Hello everyone. I've been reading many of the posts and it's very nice to find a site with so many friendly folks. My family decided to get two Budgies for Christmas. Not only are these our first Budgies but they are indeed our first birds. I have a couple questions and I'd like to just tell you what I'm doing and please let me know if we are doing anything wrong. We want our Budgies to live long, healthy lives and they will not be treated like a "throwaway" pet as so many folks treat birds, fish, hamsters, ect.

 

We are keeping two Budgies (a green male and blue female) in a cage that is 2 feet from left to right, 14 inches front to back, and 22 inches tall. It has four perches, toys, dishes, ladder, & cuttlebone. I will be adding a mineral block soon.

 

I've been giving the birds 3 tablespoons of Kaytee Fiesta food each day along with fresh water. We have tried to give them lettuce, apple, and madrid oranges but they have accepted none of it. They did however devour a millet spray. I've had some bird "kitty" style litter on the bottom, but do not like it because of the smell. I'm looking to replace it with something else.

 

So, here come the questions:

 

1. I've read that you can use sand on the bottom of the cage. I understand it helps catch the waste and can be beneficial to the bird's claws and digestive system. Is it okay if I use any type of sand (specifically pool filter sand or play sand)? Or does it have to be "bird sand"?

 

2. How often should I give the birds treats like millet spray? The day I added the millet spray, they devoured it and didn't touch their regular seed food. What about the fruits and veggies?

 

3. Wing clipping. Is it cruel? The birds came from the pet store with clipped wings. We have not decided on whether to keep them that way or not. We have children under the age of 5. It seems it would be safer for the birds if their wings were clipped because then if they got loose they would not be able to fly out of a window or door. We are willing to do whatever is best for the birds.

 

4. Should I be misting the birds every few days with warm water from a spray bottle?

 

5. How often should the Budgies go to the vet and is there any specific reason to take them if they are not acting sick?

 

If I have other questions I will post as they come up. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any responses! I'm sure Joybell and Kiwi will as well since they will be benefitting from the answers! I hope to spend time on the forum and maybe eventually become a contributing member!

 

Thanks Again,

 

Tony

Hello Tony, and welcome to the forums! Kudos to you for asking first instead of just guessing. I always learn something new here, I'm sure you will too. There are many helpful experienced people

 

I will try to help with your questions:

 

I don't know much about cage sizes (or inches, (Laughing out loud)) but someone else will. They should have enough room to fly from perch to perch without hitting anything. A picture would probably be useful.

 

1. Sand for the cage - I wouldn't know. I don't use anything at all. I tried paper but the birds kept eating it. So the bottom of my birds' cages are plain plastic, which is easy enough to clean. The only thing I know is never use sand paper because contrary to marketing it does not help their feet, quite the opposite, it is very bad for them.

 

2. Millet spray is only a treat - it is fattening and as you know, they absolutely love it. I would say feed in moderation - mine get a small bit of it every few days.

Fruit and especially veggies should be a part of their daily diet. Mine adore brocolli, carrots and corn.

Keep trying with your budgies, there are many tricks you can try like sprinkling seed on the veggies. The patience pays off :ausb:

 

3. Wing clipping. This is a much discussed subject. There is no set answer to that question - it is your own opinion. A whole list of facts is pinned here: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=6412

The rest is up to you.

Personally, I don't clip my birds, but I don't object to having it done because it does not hurt them, does not completely stop them flying, is temporary, and there are good reasons for it. It depends on the situation.

 

4. Misting your birds - I don't think it is absolutely necessary health wise, but they have so much fun with water. I give my birds baths when they try to bathe in their water container. I mist them on hot days to cool them down. In moderate weather I do it once a week because the spray from me cleaning the cage makes them want to play in it, (Laughing out loud). I don't think there are any ill consequences of not bathing your birds. But they really enjoy it so I do it, especially during an itchy moult.

