Jabberwocky92

Thank you so much for those tips, I have to say I kissed Dalek a lot. I just feel so bad about causing something to die from not knowing the signs to show illness. I know that with Flipper I will be a lot more vigilant with how he is feeling, and openly question my vet about it. I will also look at getting help from breeders who live close to me, if something really bad is happening. Thank you for telling me the real reason behind Dalek's illness.

I have looked back as well and I do agree with you. As much as it kills me inside to know that I made him suffer and it does make me feel that I don't deserve another budgie. I made a mistake and I didn't have to proper care available and i only just found about the aviary vet a few hours away the day before he passed. Sadly the vet only worked on one day of the week and was full booked out. I feel horrible about this and like the worst budgie owner ever.

We suspected it for a long time due to his behaviour, and when we went to the vet he said it was very likely. It would explain everything and then explain the sezuires that came later in his life. It is very hard to tell if a budgie has brain damage, as you can't really do a CT scan on the poor thing, so it is mostly guess work. But we were all 90% sure he had some type of brain damage.

Hi guys, i'm wondering if I could get some feedback about this little piece I wrote about my time with Dalek? I would like to get it to a point where I could put it in the local newspaper, to get people aware that special needs animals can be loved and have a good life. A special needs budgie. My time looking after a budgie with brain damage. Dalek was born early December of 2010, the first chick that we had hatched out in our new adventure in to the wonderful world of budgies. As soon as Dalek was born, we knew that something was wrong with him, he wouldn't chirp that much, he liked to huddle with his mum or on my mother's hands. Unlike his siblings who were all bounding around the nest and chirping loudly and proudly. He developed (body wise) normally, but he still stayed the same mentally, liked to be snuggled and held and was not an active bird. I know that some breeders would have put him down, and I did think about doing it (to put him out of his misery). But he wasn't in misery, he wasn't in pain and he wasn't getting any worse, he just stayed the same. Unlike most budgies, he didn't make much noise, but after a month or so he learnt to communicate with his bell. If he wanted my attention, he would ring his little bell until I came in and gave him cuddles and head scratches. I've had a lot of my friends ask me if keeping him was the right thing to do, and even now I look back and think that I would do it all over again if we got another special needs budgie. The hardest thing to come to terms with is that he had a death sentence, he wouldn't make it to a year old. And trying to look past that, to give the bird as much love and the best life you can, is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. When I first found out, I was heart broken and also very, very torn. A budgie's natural thing is to hide its pain and weakness, so how would I know that I was giving him a good life? I think that this is what makes most people weary of special need animals, they can't tell if the animal is okay or just hiding the pain. I spent the rest of the day watching Dalek, and he spent the rest of the day watching me (in between having his head shoved in the food dish, he never really did get table manners) I always look back, even now, three months after his death, to see if I could have done anything more for him. But I look back at the photos of him, and all I see is a very happy bird, until he started to go down hill. The more you tried to ignore it and keep living life as if he was healthy, the harder it got. I think that if you are going to get a special needs animal, or keep a special needs bird, you need to accept that it has a short life span. That's why some people euthanise the birds, because they know what was in store. I didn't realise what was in store for Dalek, I didn't realise how fast he would go down hill and how useless I would feel watching him slowly fade away. His daily food intake was normal. His poo was normal. Even up until his last day, he was still eating (He passed away while eating). It was just brain damage. I sit and think each day, with the knowledge that I have now, would I have taken on a special needs budgie? Or would I have euthanised him, knowing what was going to happen to him. Religion does have a part in the choice to keep him, I believe. I was raised a Catholic and raised to believe that every life is sacred and has a place on this world, no matter how short that place is. But in that saying, does that life still want to be here, even through the pain and suffering hits them? Humans can sometimes tell us, but animals can't. And that is where we, as the owners/breeders come in to it. We have to make that choice for them and I honestly believe that the choice is the most scary choice of all. Some breeders can euthanise animals with what seems like no second choice, but that's not true. They do it because there is a reason and sometimes that reason is to huge to handle. Dalek was a huge responsibility, I had to have him with me almost constantly when I was home, snuggled under my jacket on my collar bone. I had to wash his vent area and his head and also mush baby food with his seed so it was easier for him to eat on the really bad days. In the end, he spent his last few days constantly on me, only going in to his cage when I went to sleep or had to go down the street or outside. When his time came I was faced with the same decision as before, euthanise or let him live his life out at home. I chose letting him live his life out at home, it prolonged his death by two days, and yes, it was probably selfish of me to do so. But I couldn't face seeing him put down, I would much rather have him at home surrounded by his favourite bells and his favourite seed dish, then in a strange place being held by a stranger. Friends ask me if I had a million dollars, would I have done anything else to keep him alive? And I say no, not because I didn't love him enough to do that, but because I loved him to much to do that. It was his time to go and I don't think if I had taken him to a bird hospital would he have survived. Dalek died on a Tuesday morning at his favourite food dish, he had made a mess like he usually did and died of a stroke. He went without pain and surrounded by his favourite bells. I wouldn't recommend having a special needs budgie unless you are ready to accept that they have a short life span. And no matter how much you pray that they fight the odds and live, most times they do not. My first budgie was a special needs budgie, I went in with only knowledge of brain damage of children (as my brother has mild brain damage due to CP ) and I came out with a whole new understanding of another side of pets. A side that is hardly ever shown or ever talked about, but needs to come out of the dark and be spoken about.

