need help with budgie

[retdpd]

I have a very very knowledgeable friend who checked her and said she appears very healthy. This is someone who has raised and bred birds for over 30 years. Yes, I do have an avian vet.

I believe who ever had her, kept her pretty confined. She is really fearful of the hand but appears happy and chirping away if left alone. I did get her to eat some veggies however slight but she did try them.

Her wings were so badly clipped she just flops to the ground. So I'm very cautious (If I can't do good lets not do harm)

I will keep trying to entice her with millet for the next few weks.

I do plan on getting her a companion (male) in the future. I will try limiting daylight to 10-12 hours to prevent them from breeding.

Thank you for your help and advice

[pionus]

do you plan on breeding budgies? why a male? i am just curios, i mean no offense.

[BudgieGirl]

Glad it is going good. It sounds like you are doing a great job with her!

That is wonderful that you want to get her a buddy, but 10-12 hours is the amount of daylight that you give them to bring them INTO breeding mode. To bring them down you give them 7-8 hours. But if you get a male, the only way to prevent breeding is to keep them separate all the time. ALL the time. Even then she may start laying anyway, even though the eggs are infertile, and once that starts it is very difficult to stop without lupron. Even that doesn't always stop it. And if you can't stop it... And then you will never be able to safely breed her, (Not that you would want to breed a rescue that you don't know the history of anyway, I am just saying that that wouldn't save her either.)

Not trying to be mean or harsh, just trying to save you some heartbreak down the road! Get another little girl.

Unless do you plan on breeding?

[retdpd]

I'm just going by what I researched.. I read that 2-females could become very aggressive with each other and don't bond as well as 2 males .
I also found that a male would be the better choice but to not have nesting material and limit daylight to under 12 hours.

I am just trying to do the right thing. I do not want to breed her.

If what I researched is wrong please advise the right thing to do..

Your expert advise is greatly appreciated. I've never owned a budgie or did I plan on owning a budgie until Zoe was offered.

[BudgieGirl]

Ah, I see.

I hope I wasn't too rude or harsh! Sorry if I was...

Two girls should get along just fine- I wouldn't worry too much about aggression. Females really can be quite aggressive, but only while they are breeding. Usually. Don't give them anything resembling a nesting cavity (tent, log, birdy pinata, etc) and you should be fine. They will not become territorial if they are not nesting and there are no boys to fight over. Aggression with the girls in non-breeding situations is usually caused by being caged too much, and it sounds like you are give your birds lots of out time.

Hens do bond, and bond very strongly- more strongly than boys, I think. It is just that the girls need more "me time" than the boys, and need to send some time apart, each doing their own thing, most days. Boys are very chatty and clingy, but tend to switch bonds readily, whereas the girls are much more serious about things. They are also more concerned about pecking order than boys are, so they have more little tiffs, but that is no big deal and they are no less bonded, just more status conscious.

I usually tell people to get a spare cage, and so if one of the girls is being really hormonal and crabby you can keep her in her own cage at night until she calms down, but this is usually not needed. I have never needed to. Each pair had their own house during breeding season, but the rest of the year they all slept in two very large cages that they all shared.

And don't worry about them not bonding with you- budgies kept in groups are still very bonded to their people.

It might be best to get a nice tame girl. She will help you tame Zoe. Do you know of any good breeders or rescues? I know someone in your area who could find one for you.

[retdpd]

Oh yes!! I have a friend of a who's a breeder and a rescue both have made offers.Either I choose the bird will be vetted.

I'm so glad we're having this conversation. You are the first person I t/t who actually has 2 females living together.


I'm still working on the hand familiarization with millet offering and so far no luck..Its been almost 2 weeks now..but we'll keep trying. Once we progress to stepping up I'll look for the female companion.

I believe it'll be a long time before Zoe will be able to fly and/or glide due to the wing clipping.

[BudgieGirl]

Glad I can help. Glad you know where to get another one!

Really? I had always thought that keeping girls together was quite common. I always sell my babies in pairs, so I can tell you that lots of people do it...

As long as they have lots of space they will be fine. And if you don't spoil one of them rotten. I have seen problems with that- they spoil the new baby and she becomes a little terror- but that is really a problem caused by people, not an interbird problem. And clip the new bird if yours hasn't grown in her new feathers yet- if one is clipped and the other not, the flighted one will lord it over poor Zoe. Hens are notorious for that. It will also be smoother if they are of similar age.

