ima.snowbird

I'd be concerned that it's nasal discharge, and a sign of infection. I just finished a round of antibiotics with Twitter. At his follow up vet check she said he was doing really good. He was tested for Chlamydiosis, results negative. She forgot to request the test for French Moult, but the lab still has the swabs, and should have the results tomorrow. Good luck with your little one. I hope it's nothing serious.

Congratulations, Rashu. What an amazing miracle to see something born into the world, and transform from the ugly little baby to a beautiful adult. I can't wait!

I'm reassured to learn they're only having sex for fun! HAHAHA. As I said in another post, she's started chewing on the paper on the bottom of the cage now too. I hope they're just having fun, but I guess only time will tell. If I've read correctly the eggs are usually laid 5 to 10 days after mating. Is that correct? Diana

Two days ago, Gracie and George were feeding each other. Yesterday, they were mating. Now she's chewing the paper on the bottom of the cage. She seems determined to have these babies. I started covering the cage last night, trying to cut down on their daylight hours. It's a big cage, and really hard to do, but I'm going to try. Is there anything else I can do to derail this potential train wreck? If her age isn't bad enough, the vet did a throat culture on Twitter the day before yesterday, and I submitted an environmental swab to check, I think, for French Moult. I really don't want babies brought into this right now. If I can't stop her from laying eggs (there is no nest box, but from what I understand, that doesn't always stop them) I've considered addling the eggs, so at least she won't raise a clutch of potentially sick babies. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Diana

TY BJ. This is an 'unplanned pregnancy.' The question is, can I stop it at this point? I started covering the cage last night again. It's a 6' cage, and taller than I am when sitting on the table it's on. So that's no small task. But I will shorten their days drastically, even if I have to sit here in the dark! I have not provided a nest box, but if eggs are inevitable at this point, I will. I was considering addling any eggs that might be laid and just letting her sit, if that would cause her to stop laying, and give her time to mature before trying to raise a clutch. I'm guessing it's too late to separate them? Is there anything else I can do to dissuade them at this point? Diana

Ahem... Last night they were feeding each other. Today... uh, well, they weren't eating! They waited until my girlfriend to stop by to meet them, and they decided to educate HER on the bird husbandry. George is probably a year or more. We're thinking that Gracie is closer to 7 or 8 months now, and while the body is ready for babies the mind probably is not! Are they getting too much light? (They're in a 6' long flight cage, and it's hard to cover. All I have is a sheet, and it doesn't darken the cage... so I haven't been bothering.) Do I need to separate Gracie? Or should I just let nature take it's course? I'm taking an 'environmental swap' back to the vet today, we're testing, I think, for the virus that causes French Moult... I really wasn't thinking baby birds in the near future. Which begs another question, if this is inevitable at this point, how long do I have to prepare? I don't have a next box yet... do I need to get it ordered fast? Thanks, Diana

Oh I'm so very sorry to read about Finnie. That must have been so hard. I'm glad you have her legacy still with you.

Ugh. The more I learn, the more I know I don't know. I do know, from personal experience that oxalic acid in spinach and other dark green, leafy vegetables does bind with calcium, not only depriving the body of the calcium, but forming crystals that must be passed from the body, accompanied by great pain. My vet says birds don't have this problem, but maybe they just pass the crystals without pain? I'm still trying to shift mine from the Romaine lettuce that I've come to learn still doesn't have the nutrition that other veggies do, to Harrison pellets, spinach, parsley, and broccoli. And they still look at me like I'm trying to poison them.

Isn't "4 or 5 years" at the upper limits of breeding age?

BJ, What rules did her daughter break?

