Posted February 5, 200718 yr Hi Everyone, My name is Laura. I'm relatively new to budgies, it's been just about a year since one flew into my garden and landed on my arm. Well, I was instantly hooked. I looked for his owner in the lost and found ads, but no one ever came forward so he's here to stay with me! Then I needed a friend for him, and well....the rest is history I now have five adult budgies, three males and two females and three babies that just hatched this week. I have some photos to post here: This photos shows, from L to R: Bluey, Pteri (who started it all) and Francine. Pteri and Francine are an 'item' now but no eggs as of yet. This is Bluey sitting outside of the nestbox with Ester hanging out of the hole. This was before any eggs were laid. Ester is an unusual color, she looks gray in front but has some blue on her back between her wings. She laid five eggs, the first one hatched on Jan 31, the second on Feb 2 and the third was this morning, Feb. 4. I'm very excited about these babies and will want to ask lots of questions here. Then there's Cloudy who is the most tame of the flock. He's about 9 months old, but his cere has yet to turn dark blue. It' a light to medium blue. I don't know if this is a variation of normal for his age or not. I've been devouring these boards, reading everything and have found it all very helpful. This is a great board. Hope my photos show up. Laura P.S. I'm not 100% positive that Pteri is a male. I'm just going by his behavior. I've heard that with the recessive pieds, the female will have a crusty cere. If that's true, then he is a male since his is smooth. Edited August 27, 200816 yr by **Liv** removed broken images
February 5, 200718 yr Awe welcome to our boards your flock is super cute. I believe Pteri is a boy. I have a recessive pied and his cere looks very similar a nice smooth and deep pink. We look forward to getting to met you and your flock. Congrats on the babies.
February 5, 200718 yr Good luck with the babies. The parents and the rest of you birds are very beautiful.
February 5, 200718 yr Hello and welcome to the forums, glad you are finding out interesting information, I know I did when I joined. Beautiful budgies that you have!
February 5, 200718 yr Hi and welcome! Your birds are lovely. Ester might be a mauve instead of a grey, as she looks a blue/grey from the front to me. Her cheek patches aren't grey, and if she were a true grey I think they would be. I have a hen the same color as your Cloudy and his cere looks normal to me. The cere will get darker as his hormone levels get higher. I can't wait to see pictures of the babies - I'm sure they will be beautiful.
February 5, 200718 yr Hi and welcome. Your birds are lovely great photos. Would love to see the babies, How old are they? Hope you enjoy it here. Cheers
February 5, 200718 yr Awe welcome to our boards your flock is super cute. I believe Pteri is a boy. I have a recessive pied and his cere looks very similar a nice smooth and deep pink. We look forward to getting to met you and your flock. Congrats on the babies. Thanks! I agree Pteri must be a boy but just lately I've had my doubts because he doesn't seem to want to mate with his beloved Ester. They appear to be really bonded - constant preening, he feeds her, lots of head bobbing. She even assumes the mating position with her head thrown back and tail up, then he comes up next to her and puts one foot on her back and then always flies off at that point. I think he can't make a commitment Hi and welcome! Your birds are lovely. Ester might be a mauve instead of a grey, as she looks a blue/grey from the front to me. Her cheek patches aren't grey, and if she were a true grey I think they would be. I have a hen the same color as your Cloudy and his cere looks normal to me. The cere will get darker as his hormone levels get higher. :budgiedance: I can't wait to see pictures of the babies - I'm sure they will be beautiful. Thanks for the nice welcome everyone! I'll be sure to post photos of the babies. Right now they're 5, 3 and 1 day old with two more eggs in the nest. Rainbow, I'm glad you mentioned that Ester might be a mauve. I had read about the mauve color but wasn't ever able to find a photo of one to see if that fit her description. Does that mean she's a mauve dominant pied? I don't know if you can see enough of her in the photo, but she has the little white spot on her head.
February 5, 200718 yr HI,your budgies are just beautiful.I love Ester.Have fun watching the babies grow.
February 5, 200718 yr Ester looks like a dominant pied maybe a clearflight? if her flights are white with no markings and she also looks opaline and yep she is a mauve.
February 5, 200718 yr Ester looks like a dominant pied maybe a clearflight? if her flights are white with no markings and she also looks opaline and yep she is a mauve. Here's another photo of Ester inside the nest box. She usually doesn't look this colorful and appears lighter when she's not fluffed up, but this gives a better idea of her markings. Think she's opaline?
February 6, 200718 yr Yes she is a Clearflight Dominant Pied, Opaline, Mauve she is gorgeous Thanks, Lovey! I got her from a 'bird farm' where she was sold as a breeder. They told me that she was a good color for breeding. One other unusual characteristic is the color of her eye rings. You can't see it in the photo, but they are brownish, not a lighter shade like the other adult budgies I have. It almost gives her the look of a recessive pied's dark eyes.
February 6, 200718 yr I almost missed welcoming you to the forum.... Very happy to have you here. Your birds look great, and lovely photos too. Best of luck with your breeding. Look forward to following their story. Have a great time here. Cheers karen