Of course there is no guarantee that they will be best friends, but budgies are a pretty affable lot. Just don't pair a crabby one with a needy one, or something like that.

Here are some of my girls playing together (except for Robin Hood in the bottom one).

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For the record that cage belonged to a conure- the budgies just played in it during the day...

Just be patient with her. What will she let you do so far?

She might fly, or at least flutter around, sooner than you think- wing clipping generally doesn't slow budgies down for long unless they are exhibition bred. Unless did they clip her secondaries too?

You should put up a picture of Zoe... What does she look like?

[retdpd]

So far no luck with anything!!! She's totally scared of the perch technique. I tried it for a day made 4 attempts. I stopped because I feared she'd hurt herself flopping around in the cage. I mean she wouldn't come near the perch no matter how slow I moved it etc...

I tried my hand with millet for the past 2 weeks 4-5 X's a day and she wouldn't come close. She would eat the millet if I attached it to the bars and I was out of the room. In fact the only time she'll eat is if I'm not in the room.I*'ve tried bird sounds etc.. to calm her no luck

I know she's been through a lot being wild, caught by a stranger who clipped her wings, held at a garage sale being picked and probed in a small hamster cage. Then some big guy 6" with a shaved head takes her home and tries bonding , he puts his big hand in her cage and expects her to hop on. Who knows what else happened to her before she was in the wild and while in the wild. So I have a lot of empathy for her.

The cage I keep her in is 18"X14" X 20"high. Her future home will be 24" X 20" 1/2 spacing

Maybe she just won't tame. Which is ok but I just want to give it a good try.

I keep her seperated from the Macaw in different rooms.

doug

[retdpd]

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If I did this right here's a pic of Zoe

[BudgieGirl]

She is adorable! I love opalines...

She will tame, don't worry! It just takes time. And every bird is different- Arwen tamed in about 2 weeks, whereas it took Galadriel 6 months. Both were equally friendly once tame.

How does she respond when you walk into the room? How do you approach her cage? How does she respond when you put food in? When she gets upset, does she do the thrashing around with pinned eyes, open beak, all out panic, or does she just move away quickly?

Do you want to try what we always did? Not saying it is the best or only way, but it is what has always worked for me.

First we just sat by the cage and read a book. That's all. No eye contact, no talking. Just sitting, preferably lower than her so she is not threatened. As she becomes comfortable, gradually sit higher and closer to the cage. Once she is ok with that, add talking.

And keep doing this through the whole process. She might be more comfortable eating when you are around if you eat your dinner with her.

Once she is ok with your voice, add eye contact. Gradually look at her, then look away, moving slowly. We did what my vet calls "blink back," where when you look at her, blink every time she does. Gradually slow your blinking down. When she begins to follow how you blink and close her eyes in return, you can go on to trying for some contact.

Start with raising your hands where she can see them. Move them around in slow, deliberate motions. (Your neighbours will think you have lost your mind if you leave your windows open. I know mine do... But it works for me- I am an artist so they expect me to be at least a little unbalanced.) If she gets nervous, calm her by doing blink back. Budgies find it very soothing.

If she becomes unduly alarmed by movement, you can move your hands in a pattern- the repetition is less frightening to them. When she is calm, gradually bring your hands closer and closer to the cage, first holding them still, then moving them slowly. Holding your hand in a fist at first is helpful. When she is comfortable, lay your hand on the cage side opposite her, and low as you can. Leave it there until she calms, them remove it. Repeat this, over a week or so, gradually bringing it closer and closer to her, first still, then SLOW movements. When you can touch the cage near her and above her without her getting scared (cackling at you is fine) you begin putting your hand in the cage, first a finger in the door, then two, etc. When she doesn't panic when you bring your hand close to her (not necessarily touching her), you are ready for step up training. This is the point where I would let her out.

There a lot of other factors in getting her tame too- the troubles might have nothing to do with you. She could have a low level gram-negative infection from stress (this would be my guess), the beginnings of arthritis combined with the cold weather we have been having, a hormonal imbalance, nutritional deficiency- all of those things could make her way harder to tame. Plus being caged like that does things to a budgie's mind.