That would be great info to add to the FAQ for breeding... (the part about 10% of their body weight.) I'm guessing 40gms was a number you pulled from the air? Please tell me that chicks don't weight that much. Poor little Twitter was only 27 gms when we went to the vet last week. Now I have to get my scale out! Diana

I LOVE it when things work out so well. Congratulations! Diana

CTRL V will paste anything that's in your clipboard including the link to the IMG file. I've just talked with my avian vet about French Molt. We're going to be testing one of my birds for it. Her information says they shed the virus for 6 - 12 months, but from what I understand, it's rare for older birds to show signs. We're doing an 'environmental swab' to test for Polyoma virus (the one that causes French molt), one other that also effects plumage, and Chlamdyiosis psittaci, which can be passed to humans as Parrot Fever. AAV recommends testing every new bird. I'm lucky, I guess. I get to test all 7 of mine at 1 time. :-\ I hope whatever the problem your birds are experiencing that it's easily solved. Diana

There's an excellent article in the FAQ's, complete with pictures. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/index.php?action=artikel&cat=4&id=306&artlang=en Hope that helps. Good luck!

I use new paper on the bottom of my cage. They don't seem to have a problem with footing, and I love the sound of their little feet as they run around scavenging, which they're doing right now. Newspaper is cheap, and easy to just change out. Mine don't chew it, at least not yet. But I'm not terribly concerned, because our local paper switched over to non-toxic inks a few years back.

Cute name and so appropriate! Does she enjoy the budgies? I think it's great for kids to be exposed to animals, and to learn early on to love and respect them.

"4 are Rec Pieds to DEC and the other 2 are DEC to split recs. The DEC to Split get better quality DEC but the DEC to RECs give higher numbers." DEC and REC? I know I'll go 'Duh' when you tell me, but can't think what that stands for at the moment. I started reading this thread about your new aviary the other night, and got through to where you were building the flights. I was GREEN with envy. Then I got the news that my breeding might be over and decided I didn't need something like that. Today I found out that it's probably just on hold for 6 - 12 months. (Read my thread on Twitter for why that is.) So, now I'm back drooling over your aviary. For several years I've wanted to create a 'folly.' I saw it on the Home and Garden channel once. It was a shed that was modified to look almost like a kids play house, with a small deck, pretty windows. It was going to be a place for my crafts, but I've given them up. Now I would love to have something like that for my birds. Maybe if my boyfriend and I someday get married and we move to Tennessee, I'll realize my dream.

I've just learned that The Association of Avian Veterinarians recommends testing of any new birds that you add to your aviary. I don't know (yet) if my birds are infected, but the talk with the avian vet sure woke me up. Chlamydia psittaci can be passed to humans as Parrot Fever. I'm curious how many others test?

The vet called this afternoon. The lab says we can test for all 3 viruses that she's concerned about, using an envrionmental swab. I'm to let the cage go for a few days and then swab the corners for feather dust. They also recommended an oral swab for Twitter. She reassured me that my breeding is not on hold forever, but for 6 months to a year, until the virus has run it's course in the birds that I have. She also said that my canary should be fine, that these viruses don't usually effect them. My guess is, that we'll do another test in 6 months - a year when I feel my birds are ready to breed and if they then test negative, I can go ahead. She has to order the swabs to use for the test, then they'll call, I'll take Twitter back in for the oral swab, and pick up the swabs. I guess it was bothering me more than I realized. I'm re-energized - bordering on manic this afternoon! HAHAHA. Diana

As you may have read, I took Twitter to an avian vet yesterday. I really like her. She was good with him, very gentle, and confident handling him. She wasn't ashamed to say she hadn't seen any French Molt in awhile, and wanted to consult her reference. She's fairly sure that's what he has. And I've learned that it is caused by a virus. One that they shed for the first 6 months or more that they're infected. So... I guess I won't be breeding budgies anytime soon. Budgies are one bird that can carry the virus without showing any sign. If they get it in the nest, many die, but those that do survive can go on to live a 'normal' life. Hopefully, the rest of my flock won't lose feathers because of it. But I don't want to risk babies with it. We're also treating Twitter for a respiratory infection. She wants to test, there are 3 different viruses that he could be carrying: Polymona Virus that causes French Molt, another virus that effects plumage, and causes death (I actually think we can rule that test out - either he's going to die or live, and I can't afford to treat the others if he's infected them) and Chlamydiosis. We're hoping we can do an environmental test to get the entire flock. I should hear back today, she was going to call the lab. I'm really good at 'denial.' It took a few hours for it to sink in that I would be unwise to breed budgies. At first I was pretty devastated, but I have a happy, seemingly healthy flock, I'm enjoying the chatter, and their antics. If I can't breed, well, I'll just get over it. On a much lighter note, last night I had 4 birds competing to eat millet from my hand! Tweet has been doing so, and Gracie has been showing interest, but last night there were so many that I was standing with one hand in the door on one end of the cage, and the other in the door on the other end, a piece of millet in each hand, and 2 budgies sharing each. WHAT FUN! When storm clouds gather, you have to look for the sunshine where you can find it. That was my ray of sunshine last night. Diana

