Posted January 19, 200817 yr Hello everyone, I'm Megan and this is "fuzzy butt" He's been living with us for all of three hours, and I'd like some advice please. firstly he/she was an on the spot purchase. I was actually out to buy some tomatoe plants, saw the cage of budgies in the nursery and fuzzy kept looking at me ( staring me down is more like it) So I decided I would stare back. The other budgies were indifferent to me but this little so-n-so kept squishing against the bars and chirping at me....................So of course i had to have him. anyways we have him home now and I think he's settled in. He's eating, doing little tricks and somersaults and making a *** of a noise. He's also bitten me (I tried to fix his food dish and he went me like I was not allowed near it, chirped his head off.) This is him playing.............lively little critter, and as funny as heck I htink they must have fed him coffee beans. apparently he's never been handled What i would like to know is : is this bird able to be tamed? And how do I do it? Around what age is he? why does he sit at the bottom of the cage like he's going to sleep (I thought he was sick at first.) Thanks in advance for any help you can give me
January 19, 200817 yr Hi Megan. Welcome to you and Fuzzy Butt (LOVE the name) If you look in the picture above, you can see the bars on his head going all the way down to his beak, this means he is very young. (not sure exactly) Therefore, this means he would be excellent to tame. Check out our taming tips in the FAQ's at the top of the forum. Basically start by talking to him and putting your hand in his cage when he is ready. Don't rush things, work at his pace and enjoy. If he is very young as I suspect, sitting on the floor as in the picture above may be him resting/sleeping? Does he do this on perches or just on the floor. By the look of his antics, he seems to be well adjusted and a real character. Some cage tips, replace his perches with natural tree branches(see safe plants in FAQ's), and give him plenty of toys. Along with his seed, be sure to offer plenty of fruit and vegies. Any more questions please ask. maesie xxx Edited January 19, 200817 yr by maesie
January 19, 200817 yr Hi and welcome to BBC. I'm sure you'll find everyone here very friendly and knowledegable. Fuzzy Butt, great name by the way :fear , is adorable and sounds like a real little character! Maesie, as always, has given some excellent advice, I find eucalyptus branches to be the best for my budgies (after a wash down) as they are great for exercising their feet and they can also be entertained by chewing them .
January 19, 200817 yr He looks vey young still Possibly 8 weeks or so , He / she still would not Know exactly what a perch is as they have spent all their life so far in a box or on the cage floor once he came out , give him time . He / She is a skyblue spangle. :fear
January 19, 200817 yr Just a quick query... Fuzz butt seems to be quite fluffed up, it's looks asthough he's going through a moult to me so i'd say he's inbetween 6 weeks and 3 months.. closer to the three month mark... Is he quite lethargic, fluffed up and light? i know no-one else has mentioned anyhting so it could just be me but in my eyes he's showing the signs of a sick bird... it could just be because of the moult though... keep a close eye on him and congrats on your new bird, glad to see he's charmed you already :fear P.s. patience is the key to training a bird this age... and perhaps wing clipping
January 19, 200817 yr I think Fuzzybutt is young as in weeks old, but I would be concerned about the way she is sitting fluffed up like that. Check for poopy bottom and feel the keelbone for signs of weight loss. If all well in that regard you are okay :fear
January 19, 200817 yr When I first bought Titch home for the first 3 or 4 days she sat fluffed up, often on the bottom of the quarantine cage and had a bit of a poopy bottom, however after that she perked right up ('de-fluffled', was very active and the poopy bottom disappeared) and has been as good as gold ever since, so I put it down to stress of the move and a new environment. That being said, it may or may not be a different case for Fuzzy Butt, so I would follow Kaz's advice and also just keep an eye on her. :fear
January 19, 200817 yr I think Fuzzybutt is young as in weeks old, but I would be concerned about the way she is sitting fluffed up like that. Check for poopy bottom and feel the keelbone for signs of weight loss. If all well in that regard you are okay :rip: I was thinking what you were thinking here that the feathers are still coming in and she is very young. I would keep an eye and make sure she is eating okay on her own. To check that you can blow on the seed dish lightly and see if any empty shells come flying off. Congrats on your baby. We have a wonderful FAQ section on taming and more so please check it out .