 

5. Taking the budgies to the vet when you get them is a good idea, just to ensure they are in good health. I think at least yearly checkups are suggested when they don't look sick. This is just to be sure. Birds are well known for hiding their illnesses really well so that by the time an untrained eye notices they are well into more serious stages.

 

I hope this helps. I'm sure someone else will fill in the gaps or correct me if I'm wrong

Make sure to post pictures - we love them around here

Edited December 29, 200618 yr by Chrysocome

Welcome. Good on you for asking questions. The cage size you mentioned sounds good to me.

Chrysocome answered everything quite well.

A note on lettuce: Iceburg lettuce is bad for budgies and most animals.

If you want any further infor on taming and what to expect from new budgies, go to eterri's site: www.budgietalk.com,

 

ooo. We would really like some pictures. :ausb:

Edited December 29, 200618 yr by Sailorwolf

Nice work, I'd like to think I would have put those same questions forward when it comes time for me to take charge of lil' finger-gobblers! And thanks for the answering, Chrysocome and Sailorwolf

Hi Tony, welcome to this great site!

 

You asked some great questions. I use newspaper on the bottom of my cages, so I don't use anything special.

 

As your birds are already clipped, use this time to train them to step up onto your finger and learn to trust you. Out of cage time is very important, especially if the budgies only have a small cage as they can get some much needed excersize. As I have a lot of pets and children I use my room for their flight time. When they are out I always put a note on the doors, obscuring the door knobs, warning that the birds are out of their cage. Having a semi ensuite into my room, if someone wants to come in they have to go into the ensuite and shut the door behind them, making sure no pets are in there before entering my room.

 

You can decide before their first moult whether or not to keep them in this condition. If they are tamed by then, there should be no need to continue to have their wings clipped.

 

As to millet and vegies, you have been given good advice. Millet should only be used as a treat, and can be great as a tool to help train birds. Fruit and vegetables, especially, need to be fed to your birds to ensure a long and healthly life. Keep trying with them. I had very little luck with whole heads of brocolli and wedges of apple etc. This changed when I started to cut it into small pieces, and used grated carrots, apples etc. So experiment until you find what suits your birds. Large chunks, or small pieces, fresh vegies, or cooked? Sprinkling seed over the fruit and/or vegies can help to get them started. Iceberg lettuce is not bad for them, but like celery, should be fed only occassionally, if at all, as it contains a lot of water, which can give the birds diahhorea.

 

Some birds love to bath some don't. I have a couple of baths in the bottom of my cages which is used by some birds to bathe in, while some of the others think it is there to drink from and to rinse their vegetable in before they eat them . I also mist my birds quite often, which most of them love, especially in hot weather. Again, experiment to see what suits your budgies.

 

There are a heaps of great members on here with a lot of experience that can give you an awful lot of information.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Feathers.

Edited December 29, 200618 yr by feathers

Everyone did a great job answer questions :ausb: and I would like to just welcome you to our site. Always feel free to ask questions. And if you have an opportunity we would love to see pictures of your set up and birds . On this site we are picture hogs

 

One thing I wanted to mention is when you have perches in your cage make sure they are off all different sizes and shapes and 1 dowel perch is enough. There are natural wood perches, calcium perches, rope perches which most love because they are soft compared to a wood one, and you can even make them yourself.

:budgiedance: Hi Tony, welcome to the site, you will find out a lot of information and have already been given great advice, go through a bunch of the older posts and you will find even more. I would never put sand on the floor at all, green leafy dark vegetables are better for them than fruit due to the sugar content, some folks prefer to supplement seed mixes with pellets, and well, you will discover all sorts of things as you go along. May I commend you on researching and trying to do the best for your new family members!

WoW! Thank you all for all your replies! I'm learning so much already! I will forget about the sand then. I will also need to get some new perches as all four perches I have are the same size and just regular smooth wood. I will also look into pellets (any specific brand I should be looking at?). Also, should I take the birds out for exercise even before they are trained to sit on my finger? Thanks again for all the help and, yes, I will get some picture soon! :budgiedance:

 

I believe the birds are a little older already as they have no lines on the top of their head, the spots on their necks are well defined, beaks are light colored, and I can see a little white in their eyes. Hopefully this will not make taming and training them more difficult.

