Hi,

 

I am quite new to this forum. I did have two budgies until this afternoon, when Cho had to be euthanised . She was quite ill with a "ladies problem", so it was a mercy for her to go, but it leaves poor old Harry all by himself. I think that I would like to stick to males at this stage, and am wondering about some advice. My questions are: where is a good place to get a pet budgie (I am in Mithcam, Victoria), how many males should you have together, and how do you introduce them? I have a mini aviary that is about 1.6m high, 0.9 m wide and about 0.6m deep. I am looking forward to your worldly advice.

 

Chrisg

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

Hi Chris. Keep in mind that any budgie you get now needs to be kept separate from your current one for at least a month on quarantine. Are you looking for tame bird/s and baby or adult? If you are looking for an adult/s I may have a couple for sale at the moment but they are aviary birds not tame. I am near Heidelberg

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

Hi Chris. Keep in mind that any budgie you get now needs to be kept seperate from your current one for atleast a month on quarantine. Are you looking for tame bird/s and baby or adult? If you are looking for an adult/s I may have a couple for sale at the moment but they are aviary birds not tame. I am near Heidelberg

 

Thanks Melbournebudgies. As we have two cats taken from the wild (excellent hunters) we made a decision not to allow the birds to leave the aviary, so them not being tame is not a problem. I also have a second cage that is about 1.6m x 0.6m x 0.6m that I could use for quarantine without them being compromised. What are the likely dynamics of having three budgies, though?

In that size and with three males no worries

Chris. I have also been through the same thing. When it comes to buying budgies, getting one off a reputable breeder is a great choice. But sometimes its not that easy either. If you are familiar with budgies it will be easy to pick a quality bird no matter where you get it from.

I have gotten budgies from 4 different pet stores- but I visited heaps and heaps of breeders and stores to find a great bird. And I hate to admit it my recent one is from Pets shop. Just cause a bird has ended up at a Pet store doesnt mean its any less of a bird!

Just be careful of its health etc.

 

I myself live in wantirna south and work at a store in narre warren, there are heaps of stores around and a few breeders. I had trouble finding a bird, but thats cause I am super picky. lol

There is a store called fish n feather in kilsyth that you should have a check out

Good Luck and keep us posted

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

Geez jwancia, you must have paid a fortune for the privilege of that little guy!

 

I have no issue with buying from a pet shop either as long as the animals concerned are well cared for and the staff give good advice to their customers. Mainly I object to the exorbitant prices charged

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

I know what you mean by the health of the budgie. We bought Cho from a pet shop only two months ago, and she seemed fine, but obviously she wasn't. Mind you, it may have been that who ever sold her didn't realise what was going on either. Any tips on how to spot a good bird?

Budgies are quite social little animals. Its not often that they fight with each other. Especially if its just 3 males.

Bright clear eyes, no discoloration above the cere (although some can get this at certain times of year with no ill health), not fluffed up and most importantly a clean bum. A healthy budgie should be bright and chirpy and when walking into an aviary full of budgies you should notice that they will quiet down briefly but then will resume their chatter.

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

Sounds good to me Melbournebudgies. By The Way, what colour are the adults that might be available?

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by birdluv

I'll have to PM you tomorrow, I'm not sure what's there to go but they would most likely be opalines and probably green or grey. Will PM

Great!! I already have a little green boy, but my recent experience has shown not to worry about colour anyway - just go for health!!

Thats what i did with my newest! I wanted a pet type blue pied and ended up with a big english violet baby!

Hi & Welcome to BBC

 

Sorry to hear of your loss ..

 

Personally as a breeder I think that you should by from a breeder not a pet shop ...

They tell you that the birds have been wormed and use a multi vitamin supplement in their water

But they DO NOT QUARANTINE new birds ( well the ones that I have been to) - As Health is the No1 Key

in purchasing a new bird - Most breeders have that in their mind 110% of the time ....

 

If you are going to buy from a breeder be sure to check out their set up ....

 

Look for sick / un well birds kept with others

Smell ..... Smell the place does it stink! ( no one thinks of this one)

Check for mice / rats traps -

Check the seed levels and water levels

( most time the water or seed will have poo in it which is totally understandable but not a day or 2 worth)

That is probably the best advice I could give you .....

 

Good luck with looking for a new bird ....

You have been given some great advice already so i just want to say Welcome

Oh and clarification of the mouse/rat trap thing from Neat, the presence of these isn't a bad thing it means rodents are being controlled. Unfortunately aviaries are very attractive to rodents as an easy source of food and for many breeders (myself included) they are a constant battle, especially at this time of year.

