Bird Junky

Hi What's the seed your giving them??? Carrot & apple is not enough, they need more variety of veg & fruit. don't know about the branches.....B.J. .

Hi Did the vets asked about his diet. Give us the details. What goes in can affect what comes out.....B.J.

Hello, Before introducing a new bird, quarantine it or them, in their own cage, in a separate room. Adding birds into a cocks cage is usually not a big problem but adding a new bird of either sex into a cage with a resident hen or hens, is something not to be taken lightly. Hens are usually very territorial & have been known to kill or injure new birds of either sex introduced into their cage space. The way round this problem is to place both cages close together for a few days after the quarantine period & let them fly out together. If they get on you can put them in the one cage, but prepare for the fact that they may never get on together in the same cage ... Although the above was written with pet birds in mind it still has applications for the breeder to consider. Any eggs your hen lays now can be considered infertile, best start all over again with new cock......B.J.

Hi If you can see blue that doesn't show on photo... Then he's a yellow face type two.....B.J.

B.J's. BITERS An easy step by step guide. When taming more than one bird, allow the slowest bird to set the pace. Provide in the cage the basic seed mix & water, all other foods, ie, fruit, veg, hard boiled egg, nuts, biscuit etc, are to be used as treat foods in the taming process. Feed your birds the treat foods by using tweezers or chopsticks to save your fingers. Slowly as the bird gets used to this, move your fingers nearer to the treat at each feed. Any attempt at bitting get the treat food removed fo 10 seconds. Change the type of treat food often so your bird gets a good mix. The smaller the treat portions, the more often the visits. Showing your birds that your visits mean nice things to eat. When finally, they're happy to eat from your fingers, without any sign of aggression. Your ready for the next step. Feeding by hand inside the cage. Use a hanky fixed to the bar above the door with clothes pegs to act as a safety curtain to prevent your birds escaping via the open door. Offer a favourite treat by holding a small piece between your finger & thumb so they can reach it. If they're in anyway disturbed or attempts to bite. Remove your hand, allow them to calm down & try again. After a day or two of hand feeding. Your birds are ready for step-up.. For their own safety birds should be confined to their cages until step-up has been mastered. Chasing & catching a bird can undermine any bond built up between you & your birds....B.J.

Hi A short term upset isn't anything to worry about.. Seed & Celery, or Seed without Celery is not a healthy diet for any growing bird...See nutrition posts .....B.J.

Hi If you can gently pull & hold the legs in there right position. You can hold them in place with a small elastic band or even a strip of sticky tape. This has been known to effect a cure but if it doesn't you may have to euthanise the chick...B.J.

Hi Cut-out the probiotics & put them back on a normal diet. (See nutrition posts on site.) Such sudden changes in a young birds diet are bound to cause upset stomach.....B.J.

Hi Sounds like, not all your birds are in breeding condition. How old are they.. Give details of diet.....B.J..

Hello Nice pictures, still don't know the answer. There are lists of poisonous plants on the www If in doubt leave it out. Budgies will destroy house plants.... Or die trying... B.J.

Hi The person to answer your questions is your vet. You can't beat hands on when making a diagnosis. Her beak will need a trim as will her claws if she's not as active as she was. Feather loss could be a sign of being picked on by other hens.....B.J.

Hi I was about to reply to your post nut after reading it through. I think your idea of getting him re-homed is better. The only suggestion I can make is for you to personally vet all who answer your advert for a loving home....B.J.

Hi The green cock must be split blue. It would need pairing to a blue or a green split blue to produce any blue chicks. I understood it has been illegal to take budgies from the wild for many. many years. (I forget when), certainly far longer than your friend has been breeding. If they're not illegal, they are pet shop birds bought from a pet shop or breeder.......B.J.

Hi It's more of a a guesstimate.. Not all matings lead to conception......B.J..

Hi You don't have to worry. He will naturally feel strange at first, as any new bird would introduced into a strange aviary flock. In a few days he will settle down & make a few new friends. He's still a budgie with all the natural instincts of a flock bird.....B.J.

Hi I'm not a believer in upsetting birds to prevent laying. If you can addle the eggs then that's your best option....B.J.

Hi Got to agree with that hilly...If you do get any unwanted eggs just dispose of, or leave them in the cage.If you can't bring yourself to do that.Then buy a nest box & don't worry. She'll make a good mother or a first time pigs ear of it. Either way you can't do much about it . .Yes separating them would be cruel now...B.J.

Hi Grace is a little on the young side. I would wait until next summer to start breeding...That will give you ample time to go to the forums & read all the info on breeding & any ask questions..B.J.

Hi Yes it's a hen. Then again I had a funny uncle....but that's another story.....B.J.

Hi. Some years ago I devised an agility course for birds. Based on the canine agility obstacles. Scale the size up or down to suit the size of your bird. (1) The Weave, a zig zag between a row of dowels. (2) The Tunnel, the bird has to run through a plastic tube. (3) The Balance Board, a narrow bridge, walk up, along, & down. (4) The Teeter Totter, a see saw, that tips as the it's walked over. (5) The Tightrope a rope fixed to two pegs about two inches high. (6) A run to a finish line. For his prize, a treat... The equipment was home made using standard wood sizes glued together all of which is available at any DIY store. I would glue each piece of equipment to a base of chipboard to prevent it tipping over..... If anyone wants to know how to teach a bird run this agility course. Just ask me....B.J.

Hi The idea is not to stop the feeding of any particular type of fruit & veg. Rather the old idea of giving of a mix of fruits & veggies on the same day, This is not giving the birds all the goodies they need because of this cancelling effect of other fruit/veg like Parsley forinstance. Fed on one or two days a week will only affect the Calcium intake on those days. Your bird doesn't need Cal every day so it wont come to any harm. As it will get the Cal on the days that parsley isn't fed. This goes for all the other fruits & veggies. Give a different type of fruit /veg every day if possible. Your birds body will extract just what it needs from each fruit & veg....B.J.

Hi Personally I think birds don't need anything like the amount of vitamins & minerals that the animal/bird feed suppliers have tried hard to convince over the passed few years, us we need to keep our birds healthy. Birds on the whole are not living, laying or thriving any better than they did before suppliers added all these additives to their sales stock to make-up for the shortfall in seed sales. Due to the downturn in the popularity in bird keeping.....B.J.

Hi From your description of the situation I think you should remove the cock & let the hen feed any babies that hatch, with a little help from you if she can't cope.....B.J.

Hello. & welcome. ....B.J.

NEW THINKING ON FRUIT & VEG, Short Edited Version In the latest experiments about the feeding of the usual fruit & veg mixes. Having found that some fruits/veggies, contain enzymes that interfere with the uptake of nutrients from other sources, inc, other f/v. Spinach & Parsley etc. Have already been found to contain both oxalic & phytic acid which blocks the absorption of, calcium, zinc & iron. Putting a strain on the kidneys, causing the blood to lose its clotting ability. Green veg also contains up to 90% water. Fed in large amounts can lead to excess urine in their droppings. Additives are also known to inhibit the intake of natural nutrients in some fruits & veggies. Additives in water become ineffective in a few hours. The suggested feeding is of only one type of a fruit or veg per day. A birds body was designed by evolution to extract all the nutrients it needs from the food it eats but not necessarily all on the same day. . Since time of writing, (earlier this year on another site) I am now informed that during these tests. It was found that some fruits can have adverse effects on some prescription drugs. So the study of mixing fruit/veg, has been sidelined in favour of the more important prescription drug study....This was also reported in the "Daily Mirror", Newspaper recently.....B.J.