January 19, 200817 yr Author Thanks for all your advice guys . Update: Went back into town yesterday after reading the FAQ's and bought ladders and bells and bird grit paper for the bottom of the cage. Went out the back and picked up some sticks for the cage. fuzzy is now sitting on the branches and scratching on the grit. One thing though fuzzy won't eat out of the feeding tray, but if I put it on the floor of the cage he eats like there's no tomorrow. As you can see in one of the pics his bum is fine and clean. oh and the little white tips on his head seem to be young white stiff feathers, so i assume it's a malt. More questions : I live in the country and right next to a 'Landcare' site so I have about 20 species of gum that i can choose from , is there a particular species of gum that budgies like best? Also we have a lot of parakeets and cockys and galahs around here, If i was to hang his cage up outside will he become stressed with the other birds and will it throw the taming thing out the window? funny story : He gave my young son a heart attack this morning,. He was doing one of his somersaults and must of heard my boy come in and stopped half way through a turn. My son thought he'd been decapitated because his head was all tucked in . :(Laughing out loud): And in my sons words "It must be a girl because a boy bird wouldnt' play a bad trick on him like that" Thanks again guys your help has been much appreciated.
January 19, 200817 yr Thanks for all your advice guys . Update: Went back into town yesterday after reading the FAQ's and bought ladders and bells and bird grit paper for the bottom of the cage. Went out the back and picked up some sticks for the cage. fuzzy is now sitting on the branches and scratching on the grit. One thing though fuzzy won't eat out of the feeding tray, but if I put it on the floor of the cage he eats like there's no tomorrow. As you can see in one of the pics his bum is fine and clean. oh and the little white tips on his head seem to be young white stiff feathers, so i assume it's a malt. More questions : I live in the country and right next to a 'Landcare' site so I have about 20 species of gum that i can choose from , is there a particular species of gum that budgies like best? Also we have a lot of parakeets and cockys and galahs around here, If i was to hang his cage up outside will he become stressed with the other birds and will it throw the taming thing out the window? funny story : He gave my young son a heart attack this morning,. He was doing one of his somersaults and must of heard my boy come in and stopped half way through a turn. My son thought he'd been decapitated because his head was all tucked in . :hap: And in my sons words "It must be a girl because a boy bird wouldnt' play a bad trick on him like that" Thanks again guys your help has been much appreciated. Hi there It would be agood idea not to have any reflective things in the cage like mirrors or bells as they can "fall in love" with their reflection and that in turn makes them possessive over those items in preference to you. Sand grit sheets arent necessary and can, in some cases, be harmful. Good thing she hasnt a pooey bottom. If she is moulting she may be as old as 3-5 months although the bars near the cere make her look younger. Hanging a cage up outside can be dangerous. Best done only when you are out there, They can open doors and hatches and escape unless you have clips for all the escape areas, and also some other kinds of birds can and will "get at them" . My sister lost two birds just before Christmas when she hung the cage up outside, wasnt watching and the birds were slaughtered through the bars of the cage by larger predator birds. Gum branches ? Any kinds as far as I know. I have used them all and just make sure that where I collect them from there has been no spraying. Cheers Kaz :fear Edited January 20, 200817 yr by KAZ
January 20, 200817 yr funny story : He gave my young son a heart attack this morning,. He was doing one of his somersaults and must of heard my boy come in and stopped half way through a turn. My son thought he'd been decapitated because his head was all tucked in . :(Laughing out loud): And in my sons words "It must be a girl because a boy bird wouldnt' play a bad trick on him like that" :budgiedance: :hap: That is so cute, I can't say I agree with his reasoning though .
February 24, 200817 yr Author Oh dear, okay the person who told me keeping budgies is addictive. WAS RIGHT! I found instead of handling fuzzy I preferred to watch him play. And so did my boys And that has led to Sponge Bob and Gilly. so introducing Gilly! Named after a Cricketer set to retire and spongebob
February 24, 200817 yr I'm also glad Fuzzybutt is doing well, and your additions look very cute. Especially GILLY! (LOVE the name... Go Aussies!!!)
February 24, 200817 yr Fuzzy Butt is very cute and so are Fuzzy Butts friends :budgiedance: I agree, Budgies are very addictive! if you have the space, why stop at one, or 5, or 20, or 100 hehehe Edited February 24, 200817 yr by **Liv**
February 24, 200817 yr Fuzzy Butt is very cute and so are Fuzzy Butts friends I agree, Budgies are very addictive! if you have the space, why stop at one, or 5, or 20, or 100 hehehe ...or 200 or 300 like me :budgiedance:
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