Posted June 16, 201113 yr Hello my Australian chums! Here is our little budgie Del Boy, he is named after the protagonist of a popular old British sitcom called 'Only Fools and Horses'. But that's besides the point! Basically the people in this forum seem very well educated about budgies, so I'd love some advice from you. If I've made mistakes with Del Boy then please give me constructive feedback, I'm not looking for anyone being judgmental telling me that I'm evil. We bought him just under a week ago from a pet shop, and the man told us that he's a boy and that he's less than 3 months old. Do you agree with that? He's eating millet from our hands, eating from his food and water bowls on his own without our encouragement. We understand that the next step is getting him to stand on our fingers but he's resistant to it at the moment and just sort of look at our fingers, shies away from it or just nibbles it. He chirps sometimes, and sometimes clucks and gibbers. But most of the time he stands very still. The contentious issues: he is on his own for large parts of the day as myself and my partner both work fulltime as Strategic Advisers to the Minister for Environment & Agriculture. We leave the radio on for him. Advice / tips please?! Uploaded with ImageShack.us
June 17, 201113 yr Hi and welcome We arent in to telling people they are evil However, with advice most of us are straight shooters and will tell you like it is for the bird's sake But could you try again with the photo as it didnt work. Theres a link in my signature on how to post pictures....give it a try. Edited June 17, 201113 yr by **KAZ**
June 17, 201113 yr Hi Henrietta (and Del Boy) I'll leave it to the crack team to sex your budgie. But as you work for the Minister of Environment, I'll start with a couple of tips for Del Boy on the home front. I can't see the whole cage in your photo, but it looks on the small side. A cage that has length rather than height is best for budgie, especially if you're out often and will be in the cage all day. (They fly sideways, not up and down). Something like this: Also, throw in a few bird safe toys and perches. Don't use plastic perches or sandpaper. (No sandpaper anywhere) They're bad for their little feet over time. Natural ones are best. We use eucalyptus or similar down here. In the UK I believe Willow is best. If you can't make them yourself, you can buy natural perches online or at a decent pet store. If your budgie is going to be in the cage for long periods, make it an okay place to be. They're social and playful little things. If you really feel he's lonely, you can perhaps get Del Boy a friend. Check out all the Budgie FAQs up on the top left. There's heaps of useful info there. And if there's something you're uncertain about, just ask.
June 17, 201113 yr Author Thanks for your advice guys! Del Boys cage is this size. It's pretty big for him at the moment. I completely understand what you're saying about a wider cage but perhaps he might not need it until he grows a bit? I'm also reluctant because I paid £30 for it. I know that his health and happiness is more important but....you know..... I have been trying to bond with him but he just keeps being frightened! Come on, Del Boy, you can do it!
June 17, 201113 yr Hi, just my observation, the cage looks fine, but you may need to change the name as I think its Del Girl not Boy. Cheers Clearwing
June 17, 201113 yr Hi Henrietta Cake, welcome to the forum! I think she's a girl, too. And for her age, she has the beginnings of pin feathers on her head, so I would say she's about to go into her first moult, which puts her somewhere around 3 months or so. You said she takes millet from your hand? To get her to step onto your finger, try holding the millet farther away from the perch, so she has to stretch to get it. Then work up to even farther away, so she has to put a foot on you to reach it. Eventually you can get her to jump from the perch to your hand. If she wants the millet bad enough, she'll do it. It just might take a while for her to get up the nerve.
