chrissy0705

okay, I knew there would be comment on this. First, the cage is a standard size cage and the nest box is mounted outside to not take up any additional room. Although not the ideal size, it's what I have and used sucessfully in the past. Second, according to the breeder I got them from she got them October 2007 at 2 months old, so they are now a bit over a year old and old enough to breed. Third, as for the nest box, yes it's there (and yes I probably should have waited but), they are bonded and according to the breeder she is in condition and they were ready to "go" but she knew she was looking to sell her and wouldn't let her down. Neither one has even paid attention to it right now and if I feel there is concern I will remove it. Thank you Sunnie. I appreciate the reply. Do you have a guess as to what the youngsters are?

Clearwing what? Just clear wing? So she would be a light green clearwing hen?

okay pics as promised... here is Wilma and her mate. He appears to be a normal green cock, but she, she I have NO clue???? I double and triple checked her eyes and her eyes are balck with an iris ring. So tell me what you think... what is she? And if you wouldn't mind looking at the young ones in the following picture and tell me what they are. I think some of them are YFI cobalts but as for the white ones, I was thinking recessive pied but I'm lost on them. Also, some of the white ones have very pale purple or dark pink ceres are these male or female? The ones I think are YFI some seem to have light blue ceres with white nostils and I assume those ones are female??? Any help would be great.

So.. haven't been on in a while. Life's been crazy and just got a new puppy. Anyway, I walked into a wonderful deal today from a breeder in my area. She was looking to downsize and I walked away today with 11 parakeets and 2 cocktiels for only $125!! Anyway, I will get pics up of the new crew as soon as possible, but I was wondering, by discription only, if anyone can tell me what my one bird may be. It is a hen that is all yellow with light green on her rump. She seems diuted or something because there is NO black on her markings at all. The markings on her wings look green against her yellow body. The markings aren't black, grey or cinny, etc... so she looks to be yellow with green markings???? She has soft pale purple check patches with tips of white. Can anyone tell me what she is? I will get a photo up as soon as I can, but anyone want to take a guess based on the discription?

okay KAZ... I'll just wait. I don't want to rush it. I know he's been eating on his own (he's been in his own cage for about a week now) and he seems to be fairing well. I know youngsters can get annoying to the other birds if they beg for food and stuff and I'd hate to see one of the others get frustrated with him and hurt him. I'll wait until at least the end of November then. He's also the only bird I have that will actually give kisses, step on my finger, and doesn't bite... he's a true "pet bird"... the rest are a "flock" and bonded to each other. I guess I should weigh that factor too... once I put him in with the rest, he probably won't be the sweet little thing he is now, will he????

My chick is 45 days (6 weeks) old now. At just about 4 weeks old he ventured out of the nest box and never went back. Two days after being out of the box I had to removed the hen and let dad finish working with him because mom got a little mean to the bub and dad. So during his 5th week of life, he hung out with dad and started eating on his own. I placed him in a nursery cage and he has spent this last week on his own. He seems to be fairing well, eating, etc... I would like to add him into the aviary with nine of my other birds but am not sure how old he needs to be? My other birds are mix of male and female, range in age from 4/5 months to 2 years old... this include his mother and father. Can I get some advice? Is it too soon?

Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts and prayers... :ohmygod: Tomorrow is the viewing and Monday is the funeral... last two days have been not stop running around... and not to mention still taking care of the kids and the house. Late nights and long days. Again, thank you all. God Bless

So this week is getting worse... now that our money is stolen and we are still waiting to get it back, last night we got a call to rush to the hospital for my husband's father. We did not get there in time... he passed late last night. Please say a pray. My husband is crushed. My heart aches for him.

You may also want to remove or cover the nesting box entrance for a week. This will give them time to focus on each other and limit the amount of stuff going on. Then you can reintroduce the nest box to "re-spark" their interest in exploring the box, etc.... I agree with pearce about moving the cage around. I have two pair down right now and I made the mistake of moving their cages 4 weeks into it and they still haven't done anything. I have been waiting over 6 weeks and not as much as an egg let alone mating??? Giving them time too will make all the difference... if I recall this is your only pair of bush budgies? So if you don't have other mates for them or an aviary for them, just let them go and give them time. Good luck.

This happened to me too just over a month ago. I had two chicks hatch by themselves (no blood, no mess, nice clean babies) and then there was a third egg with a pressure poke hole from the inside. Next thing I know the mum had the egg ripped open, blood, and the bub was pale and very week. I lived for less than 48 hours and then passed.... I wish you luck... let us know how you make out.

So sorry to hear this. Was he ill or old? Do you know what happened?

