Our Indoor Budgies

The first pics were taken back in January, when the 2 boys first started living together:

These pics are from today, 30th March; Buzzo and Fuzzy are getting on really well together, and neither lost any of their tameness since being together, so that's a bonus

Fuzzy can never quite decide which of the 2 swings he wants LOL

Fuzzy still doesn't dare go anywhere near Buzzo's ball, but luckily there are plenty of toys for them both to choose from

Anna

Updated Aviary Pictures

30th March 2009: As promised, a few updated pictures

The pics were taken at night, and as you can see, every single one of my birds decided to go through a moult at the same time due to us finally having a little bit of sunshine hahahaha

Now we're just hoping for more sunshine with a bit of warmth added so that I can leave both of the right hand side doors open long enough to clear out all the moulted feathers ;)

And for those curious minds, this is how it all started out :)

Anna

Show cage training

Show cage training: (Click link for full article)
"By Mick Freakley (Freakley & Ainley)

At this time of the year, most serious exhibition budgie breeders will be well into the breeding season, and will just about be completing their second rounds. It is around this time the thoughts turn to the first round youngsters as these will form the basis of the breeders early young bird show team.

Some birds will be natural showmen/women and will adapt to the show cage with absolutely no problems whatsoever, others though will be just the opposite and will not like the confines of a show cage. It is these birds we need to give some show cage training to."

Show cage training

27th March

Another cold and blustery day today. The birds are all doing well, Bossy Violet now has 8 eggs with only a couple of days to go until due hatching date :)

Waiting for the wind to die down and the sun to come out before I clean the aviary today, just a tad bit too cold for me those few steps between the house and the aviary LOL

Hugh didn't bring my copy of Cage & Aviary Birds home yesterday, so he has to go and get it this morning. It took months to finally get the shop here to get it in, I bugged them and bugged them LOL, and have now been able to get it regularly for the past couple of months.

It's a decent read with lots of articles about lots of different type birds so if you haven't read it yet, go out and buy yourself a copy!

Anna

My Secret Pair

Not so secret any more...

My lutino male decided on a mate and paired up with China, saw them getting jiggy a couple of times in the aviary so gave them a nest box and within a couple of days she had already laid the first egg. She now has 3, and one is showing fertile

The pair:

He's bred for me before and been an absolutely fantastic dad, even reared the chicks on his own when he needed to. It'll be China's first time for me though, so we'll have to wait and see how it goes

Anna

Terrible Forum Netiquette

I'm a member of a very popular budgie forum where there are a whole lot of helpful people. Unfortunately, where there are lots of people you always get a few bad eggs too, (refer to my earlier post) and all is not always what it seems.

Take the past few days, just as an example; This young kid joins in on a thread and asks some very valid questions, just to get shot down and treated like a leper. Why? Because the person he directed the questions to doesn't like the kids dad and acquaintances.

I can honestly see no other reason, as the person in question has been very forthcoming with help for a female forum members son in the past. It's a sad world we live in when our kids have to be wary of who they try to gain advice and knowledge from because of petty feelings between a person of the older generation and others.

Should we ALL be trying to encourage every kid that shows an interest in birds? Help them as much as we can to help keep the hobby of budgies, whether pet or show, to survive? Where will the hobby of keeping budgies be without the newcomers?

Anna

More fertile eggs

Of all my chicks this time, Bossy Violet and Daves 5 were most definitely the most popular, and were all spoken for before they even left the nest. I've had people asking and waiting for a 2nd round, so I've let the pair get on with it.

They now have 7 eggs in their 2nd round. 6 are showing fertile, and should be due to start hatching any time from Sunday 29th March




Our secret pair has 2 eggs so far, and one is showing fertile. They should have another egg by the end of today.

Anna

It's Cold Out There

Today is a rainy, windy and miserable kind of day. Still very cold, and still not acting quite like it's spring yet. The wind is so strong it's making the rain come down sideways, which although not fun for me, it seems to be lots of fun for the budgies in the aviary.

