Posted March 9, 200817 yr I would like to introduce my (Boys??) Benny & Charlie. Benny is the bluey colour, & Charlie is the Green one. I wanted to make sure they were both easily identified so my kids don't argue which is which... They are hopefully both boys - neither I or the shop assistants were confident in picking, but at least the shop assistants were honest about it. Charlie is very tame already. We have only had him home a couple of hours and he is very comfortable being handled, and Danielle has had him perched on her shoulder for the last half an hour watching tv. Benny seems a bit unsure still. We are took him out for 10 mins, but he seemed to be fretting a bit, so thought we would leave him alone to settle in and try again tomorrow. http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg219/burdies/Cage.jpg http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg219/b...arlieBenny2.jpg http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg219/b...arlieBenny1.jpg http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg219/burdies/Benny.jpg Don't know if I am adding pics right??? will see how it goes... Any feedback on age / sex etc would be greatly appreciate. Thanks Edited March 10, 200817 yr by Elly you added the pictures right they were slightly oversized they need to be no more then 450x450 :D) so I turned them into links
March 9, 200817 yr Beautiful budgies Now, l'm no pro, but from what l've learnt about the bars on the head meaning its young, l would say that Charlie is not all that young. Nice sized cage by the way! I saw one today that was very similar for $140 and l was very tempted to get it
March 9, 200817 yr Charlie is a mature adult boy - not a baby though.... He looks very nice and i see he is waring a blue ring on his leg. this will have the year he hatched on it Benny - is a cute Yellow Face type 2 Normal Sky Blue ( a mouth full hehehe) I cant tell Gender, need a closer picture. Looks to be male, but cant be sure. Charlie is about 10-14 weeks old and going through a first molt Your cage is a great size The perches are better running from front to back to give them more room to fly. I have just noticed that Benny has a leg ring too. That will also give you his year of hatching Edited March 9, 200817 yr by **Liv**
March 9, 200817 yr They are cute as! Charlie is definately a boy, but not young. His cere is very blue and he has no bars on his forhead. Benny looks younger, and maybe a boy but it's a bit hard to see from the photos. Your cage looks fantastic. My thoughts on Charlie and his tameness. I think he was previously owned and tamed by someone else, and has been sold to the pet shop for re-homing. It would be very unusual to buy a pet shop budgie that has spent all his life in a pet shop, to be happy to sit on your shoulder just hours after you get him. One bonus is that he is 'pre tamed' if not a baby
March 9, 200817 yr One quick question about the cage setup, do you have the food/water bowls near a perch? My setup in my cage are those disposable water and feeders, which are very low to the bottom of the cage, and l have a perch in front of them so they can sit on the perch and eat easily EDIT: heres a picture of what l mean; this is my darling bossy boots Sherbet. See how she has easy access to her food and water dispensers? Also, note the faint lines on the top of her head; also known as "bars". If you have a look in my signature at her picture, the bars are completely gone, meaning she's no longer a baby - she's over 6 months old now. Edited March 9, 200817 yr by Missy
March 9, 200817 yr Author Thanks for all your feedback. Missy.. re cage set up. I have 1 water and 1 seed bowl on the floor at the back of the cage, as they both seem to spend more time there than on perches. I also have 1 seed and 1 water on the front of the cage, I will move the perches a bit closer to the feeders on the front of the cage. The cage was my Hubby's idea. I was originally going to get one around 50cm squarish, but Hubby said bigger the better. It was actually on special too ($150 incl stand), which helped. Maesie.. When we were at the petshop, we originally picked out Benny. He definately looked younger (especially with the fluffier feathers at the front of his head). We then decided to get a 2nd bird (thanks to hubby) and saw Charlie. I mentioned to the sales girl he seemed bigger and older, and she agreed. The cage they were in were for "Hand reared" budgies and she said up to around 16weeks old. She admitted to not being too knowledgable on budgies, but the owner (not in on Sundays) had specifically placed these birds in that cage as they had been handled privately prior. It didn't really bother me if he was a bit older, as you said, as he is already quite tame. He has taken to Danielle really well. Liv... I haven't had a good look at the details on the leg rings. I will check tomorrow what they say and let you know. Will go tuck little boys in to bed now. I have still left the shoebox they came home in at the bottom of the cage. They seem to like to go hide in there a bit. Is that okay, or should I take it out? Deb
