Jump to content

Albiniragu

Site Members
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Contact Methods

  • Skype
    whisperofthebrumbies

Previous Fields

  • Referral
    Google
  • Country
    Australia
  • City/Town
    Warrnambool

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • Interests
    Aviculture, agriculture, horses, animals in general, country music, playing guitar, singing, song-writing, animal training.
  • Location
    Victoria
  • Breeder
    No
  • Show Breeder
    No
  • My Club
    N/A
  • Budgies Kept
    4

Albiniragu's Achievements

Rookie

Rookie (2/14)

  • First Post
  • Conversation Starter
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later
  • One Year In

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. Aha, aw, that is so cute! I might consider making something like that for my conure, it's a great idea
  2. Hi! I'm wondering what other people use as home-made toys? I find that my birds love basic things from around the home more than they do the store bought toys. Their personal favourite is bird-friendly string (shoe-lace width so they don't tangle themselves). I just tie a few pieces of it along their perches in big bows and stuff, and they love to sit there and untie the knots! The other one that I have is an old food bowl filled with plain paper (no ink etc.) scrunched into balls about 2cm in diameter. They love sitting in the bowl, picking up the pieces and throwing them around the cage. It keeps them entertained for hours! This gets frustrating because of course, I have to refill the bowl constantly, but it's so cute to watch. So what kinds of things do you use from around the home that your birds love?
  3. Sorry I disappeared for a bit, our internet was down for a few weeks and I've been busy with exams, but I'm back now, though it's still pretty full on! Anyway, the birds are back together full time now. After about a week of seperation, Mini quit what she was doing. Every time she snapped I'd lock her in the other cage for a few hours, which was pretty funny, because it made her do all sorts of acrobatics in an attempt to get out, including turning herself entirely inside out. xD The babies have become quite dominating now, and the adults move out of the way for them, which I guess is a good thing. They still have their little squawbles sometimes but it's not really a big deal - it's usually deserving, like if Ptera pushers Albey off a swing or Mini off a food bowl, then she finds herself being chased around the cage. But there's been no more blood drawn or injuries received, so they're going well! Also, I'm back to being able to handle Mini properly - she bites a little but since I've started ignoring it, it's settled down a lot. She just kind of gives up. X)
  4. Robyn: You're probably right about the quarantine; they were quaranteened for the one week but I probably should have kept them out longer. I considered the thing about her being concerned about the other hen being around the male, I just didn't really think this would kick in with the other hen being so young. You could be right though, but she bites at the male as well which was why it confused me. I like the idea of rotational handling; I currently give them about 20 minutes of individual attention a day and then bringt them all out together, sort of encouraging them to keep the peace because I'm there to break up any arguing that occurs in the hope it will help them settle with each other, but I might have to begin the pair rotations as well. I haven't been covering during the day; I cover Mini over at about 8pm to ensure that she gets at least a full 12 hour sleep, whilst the others tend to like staying up a little longer. Mini is, I'm guessing, around 12-14 months old (judging by her appearance and behaviour), so she's going through the horrible 'teenage' stage in life, now. Bird Junky; I've added young ones with other females before and never had a problem, so I assumed Mini would be the same. She was actually added to a cage with a relatively aggressive female, but the female never touched her. She just didn't really like people; she was in breeding conditions but never attacked the other birds. I guess it's each to their own, but it was a terrible assumption of mine that it'd be okay to add the others in. I'm assuming you're questioning why I want to handle her? These four are pet birds; I don't own them for showing or breeding. They are all companion parrots and live up to their reputation well. Hence, I wish to keep handling her to ensure that she doesn't go wild whilst she travels through this hormonal stage, because when she settles down I'd have to re-tame her. She was the tamest of my original four (not including the current young ones) and I don't particularly want to lose that. Hence I wish to keep handling her, and I can handle her perfectly fine, she nips a little but nothing painful and I'm just ignoring it so that she sees she will not get a response from biting, as I've seen is recommended on most bird-raising websites. She loves being around people usually and becomes quite jealous if I get the other three out yet don't bring her with them. Just an update; I kept her in the travel cage overnight and until this evening when I returned from my exams. I then put them back together as she was getting severely frustrated about being in the small cage. I kept a close eye on them for around five hours and she didn't bite at either of the little ones; she even sat on the perch with Ptera (the other hen) for around half an hour, only being approximately 10cm apart, without striking out or squawking at all. I handled her and she nipped a little but soon settled and let me pet and hold her. I have seperated them all again for the night, but I think I'll just continue this routine of putting them together whilst I am around to supervise and perhaps Mini will realise that Ptera isn't a threat to Albey over time. Eventually I might be able to trust them together, but I will ensure that this is an absolutely safe decision first.