Sat watching them from the living room window this morning and they'd all congregated on the most windy side of the aviary whilst having a shower in the sidewards rain. We have corrugated plastic sheeting on top of the flight to protect the birds from any possible diseases etc that wild birds may pass on, so they only get the rain when it's sideways LOL

Ah well, I now have a bunch of wet and bedraggled looking birds, but also a happy bunch :)

As for the site, well the survey is going pretty good, giving me lots of information to look at. I'm very surprised by some of the results so far, other results were no more than what I'd expected really. I'm not sure how long I'll leave the survey up, but it definitely is interesting ;)

Anna

Lots of Budgie Chicks

Wow, time goes so fast with these little things, I keep forgetting just how quickly they grow up! It's been a good season. I have 23 chicks from 4 pairs, one of the pairs has even started on their 2nd clutch (6 eggs so far). I also have a secret pair that have laid 2 eggs to date, more on those at a later time ;)

Anyway, thought I'd share pictures of the chicks we have. Many of them already have new homes to go to, I'll be keeping some myself, and the others I'll be posting in my forum and on my site as birds for sale in the upcoming days.

So, here you go, tons of pictures :)















































I hope they brighten up your day :)

Anna

A New Budgie Survey

I've now added a survey to Adorable Budgies to help me get to know my website visitors a little bit more. It'll also give me a general idea of how people keep their birds.

If you would like to help by taking part in the survey, please Click Here to be taken to the page where available surveys are listed. Click on the link there for the survey, then fill in as much info as possible. It might take a whole 5 minutes of your time, but you'll be able to download a copy of the Adorable Budgies 2009 Calendar as a thank you ;)

Anna

My Article in Print.

Well, it's been a long time coming, and although my name is plastered all over the net for various articles pertaining to different subjects that I've written in the past (search Anna-Marie Stewart if you're interested), I've now finally gotten my name in a magazine/paper!

I've never actually sent articles in for possible print before, not to anybody ever, but with some encouragement I sent my From an egg to a fledgling to Cage & Aviary Birds to see if they might have an interest in it.

I know lots of people have sent in lots of stuff that never got used, so imagine my surprise when they chose to use MY article! It's even got part of the centre page!! I'm well impressed and dead chuffed!

Can't wait to show the kids, they're going to be so proud of me :D




Anna

Chicks In Nests

Just thought I'd share some videos of our chicks in nests. Of course, the chick has to hatch first, like this:





Then they have to be fed lots:





Of course, all babies need their sleep too:



And eventually the chicks leave the parents. Just like our own children, they've very inquisitive and love making a mess:

Did You Lose Or Find A Bird?

There's some tips for lost and found birds here that might be helpful.

A place you might want to try posting about the found bird is here: http://www.ukparrotrescue.co.uk/messageboard/

And you can try the National Pet Register site too:

http://www.nationalpetregister.org/index.php (it loads a bit slow for me, don't know if it'll be the same for you).

You'll have to register to be able to post, but it might be worth it if it can help somebody get their bird back.

Budgies: Sadness and Joy

Click here for the full story: "Our Aviary
By Anna-Marie Stewart

Our aviary started with a small shed and an outside flight. The shed was 7'x7' and the flight was probably about 2'x7'. It took Hugh less than a week to put it all up, starting with the concrete base. He insulated all the walls before erecting the shed."

Budgie breeding checklist -

Click here for full topic:


Budgie breeding checklist
« on: Sun 1* Jun 2008, 01.06 PM »

I am not having a lot of luck breeding my budgies.
Can you guys help me create a breeding checklist to show me if I have everything in its right place?

Obviously you need
a nest box ( a decent size with a hole large enough for a bird to enter without its wings touching the sides)
mineral blocks and calcium so that the hen gets all she needs for egg production.

How could I encourage the birds to breed?


Re: Budgie breeding checklist
« Reply #1 on: Sun 1* Jun 2008, 05.51 PM »

- Male+Female
- Dark nesting box
- Breeding cage (helps)
- Low disturbance level
- Plenty of seed and water
- Mineral blocks and calcium blocks
- EggFood"

Ups and Downs In Budgie Keeping

Click here for full article: "Budgies: Sadness and Joy
By Jay Carrington

Keeping and breeding budgies can be heartbreaking but it can also be very rewarding. From the young age of 9 I have had an interest in birds, the feathered kind particularly budgies. The first pair of birds I were given were a pair of budgies from a friend of the family also a keen budgie enthusiast."

A Newcomers Start

Click here for full article: "My wife Claire gave me a pair of budgies in July 2007, as she adopted them through a friend of friend of a work collegue. One was rung so decided to find out some info on the bird after contacting the Budgerigar Society to get the contact details of the breeder. After speaking to him to find out more on the hen, I then searched the Internet to find out about the care and upkeep of the birds, one had a case of scaly face and both birds weren't in very good condition, so were treated and cured."