I'm still trying to get my head around everything I learned at the vet's office yesterday, and I'll post more on that later. But I wanted to share what she said about diet. First I want to apologize to BJ, even Romaine, though it has more nutrition than iceburg lettuce, is not that great for them. The vet sells Harrisons pellets, and follows their recommendations. Per their website: "Offer certified organic vegetables and fruits in small quantities; select dark yellow meaty or dark green leafy items such as sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, winter squash, broccoli, parsley, spinach, mango or papaya." I bought the pellets. I'd been hoping to find either Harrisons or Roudybush, so that was good. No color added! I wonder if my boyfriends wild birds will appreciate the brightly colored stuff I bought before? I've already seen 4 of the 6 budgies scarfing them down, and my canary has been checking out the treat cup that I put in his cage. The 2 pieds are the ones I have not seen eat them, and they're from different breeders, so maybe the others had been exposed to pellets before and are happy to see them again? I will probably put the pieds in a separate cage for awhile so I can monitor. Twitter, one of the pieds, can't afford to lose any weight. I also bought a mix for Birdy Bread. They better like it! I bought Sunshine Factor to make it with as recommended. Sunshine Factor looks like a nice supplement that I can mix with seed or pellets, too. $10 for the bread mix and $16.48 for the Sunshine Factor. The bread mix makes 1 batch, can be frozen and served in small quantities, and the Sunshine Factor will make many batches, and can be used as a diet supplement. By The Way, I don't plant to follow the 90% pellet, 10% fresh, with seed as treats that Harrisons recommends. I'll continue with seeds and fresh food - pretty much what they want as long as they don't start getting fat on me! I guess I'll find out if my oven works today. I'll bake them some bread and a sweet potato. As long as I have it on, I might even throw in some potatoes for myself! (I rarely cook for myself!)

Thanks, Daz, It sounds good, I'll check it out. Was it written with blondes in mind? I swear, sometimes I feel so dense! Diana

Twitter and Tweet were supposedly hand raised. If that's so, they lost the benefit by being in the pet store and not handled as often. Twitter tamed quite quickly, but I credit that more to his age than any previous handling. Tweet is only now taking millet from my hand, and then only if extended from my fingers. Sometimes he will come right up to my finger to take some, but that's not the norm. I love Tweet and Twitter to death, as well as the other 2 that I bought from that store, but I have to admit, they really saw me coming. I've learned so much since then, and probably because of them... Twitter goes to the vet today for, I hope, a definitive answer on his feather and leg condition. He's a happy, well adjusted little boy for the most part, but I can tell, he wants to be strong and play with the others. They're just too intimidating for him yet. This is all one more reason why I want to go into competition with the pet stores and offer happy, tame budgies. You just don't know which pet stores you can trust, and sadly, most you can't. Diana

Very interesting point BJ. Wouldn't giving them the salad and letting them pick what they want/need from it better simulate nature where they have access to a variety of foods? I do see the concern that they'll only eat the 'candy,' (like millet, oats, etc.) so that should be limited. Good discussion! Diana

Did it take long to teach them to eat corn on the cob? I'm planning to pick some up Wednesday, but I thought I'd have to cut it from the cob. The store has them packaged 5 ears to a pack (days of husking your own, any quantity went with the summer weather, I guess). I was going to cut all of it off the ears, par-boil and freeze. I've read that they actually love the frozen kernels. Diana