Posted March 15, 200916 yr Finally getting around to introducing myself. I'm not really new, I've been hanging around reading these forums for 6 months and trying to resist the urge to join. Apparently budgies really are addicting! I started with only two, and now I have 6. Let me start with my human flock. My husband and I have 5 kids, ages 22 down to 10. As a result, we've also had over the years many pets! Currently they are 3 dogs, 6(outdoor) cats, 2 tanks full of fish, and of course, the budgies. In the past I've always said "no birds, ever" Too messy, too noisy, too much work. To tell the truth, I just wasn't interested, and thought I didn't like birds. I didn't feel guilty saying no, because I have allowed all kinds of things from hermit crabs to snakes, to even a tarantula! Well you know how they say "never say 'never' "... Being an avid garage sale shopper, I found myself last fall, face to face with 2 parakeets (as they are called here in the US) in a cage with a sign: 2 Parakeets, cage, food, everything: $10.00. Well, I know a good deal when I see one (10 dollars!), and I knew the kids would think I rocked if I brought them home, and fortunately for me my husband was out of the country and unreachable by cell phone... That's how Patrick and Sean came to join our family This is Patrick: "> And this is Sean: "> Now, Not knowing much about them, I figured I had "one of each", a green one and a blue one. Figuring out they were boys was easy, and we went on line to learn how to take care of them. I started reading lots of Parakeet books, and I found out they they came in many different colors,too! I also found out that I really liked having them, and during one of my many visits to the pet store (lots of animals = lots of pet food!), I noticed a parakeet that was strikingly beautiful compared to all the rest I'd ever seen. I think that's when I began plotting to convince my husband that 3 in a cage would be no noisier than 2 in a cage. But first I decided I would have to look all over town to make sure there wasn't an even prettier one I would rather have. That's how I found not only the prettiest bird in town, but alslo the second prettiest, and so Finn and Colleen joined the family. (We were having fun with our Irish name theme going.) Here is Finnie (who turned out to be a girl, so "his" name got feminized): "> and here is Colleen: "> okay, so I'm done, right? I told my husband that my flock was complete. After all, I only had the one cage, and it barely fits 4, right? (At least the guy in the store said it would be fine for 4.) (You will have to forgive my lack of quarantine at the time, I hadn't found this forum yet, and the store people never mentioned it. Come to think of it, none of the little books I had been reading mentioned it, either- no wonder pet buyers are uninformed.) So we wanted to know what color Finn was, so we did a search for parakeet colors and mutations, and that's how I found BBC :happy-dancing: But I guess I wasn't done. Reading so much here, and learning so much about budgie genetics and breeding got me really interested in the mutations I had and how they could match up, and what colors I could get from them... At the time my husband said "You're not planning to breed those, are you?" And I said," no way, of course not!" Six months later, I approach him and say "would you mind much if I did breed them, and by the way, it would require buying a couple more..." So that's how Nigel Thornbirdy and Pheobe joined the family. Nigel: "> And Phoebe: "> Well, that's my flock. Thank you for reading. I could write pages and pages about them, so I am looking forward to many happy hours spent here, and getting to know all of you. I've already been getting flack for 6 months for having a bunch of Australian budgie friends who don't even know I exist, so it will be nice being a real virtual person! "Yes,I know lots of people in Australia... well, no... they don't know me..." :hap:
March 15, 200916 yr Hey awesome to meet you. Your little budgie friends are real cuties. Breed Sean and Phoebe together (when Phoebe is older) and you will get an entire clutch of beautiful opalines. You also have a friend from New Zealand too :happy-dancing:
March 15, 200916 yr And a friend from Colorado :happy-dancing: Welcome to here, your birds are beautiful. Nice story
March 15, 200916 yr Author Thank you, Sailorwolf. My best guess is that Phoebe was born/hatched in January, so maybe that will be an option for me next year. For now, I'm keeping her separate from the rest in the hopes that she will bond with me and be my buddy. I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm forcing her to choose between me and loneliness, but I think she'll come around. When she and Nigel were in quarantine together, she was not afraid of me at all, she was so young, she would hop right onto my hand. But once I took him away, she withdrew a bit, and now is more hesitant about coming to me. But I will persevere. If I thought I was making her too unhappy by keeping her alone, I could always put her in with the others, but I think she will get over it and be happy with just me. Thank you, too Cory. We have family in Colorado, so we visit there a lot. It is a beautiful state. P.S. I hope Louie is getting better. Edited March 15, 200916 yr by Finnie
March 15, 200916 yr Isnt Colleen a girls name ? In this photo the cere looks blue Could be a weird photo ?
March 15, 200916 yr They are all reaaaally pretty, but I especially like Phoebe- she looks like a watercolour/ink painting!
March 15, 200916 yr Thank you, Sailorwolf. My best guess is that Phoebe was born/hatched in January, so maybe that will be an option for me next year. For now, I'm keeping her separate from the rest in the hopes that she will bond with me and be my buddy. I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm forcing her to choose between me and loneliness, but I think she'll come around. When she and Nigel were in quarantine together, she was not afraid of me at all, she was so young, she would hop right onto my hand. But once I took him away, she withdrew a bit, and now is more hesitant about coming to me. But I will persevere. If I thought I was making her too unhappy by keeping her alone, I could always put her in with the others, but I think she will get over it and be happy with just me. Thank you, too Cory. We have family in Colorado, so we visit there a lot. It is a beautiful state. P.S. I hope Louie is getting better. Yes Colorado is beautiful but cold too.. ..and I'm a little confused about how Louie is doing right now.. actually I have no idea but he is going to the vet soon so hopefully he will be good. Thanks
March 15, 200916 yr Author Isnt Colleen a girls name ? In this photo the cere looks blueCould be a weird photo ?Yes, that is a bad photo. In real life, her cere is so totally brown and crusty, that you would never have any doubt. Poor Colleen, I must play favorites with the other birds, because this was the only picture of her I had where she wasn't crowded out by the others. They are all reaaaally pretty, but I especially like Phoebe- she looks like a watercolour/ink painting!Thank you , a watercolor painting is exactly what I have been saying she looks like!Sometimes I think Colleen is in the other room looking in her mirror saying "mirror, mirror on the wall..." And the answer comes back "Phoebe is the fairest in all the land." Poor, poor Colleen, has been demoted!