More Budgie + Kids Happiness

Hadn't realised just how many videos i had of the girls having fun with the budgies, but here are some more :)









And this one is an oldie but a goodie, and definitely my favourite video of all time!:

Kids + Budgies = Happiness

My 2 girls always enjoy themselves immensely when we have budgie chicks, as you can tell by all of these videos :)

Budgie Breeding Tips

Click here for full article: "Budgie Breeding Tips For Beginners
First of all, we need to make sure we have everything ready to help maximise the chances of successfully breeding our budgies:

- Male + Female
- A cage
- Sturdy nesting box on the outside of the cage
- Low disturbance level
- Plenty of seed and water
- Mineral blocks and calcium blocks
- EggFood daily
- Extra light during the day to make them think their days are longer
- Lots of spraying to make them think it might be rainy season
- If other birds are in the house, let them see each other to encourage breeding
- Fruit/veg 2-3 times per week

Both birds need to be old enough, I'd say 12 months at least for him, a bit older for her.

Start fattening them up with lots of extras, millet and eggfood for definite. When it comes to spraying/misting I give mine a light spray 2-3 times per week when I'm aiming to let them breed, depending on how dry the air feels."

Adorable Budgies; From an egg to a fledgling

Click here for full article: "Keeping Budgies: From an egg to a fledgling
This is a simple little story of how a budgie egg is laid and goes on to become a fledgling ready to leave the nest.

It all starts, of course, with the male and female both being in breeding condition and mating.
The first egg is usually laid around 10 days after a successful mating and then every other day until the clutch is laid. The mother sits in the nestbox most of the time and the father feeds her. At between 18-23 days after the first egg is laid, the chick hatches."

Recognize A Healthy Budgie

Click here for full article: "Recognize A Healthy Budgie

Whether you are looking to buy a budgie, already have a budgie or even own multiple budgies, health is of utmost importance. A budgie can go downhill really quickly if it gets ill, so it is really important to know what a healthy budgie looks like and to watch for any signs that may be pointing to the bird being slightly unwell or even very ill."

How to keep your budgerigar happy

Click here for full article: "How to keep your budgerigar happy

A budgie is one of the cutest pets one could wish to own, but how do we keep them happy?

Budgies are instinctively used to living in a flock and love constant chatter and company. I would never suggest getting a budgie if it's going to spend most of the day all on it's own. The least a single indoor budgie needs of company would be either radio or tv."

Keeping Budgies; Sexing Your Budgerigar

Click here for full article: "Keeping Budgies: Sexing Your Budgerigar


The simplest way to tell if your budgie is male or female is to look at the cere (the bit above it's beak) and see what colour it is.

Most of the time, a young female will have a pale blue cere with white rings around the nostrils whereas a young males will be a purple-pinkish colour.

Adults are a little different. An adult male budgerigar will have a blue cere and the female will have an almost white cere with a hint of blue."

Keeping Budgies, One Of Each Sex

Click here for full article: "Keeping Budgerigars; One Of Each Sex

Keeping 2 budgies is always beneficial to the birds themselves, although it may make it harder for you to tame them. If you want to tame them and you have 2, then it's best to have 2 males. If you really want to keep 2 birds then 2 males are the best option, as they will rarely bicker and fight, whereas 2 females will spend most of their time doing just that.

It's also totally possible to keep a male and a female in a cage together. There's one thing you need to be aware of when keeping a male and female though, and that is if they're given the right opportunities they WILL mate and breed. I suggest you think very hard about what your plans are for your birds before deciding on one of each sex."

Availability of Adorable Budgie Chicks

I don't like to count my chicks before they're hatched, or even assume that they're all going to make it, but I already have people interested in chicks from this seasons breeding so I have to start thinking about when they'll be available.

The first of the chicks is already 20 days old so all being well chicks should start becoming available in about 5 weeks time. That would make the date around 24th March. I never sell my chicks until they're 8 weeks old and fully weaned. I know some people will sell them at 5-6 weeks, but I believe a chick is better off with it's parents until it has learnt what it needs to learn from them, and that usually takes about 8 weeks.

I like to keep a few of my chicks for myself, so not all of these ones will be for sale. Anybody interested in buying chicks from me should either check back here or sign up at our forum and let me know.

