LeoOlive

Gorgeous birds, you have some beautiful colours in there! The aviary looks fantastic too! Goes to show that a bit of recycling goes a long way! Thanks for posting the pics robyn

Thanks for the reply Finnie Lucky lives in a cage by himself, so there is no possible way that other birds are picking on him. I have been contemplating getting him a friend in case his problem is loneliness. I do, however, have close to 100 here (varying species) could it just be the stress of having so many other loud birds around him?

As I said L__J I don't have all the answers, but it has been effective for me in the past, but also as mentioned, I don't do it very often

Hi Gaby, Firstly, welcome to the forum I can't answer all your questions as I am not 100% certain I have the correct answers (I breed pet budgies and decidedly, do my own thing rather than listen to hundreds of peoples different advice as it can get all too overwhelming lol) , however, I will say that I prefer aviary breeding rather than cages. I can choose which pairs I would like to breed by placing them in a cage together before moving them into the aviary once they are paired up. I don't do this very often as I don't normally breed for colour/mutations, I have done this often in the past though (and will in future) and it works effectively. Also, my aviaries all have dirt/grass flooring as my birds like to pick at the fresh sprigs of grass. Hope this helps a little, sorry I couldn't be of further assistance. Good luck with the breeding and be sure to upload any photos of babies when they come

Here is a photo of him. Also robyn, he has not lost any feathers on his head or anywhere else on his body with the exception of his primary feathers so he has no pin feathers coming through on his head. It's got me very puzzled... Also, the one primary feather you can see on his wing is the only primary feather he has left..

How did she go Aus? Hope all is well with her..

okay, thank you robyn. I will take some photo's and upload them tomorrow

Hi all, A woman brought a budgie into my care about 3 months ago (he had landed in her backyard and gotten mauled by her Toy Poodle) and after lots of betadine, saline, polyaid and antibiotics he, amazingly, pulled through. In the time since he entered my care he has progressed exceptionally well. He is a very friendly boy who loves affection. He can now say a few words, ('hello lucky' and 'lucky boy') and he even taught himself to fly which suprised me as I thought he definitely would have had permanent wing demage from his encounter with the Poodle. However, in the last week or two I have noticed that he has lost his primary flight and primary tail feathers and can no longer fly, he just nose dives to the floor. He is still as friendly and as affectionate as ever. He has had no change in diet, is provided with fresh seed, fruit and veg everyday, his cage is cleaned every second day. All my are in a strict routine, they are fed, allowed out for a play and put to bed at the same time every single day and there has been no significant upset to his routine. Any ideas as to what the problem might be? Thanks and appreciation in advance

I get a lot of birds into my care who are tame prior to medicating (and in most cases it is due to the fact that they are ill) and once they have recovered they become quite aggressive. You are doing the right thing by talking to him regularly. I also place my hand in the cage occasionally, not touching the bird, just resting it in there until they get used to it. Once they have gotten used to this, try offering millet or another favoured treat to try and tempt him to eat out of your hand. It usually takes a little while for them to grow comfortable with this. The main things you DO NOT want to do are: - Tower over your budgie as he will just see you as a predator - Chase him around the cage in order to catch him As for the biting, if mine bite to hurt (which is usually out of fear rather then nastiness) I tell them 'no' in a firm voice and place them back into the cage immediately. You can try getting him out again in 10, 20, or 30 minutes. If he bites again, repeat the process. They usually get the jist of it pretty quickly. (Also, keep in mind that his cage is his sanctuary, his safe haven and if he feels threatened or probed, he will just prefer to remain in the cage and thus will bite when he thinks he is going to be taken out). If this is the case, when he is out and is being friendly, reward him with a favoured treat. Try not to pro-long his training sessions. Keep them short but regular. It takes time to build trustful relationships with anyone and budgie/birds are no exception. With time and dedication he should come good. Good luck, keep us posted

All of my breeders were handraised by me and all of them are still tame (to varying degrees). They all land on my head or come for a cuddle when I enter the aviary and most of them continue to talk too. The hens are a bit more stand-off-ish, naturally, but they still love a quick scratch when they see me I might just add, my best father (who was also the first budgie I ever owned) was a little reluctant to pair up for the first few months. He thought I was his 'girl' and would even mate my head when I entered the aviary! He has since stopped mating me and has paired up with a pretty little lady who he makes pretty little babies with

How are they doing now kabel05?

I often add choko to my birds vegetable mix (home grown), they love them! (They look nothing like the one pictured above though :/ )

Thank you for posting the article KAZ, very interesting.

