Posted October 24, 200519 yr Hi Everyone, I have been reading for about 3 weeks, but haven't posted. I want to say thank you to Pixie25 for welcoming me through PM, and I am glad that Casper will be okay. This is our first budge, and the first question I have is I know we have a Pied "I am thinking recessive" from what I have been reading here and at other sites. But I still am unable to figure out if it a girl of boy. The pet shop ower said boy, but reading I am thinking girl? I also don't know how old, but I am thinking under 3 months, hard to tell. We would love to know so we can name the him/her. Here is a link to a picture.. I hope it works. If not I will try again. Another thing I was reading was on another budgie site about how they should not be the only one, that you should have two and it would be cruel not to it was very distrubing. We really don't want two right now, I am a stay at home mom, with my daughter and we are home 80% of the day. We let him/her out 2x a day..note he/she is quiet and very shy but is finger tamed. We are working on eating our veggies, playing with our toys and more trust And of course the cats keep him company just joking they are ALWAYS put away when he/she is out. Anyways what is the opinion, I know everyone will differ, but just wondering. I know I will have more questions, but I really enjoy reading everything, learning and the pictures are great. Elly PS here is another picture too from the side (FYI I did take without the flash as suggested) Oh and alittle stretch Edited August 27, 200816 yr by **Liv** Removed 2 broken images
October 24, 200519 yr yay, you made it! gorgeous photos! you are right he does look a lot like casper! and from the pics i would say you have a little boy there (although when they are young their ceres often change a lot but settle down after their first moult). caspers cere looked just like that when he was a baby. i would also hazard a guess and say he is roughly 8 - 10 weeks old? the only way you will know for sure whether he is a recessive pied is if he never develops an iris in his eye. as long as he gets lots of company throughout the day he will be fine as an only budgie. if you were out at work all day long then it would be a different story. its much better that you get to know your new budgie well first and work on taming and diet, before deciding whether a friend is appropriate or not. keep the pictures coming - absolutely gorgeous! and looking forward to hearing all your birdie stories!
October 24, 200519 yr Hi lovey welcome to the forum, great pictures, I'd say boy, but that may change, so I'd select a unisex name just in case.
October 24, 200519 yr Hi & welcome! Initially judging by the cere I'd say boy, but the head shape is a bit elongated which suggests female. I would really like to wait until after the first moult which I've found happens at about 4-5 months old.
October 24, 200519 yr What a gorgeous budgie! Im going with the 'boy' beliefs too! Heheh, the 'stretch' picture brought a unisex name to mind though, 'Limo' as in stretch limo, (Laughing out loud)! A warm welcome to the forums to you and your beautiful little bird. Anne
October 25, 200519 yr What a cutie! I would guess male. (karenoffernvale, I think the head looks round. ) I do not think it cruel to keep a budgie as a single pet, so long as you know you will be his replacement flock. As such, you will need to spend a lot of time talking and interacting with him. Letting him out 2x is probably okay as long as it's for a good while. I'm guessing even when he's not out you are still in the same room as him and can talk to him as you go about your day? You will be able to tell after a few months whether he is acclimating well to being an only bird. He should be fine, so the decision to get another bird down the road should be made because you want another bird, not just because you think he needs a friend. My first 3 budgies were only birds, and they were fine. Look forward to more pictures and stories about him!
October 25, 200519 yr Author Thank you everyone for the warm welcomes. I appreciate everyone's opinion. I assume Karen you believe he is under 3 months, so we will wait and see what happens with the first molt. Will the cere change to a more tan color if the bird is a female? Rainbow, yes he is in the same room with us all the time, in and out of the cage. In fact I work from home, so when the kiddos are in bed, he comes in my office where he is safe from the cats and we spend quality time together. I just love when they preen and they look like they have a mustache. I would never get another animal if I didn't feel I could handle it for sure. We have too many now says my husband, 2 dogs - 1 is 10 the other is 16, 3 cats - 2 are twins & 1 is 14, 7 hermit crabs - all around 3 yrs old, fish - about a year now and now a budgie ..my husband is going nuts. My kids LOVE it and everyone is well taken care of. We actually had some success today, and he started to play a little with his toys, so I am excited now just to get him to eat his veggies and enjoy a bath, but I will continue to take the tips here. Again..thank you everyone.. Elly PS I will get more pics on too...and By The Way I do like that name (Laughing out loud) Limo now that is different Edited October 25, 200519 yr by lovey
October 25, 200519 yr In Pieds the females cere will change to tan/brown - and ometimes I've heard pink - and the males are usually purple. Yes I do believe s/he is around 3/4 months. My Boris (sig.) is 4 months old and I think having a sex change as 'he' (had a blue cere before starting moult) is beginning to look like a she (becoming tan).
October 25, 200519 yr oooh elly you have more animals! feel free to post pictures of them all in the offtopic chatter forum! we all love seeing different pets as well! i think pepper is a nice unisex name. because of the wing markings he has
October 25, 200519 yr Author Thank you Karen...(Laughing out loud) about Boris, don't you just wish it was more obvious but then that what makes it exciting. Pixie25 you will open a pandora's box (Laughing out loud) I have tons of pics of my pets they including my kids are the joy of my life. Pepper is a wonderful name, unfortuntely it was the name of my beloved torti (cat) who was est to be around 13, she passed away 11-4 so it will be almost a year now , she was so precious to me. I volunteered at a local animal shelter, and fell in love with her instantly (her sister Salt had been put down for FIV). I do thank you for the wonderful suggestion keep them coming, maybe I will start a topic name the birdy Thank you for the welcome Bea - I went to your site loved and and all your pics of your "flock"
October 27, 200519 yr Beautiful bird. He (I'm guessing) looks quite a bit like a budgie I had a few years ago named Fourteen. I thought about getting another recessive pied for a while - I really like them.