March 9, 200817 yr No worries... I'd prob take out the shoe box. They don't really need to go into it... if however it makes you feel better to leave it in tonight, you could, but I'd definately remove it tomorrow. Your boys are adorable... regardless of ages. I hope they sleep well tonight.xxx
March 9, 200817 yr http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg219/b...arlieBenny1.jpg Charlie looks Cinnimon (brown wing markings) in this picture. Are the markings on his wings black like Benny's or more brown??? Edited March 10, 200817 yr by Elly oversized picture
March 9, 200817 yr Author Charlie looks Cinnimon (brown wing markings) in this picture. Are the markings on his wings black like Benny's or more brown??? Hi Liv, Charlie's markings do seem to be more brown than black. I also have another question. I have a big black sheet to drape over the cage. Should I completely cover the whole cage, or leave a little gap for some light to come in? Do birds normally go to sleep on the perch, or on the bottom of the cage. Should there be anything solid on the bottom of the cage (ours just has the wires, then the tray under the wires). Also, we have a variety of native bushes in our garden. Gum trees, banksias, etc. I was going to put some natural branches in the cage. Is there any plants or species of tree that is best, or that I should avoid? Thanks
March 9, 200817 yr Charlie looks Cinnimon (brown wing markings) in this picture. Are the markings on his wings black like Benny's or more brown??? Hi Liv, Charlie's markings do seem to be more brown than black. I also have another question. I have a big black sheet to drape over the cage. Should I completely cover the whole cage, or leave a little gap for some light to come in? Do birds normally go to sleep on the perch, or on the bottom of the cage. Should there be anything solid on the bottom of the cage (ours just has the wires, then the tray under the wires). Also, we have a variety of native bushes in our garden. Gum trees, banksias, etc. I was going to put some natural branches in the cage. Is there any plants or species of tree that is best, or that I should avoid? Thanks With the sheet, cover the cage leaving a small gap to allow some light to get it. It might be a good idea to leave a lamp on or something too... Any native branches are fine. If they're from your garden at least you know they haven't been sprayed. Just hose them down to remove poo etc and then add them. If you can find some nice strong ones, use them to replace the ones your cage came with... varying thickness are good. While your at it... give them some leave etc... to chew on. I'd also be introducing them to veggies etc... mine love corn and carrot (check out our FAQ's for more) They prob wont eat them straight away, but if you start giving them to them every day/every second day, they'll soon try them. And... if you start them early, it may not take as long!!! Check these out! Safe wood Fruit and Veggies Edited March 9, 200817 yr by maesie
March 9, 200817 yr Deb - for the sleeping patterns, my two tend to sleep either on their swing/perch or actually hanging onto the side of the cage! The wire/metal bottom is fine, thats all l have. As for the branches, all l know is that to not get any branches that have been sprayed with chemicals. Even if they haven't, before you put them in give them a wash under clean water Have you heard them both chirp yet? That was the most exciting part for me when l got my budgies
March 9, 200817 yr benny looks exactly like my Bing and Bing also has brown wing marking but only on the very edge of his/her wings does that make him a cinnamon wing? they look very happy and i love the cage, have fun with your two little balls of fluff
March 9, 200817 yr Hi There, I love your budgies... they are gorgeous. I'm not sure exactly what colour the ring is that Charlie has on, but if it is a club registered budgie breeder check the colour and match it below, this would be the year he was born. The year would also be on the ring after the letters. 2002 Black 2003 Red 2004 Blue 2005 Purple 2006 Gold 2007 Green 2008 Black Feathers. Edited March 9, 200817 yr by Feathers
March 9, 200817 yr Very Nice. If Charlie has a WRBS ring on, I might be able to find out who the breeder is.