Hi Tony and welcome to the forum. As you have seen we aim to help :budgiedance:.

 

Your cage sounds great. Longer than higher. The perches should be across the cage not length wise that way they can fly back and forth. I leave my cages open and let the birds fly in the house, with precaution to cooking.

 

Budgerigars are grainivores, their main diet should be seed. Pellets are fine as an additive. They are one of the few parrots that hull their seed (remove husks) because of this they don't depend on grit to grind up their food. If you were to use sand make sure it is washed without any thing added.

 

Lettuce is mostly water with little nutritian. I would be giving them endive or celery. Mine recieve grated carrots, celery, corn, snow pea sprouts, mung beans, peas and lentles.

 

Millet sprays are good but high in fat. Once a week or as a training tool is fine. I feed millet to all my chicks in the nest and in the breeding cages.

 

Wing clipping is up to you, there is a lot of pros and cons for it. I have only ever clipped my birds wings and that is when they are first brought in to the house and only the first 4 flight feathers. They can still fly but not good enough to hit the window at high speed. By the time the feather grow back the have learnt through a lot of training where to fligh and were not to fly.

 

Misting the birds are good for them, but only litely. Misting will get them to preen themselves. This brings out the oils in the feathers. The birds will look better. Show birds are litely misted once every day for weeks leading up to shows.

 

In the way of Vets. It is good to get your birds checked, but it is better to have a preventitive medical program in place. I give my birds additives in thier water such as Probotics, vitamins, calcium, and apple cidar vinigur... not at the same time. I also treat for Megabac, Coccidiosis, Worms.... etc. I use filtered water not water from the tap. Budgerigars hid their illness until it's too late, so the first sign of illness is a good time to get them to the vet.

 

I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the forum

Edited January 3, 200718 yr by Bubbles

hi and welcome to the forums .

if l may add , when you take your birds to the vet , make sure its an avian vet .

here is a link if you need help to locate one near you http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/

Edited December 29, 200618 yr by birdluv

It is best to hand tame your budgies before you let them out to fly. This is so it won't be so scary for them when you want to put them back in their cage. Also, by letting them come out on their own, they think they have manged to scare you away and it teaches them that they don't need you to have fun.

Hello Tony, and welcome! We are glad to have you here. You have gotten some great responses so far, but I would like to go a little more in depth to some of your questions.

 

We are keeping two Budgies (a green male and blue female) in a cage that is 2 feet from left to right, 14 inches front to back, and 22 inches tall. It has four perches, toys, dishes, ladder, & cuttlebone. I will be adding a mineral block soon.

 

That size is fine for two birds as long as they have lots of out-of-cage time. An 18" x 18" base is the minimum recommended for one budgie, but I'm sure you have discovered, not many cages are sold that have the appropriate bar spacing for budgies are really large enough. As far as perches, I have a rope perch, a sisal boing perch, wooden perches, grape branches, tree branches, cholla wood branches, a cement perch and a calcium perch in my budgies cage. You want to vary the size and texture. Put the perch that most closely allows the bird to fit their foot 1/2 - 3/4 of the way around nearest the top, as that is where they will spend the most time and probably sleep. I use a wooden dowel, although you will read not to use those. My birds chew them up, so I don't mind using them. If you can keep at least three different types of toys in the cage, and rotate them out weekly, try to. It may take awhile before you find toys your birds will like. They are all different. Some budgies like the little plastic budgie toys with bells, others would rather something they can chew up. You will soon figure out what they like. If they really beat up a toy, you have found a winner!

 

So, here come the questions:

 

1. I've read that you can use sand on the bottom of the cage. I understand it helps catch the waste and can be beneficial to the bird's claws and digestive system. Is it okay if I use any type of sand (specifically pool filter sand or play sand)? Or does it have to be "bird sand"?

