Now there are two.

 

 

I’ve successfully managed to introduce a mate for Gladiator and I’vesolved the cold winter problem with a Snake Heater.

 

They are both doing well, showing off there superb aerial skills, flyingaround the garden in perfect formation and then landing in any of the manytrees, snuggling up and kissing each other before darting off, with a loud screech,to their nesting box.

 

I can watch them for hours.

 

If anybody else is interested in “How I done it”, I’ll gladly letyou know.

 

 

Pops..........you are a bit of a "bird whisperer" on the quiet arent you

 

 

Well done

Hello Kaz

 

The new little fellow, "Pretty Boy" only cost 10 bucks. He has been free for 2 weeks now and gives Gladiator, my wife and I so much joy.

How some people can keep little birds locked up in tiny little un-flyable cages beats me.

What tempted me to make the move was when Gladiator laid 2 eggs. Poor bird guarded them with her life.

I know she will be a good mother and I had to get a her a Mate.

 

Will they breed in winter KAZ and say if little ones do hatch, what do I do?

Did you buy a budgie and then set it free to fly with the one already on the loose?

Yes maesie

I got a big cage and put a identical breeding box in one corner inside it. I joined the 2 boxes together with a tunnel using the Cage Door as the trap door.

I was going to keep him imprisoned for 4 weeks, but a could no longer stand Pretty Boy marching up and down his perch in the cage, so I opened the trap door after 2 weeks. I thought I'd lost him but the following day he was at the wild bird feeder. The trick I think was to allow the Bird to see where the wild birds feed.

okay..... so you posted back earlier on here that:

 

We both know her days are numbered as Africa has other nasty bird eating birds.

 

and then today you post that you bought a new budgie and then set it free to be with the one already on the loose.

 

Doesn't make any sense at all to me. How will you feel if this new budgie gets killed by the other 'nasty bird eating birds' Africa has?!?! I feel really sorry for this new bird

okay..... so you posted back earlier on here that:

 

We both know her days are numbered as Africa has other nasty bird eating birds.

 

and then today you post that you bought a new budgie and then set it free to be with the one already on the loose.

 

Doesn't make any sense at all to me. How will you feel if this new budgie gets killed by the other 'nasty bird eating birds' Africa has?!?! I feel really sorry for this new bird

 

 

Especially as the newy is obviously from a "domestic/breeder/aviary/all-it-what-you-will" situation and won't have learnt the necessary survival skills to survive the wild. Releasing exotic pets into the wild is an enviromental no-no. It is bad enough when they escape but to actively encourage it.......

As a point to make, Britian now had a feral budgie problem, with authorities worried about the impact the feral flocks are having on the native birds.....to the extent of bringing in culling!!!

 

Food for thought!

Hello maesa, I understand where you are coming from. My wifealso gave me the gears.

 

Gladiator has now had 2 unfertile egg laying sessions and I feltsad for her and that's why I chose to take a "Male Cage Reared Budgie" and giveher a go at having a family. Sadly some of us humans get our kicks out ofcaptive creature's. I just choose not to have mine locked up in a cage.

 

Hezz, you have made a good point but at the same timecontradicted yourself. These little fellows are tough and instinctively canfend for themselves.

 

 

 

We are all on this forum because we are "Bunny Huggers" andthat makes us bat for the same team.

 

Hezz has made me aware of the negative side of this exercise.

 

1. I'm wrong to release an feral creature into thearea as we all can't stand those Indian Minors, so any babies out of this willbe captured and given to the Zoo.

 

2. I will not cage Gladiator and Pretty boy and neitherwill I replace Pretty Boy if he decides the spread his wings.

 

3. I will add more natural breeding Logs into the treesto encourage the Barbets to come back into my Garden. Gladiator, who is halfthe size, sadly took over the Barbets nest in the early days. Gladiator has herown box now but the Barbet who is around has not moved back into the Log.

Edited May 25, 201114 yr by Pops

Sadly some of us humans get our kicks out of captive creature's. I just choose not to have mine locked up in a cage.

 

Do you actually think that people that have a caged animals, be it a bird, rabbit, snake, lizard etc... do it 'for kicks'???? These animals (that are sold as pets) are bred and brought up IN A CAGE so to release them in the wild is much more irresponsible than keeping them caged!

