A few questions about my budgies

[sj005]

Hello Everyone, I'm new to these forums and to owning pet birds as well. I've recently received two pet budgies as a gift (anonymous gift so I can't trace their source). I read a lot about budgies and how to care for them properly but there are a few things I hope you can help me clear up. I've attached a picture of my budgies.

To begin with, since I have no previous information about my budgies' age, genetical information, and gender, I've been trying to determine some of these things to know more about my budgies and whether they can be bred when the time is right. I've read that budgies' sex can generally be determined by the color of the cere, with the cere being royal blue in males and pale brown/white in females. Can this color identification alone be used to accurately identify my birds' sexes? Based on this assumption, it would seem my green/yellow budgie is a female and my blue budgie is likely a male, though I am worried that the color of the blue is quite pale as you can see and not vibrant like other pictures I've seen. Could this paleness be due to the bird being young and may the color change as the bird grows? And are there any other tips that may help identify the birds' genders?

This brings me to my next question. Is there any way to estimate the age of my birds from their physical features or behaviour? Both birds are about 15 cm long from head to tail so they aren't chicks anymore. I know I can't tell their precise age without knowing their history but I just need to know if they are at least a year old to determine whether I can breed them when the time is right or if I should wait a bit longer.

Concerning the issue of bonding with my birds, I know that they are interactive and social birds. But since they are a pair,I've read that they will generally form strong bonds with each other more than with me. And another factor is their age since they will be more difficult to tame if they are adults. Knowing this, can they be tamed and bond with me, or will it be very difficult, or impossible? I am afraid to let them out of their cage until they are tamed, so that they don't hurt themselves trying to escape. And finally, if they can be tamed, would you recommend that I have their flight feathers clipped or leave them full-flighted?

Thank you. I greatly appreciate any feedback.

[Wolf]

Hi;

I am not an expert or anything like that and so I will stick to the areas that are more general as there are some thing that are basically the same regardless of the species of parrot and your budgies are true parrots.
Budgies are a small grassland species of parrot which live in a semi arid to arid climate and as such have developed ways to conserve on water and they also eat a lot of grass seed as part of their diet and because of this need a more seedy diet than most other parrots.
Budgies are very nervous birds as well as highly social meaning that they do much better when they have others of their species living with them. They will bond to their human even though they bond to each other and you can train them as they are very intelligent birds. Yes, it will be a little more work to bond with them with another one there with them and a little more work to train them as well but it can be done.
As far as breeding goes, to be honest with you, this is an area that you need to forget about for a while as you do not have anywhere near the experience that is required for this. It is not like cats and dogs and without knowing what you are doing you will just end up with a lot of dead birds.
And for the last area that I can be of use to you is that of clipping and I would not clip their wings ever, it is not healthy for them and it poses, in my opinion to many safety issues as flight is their primary means of movement and their only means to escape predators or dangerous situations.

[sj005]

Thank you Wolf. Your advice has given me some insight. I am going to try my best to care for them and bond with them, and I will leave breeding aside for now.

[Pajarita]

It does look as if you have a male and a female but the cere color depends on hormones and sick males can get beige or brown cere as well as females can have it blue if they are not in good condition. I am not saying your birds are sick, I am saying that although the cere color is indicative of gender, it's also not 100% guaranteed because it depends on health.

No, you can't tell their age exactly but yours are between 5 and 8 months old (bars on head have already disappeared and their eyes are still black or a very dark grey).

Breeding birds is not a matter of giving a nest to a bonded pair. It requires knowledge on their species, physiology, diseases and conditions, diet, etc. or you can lose both the babies and the mother in the process. Besides, people literally throw away live budgies in the garbage so breeding them is a bit of a moral sin, if you ask me, as there are so many of them already and people simply do not value them as they should. Last but not least, what will you do with the babies? You can't keep them with the parents or together because you will have brothers breeding with sisters and end up with deformed and dead birds left and right - and giving them away is not so simple when you love them because you need to ensure they go to a good home and there aren't that many of those around, you know.

Please make sure you do not overfeed protein, that you give them leafy greens and veggies every day (as well as an avian calcium supplement -and that doesn't mean just calcium but vit D3, also)and that they are kept at a super strict solar schedule or you will end up with a chronic layer and/or an eggbound hen and/or dead birds.