Shann

Well, I was going to take Rover and Fatty to the vet but now mums in a shitty mood and she's all like "We cant keep spending all this money on a bird that cost $25!" so now Im very angry at her. Im still trying to convince her to take them but I dont know whether itll happen... :bluebudgie: she said that she'll go and get some antibiotics from the pet produce place tomoro, but Im still not happy with her. Im really worried. Is there anything I can do for Rover in the meantime? Like will greens help? or vitamins or something? Ive brought him inside and have noticed that he has diarrhea (sp?) I dont know what to do. Any advice (apart from take him to the vet, cause thats what Im trying to do) would be appreciated. -Shann- xoxoxoxox

Well, I just got home from school (came home early cause I didnt wanna do sport :bluebudgie: ) and went out to check on the budgies. Well, Fatty had laid an egg! there are no breeding boxes in the avairy, she laid it in the food bowl. I was going to put a box in, but on the advice of some people in this forum, I decided i shouldnt because she is too young. I was actually thinking about putting it in anyway, but every time I was going to I got guilty and kinda pictured myself like one of those parents in 3rd world countries who sells their 13 year old daughter off to a 50 yr old man, so I never ended up doin it, (Laughing out loud). anyhoo, I checked Fatty over and she looks a bit swollen around her vent and its kinda a purplish colour as if its bruised, and she also has pin feathers and stuff, I heard that budgies were meant to be in peak condition to breed? But yeah, just wondering if the swelling and discolouration around her vent is normal? and if not, should i take her to the vet, or just some TLC will do? Also I went out and the father (Rover) isn't looking too crash hot, he's hunched over and looks as if he's falling asleep. Plus someone in the cage has thrown up, or at least I think its vomit... its kinda a browny colour with seeds in it...? Im thinking it Rover as he's the one not looking very happy. He's also not as chirpy as normal, Im gonna take him to the vet (not an avian one as she is an hour away, but just the one up the road, he's still a fair good vet though) in an hour or so when they open. But in the meantime what should I do? and does anyone know what it could be? Im kinda worried, cause Rovers never been sick before... thanks -Shann- xoxoxoxoxox

I want to start to breed when it gets a little warmer. I have 2 pairs, one female is eight months old and her mate is over two years. And the other female is around about 5 to 6 months old (her mate being about a year old.) Ive heard you shouldnt breed budgies until they are at least 6 months old. Is this right? and if so, should I wait a few more months to breed the younger female? or would it be alright in a few weeks time? Ive bred before... but that was kind of accidental (Cleo -R.I.P.- layed her first clutch on the bottom of the cage) so Im still not certain as to what is right and wrong when it comes to preparing them for breeding. Any tips or advice would be appreciated! -Shann- xoxoxoxoxoxox

Yeah . I've been thinking about that... but if it turns out that we cant put George with other birds cause of his lung problems, I wont be able to keep her inside. Besides, I was thinking about breeding from her cuz she's such a pretty colour, and I thought it'd be good for her to be slightly tame so she wont mind me checking the eggs as much. (oh yeah, Im pretty sure now that shes a she)

The birds in my avary are still tame, they dont particularly like to be held, but I never trained them. When Im in there with them theyll fly onto my arms and shoulders and sit there the whole time Im in the avary. In fact, since theyve been in the avary, theyve become even more tame!

Last night and this morning I spent about 10 minutes or so just sitting by Meeko's cage and softly talking to her and singing to her and she's stopped panting when i come near her! She's still a little nervous, but nowhere near as much! I have a feeling that she wont be too difficult to tame

Thanks, Ill try that!

I wanted my new budgie (who Ive decided to call Meeko, which means little bird in a different language) to be nice and tame before I put him/her in the avary. Ive had her for about a week so I thought she'd have settled down by now. She seems really comfortable in her cage, but as soon as you walk past the cage or get anywhere near her she starts to breathe really really heavily as if she's terrified! She was from a pet store and Im pretty sure she wasn't hand reared and was possibly a colony bred bird and isn't use to humans... but I really want her to be tame, but I also dont want to scare her.... Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks. Everytime Cleo nested, the last few days she had a huge lump down near her bottom. If you see her sitting on the perch or the ground puffed up, then you should begin to worry. I know, its really stressful when your and expectant mother (so to speak), when Cleo had her first clutch I thought she was overdue, and I was sooooo worried, but she was fine, and a really good mum! Try not to worry to much, You might just wake up tomorow and find an egg in the nest.

She sounds like shes almost ready to lay the eggs. It doesnt sound like she's egg bound, when Cleo was about to lay she would waddle sooooo much and didnt like sitting on perches, she'd sleep in the box.

When my birds were nesting, George used to go inside the box and sleep in there. I think Cleo liked the company! He'd also go all the way in when feeding her.... He was a good father, in fact, too good, he made himself sick because he wasnt getting enough nutrients cause he was always feeding Cleo!

I use gumtree branches in my avary and different variations of eucalypt, my birds LOVE chewing at the leaves that are still attached!

I'm pretty sure that some birds speak better than others, and some are simply just slow learners. My grandma's friend has a bird and he is always chattering away, he'll pick up words in a couple of hours, but then there are some who find it a bit more difficult. Keep working on it, I'm sure he'll pick it up!

That is such a beautiful poem... (Laughing out loud), Its got me in tears yet again! -Shann- xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I kept her warm and I planned to take her to the vet as soon as Mum got home. but when I checked on her about 20 minutes ago, I found her dead. thanks for the advice anyway... I thought she'd be okay, but I guess I was wrong... I dont know how George (her mate) will cope though... -Shann- xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Disregard the previous entry. She was still straining to get the egg out and so I helped her by gently pushing just above the egg as she was straining an she passed the egg! Thank goodness! The poor thing is totally exhausted, so ive got her sitting on a warm heat pack and Im keeping a close eyes on her so yeah. Phew! Is there anything else I should do? -Shann- xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

When I woke up this morning I went and checked the budgies like always and Cleo was sitting on the ground all puffed up and breathing heavily. I took her out of the cage and looked her over and it seems she has an egg inside of her, but she was straining and making a small noise like she is in pain. I think she might be egg bound! What do I do? I cant get her to the vet till... well I dont even know if I can get her there today cuz I cant drive or anything and my parents dont get home till tonight. I really dont want her to die! Ive got her in the bathroom with the heat lights on and a heat pack in the bottom of the cage to keep her warm and Ive tried massaging vegetable oil around her bottom cause apparently that helps but Im out of ideas, so if this doesn't work I dont know what'll happen. Doesn anyone have any remedies or ideas? -Shann- xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Yeah, I think she may have broken it when she was flying around in the wild. She has had 2 lots of babies since then and seems a lot more comfortable in the breeding box than on the perch... I think I will take her to the vet...

One of my females Cleo (who I didnt buy, she flew into my house) has had a sore leg for ages, like, she doesnt grip with it as well and is always holding up off the perch and limps on that leg. And the wing on that side droops a bit too. I think she might have arthritis or something. The past few weeks its been really cold and she seems to be stiffer than usual, and her limp is more pronounced. I dont want her to be in pain all of the time, does anyone have any ideas as to what could help? I'm thinking about taking her to the vet, but any advice would be really helpful as well. -Shann- xoxoxoxox

Ive found that I can hold the babies as soon as theyre hatched, but it really depends on how well the mother trusts you. I know someone that couldnt handle the babies until they were out of the box altogether otherwise the mum would stop feeding them. But this isnt the case for me. The mum doesnt mind, but just make sure your hands are warm when you handle them and be VERY gentle...