Greywings are very cute.....but this one is my favourite out of the three ( well 2 GW's and a dilute ) Oh what a little beauty, Kaz! That's really sad about not having a test, I've been reading up on feather dusters and it seems that people are divided right down the middle about them. If you do keep them alive, do they feel pain or can they have a good life?

Yes she is..........I think 3 out of 9 ? were feather dusters. If her partner carries the FD gene I am sure we would see some in this nest. Hopefully he doesnt carry the FD gene. From what I gather she is NOT a first time mother and has produced no feather dusters yet. Is there a test you can do for the FD gene or is it just trial and error?

If that is true, is there a point to the cere being the same colour as a full grown male before turning in to the colour of a hen? Or is it just how budgies are?

And just a hint for your cage, which I find works wonders. Put some newspaper down in the bottom tray, so that you just have to chuck it out instead of having to clean all the poop off the plastic floor. When you put news papers down it means they can walk around the bottom of their cage, instead of having to grab on to the plastic bars. Edit: Sorry, my computer screen was out of whack and it looked green.

Looks like the green one is a boy and the other is a little girl from that angle. The best way for us to tell if you get us a photo with them facing the camera so we can see the cere, and we'll be able to tell you then. But from that angle, I would say that the green one is a boy, because it is blue and the other looks more female due to it being a little more pink with white on it.

I think that single mum needs a reward once the kids leave, maybe a nice holiday to relax. It really is amazing how some birds can just have the strength to do that, and those chicks look lovely. I would snap this one up in a second, just a beautiful colour and pattern, and the photo is a lovely one.

Here he is guys, my beautiful little boy, Flip. Please excuse the quality, my camera is dying and it's quality has just dropped badly. This afternoon was just filled with leaps and bounds towards him settling down. Not only did he happily chatter away, but he felt safe enough around me to groom and feed, but the best thing was he ruffled his feathers and before he settled down to sleep, he started to beak grind. I nearly jumped off my bed in joy at how relaxed he is. He is sulky due to moulting, and his head is annoying him, but I am going to use some warm water to gently wash his head tomorrow to see if that will help him. His personality shines through between sulking sessions due to the moult. He is a really cheeky boy who is already looking for a way to get rid of the pegs so that he can come out and explore my room. I will start getting him to step up on my finger and used to that next week when the boys go back to school and the house is more quiet then it is now.

My goodness he is a chatter box! The house is quiet because mum and dad took the noisest brother out shopping with them lol. And all of a sudden after I was whistling a tune, Flip starts to whistle and chirp back at me. I nearly fell off the bed in shock at it, because he hadn't made a noise since he arrived. But now he's happily exploring the cage and chirping away. He's also discovered the bells, but freaked out when they jingled after he pressed them with his forehead. He's started to groom himself, which I heard was a step forward in him relaxing in the environment? He's still a little spooked by me talking to him, but he loves it when I whistle.

Sorry for the picture quality, my camera is on the way out and it's really hard to get good photos. Sadly it has washed out Padfoot's face, because it is a beautiful yellow colour. Hopefully Santa will bring me a new camera this year for Christmas. These are three birds that live in my parents aviary outside, I own two of them (which I hope to breed next year) and the other hen is my fathers pride and joy. Ophelia: 1 year old Golden Faced Hen This is the detail on her back I got Ophelia and another bird at the bird auction for only $24, he was selling Ophelia because he thought she was extremely ugly. I think she is one of the most beautiful hens I have seen. Padfoot 2 year old Yellow-faced cock. As you can see, his yellow face has been washed out in this photo. The detail on his wings and back, including his patch. Birdie: 3 year old yellow-faced grey hen The detail on her back and wings. And there you go, they are three of my favourite birds in my parent's aviary. There are other birds that I like, but these are the three most striking ones to look at. I hope to breed Ophelia and Padfoot next year, after I build myself a breeding cage.