 

That being said, I am glad you have seen the error in your ways and will not replace these budgies if they fly away or get killed.

Why do youkeep budgies maesie. Are you a show breeder? What do you do with the unwantedbabies?

 

Sell them to a pet shop where they could be given to a small child as apet, in a small 1ft/sq box cage with 1 perch, gets prodded with what ever forthe first week and then ignored for the next seven years.

 

Do you grillthose humans?

 

 

Gladiator has been free inmy Garden for the last 8 months. In that time she has had 2 clutchesof eggs. Pretty boy has been free now for 2 weeks as I write this is nowwarm and cosy in the Box. With European Swift and the Pin Tailed Wyder returning ever year, it all tells me, this is a happy bird house.

"Hezz, you made a good point but at the same time contradicted yourself"

 

Actually I didn't. How many released/escaped budgies do you think would have died or been eaten for every one of those that manages to survive and find one of its own? No figures on that but I dare say a damn lot!!

Pops you have some very idealistic viewpoints on how things work in the birdworld. To be quite honest its very naive to think you will have a happy ending here with what you have created. You have no control over the safety of these birds.

A bird raised as a caged bird and its parents, grandparents having been caged birds...............has no "road sense" so to speak. These birds have no clue about predators and in learning about the predators of which they are now susceptible and at the mercy of, they will in most likelihood become a victim.

Just as we advise noone hangs their bird cage outside without supervision, due to attacks by predators, we would not advocate setting free a bird who was cage raised.

I hear of idealistic people who buy caged birds in markets, petshops and set them free thinking they are doing the bird a favour. The reality is far from that ideal. They then become a bird that lives in fear of becoming another animal or predatory birds dinner.

I fear you are looking through rose coloured glasses here and you will be disappointed and one or both of these birds will lose their life.

Lesson over.

Britian now had a feral budgie problem, withauthorities worried about the impact the feral flocks are having on the nativebirds.....to the extent of bringing in culling!!!

 

 

Actually I didn't. How manyreleased/escaped budgies do you think would have died or been eaten for everyone of those that manages to survive and find one of its own? Nofigures on that but I dare say a damn lot!!

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Oh dear, you’vedone it again. Do they perhaps have a “let your Budgie go free day” in Englandto cause the over population and maybe those nasty “bird eating birds” or Chinesetourist aren’t eating them fast enough.

 

 

Hezz I’mnot out to have an bun fight with you and I appreciate your activity on the threadI started and that applies to both KAZ and maesie.

 

I and mywife have become very fond of Gladiator.

 

I wantedto introduce a mate for her and would have to do it soon as winter was approaching.I contacted a few Breeders and this forum about how to do it.

 

All andeven my wife said NO, but it is all based on their personal feelings and notfact. It seems there has never been a “Pop’s” do this “cruel”, selfishexperiment.

 

Well the overnighttemp hit 2deg this morning and I’ve already seen them having there morning feed.As the will only max out at 12 today, I will leave the Snake Heater on.

 

So far, sogood.

 

 

So let’shave a debate on what kills the escaped Budgies.

 

Unable tofind food (where there is a safe nesting and feeding, any Bird will stay)

 

Gardencat. (I hate cats)

 

Raptor(very few, if any, in built up areas and their main food source are Rodents)

 

Rodents?

 

Owls (nocturnal)

 

Diseasesor falling ill (caused by eating the wrong food, i.e. pesticides, poison. Neitherare used in my Garden)

 

MySpaniels (the good Lord has also equipped them with fright flight and therefore2 are better off than 1)

 

 

What else?The way I see it is if I supply housing, food and water, there should be no reasonwhy both Gladiator and Pretty Boy won’t be around for a awhile.

 

So say I lose them. Then I’m doneuntil the next fellow flies into my Garden, however until then, they’ll bothget all my care and a "free as abird" life and my fellow forum members now have a pioneer inthe escaped Budgie subject.

 

 

 

they sure are Stace and this is a 1st for all our friends that see's the 2 whizzing around the garden.

Because people think these little fellows look like a special "human breed" show bird and can't fend for them selves need to see how they handle them selves at the dinner table with the Sparrows, Doves and Pigeons.

