melbournebudgies

I woud just let them grow out, she'll have a full set of wings before you know it.

I agree with Libby. If she doesn't want to try and get the salt solution right you can get little tubes of saline for first aid from the chemist pretty cheaply.

I only clip one of my lorikeets as she is used to be clipped and won't even bother trying if she has one done, the other birds I clip two though. I think the idea of clipping one i something along the lines of that they will only be able to go in a circle if they do manage to fly a little, so they'l come back to you. Something like a boomerang

Yeah I'm pretty sure I did, but if I hadn't checked them today for any reason then they would have beeen through it by tomorrow so it's just lucky I am out there atleast once a day. They managed to do it sometime between yesterday morning and this morning. It must have been a team effort though because the chipboard is 19mm thick and laminated on both sides so it was a pretty beig job for them! I'm thinking about employing them in demolitions...

I went out to the aviary today to find that the budgies were trying to chew their way out! :fear It is a 2nd hand home made aviary and most of the walls are made of colourbond but there is a small triangle at the top at the back(it has a pitched roof) that was made from laminated chip board. They had managed to find a seam and chewed their way through to the outside world!! Luckily I did a quick count and I'm pretty sure none got out but I just spent 45 min cutting aviary wire and putting wire over the top of the entire chipboard area so that they wouldn't be able to do it again. Sneaky little buggers hadn't even looked at it ever since we got the aviary, they must have been hoping to lull me into a false sense of security

Nope, I checked that on the one that came back and his clip was perfect :fear MUst just have been sneaky galahs!!

They aren't clipped at the moment, it would make them sad, they have too much fun flying around the house! I'll probably clip them in summer though as we often have the back door open then. The corella I don't plan to clip as she is learning to obey the 'come' command (if I pat my shoulder from the other side of the room she will fly over and land on me and then if I pat somewhere else like a perch or the backof the lounge she will jump off).The two galahs were clipped similiarly to that as that is how I clip all mine too. Galahs are very light but have quite arge wings for their body size so maybe that's why they were still able to fly.

I have a couple of the smaller types of that cage, I find them fantastic! They aren't an overpriced cage even new, I paid $50 for my 18inch wide one(new) and I have one that is about twice the size which I was lucky enough to get for free, they aren't as tall as that one though. I have found them to be light enough to move easily and still solid. The only issue I had was that I needed to make stretchy seed guards for them as they have no guard around the bottom.

Have they been clipped ever since he was a baby? I often wonder if there is an issue of muscle tone too. Birds that have had the ability to fly build up their muscles and can still fly reasonably when they get clipped, atleast wth big birds anyway. Both the two that we lost had their wings clipped fully and still flew away!

I have had two galahs go walk about even with clipped wings so I would be interested (we only got one back) so I would be very interested to see how you do your cocky's wings.

He was lucky, I'm poor this week or I would have bid a little higher :fear It would have been my first breeding cage too...

Have you picked it up yet? Kew isn't far from me so you could get the birds at the same time.

After reading Tam's topic it occurred to me that I have heard a few different versions on how people like to clip wings. Some leave the tip two flights intact, some don't, etc. So just wondering how others like to do it. Personally due to having a number of different species I use a few different methods. If I need to cut the big birds wings I find you have to really go the full hog on them otherwise it doesn't make any difference, the budgies you do a bit prettier and get away with cutting less off. Anyone want to share a photo with a wing spread to show how they like to do it, I don't have any clipped at the moment so I can't share but I normally cut them just short enough so that you can't see the cut edge under the other half of the wing when they are sitting normally.

Also soon if you have another adult bird it might help to have an older bird to copy off, gives them the idea on how to eat seed, etc. Make sure that you introduce under supervison at least initially. Also I feel it is good to socialise only babies with other birds, I am having massive trouble at the moment with a number of my (non-budgie) birds who were handreared on their own and now as adults are scared of other birds.

Thanks, gives me something to go on atleast

Mine get budgie seed, (Trill is fine), fresh vegies- carrot, apple, celery, bok choy, etc., soaked dried lentils and a sprinkle of gg and biscuit over the top. They also get a vitamin and calcium supplement.Forgot, they also get fresh branches from gum, acacia and tea tree

Having worked in vet clinics it wouldn't be hard for it to be passed on even if there were no other birds boarding. If a vet nurse or the vet handles a sick bird and gets feather dust on their clothes and then does something in the birds cage, etc.

I know that you can try and sprout it but is there any sure fire way to tell if seed is fresh before you buy it? Also what is the real difference between stockfeed place seed and say homebrand? Is it simply freshness?

I think the thing with budgies is that they aren't really the brains of the parrot world Larger parrots from tiels upwards really need that handrearing time as otherwise they can be too smart for their own good, but I find the budgies are just as tame with lots of handling and mum and dad looking after them I keep everything from budgies and tiels up to galahs and now we have also added a Corella and the budgies are much less work

Hmmm...there are a few other antibiotics but you will find that you probably have to be on them longer. I would suggest that you wear a face mask when cleaning his cage for the next week or two and avoid the feather dust as much as possible. I found it easiest to put the birds that I had in the bathroom(as it was easy to clean afterwards) and feed, clean, etc first thing in the morning and then take my pj's off and put them straight into the washing machine and hop in the shower. Handle him as little as possible for atleast a week or two as it would be awful for you to get sick since you won't be able to be treated easily. I was sick for about 4 weeks and had three different courses of antibiotics before we worked out what it was. As soon as I got the doxy I started to feel much better.What's his breathing like?

no worries, if it is psitticosis he should be feeling better VERY quickly. I was put on doxy for psitticosis a few weeks ago (YES me ) and I started to feel better in less than a day. Make sure that if you start to feel sick you see your doctor and tell them the situation as you will need to get on antibiotics too. Psitticosis needs to be treated for atleast a month though, ten days is too short.

Is psittavet oxycycline?? If not I am surprised the vet isn't giving him oxycycline if there is a chnce of psitticosis.

Most of the time these people don't even realise they aren't allowed to post the animal. I have offered the budgie in Melbourne a home at my place and then the bloke will be able to sell his cage minus the budgie so well see what he says.

Sorry by temp I meant do they need to be cooled or is a cool room temp okay (say if I put them in the laundry)

Thanks, so if I wanted to store their eggs for a short period until the other pair started laying(or they HAD to start being incubated) what is the best way/temp to store them and how long can I store them for?