Finnie

This was a really interesting thread. I wonder how Wandamus and her birds are doing now?

I just love this!! Kids are so precious!

You would get a frustrated YF mauve pied cock!

JB, I'm very very sorry to hear about your hen. I know they both mean a lot to you. How is your other one going? -Finnie

cant' see any pics ,sorry

I'm new at all this, but Kaz's article on ceres is really good, and I love to guess genders. So far I'm pretty good at it, for a newbie . So, I say yes, both males! P.S. this is very timely, because last night I fell asleep wondering what the latest news on your hens was, and was going to do a search this morning to see if I had missed a post somewhere! And no, I do not spend too much time thinking about budgies and forums! :bump:

If you'd like to see them fly around the house, you could start by making them some kind of play stand with perches and toys on it. Put that a short distance away from their cage, and then put the birds on it. They might be scared at first, but they will come to see the play stand as another "safe place". After a while, they will get brave and start making little flying jaunts, probably back and forth to the cage. I have a baker's rack that has turned from plant stand to budgie stand, and it is about 4 feet from their cage. If I put one or two of my birds on it, the ones left in the cage will call back and forth, and then get brave enough to leave the cage and go to the stand. Lately, now that some of them are growing back their flight feathers, they have started doing a little flying.

Hi cory, I have a lot of houseplants, so when I got my first budgies, I looked all over on line and found some contradicting lists of safe and non-safe plants, so I could be wrong about this. However, as far as I know, both of those plants are considered unsafe. The one of the left is called Caladium, and the one on the right looks to me like a peace lilly. I'm pretty sure that both of those were on all the bad lists, but not on any good lists. If you remember, I mentioned Pothos being poisonous on one of your other posts, but just two minutes ago, I was looking at the FAQ secton, and pothos was listed as safe! (I'm still going to keep my budgies away from mine.) Hope this helps.

I have my four budgies in a cage this size: 48" Long 24" Deep and 36" High, they have about 8 different size perches (more than one at the same height), a big branch that provides even more perches, 3 swings, 2 water dishes and 2 food dishes (one for seeds and pellets the other for fruits and veggies) and 10+ toys and they still have a lot of empty space to fly around.. isn't that enough? You might try adding a food/seed cup per bird. That way if someone gets chased away from one dish, they can go to another one, and if they all want to eat at the same time, everyone's happy. So for 4 birds, have 4 feeding stations.

He's a YF2 mauve spangle.. he's also pied, but these days he is looking less pied and more scruffy :/ When I got him a month ago he had a band across his belly, but now it seems to have... shrunk. I think he is changing his mutations on the fly (no pun intended), just to confuse me. I can see the pied on him, now that you mention it. So does pied cause the barring on the head to be less "black"? Because I think that's why I'm confusing it with opaline. (i.e. it seems like his head bars are blue-ish.) Does that make sense?

He's beautiful! Is he a Yf2 spangle opaline mauve? (I'm working on learning these mutations )

I wanted to use one of my birds' names, so I picked Finnie because she's my 2nd favorite after Phoebe, but the name Phoebe was taken. Plus, I didn't want to be Patrick, Sean or Nigel. Aslo, it was because of Finnie that I searched online and found this forum!

This is too true! I am going to go now and ...change my signature. That oughta take a couple of hours...

Kaz, I have a question, people talk about a male with hormonal issues or testicular cancer looking like a hen. Could a male like that have a cere like this hen, or in that case would it always look brown and crusty?

Oh Cory, I am so happy for you! And to think the pet shop uses the same vet as you. I highly doubt that the vet staff would fault you for caring and opting to "err" on the safe side. So, did you ask the pet store what kind of food they use? I keep my new birds on the same food they've been used to while they settle in for a few days, and then I start gradually adding in my preferred brand, a little more each day, making sure they are actually eating, and of course, monitoring their poos. A couple of times I was lucky that the store was already using my brand. As for pellets, it seems like vets are stereotyped for pushing a pellet diet over a seed one, and every time I hear another person's story, it confirms it. I even read it in Drs Foster and Smiths catalog. But a pellet diet is no good if you bird won't eat it. You can't force them, they'll starve 1st rather than switch. Everyone here on the forum talks about seed and a variety of fresh veggies, and that makes more sense to me. Seeds are more natural. I do offer my birds a tube feeder with pellets in it, and sometimes I see them eating it, but I think they just play with it mostly. Anyway, I'm really glad to hear that Louie is not at deaths door! :thumbs_up:

I don't see how someone could let their bird get so bad!! If you couldn't/wouldn't treat it, the least you could do it euthanize it before it got so awful! Do they somehow not notice this sooner? Or maybe they're sickos and did it on purpose.