  5. I know that about the cage, now. My father bought it for me about three years back, and I can't afford a third at the moment. Alright, I will remove her tonight. Covering does make them sleep for mine - the only one who doesn't respond to it is Albey. He stays awake when I cover them, but the others fall asleep almost immediately. The cover is a navy blue sheet so it makes it nearly pitch black in the cage. They'll sleep at any time of day with that over them. Also, all four of the birds are tame. Albey and Mini are completely, whilst Ptera and Pingu are in the process (being so young - they weren't hand-raised when I bought them two weeks ago). Mini's just having some issues at the moment, aha. Thanks!
  6. All four of my budgies live in the same, large cage (they have plenty of space to get away from each other; it's about a metre tall by approximately I'd say 70cmx70cm), and I recently introduced my youngest two to the cage. Of course, it's spring here and little miss Mini is going through her first hormonal stage and she's driving me mad. She was a real sweetheart until she hit teenager-hood, now she bites at everything. I have to wear a glove to handle her at the moment, when usually she is cuddly and adores me. But the problem is not what she is doing to me - it is what she is doing to the other budgies. My older male, Albey, is not copping it so much; he receives the occassional snap but she's usually quite good together with him as she thinks they're partners, despite the massive age difference. However, the two new babies are being treated horribly by her. My albino, Pingu, ended up bleeding tonight due to a lunge she made at his neck. This was outside of the cage, on mutual ground, so the behaviour is entirely hormonal, not territorial. She throws the other female (Ptera, 10 weeks old) off her perches if she comes anywhere near Mini, and does the same to Pingu. They were introduced to the cage approximately four days ago (after living beside them in the travel cage for around a week), and the aggression she is showing is over the top. I've tried flicking drops of water at her when she gets too serious (this is to save my hand whilst seperating them if they fight; I know it's not the best idea hand-taming wise as it can cause fear, but it's the best option for the heat of the moment situations). I have also tried seperating her into the other cage, but I dislike doing this for long periods of time as this is their travel cage and it's quite cramped, and when she is returned the behaviour begins again. Also, Albey becomes quite distressed being seperated from her, as he is still somewhat uncomfortable with the babies (not anything that results in biting, he just kind of avoids them and mutters at them if they get too close). It's driving me up the wall and I am concerned she might do some real damage soon. Is there anything I can really do to reduce this hormonal attitude? I heard that making their cage-covered time longer works; I cover their cage every night but haven't gotten around to testing the idea of forcing them to sleep for 12-14 hours a night. Have you any more tips or tricks as to how I can save my fingers and my baby budgies' necks, or will I just have to keep seperating them? I recently purchased a new, large cage which is on the way. It is for the conure I will be getting in around two months, but I could use it as a temporary housing facility for her and perhaps Albey if need be). Thanks!
  7. Hai everyone! My name’s Emma, and I’ve raised budgies since I was approximately eight years old (being seventeen now). I currently own four budgies; a nine-year-old named Albey (named for his colours; he is green and yellow, which became ‘lime and butter’ which in turn became ‘LB’, which transformed into ‘Albey’. He was my first budgie, and the only one of my original three alive today,) an approximately 1-year-old named Mini (we had a partner for her, ‘Houdini’, who recently passed away due to illness. Hence the name, ‘Mini’, after the real Houdini’s wife, Wilhelmina,) Pingu (who is named after the penguin as he is as white as the snow they live on, being an albino) and Ptera (named because I love dinosaurs, so I used ‘pterodactyl’ as the basis for her name. She’s also very skittish and a pain in the backside at times, so ‘terror’ suits her well.) Pingu and Ptera are brother and sister and are my most recent additions, bought two weeks ago at the age of 8 weeks. I am currently ordering a pineapple conure, as I adore birds. I am, in general, an animal person; I currently ‘own’ a cat, my four birds, and I have the conure and an Australian Kelpie puppy on the way (she is currently 4 weeks old and absolutely beautiful). I’m hoping to begin breeding birds at some stage, but at the moment I’m likely going to focus on hand making bird toys, at least until Mini and Ptera are old enough to make a suitable pair. I also adore music 0 if I’m not listening to it, I’m singing to myself or playing an instrument of sorts (whether it be guitar, bass or keyboard), or writing a new song. Of course, the birds love this – Mini and Albey always flirt and cuddle when I play nursery rhymes for them, but I think Albey is a little past his time for flirting and cuddling! I will probably pop some photos up tomorrow of my kiddies, as I’m on the wrong computer for that now x) I hope to learn a great deal from the other members of this website and finally meet people with similar interests to me! I hope you all have a wonderful day/night c:
×
×
  • Create New...