Nope, his poops are fine, and he seems to be settling down now, his breathing has started to go back to normal, but he still tail bobs when he gets a little stressed. He slept on the water dish last night, but he's on the perch now, so that's a good sign. He's also eaten some seed and the millet. I'm gonna give him a little bit of corn on the cob for him to have as a treat. The boys have been sent away from him, and the door is closed with the radio on softly for him to settle down even more. And he is a lovely little bird Splat, just a little sweetie. We only had one night fright last night and at one am in the morning he figured out how to open the doors on his cage. He was very proud of his new little trick till I stuck pegs on them so he couldn't get out. But I am completly in love with him

I'll get some pics in the coming weeks once he's calmed down and settled in to a routine, We've just had our first night fright, but he seems to be settled down now. Just wondering if tail bobbing can be a sign of stress as well as illness? As he seems to be bobbing his tail when he breathes a little, and i'm slightly worried about it.

Today I got my new beautiful little boy from one of the members here, Splat. He is the most beautiful boy I have seen since Dalek passed and my life now feels complete with him in it. He already loves belly rubs and little head scratches, and he has started to settle down really well in to the house and I can't wait to see his personality shine out even more as the days pass. He now has a new name, as we were just calling him Buddy when he first showed up, but his name is now Flipper or Flip for short. I want to say thank you to Splat for bringing him here and taking the time to see the other birds in the aviary we have. My dad was really happy to find out what the hen was (the yellow faced gray one) as we had been having a lot of conversations about what type she was. I am also proud to know that I own a Golden Face and I hope to breed her to my Yellow face cock that has been feeding her for a few days now next year when she is old enough to breed. I'm really looking forward to see what that pairing will bring. I am hoping to give Flipper the best life that I can give him and to have him in my life for a long time and I'm excited to see how a budgie grows when it isn't a special needs budgie and see what is different. I also hope to one day be able to write something about how to look after a budgie with a short life span and special needs, based on my time with Dalek. Thank you again, Splat. He really is perfect for our family.

Wow... Cute baby pictures and then BAM! (At first I thought the white one was squishing the hen) Lol! Those babies are really beautiful! You must be so happy with this season, and I hope they bring you some good awards.

I went in to a pet shop half an hour away from where I lived the other week, because there birds are normally in fantastic condition and really well cared for. Sadly this week was not the best. They had hand tamed cockatiels in a cage, there were blood splattered all over their chests from where they had pulled out their feathers in complete stress and they were away from human contact, just left in a cage until someone came and brought them. The woman put it down to 'moulting' but anyone who knew anything about birds could see that they were stressed and pulling out their feathers. They were huddled on the perch and not responsive to anything, just pulling feathers out and squawking. This really broke my heart as I didn't think that anyone would treat a bird this way, even more when it is used to human contact. The other pet shops around the town all keep their hand tamed birds out where they can interact with humans and get lots of head scratches. The only time I had seen a hand tamed bird in a cage, is a quaker parrot because he had hit puberty and wanted to nibble on everything and anything. To see birds treated like this just made me sick. Isn't there laws for pet shops to obey in order for hand tamed birds to get the treatment they deserve? I feel sorry for the breeders who take a lot of time to hand tame the birds, just to end up stuck in a pet shop with no human contact. Has anyone else seen anything like this? Or is it only this one pet shop? I hope that it was only this pet shop, as I couldn't imagine any other birds having to go through that.

It took me so long to get my budgie to eat anything other then seeds that I nearly gave up through sheer frustration. But I found that if I was nibbling on a carrot and he was on my shoulder, he would climb down and eat it. I think it's because being part of his 'flock' he thought that if I could eat it, then so should he. Sadly this lead in to him thinking that my bowl of corn flakes were now his to share as well. Picking budgie feathers out of your corn flakes is not the easiest thing to do in the morning (and you learn to eat corn flakes dry lol) Keep it up, and I really recommend eating the veggies where the birds can see you, and even maybe letting them sit on your shoulder while you eat it. It really worked a treat for me.

Hi guys, I took this photo ages ago, and I really do love it so I thought that I would share it with you all. This guys is my beautiful three year old boy, Raptor. He is extremely spoilt and lives in the flight aviary normally, but this photo was taken after he had to spend a month inside being treated for a little bit of scaly face and a cold. (He bonded with Hamlet and now both of them are happily in the aviary). It was a nice warm day so I decided to take him and Hamlet outside in their travel cage and give them a little spray down with a spray bottle. Hamlet enjoyed it alot because he was moulting and it helped with the itchy ness, and Raptor would screech loudly every time that I stopped spraying him with the water. This photo was taken about two minutes after the bottle ran out of water and he had finally given up screeching and just gave me this expression. (He does have a little bit of a brown area above his nose from the cold, but that has gone away now since he's recovered.)