 

Just use newspaper. It is easy to change, and makes monitoring your birds droppings a breeze. If you are worried about the inks in the paper (in the US I think it is mandatory for newspapers to use a non-toxic, soy-based ink in case of ingestion by children) you can use paper towels. Sand, cob beddings, shredded pet beddings all tend to make owners not change the bedding so often. Molds and bacterium will grow quickly in those mediums, plus you cannot easily tell if there are changes in your birds droppings. You can also look into buying the newsprint end rolls from your newspaper, you just have to cut them to fit the tray of your cage.

 

2. How often should I give the birds treats like millet spray? The day I added the millet spray, they devoured it and didn't touch their regular seed food. What about the fruits and veggies?

 

Millet is a favorite treat for most budgies. Some will eat it to the exclusion of other seeds, which is not good. But I'll bet if you look at the list of ingredients in your birdseed you will see millet near the top. Too much of any one item is not a good thing. If you give two birds a 2" spray from your hands once or twice a week it should be fine. Millet is a nice taming tool.

 

3. Wing clipping. Is it cruel? The birds came from the pet store with clipped wings. We have not decided on whether to keep them that way or not. We have children under the age of 5. It seems it would be safer for the birds if their wings were clipped because then if they got loose they would not be able to fly out of a window or door. We are willing to do whatever is best for the birds.

 

This is a touchy subject. In the US wing clipping is the norm, whereas in other parts of the world it is not. Everyone looks at it differently. My opinion is that you must determine whether your birds are safer in the environment you have placed them in with clipped wings or without. It does make taming much easier if they are clipped, but that should not be the determining factor. I have found that it doesn't take long for a properly fledged bird to learn to navigate your house and avoid windows and mirrors. Many birds are not allowed to properly fledge before their wings are trimmed, and here lies some of the problem. Will your birds need to be able to get away from rambunctious children or other pets? Do you have ceiling fans that you keep in use? Can you close the doors to keep flighted birds out of the kitchen or bathroom? What kind of plants do you keep in the house? You don't want your birds to eat poisonous plants.

 

4. Should I be misting the birds every few days with warm water from a spray bottle?

 

If they like it, you can. If they hate it, don't force it. Budgies are from Australia where rain is not always a reliable commodity. Some birds like to take a bath in wet lettuce leaves, parsley, or carrot tops. If they really want a good splash, most will figure out they can bathe in their water dishes. One reason to change the water several times a day.

 

5. How often should the Budgies go to the vet and is there any specific reason to take them if they are not acting sick?

 

A well-birdie check up shortly after you bring them home is a good idea. Your vet will determine their general state of health, and also have a baseline to go by if your bird does happen to get sick later. It is also much easier to get worked in at the vet's in an emergency if you already have a doctor/patient relationship with one. When your bird needs emergency care is not the time to try to find a doctor. It is stressful enough knowing they don't feel well. If they are in good health, once a year will suffice for a checkup.

 

 

 

Iceberg lettuce is not bad for them, but like celery, should be fed only occassionally, if at all, as it contains a lot of water, which can give the birds diahhorea.

 

Giving veggies with a high water content will not give your bird diarrhea. It will show up as increased urine output, or polyuria. There is a difference. Diarrhea is when there is no formed stool at all. Veggies will not cause this condition unless they are bad. Polyuria looks like a very watery stool, but the feces part is still formed. This is normal, and makes sense if you think of it as extra water in, extra water out.

 

I will also look into pellets (any specific brand I should be looking at?). Also, should I take the birds out for exercise even before they are trained to sit on my finger? Thanks again for all the help and, yes, I will get some picture soon!

