could guide you with literacy and numeracy for the year?

The Ebay ad says 1cm (10mm), but I usually prefer to buy things in person so that I am can be 100% sure. So I will go back to the pet store and measure the ones that are there to be sure. With the bigger cages, will they be less likely to come out and play?

So the planning for Budgie #2 has been pushed ahead, now that Piccolo's behaviour is improving and I won't be moving in with my partner until January. So I am looking at cages. Is this overkill for two birds? Cage on Ebay I note that it is the same size as Elly's cage in this post. I saw one similar to this model at the pet store - measuring 32L x 17W x 32H (not including stand) for $185. So it was smaller than this one. Would it be fine for two?

After the swimming event ....

Thanks for the updates, Summer! Piccolo was a lot like that to begin with - I've had him since January, and I swear that it took up until about March or April to feel comfortable coming out of the cage on his own. I still have a bit of trouble getting him to come out of the cage on my hand. In June, I bought him a little play gym, and that seemed to give him some incentive. I removed mirrors too, but I'm finding that he still has a bit of a chat to the bells. Did the sanding noise cause some trouble? It could have. But like any little scare, eventually trust and confidence comes back. I have Piccolo in my main living area so he does deal with the "traffic": Me coming and going, the television on, the fridge going. I would put the stereo on for him - usually on ABC classic FM because orchestral still has its high loud crashing points. Took a few weeks, but then he started chatting to the TV and the music! His cage is on a low table, so sometimes I sit on the floor and read a book and just chatter to him. But in all honesty, it just takes time for trust to come along. There will be good days and bad days. Having a budgie has made me a very patient person! Spend time with your gorgeous girl this week. Don't be always in her face - a consistent routine of saying good morning, having a meal, saying good night (as well as set time to sit next to her and read a relaxing book - everyone wins!!! ) might give her some predictability to get used to. You'll get there, and so will she.

Oh he is three shades of adorable!! I agree - budgie of the month!

I've been told before that he is more violet than cobalt ... but my camera phone does not represent colour very well. I might try to take some photos with my digital camera. He's my only bird, and amazingly I got him from a pet store in Taringa in January - so he would be close to 10 months I think. There are plans later in the year to get him a boy buddy, but he has some issues with pecking things (and people, and guinea pigs) and I want to try and curb that behaviour before introducing anyone else! :budgiedance: Last night, I had him on the bed playing with the ball and climbing around - so much fun!

Staying at my girl's place last night, Piccolo had a lot of fun with his new toy - a little ball with a bell inside. Picked it up a couple of times, nudged it a couple of times, and even tried to put his foot on it. My Piccolo loves his music! And when he saw the camera phone, he was quite curious. Flew up to sit on the phone a couple of times before I got this picture.

Well I must admit, Elly, I am usually a person that makes very quick and very rash decisions. But a friend said something very interesting the other day: You can say yes and mean it, you can say no and mean it. When you say "I don't know", in some situations that is your mind telling you "no". Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm going to try and go to work tomorrow - see how I go. At least I know my darling baby boy will be here to love me when I get home! The last few days at home with him have been really special. So I have to make sure I keep up my end of the arrangement and make the time to be with him. And I love my studies. I'm doing a postgraduate degree in writing and editing - Sarah wants to be a writer someday! Ha ha!

Thanks for the advice, everyone. For now I have decided to wait until I can make a real decision rather than a "rushed" decision. My partner and I believe that the current arrangement of letting Piccolo hang out with his guinea-pig friends is probably doing some good (he does talk to them, and is even picking up some guinea pig "whee whee!" noises in his chatter!). We are going to wait until we move in and then readdress the situation. I have been very ill with a viral infection in my liver over the past couple of weeks, and have had to be at home in bed for most of it because of the awful stomach pain. And lo and behold, Piccolo was there. I opened up his cage, and he spent his days flying backwards and forwards between his cage and my shoulder. He is my special little man! Ha ha! If anything, it has really brought up the situation of me being a responsible bird owner. Piccolo is my little buddy, and deserves my time. If I cannot find the time to be at home, that is not his fault - it is the fault of my schedule. So I have gone back and looked at my schedule again, dropped a university subject so I can have an extra night at home, rearranged my weekends so that people come to my place rather than vice versa, and found ways to be at home to give him the time he deserves. Besides, he is getting really good at helping me with my university work....

