defieldsfamily

I have just brought home two cockatiels that were going to be "gotten rid of" tomorrow if a home was not found. A young male grey and a HUGE female pearl. She constantly keeps her wings drooping down and I'm worried about this as I haven't seen any of my other tiels do this. She is so big and even her feathers seem huge. Not sure how old she is but she's twice the size of the male. They're in quarantine of course but they can hear he other birds and are making a huge racket! It sounds like a jungle in my house! Anyway, I have seen a regular poster on this site who lists a site about cockatiels in their signature...if anyone knows who that is, please let me know...thanks.

Ratzy...the suspense is killing us! Anything happening?????

Just reading this thread made my head explode!!! You know, I'm fine with human genetics and in my line of work I've had to study it extensively but budgie genetics is something I can't wrap my head around!!!! I'm so grateful for the experts in this area even though I rarely understand what you are saying !!!

Any news??? This is very exciting...your first hatching! I'm getting a visual of us all pacing back and forth like expectant fathers in a huge aviary waiting room!

Hmmm...where could they have gotten quill mites from? It's only three of 22 and two of the three have been hatched and raised in my house. They are all kept indoors and I always practice strict quarantining. The third one has been with me for a long time also. Hopefully it is just from cage climbing :happy-dancing: As for the boiling water...with my luck the budgie would squirm and fall straight in...OUCH!

I have kept all our chicks so far....I can't seem to bear the thought of parting with them

The chicks are gorgeous Finnie....I do so love the yellow faced one

Keeping in mind I'm not Australian, could someone explain what "bush detecting" and "going bush" means?

Great cage! I actually have three in the same style but the biggest size they make. The natural branches that others have mentioned would be my only comment. Good on you for getting them such a nice cage

Well, the four chicks are growing a ton everyday and without a nest box they have been running around the cage floor a lot! I think it has actually made them stronger chicks to have had the run of the place. The other thing I'm noticing is they seem to be quite attached to me...wondering if this is because they've been able to see me from the day their eyes first opened without the barrier of nest box walls. When I go into the birdroom their little faces follow me everywhere I go...it's really cute :question: I'll post pictures soon but it looks like the three oldest will be mauves like Mom and the youngest a pied like D but I can't see any real colour on tht one yet...just mostly white. When I do post pictures I'd like help please to sex them...I'm hoping they are all males as I seem to have too many hens in my flock. Plus, I'd like to name them John, Paul, george and Ringo

Three of my birds have developed really ratty tail feathers. Is this just a sign thaat they will soon moult them out or could it be a bigger problem?

I'm picking up my first exhibition type budgies on Monday morning...seven of them! Once my aviary is built this spring is it okay to put them in the flight with the pet type budgies? I was wondering if they would bully the smaller pet birds due to their bigger size?

Ellmak....your birds are very pretty....I LOVE spangles! KAZ...just as a point of education for those still with a lot to learn (me, in particular!) ...is it very common for chicks to retain their bars on their heads that long? All my chicks have moulted them out by 4 months at the latest. Also, what's the earliest that iris rings usually appear...my 7 month old chick still doesn't have them nor do any of the ones younger than her. I had thought the usual was about 8 months but maybe I have it wrong?

Spring has definately sprung here! It was gorgeous and sunny ...no need for a coat today. And to think the Winter Olympics start this week not far from here!

Well, to the kids dismay, it only took the birds half an hour to remove and chew up most of the timothy hay....however, it took ME an hour to clean up all the timothy hay that the kids left strewn through three rooms of the house!!!!!!!!! Back to the drawing board!

Huh? What is an ABN? By business I meant making enough money to support the care...not necessarily profit.

That's amazing!!!! I don't think I'd be built for that...I can't even part with any of my own chicks!

The kids are stuffing empty cardboard rolls with timothy hay to make foraging toys for the budgies! Keeps them busy and hopefully the birds will enjoy them.

Good heavens! I wonder how! He must have had the budgie that laid the golden egg!

I am constantly searching for my keys...once I decided to buy one of those little key-finder devices that makes a sound when you clap so you can follow the sounds and find your keys.....but I lost the key finder before I ever got to put it on my key ring....I'm hopeless!

Well, I don't think budgie showing is on the same scale here as it is in Australia but I suppose I'm most looking forward to being with others with similar interests and a love for our feathered friends

My cockatiels used to line their nest with feathers and while my own budgies haven't done this, I've seen nest boxes such as you describe...no worries...she's just making it soft and cushy for her babies.

Wow...one would think "Dave" would be hard to screw up! But then again, I worked with a doctor and for over three years she called me Wendy...my name is Mandy...and I wore a nametag everyday ....go figure

Thanks Dave....His injuries are about a week old but I did watch him very carefully and kept him quiet and warm. It doesn't seem tender to touch and the wound she inflicted to his cheek is healing with no signs of infection, thank goodness. I just know nothing about the regenerative properties of beaks. I'm at a loss for why she turned on him like that but it wasn't pretty.

I'm so excited as I just found out that there are a couple of bird clubs on the island I live on! They aren't specifically for budgies but appear to have many budgie lovers amongst their membership. I'm going to join one on Monday! What have you found to be the best thing about belonging to a bird club?