 

I use Harrison's pellets, which you can get from their website or through a veterinarian. You cannot buy them at the pet store. They are a completely organic pellet. My birds prefer the Mash size. Roudybush is another good one. Just look at the ingredients before you buy. If they contain questionable additives like ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT, excessive amounts of sugar or salt, then my advice would be to pass on that brand. It may take awhile to get them to eat pellets. Be prepared to try a few different brands before your birds find one they actually like. In addition to pellets and seed, add fresh or cooked (no salt or butter added) vegetables, cooked diets (Beak Appetit, Gardenfresh, Crazy Corn, etc), cooked rice, couscous,etc., sprouted seed (a real favorite), wheatgrass, eggfood, and maybe some fruits. Many budgies aren't too keen on more than a little bit of apple, but if they will eat them a little bit is fine. They do have a high water content. If you ever need to medicate your birds and the vet decides that meds in the water are the way to go, do not give any fruits or veggies to your birds while they are on the medication. The reason for this is that they will get their water from the food and won't drink as much of their medicated water, which will do no good.

As far as taming them first, it will make things a lot easier, like Sailorwolf said. If you keep them in the cage for a month or so (however long it takes them to not freak when your hand is around, and maybe they will reliably step up when prompted) it will not hurt them. If you think you can get them back in the cage with a minimum of trauma (to you or them) you can try letting them out before they are tame. If they can fly, be prepared for the possibility of a few hours time before you get them back in (don't let them out when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, LOL, as you may be late!) If they have clipped wings, it is easy to retrieve them, so not as much of a worry. If they are clipped and you go to grab them, just be prepared to be bitten. They do it out of fear, not malice, as they cannot get away via flight. To fly away is instinctual as they don't trust you yet, and if their wings are clipped that option is not available to them. Biting is all they have left. If you get bitten, try not to show any reaction. They may draw blood, but you won't be going to the hospital to be stitched up. It hurts, but not unbearably so.

 

I believe the birds are a little older already as they have no lines on the top of their head, the spots on their necks are well defined, beaks are light colored, and I can see a little white in their eyes. Hopefully this will not make taming and training them more difficult.

 

If they are not used to being handled, they will be more skittish the older they are. If you can post pictures that might help determine their age (yes, I'm plugging for pictures, LOL). If the female already has a brown cere, she is at least 5 or 6 months old. But that is not necessarily bad, after all you have many years ahead of you (hopefully) to gain their trust. Taming could take many. many months. With parrots, instant results are not usually in the picture. I have a hen that was older when I got her (7 months + ) that still will not step up onto my finger (she is almost 5 now). But she is so tame in so many other respects that I don't mind she doesn't sit on my finger when I want her to.

 

Please keep updating us on your progress with your new little feathered friends, and again, welcome!

Edited December 30, 200618 yr by Rainbow

I want to again thank everyone for being so kind and replying in such detail. I promise pictures are coming! I just want to get the cage finalized so I can post a picture of it as well, that way you can tell me if I've got anything set up wrong.

 

We have about 40 trees in our backyard, so I'm in no shortage of old dried out branches. However, I need to know whether I need to remove the bark from the branches or just scrub the homemade perches down real well under hot water?

 

Thanks again!

Budgies love bark. They like to chew it off. You should look up a list of safe woods for budgies. Some safe woods are:

Apple

Eucalyptus

Pear

Poplar

Willow

 

It is a good Idea to scrub the branches wiht either water and vinegar or water and lemon juice. (Vinegar is best, I think). Then to dry you can put the branches in the oven (taking care that the branches don't catch fire!) or lay them out in the sunshine where the UV rays help to kill bacteria.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Sailor. Most of the branches are off of maple trees. Does anyone know if they are safe? I have an apple tree in the front yard, but I would actually have to remove the branches. Would I need to let them completely dry out before putting them in the cage?

 

Thanks again!

It is best that the branches are dry before putting them in the cage.

Hi Tony and welcome to our forum. You have been getting a great response and some really good advice here. You ask all the right questions which already rates you highly as a budgie owner.

I would like to ad a little something. I breed budgies. I had a delightful and very, very healthy baby yellow pied budgie that found its new owners. He was a stunner and so very healthy as I said. He was dead just weeks later due to the burning of a scented air freshener. Another of my babies died due to a non bird owner advising the new budgie owners to put grit on his cage floor and in his food. He died from crop impaction due to the grit. So, smells and vapours are to watch out for as well. Draughts too. Not knowing your budgies history also, you would need to have them wormed. Apart from all that, they give you hours of pleasure and ask little in return but a safe place to live and good food.