Yes, I believe that Banfield is separate from Petsmart, and they just have a contract as to locate within the store.

Perhaps, but a suggestion was made that a vet was on premises all the time like an employee To have a vet work in a petstore I would find unbelievable. Hey guys, I really wasn't making it up. The clinic is called "Banfield", and you have to go inside of Petsmart, past their grooming shop, and then there is the counter that looks just like any vet receptionist counter. Our other Petsmart store has the Banfield clinic way in the back. I've seen plenty of people taking their dogs in there, but I can't vouch for their level of care. I agree about pet shops in general, though, because one I worked at for a while had a room in back where they kept all incoming animals for a few days before they put them on display. That's where they would take care of the sick ones, as well, so very likely they were using "store bought " remedies instead of vet care. But then, that store didn't have a vet care return policy, just a "get your money back" return policy. But Cory didn't say which chain she bought Louie from, so if it was a different chain, then the vet on premises is a moot point. In the end, she will have to decide for herself if she trusts them or not. She sounded really worried, so I wonder how it is working out.

Cory, does the pet store have a vet on their premises? The big chain here does, and they have told me the same "return" policy. I believe them, since the vet is right there, and if the bird pulls through, then yes, you would buy your own bird back. (Haven't had to test this.) One other thought, since it is Sunday, even their vet probably won't be there, and any after hours emergency vets in town would probably not be Avian vets, so you will problably have to wait until tomorrow. Look online to see if you can find an avian vet that you could call first thing tomorrow. (Or your mom or someone, if you are in school?) If the store doesn't have their own vet, then they are in the same boat as you are in finding one, but you would think they would have this lined up already. Because it might be a good idea to let the store care for him if they can do it qicker than you can. The guy on the phone sounds like a dud, but they let just anyone answer phones. There is probably a bird manager/specialist that would give you better answers if you call on a regular weekday morning, and it might sound more reassuring to talk to them, if they have done this before. You might be able to sound them out about which vet they would be taking him to, and if it is an actual avian vet. Then you would have a better idea if you can trust them. If there is no bird manager in the morning, ask to talk to the store manager- not the cashier who answers the phone. if you still don't like their answers, you will just have to find and pay for a vet on your own. If Louie, God forbid, doesn't make it, keep your refund, and buy your next bird at a different store- not from them- their other birds could have what Louie has. Make Louie as comfortable as you can today, (with a heat lamp?), try to locate a local avian vet that you can call- I think there is a link somewhere here, I saw it yesterday- and line up someone (mom?) who can take Louie in tomorrow, whether it be the store or the vet. I'm really sorry you have to be going through this. Here's hoping that he isn't as sick as you think, and that he will be tough and pull through. Good luck, let us know what happens.

Yes, that is a bad photo. In real life, her cere is so totally brown and crusty, that you would never have any doubt. Poor Colleen, I must play favorites with the other birds, because this was the only picture of her I had where she wasn't crowded out by the others. Thank you , a watercolor painting is exactly what I have been saying she looks like!Sometimes I think Colleen is in the other room looking in her mirror saying "mirror, mirror on the wall..." And the answer comes back "Phoebe is the fairest in all the land." Poor, poor Colleen, has been demoted!