These fellows are tough and Im saying that if one of your little darlings makes a gap, think positive. Get a bird feeder out quick and believe that they have a great chance of making it.

To the child who lost her Green Budgie in my neighborhood and wants Gladiator back.

Sorry, no chance.

Edited May 26, 201114 yr by **KAZ**

I understand where Pops is coming from. I wouldn't have done it myself. But I understand it.

 

Since I was a little kid, I never liked zoos, circuses, cages or anything. And I kinda grew up on Born Free. I was upset the first time I saw an elephant tethered up on giant chain when the circus came to my small town.

 

My little bird is a rescue, and I wouldn't have bought a bird to put in a cage. However, I wouldn't let the little guy go off on his own out in the big wild world, because he's no longer wild and it's highly unlikely he'd make it on his own. He also lives a pretty charmed life here with me, as he's barely ever in his cage.

 

Anyway. Now you've got them free, I hope they are happy, Pops.

Why do youkeep budgies maesie. Are you a show breeder? What do you do with the unwantedbabies?

 

Sell them to a pet shop where they could be given to a small child as apet, in a small 1ft/sq box cage with 1 perch, gets prodded with what ever forthe first week and then ignored for the next seven years.

 

Do you grillthose humans?

 

 

Gladiator has been free inmy Garden for the last 8 months. In that time she has had 2 clutchesof eggs. Pretty boy has been free now for 2 weeks as I write this is nowwarm and cosy in the Box. With European Swift and the Pin Tailed Wyder returning ever year, it all tells me, this is a happy bird house.

 

okay... so because I don't agree with what you have done, you're now making assumptions of why I keep budgies and what I do with them. Not that it's any of your business because this topic is not about me, it's about what you have done... BUT

 

I have an aviary which houses 5 budgies. I started with 4, and over the years I have bred three clutches. I have kept all but two of the babies. They went to two friends who wanted a pet budgie. I bred to keep the babies. NONE of my babies are un-wanted. Some of my budgies/babies have since passed, and I now have 5. I do not breed willy nilly and dispose of the budgies I don't want. I'm a RESPONSIBLE pet owner and would never do that!

 

You don't have to be a show breeder to breed budgies. I bred them because I wanted to, and as I said before, kept them. This thread is not about pet shops, people who buy from them or how they keep their budgies... It's about what you did when you bought a cage bred budgie and released it into the wild. Which despite everything you have written here, I PERSONALLY still see as irresponsible.

maesie

 

Luckily I'm 10 363 km from you otherwise I'm sure you'd come and donk me on my head.

Another question, how did you land up with a Afrikaans name?

maesie

 

Luckily I'm 10 363 km from you otherwise I'm sure you'd come and donk me on my head.

Another question, how did you land up with a Afrikaans name?

 

Nope... I'm not into physical violance... It's clear we are not going to agree on what was/had been done, so we'll leave it there.

 

Afrikaans name???

Meisie is Afrikaans for girl and Seun is boy.

Maybe I can teach you some South African slang to surprise your "when we" friends living in your city.

Meisie is Afrikaans for girl and Seun is boy.

Maybe I can teach you some South African slang to surprise your "when we" friends living in your city.

 

Never knew that!... My Member name is actually from my middle name which is 'mae'. I was named after my Great Grandmother. No African history here.

We are all on this forum because we are "Bunny Huggers" andthat makes us bat for the same team.

Wow way wrong there! Im no bunny hugger! Im a conservationist of sorts but no one would call me a bunny hugger hahaha. Im not sure if you r legit or a troll but i think you will find most on here are pretty familiar with nature as it is, most would of seen life and death in their birds etc. Somewhat different to a lot of suburbanites in that respect

 

Oh and my fav pastime is hunting feral pigs with my dogs, when i get the chance i shoot every feral rabbit i see

i suppose the fella who keeps pythons isn't a bunny hugger either will tree huggers do?

okay, while I am glad it has worked out well so far for Pops and Gladiator, I think it has to be stated for people new to the forum DON'T DO WHAT POPS DID. It is very unlikely that if you released a domesticated budgie it would survive in the wild. Also Pops I don't think it is fair to assume Gladiators previous owner was a kid that didn't treat her properly, she may have been someones dearly loved pet. How would you like it if one of your spaniels was lost and someone just kept it for themselves rather than make any atempt to find the owner. Just because the bird struggled and shrieked doesn't mean it wasn't tame either. Another point to make is that birds bred in captivity can develop immunity to a disease but still carry that disease. It is a possibility a released bird could decimate native bird populations.