Hello all! Apologies that I have not been here in ages - I have just been having far too much fun with my darling Piccolo! My profile picture says it all - he has certainly grown into a very inquisitive and intelligent little man. He still bites a little, but I'm a tough woman - I can handle it! Ha ha! However, I worry sometimes. Two weeks ago, I managed to get a new job (finally! Hooray!). Compared to my previous job that was 7:30am-3:30pm Mon-Thurs, this is a full-blown, 9-5, Mon-Fri employment-o-rama! Also I am doing part-time university two nights a week which means that I don't get home until 7:30pm! With the amount of time that Piccolo spends alone. I have noticed that he seems a bit 'starved' for attention - when I get home he sits and chatters away continuously - even moreso if I put on the TV for him! I stay at my partner's place two nights a week, and take him with me at those times (Piccolo chatters away to the two guinea pigs there). I will be moving into a bigger house with my partner in October, and we will be making sure that it is guinea pig and budgie friendly. People have listed the pros and cons of more than one bird before. While I would love Piccolo to be absolutely bonded to me, I realise that it is not particularly fair if I am not around. That is the main reason that I am considering two budgies. If I got a second budgie, would they still socialise with me from time to time, or would I be forever cut out of the picture? I don't want to be a third wheel! Is there a particular ratio where, the more birds you get, the less amount of time they spend with you? I would happily get a third bird and invest in the Taj Mahal of cages if I could - I love them so! Also, what implications would this have on housing them? I do have a smaller cage at the moment that I use to transport Piccolo to the vet - not very big. Should I get a larger cage for the two birds now, even though I won't know if they get along until after quarantine? If so, I would definitely love some advice on where to find an appropriate cage (I'm aware of dimensions, but I have no idea what stores in Brisbane would have the best cages...) Any advice would be so greatly appreciated - not just by me, but also by my darling feathered friend!

Yes indeed, Andrew. Piccolo is doing wonderfully. He is a very intelligent birdy! He sometimes gets a bit nippy (doesn't like being scratched on the head too much still) and got so fascinated with mirrors that I took them out of his cage for now. He now plays with the bells more than anything. :budgiedance: I am worried that, because I now have a new 9-5 job, he might be getting a bit lonely. So there could be another budgie on the way!!

Thanks for the tips, Kaz! Piccolo is now happily munching away on seed so I am over the moon. I eat carrot, broccoli, and corn on a regular basis, so I am more than happy to share with my new baby boy. And I will watch for the apple seeds. Being a pet owner is such a learning experience! Haha! For now, I've moved his cage to my computer room - it's smaller than the lounge room and he seems a lot more comfortable in here. A wonderful thing today - he went up along my arm and perched on my shoulder for a while. I'm glad that he's having a little explore around the place. I imagine I'm going to be one of those people who marvels at every little thing - I can't wait!

Thank you Lonebudgie. :hap: The pet store clipped his wings - as far as I can tell, that was the difference between the "hand-tamed" and other budgies - the budgies that were kept seperately did not have clipped wings.

Thanks for the advice my dears! Yes, I thought that I was going a bit too quick for my baby boy - you have no idea how much conflicting information there is in books and online etc. ... but I'm glad that I've been able to get the opinions of other bird owners. I will give him a little while and see how he goes. I've been trying to teach him "hop up" a little bit, which I am aware will take more time. Just before, I told him to "hop up" onto my hand so I could put him back in his cage, and he did do it so that is a good sign. And as I am a musician (I'm a flute player - could you tell? Haha!), I'm playing some soft flute jazz through the speakers which he seems comfortable with. RE: the pooping - it's dry poop on his feathers. I let him clean a bit and then cleaned a bit myself. He has pooped a couple of times on my desk without it getting caught in his feathers, so I think that's a good sign. Once again, thanks for the advice and the links! From Sarah

Hello all! My name is Sarah and I am new to the forums. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions about bringing home my new budgie Piccolo. Firstly, I bought my bird from a pet store (I know - big no-no...) that I frequent when I buy food for my mother's dog. The birds were advertised as "hand-tamed budgies" and kept seperate from other "wild" budgies in another section of the store. The man who helped me select my bird said that he was a 6-week old boy. I have posted a picture of Piccolo below. Secondly, I know there are many competing methods about how to bond with budgies. At the moment, I have tried to give my new little friend some time to get adjusted to his new cage and surroundings. However, on some occassions I have been attempting to encourage him to come out of the cage. He isn't really responding to food bribes and I will admit that I have been using my hand to try and take him out to sit on the floor or on my computer desk to have a look around. I do this for about 10-15 minutes before returning him to his cage, and roughly 4 times a day. Is this okay, or should I be trying to get Piccolo to interact with me more? Lastly, I wanted to check about how often Piccolo should be eating. I haven't physically seen him eat yet - when I took him out before I left some seed and some apple in a dish - he picked at a couple of bits of seed. He is not pooping often yet and some of it is clogged around the vent, although this problem seems to be doing a bit better compared to yesterday. Do you think it could be just stress in a new environment? If so, can you suggest anything I can do to help him be a little less stressed? Music? Alone-time? Thanks for your help, everyone!