The price of my birds is £10 per chick as this helps offset costs of feed and the upkeep of the aviary. Be aware that I am located in Cardigan, Wales and I can't send birds to people so they need to be collected. There are, of course, various courier services but they tend to be very expensive. Anyway, a day trip to Wales is usually fun for those who do it :)

We keep our chicks tame and friendly for those who want us to, and we have no aversion to holding onto them for a while if somebody needs us to. The kids love spending time with the birds anyway, so either way it's fun for us all :)

The birds in the above pictures aren't for sale, they're just to show how my 8 year old works with our birds ;)

Lots Of Chicks

So far this breeding season seems to be treating us well. We have 4 pairs with nests and they all have chicks. In total there are 17 chicks and 9 or 10 fertile eggs left. We did have 18 chicks, but one of them (3 days old) sadly passed away yesterday due to some sort of growth in it's throat.

When you get to this many chicks it's all part of the territory really; Losing chicks, eggs not hatching, eggs not being fertile, hens plucking chicks due to being overly attentive etc. It can be a heartbreaking hobby at times, but the pleasures and joys definitely outweigh the sad bits.

Every chick in every nest is a new learning experience, right from the day it is laid as an egg. If we are willing to take on board ideas, tips and views that others give us, then we can soon learn a whole lot about our little feathered friends. Of course, we don't have to ACT on other peoples ideas and views, as long as we are prepared to listen and then we can make our own choices from there.

Fertile Eggs

Our 3 pairs on eggs are doing very well.

Bossy violet and Dave have 6 fertile out of 7 eggs. BJ and Mr Jiggy have 3 fertile out of 5 eggs, and Jules and Bob have 3 fertile out of 4 eggs so far :D

Today is day 18 for Bossy Violets and Daves first egg, so all being well we should have a chick hatching within the next few days. In fact, any time from now is good ;)

Anna

More Articles By Mick Freakley

Adorable budgies is getting bigger and better. We now have 3 more articles by Mick Freakley added to our site. You can find them here:

Nasal Discharge in Budgerigars

What Should The Judges Do?

Another Budgerigar Breeding Season

An Ill Budgie (article)

What to do if your bird seems ill

Symptoms.

Difference in feather appearance eg: "fluffed up look". He/she may bob their tail more so than usual with a more distinct bob. Their stools/droppings may also be a different colour to normal and watery. A good tip for monitoring their droppings is to use newspaper or any other smooth surface so that you can visably see if there is any change. Even regular A4 sheets of paper is good for this. They may be off their food or you may have noticed they're not eating as much as normal. Change in weight because of the above You know your birds personality, if they're sitting low down in the cage or their chirpiness has gone you'll know they're not themselves. They may be off their feet, not be able to stand properly. Discharge from their mouth or nostrils Vomiting or bringing back seed (regurgitating)

Diagnosis.

This can only be done by a qualified vet/avian vet. Avian vets are specialised in dealing with birds so if at all possible seek help/advice from them. Regular vets sometimes don't have the knowledge or experience in dealing with the exact cause of illness and don't do as many tests as an avian vet. Sometimes this isn't possible though and so an appointment at the regular vets will have to be made.

Treatment until veterinary help is available.

You should never give your birds medication that you have been given by someone else or that is not prescribed for your bird as this can do more harm than good.

The most important things for your bird at this time are:

Heat Clean, fresh water, Food

If your bird is in draughts or is cold this will make him worse. If you have access to a heat lamp this is a good idea to keep him warm and a cover over the cage is also good to prevent any draughts.

It is very important to always have a fresh supply of clean drinking water for your bird. Water substituted for cold weak black tea is good for the bird if unwell and should be replaced frequently too.

Always have a supply of food available, anything you feel your bird may be tempted to eat. Does he have any special fruit or veg that he likes? Supply it. Millet is fantastic for ill birds as it has a high fat content so is good to replace energy that has been lost and is also good for getting food into your bird at a time when his eating isn't at its best.

Perches/Dishes.

Keep these as low as possible and use only one perch. This will let your bird rest and not try and clamber up and down when he isn't himself. It also means he will get the fod and water as it'll be with easy reach.

===========Resource Box===========
Kay Bell keeps and breeds pet budgerigars. Contact her
for help and advice via the Adorable Budgies Forum
http://adorablebudgies.co.uk/forum
====================================
This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine,
web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes
to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.
(c) Kay Bell All Rights Reserved

Budgies in A Mixed Aviary Environment

Budgies in A Mixed Aviary Environment

Lots of people ask about housing their budgies with other birds such as finches or cockatiels. I have tried both and here are my experiences.

Food.

Some things to consider when thinking about having a mixed aviary is food and eating habits. Do they have different food? Do they eat each others food?