And Pops, you said that if these budgies breed you will catch them and rehome them. So why are you giving them a breeding box?I think it's alot crueler to catch a wild born bird and put it in captivity than catching an escapee that has grown use to freedom. Even if you caught the babies very young the stress is likely to kill them. I think it's a shame despite all advice against, you thought you knew better. I do not think you have thought this through very carefully. And also to the moderators of this site I think you should condemn these actions even if they were made with good intentions. Personally I can not and never will condone this behaviour.

Hrm. Just wondering - I imagine a lot of new pet owners wouldn't know the "Do's" and "Don't" of owning a bird. I know a few little things from major stuff ups when I was a kid but that's pretty much about it.

 

All of you on this website have this wealth of knowledge from years of breeding/showing/caring for your birds - I had a search but couldn't find a "Don't try this" thread where people can add disastrous things to do so people can *Hopefully* read it before trying it (Maybe sticky it in the "Newbie" thread?). I know there is one on toxic foods/items and bar width - but a thread where people can just put up random "I tried this, it was terrible" or "Turns out my Cat liked the new budgie on rye - Tip : If you have a bird and a cat, one needs to be in a cage at ALL times" or "Always quarantine a new addition for XX days" and of course "Don't release a caged budgie - it can spread diseases / become a pest / be killed by other birds for "human" smells / unable to fight for itself against other birds.

 

I think I can relate a bit to Pops - when I get a "REALLY GOOD" idea in my head, I tend to "Jump" before really reading up about the consequences which seems like a trait poor Pops might have had too. I know the idea of releasing an animal to be free is such a wonderful feeling, but you can actually condemn them to death... good feeling gone

 

Having a single thread of "Do not do!" might help other "Bunny Huggers" (lol) or "Bunny Hunters" () get the information straight away and MAY possibly avoid other such situations

 

(If a bad idea feel free to let me know haha )

well personally i think this thread should of been explained as a not to do thing but pops would of still done this regardless of othrs opinions so at lease we can see the out come pops is lucky this time so far but luck usually runs out for the birds with in 6months

i think breeding out of captivity is silly as not only as both above members stated

illness can spread over millions of bird types

but budgies reproduce repetitively and if they decided to fly off and nest make their own little flock well how do you think all other pests were brought into other country's its all just a bit silly

housing them in a large flight just the two of them would be more sensible

mind you i had homing budgies as a kid so...........and for around 8 months only everyone kept returning them saying that they got my budgie back someone must let them out as their was a small flock of them and not to mention i lived in country and hawks were common as were crows so on i ended up keeping them locked up in end birds felt safer you could tell infact they never tryed to get out even if i left door open so must have relized getting chassed all day by birds and people was no fun

so as you can see i made the big mistake of not knowing about illness and how easy they spread it just guess i can thank my lucky stars the birds were not sick or did they get sick

however its not recommended with any animal

even wild animals we rescue need rehabilitating into their habitat again and not all can be due to their lack of fear of people and other animals such as dogs and cats they no longer fear which would be their death when set back free

 

pops did something believing it was good for all

but realistically all its good for is him to watch the pretty birds fly free

its not something to try prove that its possible

as its very possible to tame birds to fly free and come back

as i said i did it and i did it as i had a book how to do it

so was not my idea but a written one as a child i though how cool would it be

its a very bad idea and one no one should do

 

pops you will be the death of these birds even if its years to come they will never live to their full capability of 16 or so

 

gb

 

they are a flock bird but i dont see a issue if shes free and decided your home is a good home id just leave things how is

in the wild females go find a nest then the males look for them after a month or two

not the same as captive breed birds

 

i will admit though if away from flock may be hard to find still if shes happy leave it i say

and when i wrote this i thought the bird was wild to start