WELCOME....

Edited January 3, 200718 yr by Bubbles

Hi Tony and welcome to our forum. You have been getting a great response and some really good advice here. You ask all the right questions which already rates you highly as a budgie owner.

I would like to ad a little something. I breed budgies. I had a delightful and very, very healthy baby yellow pied budgie that found its new owners. He was a stunner and so very healthy as I said. He was dead just weeks later due to the burning of a scented air freshener. Another of my babies died due to a non bird owner advising the new budgie owners to put grit on his cage floor and in his food. He died from crop impaction due to the grit. So, smells and vapours are to watch out for as well. Draughts too. Not knowing your budgies history also, you would need to have them wormed. Apart from all that, they give you hours of pleasure and ask little in return but a safe place to live and good food.

WELCOME....

 

 

Before i begin; this website is a big help but i couldnt find out how to post my own question-- so i apologize for asking my question on the end of another persons thread.

 

Hi i am new to this site infact i just joined today. I got my budgie, rogue yesterday from a breeder. He is white with sparse splatterings of black. Because he is so young determining his gender is almost impossible however the breeder said that young males tend to have a fleshy/purpley cere whereas the females have flickers of white especially around the nostril. So hopefully it is a boy as i have heard they are more playful. I must have been very lucky when i chose him because the breeder didn't want to sell me a white one as he wanted to keep all the white ones for breeding to achieve various different colourations. However after a while of me looking around he decided to let me have a white one from the nest box. I am so happy about my budgie he is 4 weeks and will sit in my hand no problem he even fell asleep on my shoulder, he isnt the least bit scared of me--he is also very curious but because he is young he likes to sleep. I adore him. The breeder said i should hand feed him for at least one more week. I use good qulity egg biscuit mixed with lukewarm water and put it on my finger and he nibbles at it. However throught my experimenting with feeding techniques i placed a small amount of seed on my hand, rogue came over and started to eat the seed by himself. it took him a while to remove the husks but he did i let him eat for around an hour until he was finished before he fell asleep in my beanie!

 

Now to my questions (i apologize for my length of post)

 

is this unusual for a bird 4 weeks old to be eating seed on his own accord?

 

should i continue with the egg biscuit or just give him the seed and fruit?

 

Thanks so much to any one who replies :bluebudgie:

Welcome, rogue_phoenix. To start a new thread, look at the top right hand corner above the first post. You will see a box that says "New Topic". Just click it first, and you will be set.

 

To answer your question, yes, at 4 weeks your bird should be trying new foods. This is a perfect opportunity for you to begin feeding veggies, some fruit, cooked grains, soaked and sprouted seed, and pellets. Right now your bird is a clean slate. How you feed him will greatly determine his overall health down the road. However I am sorry you were given a bird that was not fully weaned. That is generally a recipe for disaster, but I am heartened to hear he is trying to eat on his own. Be very very careful about the temperature of your handfeeding mix. Too hot will give him painful crop burn, too cool can cause slow crop, which is inviting bacterial infection. Either one will warrant an immediate trip to your avian veterinarian. (If you don't have one, please find one.) Make sure you weigh him daily for the next several weeks. What kind of syringes do you have for the feedings? If the breeder did not tell you what temperature to measure the handfeeding mix to, I have a book around I will look for to give you the correct temperature. Let me know.

 

If you can post a picture of your new bird, we will try to tell you what sex you have gotten. If it is a female, don't worry. :bluebudgie: They are very sweet too.

