melbournebudgies

Yes but in the parts of the world where cannibalism is /was practiced until recently there have been edcation programs to try to encourage them to stop. Why? Because they were contracting the human equivelant of mad cow disease from the consumption of the brain tissue of their dead and they were literally going CRAZY! I think the message is that if you want to feed protien in this way it needs to be done carefully to ensure diseases are not spread.

How exciting! I know I haven't been around here long but have a great time! My only suggestion is to let your vet know you're going so that if anything happens they'll know what's going on and can hold accounts for you, etc.

That's a great article Elly, exactly why I won't ever handraise a baby alone again like we did with this cockatiel, thankfully he doesn't scream for attention but he is very human focused, moreso than the other birds. Our lorikeet had problems with attention screaming but if she does it she gets a five minute time out (light weight sheet placed over the cage - doesn't darken the cage but she can't see us so she understands she won't get any attention by doing it) I prefer the idea of co-raising but I don't see any issue with handraised babies if they have been raised together in a creche so they are interacting with other birds lots.

I guess it probably depends on the circumstances in which they were raised- did your handraised have budgie company as a baby or was it on it's own? I have a handraised cockatiel at the moment which needs to go to an 'only child' home as it is scared of the other cockatiels. It was the only baby and now I can't get it to live happily with the other cockatiels becase it hasn't been around them enough - it just wants to live on my shoulder and be my baby for ever!

Don't know how much truth there is in it but I always feel that a handraised baby is more human focused. If you want it to be a friend for your other budgie and for you a parent raised bird that has been handled lots will still make a great pet. The babies I have at the moment are parent raised but they will happily hop on my three year old son's finger. They live happily with other birds (including a cockatiel in my kinder cage at the moment) but they also interact happily with humans so it's the best of both worlds. I would recommend a handled parent raised bird. Oh and I agree with getting the same sex unless you will be setting them up to breed.

Have you tried holding back on the feed by half an hour or so until he gets just a little hungry? Budgie parents will start to refuse to feed the babies as they get older so they are forced to stop bumming off mum and dad and eating on their own. What formula are you using?

I have noticed that my lorikeet who often likes to sleep on one foot wit her other foot drawn up underneath will have one hot foot when she wakes up! I think the others are correct in their suggestions.

It needs to be done properly with a good knowledge of the genetics of your birds. It does increase the chances of any hidden defects showing up in the babies but most of the time in a pair of healthy birds with no history of defects in the lines there won't be a problem.

On a recent search for training tips for my large parrots I noticed one of the suggestions as a favorite treat for cockies was a small piece of prawn! I was amazed at the time as it hadn't even occurred to me that one would feed meat to parrots, although I know there are a few species that feed on meat alot in the wild. That being said I come from a background in the aquarium industry and I know of a few people who swear by the occasional slice of orange thrown into the goldfish tanks as a treat to enhance colour - don't know how much truth there is in it though :shrug:

Just wondering are you able to post a photo of her cage? Might help to give some ideas. One method I have found great for getting animals used to me is to sit the cage next to the couch in the evening then sit down and watch TV with my hand resting just inside the door of the cage, you don't need to talk or anything initially just let her see your hand and that it isn't going to eat her! The first night she will probably sit on the other side of the cage nervously watching you after an initial flap but you'll find that after a few nights she starts to get used to you doing it. The point at which you know she is really comfortable is when she starts eating while your hand is there. Another really good idea is to find a treat she loves (mine like celery tops) and give it to her only when you have your hand in the cage so that the treat is something she associates with you. Put this treat in when you sit down with her and take it out again once the training time is finished.

Given the bird is pretty wild I doubt at this stage you could get it friendly enough to sit on finger, etc. without almost constant work. Just spend as much time as possible with it and try to gradually get your hand closer to it until it lets you put it in the cage without stressing, eventually you may find it will even let you touch it. Getting the vet or a knowledgable bird person to clip it's wings may help if you aren't very confident as it will mean less stress if it gets out of the cage as it will be easier to catch.

If it's the sort of cage which has the tabs at the bottom so that you can detach the wire from the plastic base why not leave the budgie on the perch(inside a closed room) and carefully take the wire top off with the budgie still sitting in it and put it on a sheet of newspaper while you clean the base and then just gently put the top back on again, less stressful for the budgie that way As far as budgie bites I would say just wash your hands with soapy water if he draws blood. I have had so many bird bites I couldn't count them on two hands and I've never even had one get infected so they aren't too bad.

I have a large mineral block hanging near my seed trays in the aviary. Is that sufficient for breeding birds or should I be adding something to the seed or water?

okay, well here goes, I'm pretty sure my males are double factor type 2 goldenface, they are very bright yellow. The babies are the three shown in my budgies for sale notice. The only one that I would say has a lemon colored face is the baby and given they are baby feathers I figure it will brighten up after the first moult. The mother is a skyblue greywing, the baby greywing is cobalt. The male she has mainly been seen 'cavorting' with is a cobalt greywing like the baby but we have a goldenface baby as well so I gess she has slept around. It sounds as though the normal can come from the two greywings?

I'm a little confused so I'm just wondering if goldenface is recessive or dominant? Can my goldenface birds be split for another colour? We get a very eclectic mix of coloured babies but I basically only have three different colors in males GFT2, GFT2 greywing and skyblue greywing. In females I also have a couple of yellow/blue pieds but I haven't seen these breed, which leaves one skyblue greywing and one GFT2. The three babies I have at the moment are GFT2, blue(darker than skyblue) greywing and a normal blue. Where would the normal blue baby have come from as I don;t have any adults this colour. As far as I kno these are all from one clutch BUT mum may have slept around :offtopic: Sorry meant to add that mum is the skyblue greywing

Well! That was nearly my drink all over the keyboard!

I believe some of them may be but I recieved then as a flock from a bloke that had hundreds that needed to be rehomed so I have very little idea of their history. The females are mostly pieds, etc and the males are mostly yellow/golden face so I suspect some of the males may be brothers but they are not related to the females. This is one reason I am looking to swap a few of my males out t increase genetic diversity a bit.

I think Splash might be an appropriate name for that one! Does seem to fit the broad description of rainbow with that darker patch over the neck.

not me Elly :offtopic:

I have pieds, goldenface and goldenface greywings in my breeding colony, how cool would it be if I got one like that!!

I wold catch the budgie and put it in a cardboard box with some holes in it whil you do the cage.

Guessing that post didn't work If I assume you were asking how others clean their cage I wash everything in fresh water and then use a dilute vinegar solution to wipe it out and leave it to dry(preferably in th sun) The vinegar and the sunlight both act as anti-bacterial agents. Erin

They don't bother me at all, I just catch them and throw them in for the lizards. I content myslef with the knowledge that the majority of what people call cockroaches in Melbourne are actually native woodroaches which dont carry disease like their American counterparts. Given how many are arond this area a phobia of them would be quite debilitating, good luck getting rid of them. Erin

OOOhhh... pretty

Get a bluetongue :grin:Mine come out for a wander with me and eat the roaches. I've contemplated letting them live in the bottom of the aviary on occasion, they can't climb so no worries with them eating eggs. The only thing that has stopped me is that I'm not sure what the birds would think. They might get used to them though...On a possibly more helpful note you could spray around the cage with a bird mite spray, might just deter the roaches and shouldn't bother the birds.