I had this problem with my budgie Dalek when he hit this stage, he even bit my little brother a couple of times for no reason. I worked out that his 'punishement' was stepping up on my fingers for about five times, one finger over the other, it annoyed him and he soon learnt to stop the behaviour. The other thing that worked for me was putting him down on my bed and not letting him back up on myself until he calmed down, then he would nuzzel my sock and make his way back up to my chest and curl up and sleep. I hope he comes out of this stage soon, as it is a very annoying stage when they turn from an angel in to a little devil, but when they come out of it, they go back to being their normal beautiful selves. :3

Thank you all for your kind words. I still have budgies in my room, I have actually ended up with four in my room, none of them are tame but they happily live in the cage and I am happy to watch them for the moment. I had Hamlet who I brought as a friend for Dalek, and then Raptor came in from the flight aviary suffering from mites and a bad cold, so he got all fixed up, but when I tried to take him back, both he and Hamlet started to screech in distress and didn't settle down until I put Raptors cage back down. So I put him in with Hamlet and they really are best of friends. My father and I then brought two young females, but when I got them home I realised how skinny they were (someone wasn't looking after them properly grrr!), so in to the prurple cage they went (the purple cage was fantastic because they could still excersise but not to the point that they would keep losing weight). After a good two weeks of feeding them up on a high fat diet, they are in perfect weight range. But when we tried to take them, both Hamlet and Raptor went crazy once more wanting their girls back. So now the two girls have ended up in the cage (Thank gosh I brought a huge cage!). All four of them are living happily in their cage and are extremely spoilt. They get fresh lettuce, brocoli and corn each week, though I've cut the lettuce out for a while because they've had enough of that. Raptor and Hamlet love their corn and brocoli, the girls are still a little wary of it. Im' gonna start to introduce them to some carrots soon. But all four are extremely healthy and spoilt and loving their new home. From left to right: Houdini, Ophelia, Raptor and Hamlet.

okay, i've had a few messages so I am posting this here because this is the board I used most. As of last month Dalek had started to get even sicker, we knew that he was sick since he was born due to his little quirks and such. He started to have fits a few weeks before he passed and I rushed him to my normal vet begging for help. Sadly where I live, the nearest avian vet is nearly two hours away and only works on a Monday. Dalek got sick over the Queens birthday holiday, which meant the vet wasn't in. I rang everyone I could think of including a bird hospital down in Melbourne, which was nearly four hours away from us, trying to beg someone to help me. I managed to take him back to my vets and get someone who knew a little about budgies (her family breeds them) to come in and look at him. She suspected (with out doing the tests) that he had brain damage and also maybe some liver disfunction. We gave him some medicine to help get rid of his constapation, but there was nothing we could do for the brain damage. The fits were getting worse and I had to make the worst choice that I will ever have to make in my life. I nearly had him put down, but the fits were not causing him any pain or discomfort, the vet saw him have a mini one and then saw how he was okay after it. I made the choice to take him home and love him so much for his finale few weeks, as I couldn't bring myself to put him down when he wasn't in any pain and was still his happy self. I brought him home back to Hamlet and a week later I woke up to find that he had passed sometime in the morning. Should I not have budgies because the avian vet lives so far away? I don't know, i'm still having that argument with myself at the moment. Was there something more I could have done? No, there really wasn't anything I could have done due to the fact that the avian vet works one day a week and is so far away, I did the best I could. I know a lot of you pointed out that he looked sick, and I do appreciate your concern for someone elses bird. My family and I always knew that he was sick, I just lived in hope that he would get better as he grew up, but I always knew that he would slowly get worse and worse. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, and I fear that some may have thought I was a bad owner, but I didn't want to believe it myself. Looking after a budgie that you know is only going to have a short life is hard, and I did my utter best to give him the best life he could have and the best of everything that a student can buy her little friend. I miss him every day and I wish that things could have been different and that by some miracle he could have been saved, but I learnt the hardest lesson anyone can learn. It doesn't matter what you do, if it's their time to go, they will go. I'm just glad that he went peacefully and with out pain. One of the last photos of Dalek I ever took, it was taken the day that we were told that there was nothing anyone could do to save him.

Two new photos I took of Dalek the other week, still trying to work out my camera functions with the close up, and this is what I got from those messing around xD! I don't know why his stomach looks weird in the second photo, cause normall he doesn't have that. Maybe he was holding his breath while the photo was taken xDD! He's a weird guy like that.

Hey guys, Dalek has been sleeping a lot lately. He hasn't lost weight as i've felt his bone and it's fine, he's eating fine, drinking fine and also bounds around when he's out of his cage. But he has just been sleeping a lot, even when he's on me he'll curl up under my jacket and sleep or sleep on my shoulder. I'm wondering if this is a start of something worse or if he's just cold or even lazy. I am doing my best to keep him warm, lots of time in the sun, heater on, covering up three sides of his cage to keep him warm. I'm wondering if there is anything else I could do to help him, as I am starting to get really worried.