Yes I agree Finnie, I myself have wanted to buy the stainless steel ones (and yes they are over priced! lol). The wooden skewers are great as they are quite flexible and can be bent to fit into the bars of the cage. The best part is you can add what ever fruit or veg you want and add variety to your birds diet! They really love it! Enjoy!

Sorry, meant to say skewers are NOT harmful and can be chewed. (Thanks Finnie!) In addition, below is an example of a 'fruit stick' I make for my birds. It is so simple and take no more than 5 minutes per stick! Simply cut fruit into small to medium sized pieces then slide onto the skewer. You can place it on the floor of the cage or wedge the ends of the skewer between the bars of the cage to hold it in place, like below.

Birdlove, I'm glad to hear you have decent pet shops in your area! Eve, you sound like you are an animal rights warrior too, glad to hear it! There needs to be more of us! Lol As for changing your gender on here, I had the same problem with my birth date, it kept showing a completely different date then the date I was entering..weird lol.

Rachelm, thank you for noticing but this isn't actually my budgies cage, it is the Conures cage, the budgie is only in there so they can bond and socialise while my Conure is at the right age.

Rachelrose, he will be fine. My very first pet budgie was handraised by me before I moved him from the house to one of the aviary's down the back where he now makes pretty babies with his girl He was about 2 years old when I moved him into the aviary and he took to it swimmingly! He is about 7 years old now and has even stayed friendly and when I go into the aviary he lands on my head, hangs upside down off my fringe planting kisses on my cheek. I originally moved him into the aviary as my bird rescue organisation grew larger and I had all kinds of sick birds coming into the house (I didn't want my 'pet' birds to get sick too), but every now and again I have to bring my boy back into the house to feed babies or teach them to crack seed etc. As BJ said, his instincts will kick in and all will be well

As we all know, wild birds forage for their food. Caged or pet birds are not always given the opportunity to forage for their food, it is simply just placed in their cage in a food container/bowl. Below is a photo example of some foraging toys I make for my birds. You can alternate between fruits and vegetables and add variety to your birds diet. They are quick and easy to make and best of all they keep your birds active and occupied! In the example below I simply cut two portions of Capsicum (one portion of green Capsicum and one portion of red Capsicum). Then I made a mix of diced fruit and vegies which consisted of pumpkin, watermelon, papaya, red chilli, lettuce, corn, grapes and finally I sprinkled it with a small amount of lemon juice. I placed a fraction of the mix into each portion of Capsicum and then pressed both portions together using a skewer (skewers are harmful to birds and can be chewed) to hold in place. The birds make a game of trying to get the portions apart and when they do, they are rewarded with a mix of their favourite fruits and vegetables! In addition, below is an example of a 'fruit stick' I make for my birds. It is so simple and take no more than 5 minutes per stick! Simply cut fruit into small to medium sized pieces then slide onto the skewer. You can place it on the floor of the cage or wedge the ends of the skewer between the bars of the cage to hold it in place, like below.

Yes, they are, thanks Birdlove

Male, greywing and adorable!

My boys Leo the Budgie and Tango the Green-Cheek Conure cuddling up during their bonding time

As founder of Budgie Rescue South Coast I get a lot of sick, injured, lost or neglected budgies brought into my care. However, the majority of the birds who have entered my care in recent months have been rescued from pet shops! One of the most recent is Cloud who was brought into my care a few weeks ago. He was still featherless in some areas when he came here and was extremely skinny. It is easy for me believe that people are heartless enough to take young birds to a pet shop to be sold, because let's face it, there are too many thoughtless breeders out there who just should not breed, period. I am, however, appalled to learn that pet shops are taking in these young or sick birds and then selling them! It's ridiculous! Yesterday, I had an old man bring in a hen who has splayed legs and was getting attacked by other birds in the cage. This is the second bird this gentlemen has brought to me in about as many weeks and both birds came from the same shop! I can't stand the fact that people are buying these budgies with their own money just to bring them to a rescue shelter because they know the bird is unhealthy. It just shouldn't happen. Thank you to all the pet owners, breeders and shops who do the right thing by an animal to ensure it does not enter a rescue facility and is instead given the love, attention and care it needs. And to those who don't, SHAME ON YOU!

Lol, thank you BJ, I appreciate it

Hi all, This little guy came into my care a few weeks ago. I originally thought he was a male, however, he/she is very nippy which is leading me to believe HE may be a SHE. Could someone please tell me what sex this bird is? Thank you