Emma

Fantastic! That's exactly the kind of thing I meant

Oh, well that's great to know. I don't mind looking dumb! It's better to be concerned and ask rather than let things go. Better to be safe than sorry So the first signs are a line of buildup? Anything else? As I said - most of the stuff I can find online are the really horrendous cases, not mild cases. It would be good to be able to know what to look for. What would the dirty brown marks above the cere be? It has looked a bit grubby for the last few days.

Hi guys, Most of the photos of scaly face on the web are really advanced cases where the bird's beak is malformed or the face/eyes are covered in crusts. As a budgie newbie, I couldn't find any pictures of the early stages of scaly face - recognising it before it actually gets to be quite bad. Is this it? I first noticed a brown dirtiness above his cere a few days ago - is this related? Then I thought the lower part of the cere seemed to be a bit dry and as if it was peeling back, but it was very hard to tell on a budgie that won't sit still so I can look, GRRR. (I don't like pulling him out and stressing him since I've only had him a short while and we're still getting to know each other). But then I noticed the lower part of his beak flaking. Is this early scaly face? If so, would it be worth putting this picture into the FAQ for newbies who don't know how to recognise the early stages? I think it would be helpful to show what it looks like very early on. If it's not scaly - can you tell me what it might be? Thanks again

When they get to the "popcorn stage" (bouncing around at about 2-3 weeks), put a whole corn cob in for mum & babies. CUTEST THING EVER. I bred rats for a number of years, I don't have any now, but if you need advice or help, please let me know

Thanks guys, I'll have a look for it tomorrow

Is that a vet/pet store product? There's a bunch of dead lice on the cage floor now (yay) so I'm feeling confident it worked, but I'd rather make sure I have the best stuff for future treatment.

I was admiring Maurie's pretty flecked feathers on his head when I noticed that the pretty flecks WRIGGLED. Yuck yuck yuuuuuuck. I've treated him and his cage with a Permethrin/Piperonyl Butoxide/Methoprene spray that I have on hand, as per the pinned topic. He now loathes me and is glaring at me through the cage bars. I can't even offer him a treat because he doesn't trust me enough to take food from me yet! I lined the cage with white paper to keep an eye out for dying wrigglies, and I can see a few now that he has been preening a little. What a relief, I hate to think of him being itchy. Can you guys tell me - are initial treatments usually 100% successful? The bottle says "for up to 6 weeks" but should I treat him again sooner? Is there something else I should be doing or using? Thanks

Is that because you don't know what you'll get, or are the results bad? (curious and not afraid to look clueless)

I've read so much of these forums and the FAQ lately that I forget who said what, but I read someone say that the first thing they do when they bring a new budgie home is to get the wing clipping out of the way so you're only the "mean new mummy" in the beginning. It was starting to weigh on my mind because Maurie only had one wing clipped, and I haven't clipped a wing in years, so I was feeling a bit apprehensive - but I didn't want to undo all my hard work taming him by pulling him out and being a big bully. I didn't want to come a long way and then go backwards because he saw me as the mean new mummy when I finally got around to clipping the other wing. So I bit the bullet today and clipped the other one - and did a darn sight better job than the pet store, rusty as I am, even if I do say so myself - mine was much neater. Not perfect, but I'm sure that will come with time. My sister would have a fit - she has a feather phobia, so she would have flipped her lid to see feathers on the kitchen bench. Afterwards, I spent some time handling him. He sat on my finger happily (unless the cage was nearby, of course, then he wanted IN). He tried a few times to fly up, and failed, poor baby. I feel sad that he doesn't understand why he can't get any height, but I don't want him flying up high and hurting himself. I giggled at the "tappity-tappity-tappity" noise of his little feet on the kitchen floor. Now, he's surprisingly calm, and suddenly much more accommodating when I want him to hop onto my finger. Still not perfect, but definitely not as flighty now. I think I've got the message across that when I take him out, I'm not going to hurt him, and I'll put him back in soon enough. He seems confused about that, I think he had decided I was evil and now he doesn't know what to think. I still need to find a way to his heart through his stomach, he doesn't trust me enough to take any food (even if I just hang something up). I'm hoping the millet I get on Friday will be a breakthrough. I really have to fight the temptation to keep pulling him out. I don't want to hassle the little guy.. it's just so exciting to make progress; I get antsy when he has to go to bed but I want to keep handling him

*COVET* Can't wait to see more :rofl:

Some vets will decant for you (although some may wish to have a consult as mentioned) so that you don't have to buy a huge bottle. My vet decants a few different things for me for my rats because he knows me well - usually once you've had one consult they are happy to decant them for you for your other animals (once they recognise that you know your stuff, basically). Or you could find someone who has a vet who is happy to do it, and get them to get you a small supply. This is common in the rat world because you need soooooo little per animal, so it's hard for a pet owner with one or two rats to buy a $100 supply! I was happy to find out that Ivermectin is used for budgies, because I know my vet will be happy to supply to me if needed. Good luck!