Once upon a time there were two budgies who fell in love and wanted to start a family. Mum and dad had some romantic time :hug: and soon after they announced they were expecting! Mum nested for days as dad sat proudly outside with anticipation of their new arrivals. http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n400/ch...5a/DSCN4830.jpg One day mum hear a small cry from under her and to her surprise her first baby was born. http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n400/ch...5a/DSCN4764.jpg With in hours later this small bundle of joy was joined by another and mum and dad were in their glory. For two days mum and dad cared for their bubs, nesting and feeding them as they grew stonger. Later that day the twins were now greated by a much smaller and weaker sibling. Although efforts from mum, dad, and their human friend were mightly, the two younger bubs did not survive their jouney into the world. :rip: The one lone bub was all mum and dad had now and they were determined to hold on tight. Days had passed and the bub grew bigger and stronger and started to get some downy feathers on his little naked body. His eyes were now open and started to hold his head up. He was able to cry loud for his parents attention and as more time passed he became more active, more strong and more beautiful then you can imagine. Before long the young bub was looking more and more like his mum and dad and starting to become interested in the outside world. His human friend and her children decided to name him Bubba, as he spent time bonding with his human family and learning from his mum and dad. Today he is one month old, has left the nest box and is doing some one on one bonding with his dad, while mum takes a much needed vacation. Wonder where his adventures will bring him next... TO BE CONTINUED... :fly:

I'm just shy of one year being a budgie owner. I thought this might be a good time to tell my story and share current and prospective events to come with my budgie and breeding experiences. First, I am currently a stay at home wife and mother of two toddlers in USA, PA. I am and always have been a major animal lover. I almost went to school for veterinarian medicine, but couldn't handle the idea of having to put an animal down or delivering the horrible news to a family that their beloved pet would not be coming home with them. I've also thought of working for animals shelters, but could not fathom the idea of feeding a precious animal one day and going to the cage the next and it be gone due to his "time's up". So I do my best to love the animals I have and enjoy the company of others when I experience them. As a child my parents had several parakeets in an aviary and soon after breeding, babies, etc... I enjoyed them thoroughly, but unfortunately was limited in my contact due to being a youngster. Now as an adult, I too own several keets and have experience both the sorrows and rewards of loving them all. I got my first keet as a Christmas gift in 2007. Ironically, he was white as snow and I named him Innocents. Innocents is an albino cock. I didn't like him being alone so I got him a friend before the new year rolled around and he was a green opaline cock and I named him Tinker. I did not want them in a small cage with no room to fly, but was low on money to really do much. My husband and I created a small aviary from a dresser and they were in heaven. So knowing there was plenty of room now, in April of 2008 I bought two more. It was then I brought home Patches and Angel. They were both beautiful Dominant Pied Hens, one yellow/green and one white/sky. So now I had four young, healthy, beautiful birds and my flock was "born". Then one day I was on line and came across an add from a women who was expecting her third child and could no longer keep her keets. She was looking to re-home them and I contacted her to see if I could be their new owner. She chose me and my home and soon my flock of four become seven. She had given me a gorgeous Sky blue YF2 greywing split to recessive pied cock named Raine, a Cobalt blue normal hen named Jasmine, and a green recessive pied hen named Sunny. Space was now getting a bit cramped and I did some remodeling of the aviary adding another dresser, but knew this could only be temporary until I could afford to buy an aviary or build a more suitable one. So then, I went to the pet store to buy some ladders and supplies for the aviary and walked by the parakeet center. There in the cage, all alone with no one, was this Mauve opaline hen... I couldn't leave her there and convinced my husband to let me go back in and adopt her. So in June 2008, Pearl become my eighth bird in the flock and holding off on building a new aviary could no longer wait. My husband and I built a new aviary that stood 6 feet high, 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep. This was a storage shelving unit bought from Lowes and some wire. It came out great and my birds couldn't have been happier to have all this space to fly back and forth and climb from top to bottom. Bird baths, feed dishes, toys, ropes, you name it they had it and they were loving it. So, now it was known that I had 5 hens and 3 cocks and the numbers needed to be evened out. Not having the advantages of breeders right around the corner like in Australia, here in the states the only place (besides an add on line or in the paper) to get keets is to go to the pet shops. So off I went to get two more keets. This was now August 2008 and some of the mature birds of my flock were showing signs of courting and I needed to get things settled and decide if and who breeding was going to be permitted. So now I brought home Tex, a Sky blue opaline cock and Sam, a normal cobalt hen. At the time because they were young and I didn't know how to sex young budgies, I trusted the word of the pet store clerk that they were both boys..... WRONG... I was hoping for two males so that this time next year my flock was a complete mature breeding flock. So it's now about 8 months since I brought home my first keet and my flock is 10 birds strong and some of them are getting ready to take things to a whole new level..... TO BE CONTINUED...

Pearl !

Bubba!!

If you go to the Aviary forum on this site, there are some wonderful aviaries to see. Unfortunately, most are all outdoor designs and may not be in your near future. I live in the US and I don't have the space or weather to permit an outdoor aviary, so I built an indoor one. Take a look at my post and you can see an idea of what you can do for the inside. Good luck and let us know how you make out. By the way I LOVE THIS BIRD. It looks like a Skye... a real peaceful one!

Yeah so now the charges to my account are over $960 (not including any fees that will be assessed). Filed a report with the bank and the police department. I don't know that we will be able to catch the person, the charges are being made over seas in Brazil. The bank says we should get all the money back in about 5 business days, but I know nothing for sure yet. It's just so upsetting to think that there are people out there like this. Some people work really hard for their money and with our economy the way it is right now, it's nice to hold on to some of it, but then you have these freeloaders that steal the little bit you do have. Thanks for all the encouraging words. I too hope it all comes to a close soon, and since I'm a believer in God, they will have to answer for this some day, if not here and now.... Later!!

