Flip

Hi. Well done on getting your budgie. Looks to be a boy to me.

Is the leg band a purplish colour rather than pink? If so, purple rings were used in 2005 and 2011 (ring colours operate on a 6 year cycle). Other members can correct me if I'm wrong, but your budgie would appear to be a 2011 bird. 406 is the chick number for that particular breeder and WABC is the society that the breeder belongs to.

I also line the cage tray with paper. I change the paper daily in the cages holding my pet budgies and cockateils - they are tame and like the interaction. I also have a cloth 'skirt' around the base of the budgie cage and this really helps. Having said that they are remarkably messy creatures and still manage to flick seed husks and feathers everywhere.

Finnie and Phoebes are right. Unless the parents are harming the chicks, leave the birds alone. The parents will let the chicks out eventually. I often have the opposite problem where the chicks are quite comfy in the nest box and want to stay there indefinitely (and the parents let them).

Swings are great, and anything a budgie can safely climb through is always good. I have a set of hanging rings in my nursery cage and the young birds love climbing through and hanging off these.

The photos are all lovely, but I have to go for rachelm's pinkie as well. Great shot.

I'd say male. Dark green clearflight pied.

The English budgies are larger than the pet budgies. But as rachelm says both varieties are noisy, friendly and will tame with a bit of effort. The only difference I have found is that my pet budgies are more active - they never seem to sit still.

Paulie has made some some excellent comments. I too have joined a club. And it was the best thing I have done with respect to keeping and breeding budgies. The members have so much knowledge and experience that they are happy to share with newbies like myself. Basically I have learnt a lot over the past 4 or 5 months - not just about breeding, but also budgie feeding, health, disease prevention, housing, general husbandry and exhibition standards. As Paulie stated, breeders do not sell their best birds, but through a club you will have the option of buying some good birds through members and also through arranged aviary visits. The members of my club have sold me some lovely birds at 'beginner' prices in order to get me started. Have a look on the BCV (Budgerigar Council Victoria) website and you will find a listing for all the Victorian clubs, as well as a wealth of other information.

Hi Nadene, Your babies are gorgeous. I know the feeling when selling the chicks. I want to keep them all, and if I don't, then my kids certainly do. They try to name them so that they can cry out "Oh Mum, you can't sell little Wilbur!". I have just chosen the 3 birds I am keeping from my last 12 chicks of the season, and have advertised the rest. Fortunately 2 have sold already to a very enthusuastic bird keeper and another 4 are moving 2 streets away to a lovely aviary - only 3 more to go. Good luck with yours. I am sure you will ensure that your chicks only go to good homes.

I'm inclined to think that your bird is a hen. Out of interest, is it a 'bitey' bird? I've generally found that the hens, even when very young, are a bit more bitey or nippy than the males which usually content themselves with a gentle nibble.

I find that sometimes the young birds will chew on each feathers (particularly tails) this purely to amuse themselves and because they can (the nursey cage is a confined environment after all). I've had one or 2 chicks end up with frayed tails when in the nursery cage - not very attractive when you want to sell the bird. I haven't had the plucking problem however. I agree, I would remove your offending bird and pop him into a cage by himself.

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about your budgie. I can empathise with you as I currently have a budgie in a similar situation. My budgie has several noticeable tumours and in fact hasn't been able to fly for some months now. I did bring him inside in a cage for a while but he is happiest out in the aviary. I've set up a series of branch ladders to enable him to get about and access all sections of the aviary, and this works well. At present he is still eating (this has always been his favourite past time, he is such a guts) and drinking, chirping, interacting with the other birds and seems happy enough. I know however that he is unlikely to make it through the Winter and that I will have to make the hard decision at some point over the next few months. Like you, I am hoping I will recognise that point when it comes and in the meantime give him as much quality of life as possible.

I use large seed hoppers which hang off the wall under cover as the main feeding station in my aviaires . I also supply additional seed in bowls (hanging off the wire) to prevent 'argument's over feeding. I've noted that some of my budgies prefer one option over the other as well.

