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."