Thank you, Sailorwolf. My best guess is that Phoebe was born/hatched in January, so maybe that will be an option for me next year. For now, I'm keeping her separate from the rest in the hopes that she will bond with me and be my buddy. I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm forcing her to choose between me and loneliness, but I think she'll come around. When she and Nigel were in quarantine together, she was not afraid of me at all, she was so young, she would hop right onto my hand. But once I took him away, she withdrew a bit, and now is more hesitant about coming to me. But I will persevere. If I thought I was making her too unhappy by keeping her alone, I could always put her in with the others, but I think she will get over it and be happy with just me. Thank you, too Cory. We have family in Colorado, so we visit there a lot. It is a beautiful state. P.S. I hope Louie is getting better.

Finally getting around to introducing myself. I'm not really new, I've been hanging around reading these forums for 6 months and trying to resist the urge to join. Apparently budgies really are addicting! I started with only two, and now I have 6. Let me start with my human flock. My husband and I have 5 kids, ages 22 down to 10. As a result, we've also had over the years many pets! Currently they are 3 dogs, 6(outdoor) cats, 2 tanks full of fish, and of course, the budgies. In the past I've always said "no birds, ever" Too messy, too noisy, too much work. To tell the truth, I just wasn't interested, and thought I didn't like birds. I didn't feel guilty saying no, because I have allowed all kinds of things from hermit crabs to snakes, to even a tarantula! Well you know how they say "never say 'never' "... Being an avid garage sale shopper, I found myself last fall, face to face with 2 parakeets (as they are called here in the US) in a cage with a sign: 2 Parakeets, cage, food, everything: $10.00. Well, I know a good deal when I see one (10 dollars!), and I knew the kids would think I rocked if I brought them home, and fortunately for me my husband was out of the country and unreachable by cell phone... That's how Patrick and Sean came to join our family This is Patrick: "> And this is Sean: "> Now, Not knowing much about them, I figured I had "one of each", a green one and a blue one. Figuring out they were boys was easy, and we went on line to learn how to take care of them. I started reading lots of Parakeet books, and I found out they they came in many different colors,too! I also found out that I really liked having them, and during one of my many visits to the pet store (lots of animals = lots of pet food!), I noticed a parakeet that was strikingly beautiful compared to all the rest I'd ever seen. I think that's when I began plotting to convince my husband that 3 in a cage would be no noisier than 2 in a cage. But first I decided I would have to look all over town to make sure there wasn't an even prettier one I would rather have. That's how I found not only the prettiest bird in town, but alslo the second prettiest, and so Finn and Colleen joined the family. (We were having fun with our Irish name theme going.) Here is Finnie (who turned out to be a girl, so "his" name got feminized): "> and here is Colleen: "> okay, so I'm done, right? I told my husband that my flock was complete. After all, I only had the one cage, and it barely fits 4, right? (At least the guy in the store said it would be fine for 4.) (You will have to forgive my lack of quarantine at the time, I hadn't found this forum yet, and the store people never mentioned it. Come to think of it, none of the little books I had been reading mentioned it, either- no wonder pet buyers are uninformed.) So we wanted to know what color Finn was, so we did a search for parakeet colors and mutations, and that's how I found BBC :happy-dancing: But I guess I wasn't done. Reading so much here, and learning so much about budgie genetics and breeding got me really interested in the mutations I had and how they could match up, and what colors I could get from them... At the time my husband said "You're not planning to breed those, are you?" And I said," no way, of course not!" Six months later, I approach him and say "would you mind much if I did breed them, and by the way, it would require buying a couple more..." So that's how Nigel Thornbirdy and Pheobe joined the family. Nigel: "> And Phoebe: "> Well, that's my flock. Thank you for reading. I could write pages and pages about them, so I am looking forward to many happy hours spent here, and getting to know all of you. I've already been getting flack for 6 months for having a bunch of Australian budgie friends who don't even know I exist, so it will be nice being a real virtual person! "Yes,I know lots of people in Australia... well, no... they don't know me..." :hap:

I think your cage is awesome, and that it's great that your uncle made it for you and your birds. Is that plant hanging at the left side a Pothos? When I looked up safe vs. poisonous houseplants, pothos was listed as poisonous. It would be terrible if your birds got sick from your plant, especially if it was then blamed on the cage! By the way, your birds are beautiful! I love the name Fiona. That's what we were going to name our bird, but we thought it was a boy, so we named him(her) Finn(Finnie), instead.