Denise49

Sorry Chrysocome - I mucked something up when I was trying to post.thank you everyone for your replies.I will move Fitz into a different room in the evening. Even though he is well covered, there's still a lot of light and activity going on. That could be the problem. Thanks again.

Looking through the topics on moulting I cannot see anywhere that specifies how often (that is, time between moults) is considered normal. My Fitz had his first moult in late Feb/March and has now been moulting again for the last two weeks. He otherwise seems quite happy and healthy! Any advice appreciated.

:rofl: I am just so happy to report that Fitz is doing great. I really didn't expect him to be around the next morning but he was 100% then and hasn't had any problem since! Thanks all for your advice. Don't know what it was, but had a happy ending. Happy New Year to all!

sorry -having trouble with mouse. No, he doesn't seem to be puffed up and since I covered him he stopped squeaking for a while but just started again

Tonight I noticed that Fitz is making a small squeaking sound and seems to be breathing heavily. I have covered his cage with a fairly heavy, dark cloth. I often read advice about leaving a lamp on a sick bird. The only lamp I have is a halogen one and I can feel it giving out some heat. Wouldn't this keep a bird from sleeping and would that be detrimental? Not sure what to do. He has been eating, but seems a lot quieter than usual.

31. When you sit reading posts on BBC instead of packing for a trip in the morning. 32. When you check that the bird has enough food before you leave for said trip, before you wonder if husband has some food in house, too.

I guess you can just do what you can, when you can and hopefully educate people as you go - even if only one person at a time

Thank you both for clarifying!

budgie care away link very helpful, but slightly confused about 2 things: a. why is lettuce harmful? b. Some members give celery LEAVES to their birds, but why is the celery stalk itself is not suitable?

When I hosed cage, some colour ran off a newly purchased toy, (orange, red, yellow and green wooden balls interspersed with plastic discs). Hubby said that it was probably a food colouring but wondered if maybe it was something not quite so safe. Purchased from a major chain store, but not much info on the packaging. Of course, I should have taken it out of cage first, but then it had to be washed at some stage, even by hand. Any suggestions, please?

:rofl: what great pictures - really answers the question. Just had to call my husband in to see these photos and like maesie, my bird won't be getting beetroot either - at least not while he's inside!!!

Welcome - you will find this such a great site! Loads of information and friendly help...

lovely pictures and beautiful birds!

How do you aviary birds cope with the sudden and unseasonable change?

They are just gorgeous!

Yes, he came from a breeder and he was in a section with the young birds - I didn't think it was a huge flight space but of course much bigger than the cage he's in now - I will be giving him plenty of free flight time when he gets to know me a bit better.

Fitz came home last Friday and he seems to be quite a confident little fellow, comes up to the side of the cage when I talk to him and eating quite well - even sat on my finger (though I don't think he actually realized it at the time). He is entertaining me by turning complete somersaults in the corner of the cage, which is fine. However, he also does a sideways turn, hanging on by one foot and almost completely twists round, before he seems to realize that he needs to let go to "untwist". He then drops to the bottom of the cage - only seen him do it in the lower third of the cage. I don't remember any of my other birds doing this, although it's been a long time since I had a young bird. Is this an unusual behaviour or do I have a real little "show-off?"

sorry about no picture - Fitz probably knows more about Forums and posting pictures than I do, but I'll get there. Thanks for the offer of help.

Just brought my new little fella home a few hours ago. He is a grey and named Fitz. This is the first grey I've had, all previous been totally blue. Looking forward to seeing how his character unfolds!!

Thanks JimmyBanks, that's what I plan to do. I believe that the Western Suburbs club is having an auction at Laverton on 22nd November, so I should probably have a good chance of contacting a local breeder there.

Hello everyone Am very new to forum - recently lost my little Andy (12 yrs old) and seeking another companion but wanted to do plenty of research before I take the next step of buying. I would prefer to find a breeder rather than go to a pet store. Any advice>