Edited January 5, 200718 yr by Rainbow

thanks for your reply rainbow...i discovered how to post a new message right after i posted my first one (Laughing out loud) anyway rogue is doing very well...he's eating fine now...in the morning i will give him some egg and biscuit in fairly cool water due to the weather we've been having its been somewhere in the high 30's (celcius) and then i will pour him some seed and grapes he munches down the seed and grapes infact he will just barely nibble the egg and biscuit and fill himself on the seed and fruit (Laughing out loud) he is so beautiful i've had him for a week but i am suprised how attatched to me he has become often sooking for me if i go to bathroom or out of the room for a split second...he sits on my hand and gently nibbles my finger he loves it when i scratch his neck and cheeks---turning his heads side ways to make sure i give him a good scratch while he closes his eyes and makes clicking noises. he just loves being with me perching on my finger for ages often falling asleep in my hand or wrapped around my t-shirt on my lap. i'll try to get a picture as soon as possible..being still young he loves his naps--so when i see his getting sleepy i'll put him on my bed nestled gently in an old pillowcase......(dw he ALWAYS lets me no when he wants to get up and play)

 

i'll keep you posted ---

 

chris

Welcome Tony - I wish all new budgie owners were as caring and thoughtful as yourself

 

I think it would be a great idea for a mod to pin this topic, there is so much fantastic information that has been provided that I think anyone browsing, including guests, could learn a lot.

I'm here to serve, Riebie...

Thanks again, everyone! I'm back and I finally have pictures!

 

Here's Kiwi!

 

Here's Joybell

 

Now, please correct me if I'm wrong, but we think Kiwi is a male and Joybell is a female. Can anyone tell about how old they are?

 

Here's a picture of their cage!

 

Please tell me how the cage looks and if there is anything I should change or anything I'm doing wrong.

 

Now, for my next batch of questions!

 

I'm not sure how well training is really going or what I even should expect. One reason it took me so long to get pictures up is because today was actually the first day Joybell has been out of the cage! I know, I know... that's bad. However, she will absolutely never stand on my finger and today I finally just grabbed her and took her out. Things didn't really go too well as I had to chase her around the dining room to catch her to put her back in.

 

Kiwi on the other hand, will stand on my finger if I corner him enough where he doesn't have anyplace else to go (Joybell just bites me when this happens). Kiwi is reluctant to leave his cage but does pretty well once he gets out. He doesn't run from me and will happily get back on my finger when he's out of the cage. He's always very anxious to get back in though (funny, I thought it would be the opposite).

 

Does this sound like I'm making any progress to you at all? I feel like I'm not doing a very good job.

 

Question #2 - Is it normal for them to bicker several times a day and get mad at each other? Sometime they really get to squawking. Other times they cuddle right up to each other. Is this normal?

 

Frustration point #1 - I STILL can't get them to eat ANY veggies!

 

Question #3 - Both birds have just one feather on their right side that is kinda long and sticks out. Is this something to do with the way the wings were clipped?

 

Question #4 - They never play with their toys and they haven't touched their cuttlebone... should I be worried?

 

You guys are all great and have been such a big help... Thanks!!!

Thanks again, everyone! I'm back and I finally have pictures!

 

Here's Kiwi!

 

Here's Joybell

 

Now, please correct me if I'm wrong, but we think Kiwi is a male and Joybell is a female. Can anyone tell about how old they are?

 

Yes Kiwi is definately a boy and Joybell is dfinately a girl. They both look to be adults. I would say at least 6-7months old at the very youngest. Because they both have their full coloured ceres already.

 

Here's a picture of their cage!

 

Please tell me how the cage looks and if there is anything I should change or anything I'm doing wrong.

 

The cage is okay. :budgiedance:

 

Now, for my next batch of questions! :redalbino:

 

I'm not sure how well training is really going or what I even should expect. One reason it took me so long to get pictures up is because today was actually the first day Joybell has been out of the cage! I know, I know... that's bad. However, she will absolutely never stand on my finger and today I finally just grabbed her and took her out. Things didn't really go too well as I had to chase her around the dining room to catch her to put her back in.