Hi there, I agree with Robyn as to the gender of your birds. The last budgie looks to be a hen to me as well.

I agree. Both male.

Thanks Kaz and Finnie for your advice. Unfortunately Ipod quite unexpectedly passed away overnight 2 days ago. He had been holding his own up until that point, though not getting any better, so I am still mystified as to what he condition/illness he actually had.

Hi Robyn, Keep us posted on how everything goes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your hen gets it right this time around.

Hi Mark, Welcome to the forum. I too am new, and certainly find it very helpful. Your budgies look gorgeous. Cheers, Sandy

Hi Robyn, This hen of yours is certainly a tricky bird. Hopefully Kaz or another experienced breeder will come on line with all the right advice, but here are my thoughts for what they are worth. I had a situation with a first time mother hen who was hopeless at feeding the chicks but was great at keeping them warm which is so important at that stage. The hen did feed intermittently but not enough so I removed the surviving chick (first 2 died) up to 4 times a day to supplementary feed it. Hard work I must say. After 5 days of doing this I was fortunately able to foster it out to a pair with similar age chicks. In your situation, when your hen hatches the first egg would it be worthwhile putting one of the 2 week old chicks (from the other nest) in with your problem hen? A newly hatched chick may not always be able to prompt the mother into feeding it, ie, it may not call loudly or incessantly enough. An older chick will be more demanding in calling for food so this will hopefully prompt your hen into feeding it and the newly hatched chick. Having said the above, hopefully this time around your hen may get the right idea about what she is supposed to do. Good luck, Sandy

Hi L_J, I just wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your breeding journal. Your new babies look gorgeous.

Hi Leanne, Your new feathered friend looks like a female to me. As to age of birds sold in pet shops, well that's anyone's guess. Baby budgies could be as little as 5 weeks old or so up until their first moult at 3-4 months. I'm not overly confident either that pet shop staff really know how old the birds in their care are. Your little budgie hasn't had her first moult as she still has the bars on her forehead. She is certainly a sweet little bird.

A friend of my daughters keeps her budgie's wings clipped and yes, they do regrow providing it has been done correctly. I also have a budgie in my aviary who can't fly well so I have wired up a series of branch 'ladders' so that he can get around by climbing and he manages these really well. He's able to get to the seed water and all the other perches that the other budgies can fly to. Once your 2 birds are out of quarantine you could try this whilst waiting for their flight feathers to regrow and strengthening of their muscles.

Hi Kaz, Thanks for your advice. I have now treated Ipod's water and seed with Vetafarm Triple C antibiotic, as per product instructions. I was unable to purchase any Calcivet locally so ordered some online several days ago. It should arrive today. Is it okay to use both products at the same time as the Triple C product instructions say to remove all traces of calcium and grit? The little guy is holding his own and is still eating and drinking, though I think he's missing his mate.

I have a nice Australian male budgie named Ipod (name is courtesy of the kids) who has developed a problem with his feet. Over the past 2 days he has had difficulty perching and is spending most of his time on the floor of the cage. Upon examination (he's such a gentle bird it's easy to have a look) he can't move his toes properly. He's still eating and his poo looks normal to me. A little background first. This little guy is just under 2 years old and has spent most of his life in my aviary with absolutely no health problems whatsoever. I moved him into a breeding cage roughly 7 weeks ago with his mate. The time was clearly right as eggs appeared soon after. Not long after the first eggs were laid I noticed that Ipod had difficulty with his feet, couldn't perch and was clearly uncomfortable standing. I thought he had scaley leg mite so treated him with Avimec and he made a good recovery (after several doses). I also treated his mate as a preventative. As his last Avimec treatment was 2 weeks ago I don't think it's scaley leg mite this time. By the way, his diet consists of seed, egg & biscuit, fresh veg and fruit (spinach, silverbeet, broccoli, corn, celery, carrot, apple) plus access to cuttlefish. I have popped him into a cage by himself with a lamp. (The pair have 2 chicks who are about 3 weeks old and mum is very capable of looking after them herself) . Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be going on? Could he have a deficiency in calcium or other essential vitamins?