June 18, 201113 yr Hi Henrietta, can I just add my two cents (or p:P ) worth. - Tape down the little flaps on the feeders - budgies are smart and while these do sort of click down, if a budgie wants to, he can easily push them out and escape from the cage. I do know of people whose budgies have escaped this way. Wide packing tape works well - you don't have to remove it totally every time, just peal up, and it will retain its stickiness for some time. - Run your perches (when you get some natural wood ones:D) so that they are as far apart as possible but so Del boy/girl can still perch on them comfortably and turn around. This allows him to work that little harder and may even give him enough room for a little fly from perch to perch. - Newspaper on the bottom of the cage (over the grate) and changed every day makes for a cleaner envioment for birdy and easily housework for you! Also gives you the opportunity to check poop and therefore know immediately if there is a change - ie as in bird may be sick. - Bring the seed bell down from the top centre of the cage - s/he'll have to hang upside down to get to it at the moment and at this early stage probably won't bother. - While toys are good, don't overcrowd the cage. Make sure Del has enough room to stretch wings out fully anf flit from perch to perch. I find putting the toys around the periphery of the cage works best for me - leaves the centre free for exercise without the toys getting in the way. - Try him with fresh washed veggies as soon as possible. The older he is the less likely he is to take to eating new things. But not to worry if he doesn't start eating straight away - just persevere. Popular veggies, voted on by budgies, are carrots, peas (preferably in pods), spinach, asian greens, celery, brocolli. Many others, just having a seniors moment. Other people have success with different things of course, birds will be birds. Some people have had success by grating carrot over the seed, or breaking brocolli flowerettes over the seed so that the bird gets little bits when it feeds. Only thing, don't leave the fresh food to get old - after a couple of hours remove it as it can still harbour germs. And lastly (boy, what an epistle!!!) if you are still with me, patience, patience and more patience. A week isn't long to adjust to new surroundings, you are still strangers to the little one. Talk to her every moment you can spare. If you think she's lonely during the day, leave the radio on. Doesn't matter what station, so so there is noise. Most of all, good luck with little Del (Boy or Girl) Edited June 18, 201113 yr by Hezz
June 18, 201113 yr Hi Henrietta, can I just add my two cents (or p:P ) worth. - Tape down the little flaps on the feeders - budgies are smart and while these do sort of click down, if a budgie wants to, he can easily push them out and escape from the cage. I do know of people whose budgies have escaped this way. Wide packing tape works well - you don't have to remove it totally every time, just peal up, and it will retain its stickiness for some time. - Run your perches (when you get some natural wood ones:D) so that they are as far apart as possible but so Del boy/girl can still perch on them comfortably and turn around. This allows him to work that little harder and may even give him enough room for a little fly from perch to perch. - Newspaper on the bottom of the cage (over the grate) and changed every day makes for a cleaner envioment for birdy and easily housework for you! Also gives you the opportunity to check poop and therefore know immediately if there is a change - ie as in bird may be sick. - Bring the seed bell down from the top centre of the cage - s/he'll have to hang upside down to get to it at the moment and at this early stage probably won't bother. - While toys are good, don't overcrowd the cage. Make sure Del has enough room to stretch wings out fully anf flit from perch to perch. I find putting the toys around the periphery of the cage works best for me - leaves the centre free for exercise without the toys getting in the way. - Try him with fresh washed veggies as soon as possible. The older he is the less likely he is to take to eating new things. But not to worry if he doesn't start eating straight away - just persevere. Popular veggies, voted on by budgies, are carrots, peas (preferably in pods), spinach, asian greens, celery, brocolli. Many others, just having a seniors moment. Other people have success with different things of course, birds will be birds. Some people have had success by grating carrot over the seed, or breaking brocolli flowerettes over the seed so that the bird gets little bits when it feeds. Only thing, don't leave the fresh food to get old - after a couple of hours remove it as it can still harbour germs. And lastly (boy, what an epistle!!!) if you are still with me, patience, patience and more patience. A week isn't long to adjust to new surroundings, you are still strangers to the little one. Talk to her every moment you can spare. If you think she's lonely during the day, leave the radio on. Doesn't matter what station, so so there is noise. Most of all, good luck with little Del (Boy or Girl) Great advice AND remove the shiny bell or mirror thing and Del is a girl too Maybe rename Della ? Edited June 18, 201113 yr by **KAZ**
June 18, 201113 yr Author Firstly - thank you so much for replying and giving me lots of advice. Secondly ....... Wow! Right. Oh dear. Del Boy won't really be the best name for her then. Lucky we asked you or we may have found out too late! I did think she bit very hard He stood on my finger three times yesterday and I moved her around a bit, I can never tell if he's happy or just frightened stiff. So thanks.for your advice on that, I will start looking are giving her some veg and following the rest of yoit aadvice next.
June 18, 201113 yr Firstly - thank you so much for replying and giving me lots of advice. Secondly ....... Wow! Right. Oh dear. Del Boy won't really be the best name for her then. Lucky we asked you or we may have found out too late! I did think she bit very hard He stood on my finger three times yesterday and I moved her around a bit, I can never tell if he's happy or just frightened stiff. So thanks.for your advice on that, I will start looking are giving her some veg and following the rest of your aadvice next. Practice...........she, she, her, her Della the girl budgie Edited June 18, 201113 yr by **KAZ**
June 18, 201113 yr If you think she's lonely during the day, leave the radio on. Doesn't matter what station, so so there is noise. One more thing is if she is home alone leave a radio on fo noise Already covered
