Hello BBC community,

 

I'm Andrew, from Maribyrnong in Melbourne. We had a budgie "James", who sadly passed away midway through december. He would have been about 6 years old. We had tried to tame him, but the best I could manage was to get james to sit on my finger, but he would never stay there for long. He never spoke (english that is), but imitated whistes and we would seem to have converstions by whistle.

 

I would love to get another, and was told by one breeder (In melbourne that I found via google) that now is is the best time for baby budgies. Is this correct?

 

I think James (bought from a large bird pet store) would have been a bit to older when we got him, and may have been with other birds for too long for a newbie to tame.

 

Thanks,

 

and a Happy new year while I'm at it.

welcome to BBC

Hi Andrew, welcome! As I am in the U.S., I have no idea when the best time for finding baby budgies is over in your part of the world. I think I've read that show breeders often have a "season", when most of them find is the best time to breed their birds. And from what people on here have said, they prefer to stay away from breeding during the really hot summer months.

 

But over here where I am, it seems that most bird fanciers house their birds indoors, so we have the ability to breed year round. I've also had local bird breeders tell me that their birds just seem to naturally go into condition in the fall, and based on the higher volume of ads I see in the fall, I would say that is a common experience. (Here in the U.S.)

 

I know for myself, with my kids off school in the summer, I usually have to put bird activities on the back burner, so fall is when it's most convenient for me to start a round of breeding. And my birds are very cooperative with whenever I put them down to breed. They are the year round breeding type, I guess.

Thanks for your reply.

 

 

Here is Goldy. Not sure if it was the best idea to get him out of his cage on the second day he was home (thats when the photo was taken). Since then he has learnt to step up (with the help of some millet), and is quite happy being out. Havn't mastered "come" yet. Looking forward to having some fun together.

 

Thanks for the FAQ, I've found great source of information.

 

:-)

 

Hi,welcome, ( just catching up with bbc) Glad you found a new mate. The more you talk/handle him the tamer he'll become, they are great little friends to have.