I log on to my bank account to pay bills as I always do on Friday mornings to find that my husband and I have become victims of fraud!!! :rofl: Someone has racked up over $800 in charges on our checking account. :rofl: So now, my husband is on his way home from work so we can go to the bank and to the police station to file a report!!!! The economy isn't bad enough with us trying to make ends meet, but now the money we do have someone has stolen?? :rofl: Really, what is this world coming to?

Glad to hear all is going well. I myself have been amazed at just how attentive the males can be. My cock that is with his hen and one chick, has been wonderful. I don't think the mum has done the primary feeding for this chick in at least a week now. The cock does it all. If the bub cries, he jumps and asks how high!!! Even if you don't get any more bubs out of it, just this one you have will amaze you. My one and only chick will be one month old this weekend and I can't believe the process.... from this little alien looking thing to a beautiful feathered baby!! Keep us updated.

I don't know anything about this "booted member" but to me the person sounds envious and childish. Putting down another member or trying to discredit them for own personal gain is just uncalled for. What would you have to gain by "faking a clutch"? In my opinion you are an admired member of this site, it would only be misleading to all that are trying to learn if this was the case and I DON'T BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD DO THAT. You are one of the most informative members on this site and when I see a reply from you I take it seriously, just as I do with Neville, Neat, Elly, Libby, Liv, MB... (I'm sure I missed some). Don't let pettiness from one person pee on your parade... I don't know enough about genetics, but to me these chicks look like "mini mums and dads"... and they look great !

I agree 100% with everyone else. And learned the hard way about colony breeding. I would not recomend it. If you want let them breed and nest, pair them off into breeding cages. Allowing the breeding and nesting in the aviary can lead to fights and destruction of eggs by other hens (with or with out nesting boxes). The best chance for them is the safety of a breeding cage and nest box. Do you know who the mates are? Is it just one hen that has laid all the eggs you are speaking of? Do you have the room or homes for the bubs once they are fledged?

Yes, I'm getting very excited, but i haven't told my children as yet just in case they don't hatch to save tears, but thankyou and i will do everything all of you have told me to do. Thankyou for all your help its great to be able to talk to all of you and get advice. Thankyou you all again I hear ya about telling the kids. I just had a clutch of 5 and three hatched. Unfortunately, only one chick survived, but I showed my kids all three. My kids are 3 and 4 years old and boy was it hard trying to explain why there was only one now. They just kept asking why did it die and were did it go. So I just told them that Jesus needed a baby bird at his house so he took it to heaven to be with him.... :hap: It's hard when you have kids (young ones) cause you want them to experience the wonders of life but want them far away from the fact of death. Good luck and depending on your kids (you know them best) you might want to wait a bit even after they hatch just in case if you lose one or something.

Unfortunately, no they are not bigger, they are smaller... you know the standard 18" x 20" cage with a food a water dish and two perches. Thanks for this advice. I'm gonna wait a day or so let them all calm down and maybe try again the way you all have suggested. I guess not... a real "gentleman" I have here. One woman kinda guy and doesn't like to "share".

okay well the holding cage is 24"x 48"x18" (same size as my breeding cages but plain with no nest boxes) it has just some rope perches and some natural tree branches and two feed and water dishes. I was shocked at the reaction of the one cock. He was kicken butt and taken names and wasn't about to let his girl go. As for letting the one cock be with multipul hens I didn't know you could do that. I've been told from day one that I should never have more hens than cocks cause the hens will fight to death so that thought never crossed my mind. Well like I said I gave it a go and it didn't work for my situation. Maybe my holding cage is too similar (in size) to that of the breeding cages and although there are no nest boxes it was just too familiar??? I don't know, but I gave it a try. If I can manage another style holding cage I will try it again but for now these standard 24"x48"x18" cages are all I have (besides the two store bought bird cages I have with two single females in each one, one retired from breeding and the other I just don't have a mate for).

Well this has been the most stressfull three hours ever. I put the two pairs together in the holding cage (no nest boxes) and non-stop for three hours fighting. My one male would have NO part of this. He caused all kinds of trouble. The one hen just sat there for the longest time observing. The one male ripped the longest tail feather out of the other male. He chased him every second of the three hours. He would go to his female and then try to attack the other male. The females had no problems with each other. The one hen that just sat and watched in the begining started pacing back and forth bobbing her head and screaming while the males were fighting and then the other hen would fly down on top of the males and pounce their heads. I was going to let them go but decided it's too stressful. So I reached in to take the one pair out and put them back and the one male bit me and flew away and crashed into the wall. So now, one male is missing his tail feathers, the other male has a blood mark on his forehead, and my one female has a blood mark on her wing... not worth it for me. I'll just wait it out with them paired as they were and if nothing comes of it then so be it. I have a pounding head ache now. Thank you for the advice, but they must be more bonded than they seem cause this one male was not even willing to share a cage right now. ???????????