I have, thank you - it's great

Day 3, and I'm learning how incredibly impatient I really am.. I want Maurie to be my bestest bird buddy in the whole wide world. Yesterday. Maurie, on the other hand, wants to sit on his swing and glare at me all day. I'm having a hard time convincing him that my plan is the way to go. I think his first words may end up being "Aww c'mon" and "don't be a fraidy bird!". He's moving around a lot more; spends a lot of time doing somersaults and generally acting like I fed him neat red cordial. Why didn't I buy millet sprays? I meant to.. I just forgot.. now I'm regretting it. He doesn't know I'm the Food Goddess yet, not interested in greens.. I need to get me some of those secret weapon millet sprays everyone raves about. I need to get some decent bribery material. For now though, I'm happy with baby steps. He seems to feel most secure on his swing, and is less inclined to fly away when he's on the swing rather than just on a perch. He sleeps on it (so cute!) So I usually wait until he hops onto his swing to try to get close. Just now I verrrrrrrrry slowly put my finger next to the perch and rolled it upwards a little until he took some tentative steps onto it, then stood properly and got a nice firm grip going. By resting my weight on the swing, it kept my hand steady, and let him stand there for a while. All, of course, while I'm cooing "Oh you're such a good boy! Yes you are!" like an idiot.. He stayed for about 2 minutes, hopping onto one foot and then the other to preen, but mostly just staring at me like he was humouring me, silently telling me to enjoy it while he was feeling generous enough to stay there. I managed to contort myself and take a (bad) photo - it was pretty difficult with my left hand and considering that I couldn't see the screen. Apologies for the flash! PROGRESS! Now to repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. And get some millet.

Thanks very much for the warm welcome guys I've only had him a couple of days, but I tell you what, it drives me crazy at night time when he has to go to bed and I can't talk to him anymore. I've actually had two early nights because I'm so impatient to get up and talk to him again (and I'm NOT a morning person)

That's been my experience with a lot of books/info about rats, too. It seems most of the books sold in pet stores were published in the 70s and 80s (I deliberately didn't buy one for that very reason - figured the internet would have more 'recent' info!)

Really? Everything I read leaned towards single wing only. Thanks for letting me know

Hi everyone My name is Emma, and this is my first time having budgies, although I have had other birds previously (cockatiels, galah, corella). For the past.. well, I can't remember how many years now, I've had and bred pet rats, but lately it has been difficult to deal with them all getting old and slow, and then losing them (my last family of rats were all brothers and sisters, and got old together). Now, I only have one old ratty left, and I know she won't be around for long. It's very sad, and I decided I needed a "break" from keeping rats for a while. I couldn't imagine not having a little friend around though; although I have a dog and some chickens etc, I can't walk around with them on my shoulder. I wanted to have a little companion. I've had birds before, and as much as I love the larger parrots, I know that right now it wouldn't be wise to dive into such a bit commitment. I thought about cockatiels again, but they don't really "fit" me, if that makes sense. I kept coming back to the idea of a little budgie friend because I could really picture one sitting on my shoulder while I did computer work etc. So I did a lot of reading and planning, and went to look for a friend on Friday. There are particular stores I avoid because of the way they house their animals (eg keeping small birds in the top of aviaries and ducks/chooks in the bottom) and general untidiness - cluttered pet stores don't make me feel confident (I figure if people are lazy about setting their stock out nicely, they can't be too thorough cleaning out dirty cages etc). There was a pet store I had never been to, so I thought I would go check them out. The thing that most impressed me was that they didn't have 50 billion budgies. They had perhaps a dozen. And the same for the other animals too - they mostly had a handful of each type rather than aviaries overloaded with bulk birds. It was surprising. And NO green/yellow budgies - is that common these days, that the blues are more readily available? I was expecting to see a whole bunch of green and no real choice. They had two gorgeous blue boys, very bright, but they were obviously quite a bit older. As beautiful as they were, I didn't want to choose one just because it was pretty. I chose a nice pied boy, he's not a baby-baby, but I'm guessing 4-6 months (which matches what they told me). The whole time they kept talking to my 9 year old nephew giving him instructions on how to care for the budgie.. everyone assumes a budgies are for little kids I guess So, here's Maurie: I'm going to take a really amateur stab at this and say.. yellow face II dominant pied mauve spangle... greywing? Haha, I have no clue. Except the spangle part! Things are going well so far. He adores the swing I gave him, and he's spent most of today doing perch-somersaults. He's eating well, and nibbles on the gum leaves I put in. He will tolerate my hand/finger next to him for a little while (making fast progress there), and even sat with one foot on the cage and one on my finger for a bit. I know he's not a baby-baby, and I was worried he would be standoffish for ages, but it looks like we will be friends quite fast. I have the feeling he'll be the first of many budgie buddies in years to come.. Nice to meet you, I'm sure I'll learn tonnes here