 

Good list Neat

Thanks so much to everyone for the help. As an inexperienced budgie owner it's nice to know of a source of advice in relation to managing them. I appreciate your help. :hap:

Welcome to the forum. In the FAQ section there are 2 excellent articles about Evaluation and Pet Shop and then also a Breeder I suggest you read it for advise.

 

As for having your bird for 2 months and her getting sick it may because she was bred poorly and was dorminating an illness or it could have been something in your home you will never know. What symptoms did your bird have before she passed away? I would first try and work out why your bird passed away as much as you can before finding another one and ensuring that the one you have now is healthy and is not suffering from the same thing. That is just my opinion.

Elly he did say it had womens troubles so I'm guessing eggbound or similiar :hap:

Agreed Neat.

 

MB: I got Mak for $50 handreared, Rook for $35 untame and Levi for $50. PP had two other budgies, "being tamed" for 75 each! And one was full grown (iris rings no bars ect etc). Crazyness

Personally I reckon even $50 is overpriced, I sell my tame babies whether I hand raise them or not for $20 each, no different for some colours, etc, the only ones I will charge more for are my crested and only because they are more expensive for me to breed as the success rate for actually crested chicks is variable.

 

$35 for an untamed pet bird :hap: I sell mine for $10!

Edited November 3, 200816 yr by Neat

Elly he did say it had womens troubles so I'm guessing eggbound or similiar

 

Got it MB I did miss that I apologize. :hap:

Hi, welcome

Hi guys,

 

I also thought that Cho was egg bound as she had had two eggs a couple of weeks before she got a swelling around her vent and a loss of feathers in that area. Inoticed the swelling for three days before I took her to the vet, but being inexperienced I thought perhaps she was just going to lay another egg. I took her to an avian vet that I have found (based in Burwood and absolutely fabulous). Initially one vet said that she thought that Cho was egg bound and gave me oral calcium and an antibiotic to administer. I went back the next day, as planned and saw a different vet. He said that he couldn't feel an egg at all. He attempted to catheterize her to drain the fluid to see what the problem was, and she nearly passed away during that procedure. The fluid that he was able to drain was clear, indicating no infection, and there was no egg material. At this stage she was finding it difficult to breathe as the fluid was filling her air sacs, and his advice was that the prognosis was poor and that she was suffering. After a lengthy discussion he reluctantly recommended euthanasia. He then conducted an autopsy to determine if the decision was correct and found that she had an enlarged uterus, and several large cysts about 0.5 cm in diameter. He advised that the only option for saving her would have been several bouts of surgery with intensive post operative care between each. That course would have been very expensive (think in thousands, not hundreds) and had a poor chance of success. The final diagnosis was advanced female reproductive tract disease.

 

For the record, the euthanasia was very merciful, and I held her throughout. The medication included an anesthetic which relaxed her and freed her from any pain. It was very sad, but was the best outcome in the circumstances.

 

In relation to selecting her at the pet shop, the vet told me that it would not be possible to have picked the condition prior to it developing, and that it was not preventable through feeding or housing. He said that medication, including massive doses of calcium was of no help. He also said that the only way to address this disease would have been a hysterectomy.

 

My purpose in joining this forum is to start educating myself a bit more in relation to budgie care. I have now learned the hard way that they are delicate little beings that need to have their nuances of health monitored. I am not sure that given the complexity of the disease that she suffered that there would have been any better course available to her, but having access to more experienced people will assist me in determining the right time to take her to the vet.

 

The dilemma that I was not required to make was that of deciding how much to spend on rescuing this budgie. Spending hundreds I am comfortable with, but I am not sure that I would spend thousands. Am I alone in this? Have any of you needed to place a dollar value on the life of one of your budgies?

The dilemma that I was not required to make was that of deciding how much to spend on rescuing this budgie. Spending hundreds I am comfortable with, but I am not sure that I would spend thousands. Am I alone in this? Have any of you needed to place a dollar value on the life of one of your budgies?

 

You have to apply some practical reasoning and of course your emotional attachment to the bird would play a part. We all have our financial limitations and everyone has a line drawn in the sand over which they will not or cannot cross. Noone can in good conscience pass judgement on anyone based on their practical choices and financial means.

There is the other side of the coin though...as we often have many people who do weigh up the initial cost of the budgie ....say a $10 bird....against taking the bird to a vet in a necessary situation. Some people will always see a budgie as a "disposable bird" and easily replaced with another $10 spent. Many cases on here happen where children have these birds as pets and many of their parents will refuse to take the bird to a vet when it needs it. Very frustrating when that happens.

Edited November 4, 200816 yr by KAZ