 

Kiwi on the other hand, will stand on my finger if I corner him enough where he doesn't have anyplace else to go (Joybell just bites me when this happens). Kiwi is reluctant to leave his cage but does pretty well once he gets out. He doesn't run from me and will happily get back on my finger when he's out of the cage. He's always very anxious to get back in though (funny, I thought it would be the opposite).

 

Does this sound like I'm making any progress to you at all? I feel like I'm not doing a very good job.

 

How long have you had them for? I would get them finger trained and used to your hand before taking them out of the cage. This way they will be less frightened of you when you need to put them back in the cage. You can use millet to entice them on to your hand. With Joybell I would just try to feed her with millet and get her used to that before getting her to step up. That way she can get used to having yur hand in the cage. Once she is okay with you hand in there and she happily eats the millet from your hand. You can use it to entice her onto your hand to step up. Then wen she is used to that you can try to take her out of the cage. This may take a few weeks as these budgies are older and have had more time to larn to be afraid of humans. Do a training session for 10 to 15 minutes 2-3 times a day.

 

Question #2 - Is it normal for them to bicker several times a day and get mad at each other? Sometime they really get to squawking. Other times they cuddle right up to each other. Is this normal?

 

Yes this is very normal. I would only get worried if they actually start to physically attack each other, and only then if they draw blood or hurt each other. Budgies will bicker.

 

Frustration point #1 - I STILL can't get them to eat ANY veggies!

 

Just keep trying sometimes it takes months for them to get used to veggies. One thing is to make sure that the new food is smaller than their heads, so that they won't be scared of it. You can try and sprinkle some seed onto the veggies. Try some broccolli or some wet romaine lettuce sprinkled with seed. Experiment with how you present it. Some budgies like it in bowls, some like it chopped up, some like it to hang from a peg.

 

Question #3 - Both birds have just one feather on their right side that is kinda long and sticks out. Is this something to do with the way the wings were clipped?

 

Yes the wings haven't been clipped very well. I would clip off that feather as it would be liable to break easily without the support of the other feathers. And if it was only on the right wing, am I right in assuming they only have one wing clipped? If they do, it would be a good idea to even up their clip and clip their other wing too. This is because a bird with one clipped wing cannot control its flight properly and has to overcompensate, which can cause it to land badly or hurt itself.

 

Question #4 - They never play with their toys and they haven't touched their cuttlebone... should I be worried?

 

No I wouldn't worry too much about that. If they are new they are probably still settling in and it may take awhile for them to do so.

Edited January 16, 200718 yr by Sailorwolf

Hi Tony, you are doing great. Kiwi has come a long way by the sounds of things. Now you need to make his out of cage time fun, by giving him special treats or seting up a bit of a playgym, near to the cage. Hopefully doing all this will make Joybell a bit jealous and, monkey see, monkey do, will start to copy kiwi. You have made great progress, it is harder to do with 2 than it is one on one. Give it time :hap:

 

As for the cage, try changing things around a bit from time to time, using new toys and different perches. Natural branches are good. Mirrors are often not a good idea if you have more than one bird as some birds fall in love with the budgie in the mirror.

 

I would also try to use more hanging toys. They love simple toys such as bells, linked rings, hanging balls with bells in them. Even some cotton rope or paper pegged to the side of the cage for shredding. Moving every thing around now and then stops them from being territorial or scared of anything new you put in there. Plus this gives them more time to get used to your hands in the cage.

 

Don't give up on the vegies, just experiment with different ways of serving it up. Mine started to love their vegies when I started cutting off the little tiny balls off the heads of broccoli and grating carrot very finely etc. So the bits weren't much bigger than their seed. That got them used to there being yummy little things in a bowl in their cage. After a while I didn't have to cut it soo tiny and I could add more and varied vegies to it. Now they will accept bits of carrots or a slice of apple of a broccoli head shoved through the side of their cages.

 

The budgies know when they need to go and attack a cuttlebone or mineral block. They just haven't felt the need to grind down their beaks or top up on calcium yet. They will, in their own good time :hap:

 

Hope this helps,

 

Feathers

Edited January 16, 200718 yr by feathers