March 10, 200817 yr Author Hi again, Benny & Charlie had a very good night. They seem to really get along well. I'm glad I ended up getting 2 - even if they bond with each other more than us. I have had both out again today. Charlie was happy to sit perched on Danielle's shoulder again. Benny is still a bit unsure, but doesn't fight if I hold him firmly and scratch behind his head. He flies away pretty quickly though once I let him go. Both birds have 1 wing clipped. Is it better to let them grow back, or keep clipping? Regarding their rings. Both birds have green. From what I can make out (they weren't very co-operative in staying still to let me get a good look) Charlie's reads WRB 07 690 and Benny's is WRB 07 1670. I would be very interested to know their origin. Especially if Benny ends up a Bonny, I'd like to know if they were from the same blood line or if they could be bred. Again the petshop people had no idea. I have added a few Gumtree branches and leaves to the cage to make it more homely. They seem to like hiding amongst the leaves. By the way, my dog Jezabel has made it her place to "guard" the cage. She comes in when I am home and heads straight for the cage and lies down in front. hasn't once barked or startled birds - I think she just assumes it is her job to protect them. She did the same when I brought home my kitten and also when I had each of the 2 kids. Birds don't seem to even notice her there. More pics.. The whole crew - Jezabelle (the dog) keeping guard, and Paprika (the cat) on the stairs - who knows what she is thinking Charlie whispering sweet nothings into Danielle's ear Edited March 10, 200817 yr by Burdies
March 10, 200817 yr Cannot see the pictures from the links provided, again, it is always better if you can scale down your pictures to regulation size so folks don't have to link elsewhere, thanks! Hope to see your guys soon!
March 10, 200817 yr Author Cannot see the pictures from the links provided, again, it is always better if you can scale down your pictures to regulation size so folks don't have to link elsewhere, thanks! Hope to see your guys soon! Hi Phoebe I must have still been editing my post when you were looking. Hopefully I have it right now. I'm still working out this photo-bucket thing. I edited & resized my pics and saved, but when I copied the link, the original ones still came up. Might size down in windows before uploading to photobucket next time. Deb.
March 10, 200817 yr you mention that both birds have only one wing clipped, you should get both wings clipped. one wing clip is not good, it makes them off balance when they fly. you could go back to the petstore and ask them tp do it for you or you can go to an avian vet to do it to. Edited March 10, 200817 yr by birdluv
March 10, 200817 yr Author you mention that both birds have only one wing clipped, you should get both wings clipped. one wing clip is not good, it makes them off balance when they fly.you could go back to the petstore and ask them tp do it for you or you can go to an avian vet to do it to. Thanks Birdluv, They do seem a little silly when they try to fly off - tend to tip sideways and almost crash-land. I was told the clipped feathers grow back in a couple of weeks. Is that true? If so - is it better just to leave them be birds and let them fly? I'm not much in favour if snipping or clipping anything that's not broken - unless there is a valid reason for it. Thanks. ps... someone said this website it addictive - that would have to be the UNDERSTATEMENT of the year!!!! I gotta go pick up Danielle from school - I could almost get carried away here and let time get away from me.
March 10, 200817 yr glad to see all your pets are getting along I'm not experienced enough to tell you about clipping but I'm not a fan of the idea...
March 10, 200817 yr Your birds look fantastic! Its great to see you have their best interests at heart :budgiedance: I'm sure they are grateful for you looking after them. When l bought Fizzy, l asked to have his wings clipped, only so l could help him get tame(which never happened), and wouldn't fly away. Little did l know that the pet store guy only clipped one and Fizzy was off-balance, but now his wing has pretty much fully grown back, and it's been two months since l got him, it could have been earlier, but l didn't notice the wing before. Edited March 10, 200817 yr by Missy
March 10, 200817 yr Great photos. I'm not an expert on rings, but because they both have '07' on their rings, I'd be assuming they were both born last year? (If they were ringed correctly). Maybe Charlie the beginning of last year, and Benny the end of last year??? So 14mths and 3mths ?????? (that's going on a jan and dec hatching as an example) To the wing clipping... both wings should always be clipped (if that's what you choose to do) If you want them clipped for ease of handling, training and catching, get the other one done. If you don't wish to clip... just wait for the other one to grow out. This website addictive.... NOOOOO never!!! (says someone who had racked up over 1000 posts in under 4mths :budgiedance: ) Your other pets look like they're keeping a close eye on the newbies, and I'm really glad they had a good first night!