What I have always done is provide the aviary with a mixed seed diet suitable for all the birds. Birds will only eat what they want or like so if you provide finch seed, cockatiel mix and budgie seed they will only eat what they want. Yes, they do share each others food but I have never heard of anyones' birds being ill or having problems in a mixed aviary that has been linked to food sharing. I also know some people have more than 2 species sharing with budgies so that's more food being introduced too.

Nesting/breeding.

Ok, so you want to breed your birds. I can only give advice on colony breeding finches inside a mixed aviary as I have never had the experience of colony breeding cockatiels or budgies. I separate my budgies into breeding cages and have not bred the cockatiels as they are not old enough quite yet.

Finches are easily bred at the best of times. I supplied 2 wicker basket nests last year as I only had 2 pairs at the time. Overall it went well BUT what I did notice was that the budgies chewed the top off the basket and left a wide open area. I had to modify the nest until the finches had finished their clutch, but to prevent this from happening this year I am buying plastic finch boxes. This means the hole is small enough for the finches to get in but not the budgies and the budgies cannot chew it to the extent they did the wicker ones. As long as the hole is small enough the babies are protected from the other birds sharing the aviary as they cannot access the box.

How well do they get along if none are breeding/Bullying.

I have had my fair share of fighting and squabbling in the aviary but have learn a valuable lesson. I tend to find the problems are not with the different species picking on eachother but the same species!

A prime example I can give was when my finches were becoming battered and had bald patched on their necks. I wrongly assumed that it was the cockatiels as it had only happened since I introduced them to the aviary. I removed the cockatiels from the aviary and put them in a cage until I could see if it made a difference. I have a window in my aviary so one night when I was going out to do my last check I thought I'd have a look through very still and see what I could see.

The result shocked me. I saw a few finches hammering each other, really going at it and pulling bits from each others necks, that was my problem, not the cockatiels. I am by no means saying that the different species won't fight or pick on one another but sometimes the answer is not in the different species, but the same.

Aviary Size.

Sizing is crutial if you are considering a mixed aviary. If it is not big enough, they will fight, simple. There has to be room for each species to hide if the going gets tough. If not, bullying will take place and it won't be nice as there's no space for them all to have their own "bit". It would be very irresponsible to mix them when you know their isn't enough space.

Keeping mixed species in cages together.

I have never done this simply because of the space issue. There are exceptions to the rule and I'm sure some people have done without problems but I have not. If you were to do this I would say keep the soft billed together (canaries/finches) and the hard billed together (tiels and budgies) but contrary to popular believe budgies bully cockatiels and not the other way around! I would have no qualms in housing finches and canaries together at any age but would be very wary of budgies and tiels.

Soft billed versus hard billed.

As I said before there are exceptions to every rule. I housed 2 diamond doves in my aviary and they didn't even last a week before I had to remove them as the budgies were bullying them. If I had left them they would have certainly faced death.

How fast can they fly is also important. Finches are ok as they are super quick so most of the time, the budgies can't get near them. Canaries however are very slow so I wouldn't feel happy putting them into a mixed aviary unless it was absolutely massive and even then I would worry. Same with the diamond doves, they are not quick enough to move if they see a beak coming towards them!

===========Resource Box===========
Kay Bell keeps and breeds pet budgerigars. Contact her
for help and advice via the Adorable Budgies Forum
http://adorablebudgies.co.uk/forum
====================================
This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine,
web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes
to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.
(c) Kay Bell All Rights Reserved

Our Bird Videos on YouTube

View our Bird Videos

Have fun!

Anna

New Budgie Articles Posted

As I mentioned on Friday, I got a bunch of new articles for Adorable Budgies from Mick Freakley.

So far there's 8 of them, I do hope you'll enjoy them :D

Freakley & Ainley Stud Profile

Photographing Budgerigars

Hospital Cages

The Deep Litter System

Looking After The Chicks

Normal V. Variety Budgerigars

Show Season Is Coming!

Are You Prepared?

Thanks
Anna

Budgies And Eggs

A week ago I put 5 pairs of birds in breeding cages after seeing them getting really friendly inside the flight. 3 of the pairs have larger poops in their cages, a sign that the hens could be getting ready to lay eggs. One of the pairs, Bossy Violet and Dave started laying eggs almost immediately after being given their nest box, they now have 4 eggs to date, and 2 of them are showing as fertile:

BJ and Mr Jiggy laid their first egg yesterday. Hoping to get lots of chicks from this pair especially :D

Wish me luck!

Anna