New Budgie owner... any tricks or need to knows welcome

[CherryBlossom]

I was just given 2 budgies and know nearly nothing about them ... I have been reading as much as I can about them and have learned a few things but it's all so confusing

I read that you shouldn't use cleaning products on their stuff on one site then others say it's ok ..... which is it?

I think the hardest thing I've read is the fact that I can't use insence anymore ... is this true??

and how do you tell a male from a female when they are young? mine are about a year old and my blue one is puzzling me

and any other tricks or tips about caring and training these little creatures would be much appreciated

Thanks so much

[CherryBlossom]

my new little additions to my family





Sorry the pics aren't clearer

[badger]

Very cute. I don't know anything about how to tell the males and females apart, but when I clean my neighbour's finch cage, I don't use anything but hot water, although sometimes I use a little dish soap on their food and water containers if they're particularly grubby. And I wouldn't burn incense too close by, maybe in another room. Do they get to fly around in the apartment at all? The more you interact with them the better, and if you persist some of them can be quite chatty.

[DoubleRR]

This is an excellent forum to learn from--most of your questions will be answered on there somewhere--it sure helped me with mine!

http://www.talkbudgies.com/forum.php

[CherryBlossom]

Originally Posted by badger

Very cute. I don't know anything about how to tell the males and females apart, but when I clean my neighbour's finch cage, I don't use anything but hot water, although sometimes I use a little dish soap on their food and water containers if they're particularly grubby. And I wouldn't burn incense too close by, maybe in another room. Do they get to fly around in the apartment at all? The more you interact with them the better, and if you persist some of them can be quite chatty.

Thanks I'll try that ... don't want to do anything that might hurt them

and yes they get daily flying times I lock up my cat and the birds get the livingroom to fly all they want for ... my dog is facinated with them ... ha ha

[CearaQC]

I used to have budgies when I was young. They are fun little birds! It's a riot watching them peck on the mirrors and try to talk to the "other" bird.

The males usually have a bluish tinge around their nostrils. But I'm not an expert and it's been over 25 years since I had a bird. Here's a page on budgie sexing.

http://budgietalk.com/budgiegender.html

What kind of training do you want to do with them? There are many things you can teach them, even some might learn how to talk. The only thing we ever taught them was to make tongue clicking sounds or whistling. Are they finger trained? As in, can you stick your hand in the cage and they don't mind and happily jump onto your finger? Or do they freak out and try to bite?

You can clip their wings to keep them from being able to fly as much, but best to have an experienced person show you how in person. You don't clip the long feathers, but rather hold out the wing and clip the shorter feathers that are closer to the body. Then they can't get the height or fly as well. Below is a pic from random internet searching.



Keep an eye on the nails too. If they get too long and recurve, the birds won't be able to perch as well. We used clippers, being careful not to cut into the blood vessels.

For cage cleaning I don't see why you couldn't use something like baking soda/hot water mixture to wipe everything down and then rinse well. That's what I use to clean the inside of the refrigerator. Don't think you'd need chemical cleaners of any sort unless there was a disease or infection. Just keep the cage liner and food/water areas fresh. Boiling water/air dry helps to sterilize as well.

Parakeets are very fond of small objects, like toothpicks. They will fly around a room and perch high if you don't clip their wings and then poop gets on everything.

[hazelrunpack]

I wouldn't clip their wings. We've found that birds stress out less if they're allowed to fly freely, and clipping their wings makes them pretty much cage-bound. Stressed birds get sick much easier and recover much slower. The exercise keeps their air sacs functioning well, too--fewer respiratory diseases!

Regular nail clippers work great on budgie nails, but invest in a small container of some sort of styptic just in case you need to stop the bleeding. If you're careful, though, you won't need it often.

One thing to be very careful of is non-stick pans. If they get too hot, they give off a toxic gas that is fatal to budgies. So make sure you keep an eye on your stove top, and try to keep the budgies' cage away from the kitchen.

[Melinda]

your white is definately a female, I can't see the "nose" of the male, blue nose means it is a male , you can use incense but in another room and open a window, Pinesole if a definate no no, clean their perches with light sandpaper and you can use warm soapy water, but rince really really well. Budgies also need "chews" for their beaks, we used a "cuddlebone" they get their calcium from that also and can be bought loose for roughly 50 cents at pet feed stores.They love their greens and fruit, so read up on what you can feed them, one hint if if you are holding the bird (trimming nails etc) and they bite you, give a gentle blow in their face and they will let go, do NOT use sandpaper perches, it just hurts their feet, have a small seperate feed dish for their gravel which they need to digest their food. if they are stressed cover them with a dark towel, it makes them feel hidden and secure. Its very hard and rare to be able to teach two budgies in the same cage to talk, they will just "chirp" "whistle" to each other. Keep them out of drafts. They love their baths and you could put a small shallow dish in the bottom of their cage a couple times a week for them to play in, or if they are tame enough, let your kitchen tap just barely stream and set them near it.

[Melinda]

if you want to train them to return to your shoulder take a piece of orange or mandrin....retrieve the bird from where ever it flew, offer it your finger, place them on your shoulder and hold out the orange to them for a small taste, then remove them from your shoulder and let them fly, do it again and again so they get the idea that your shoulder means treat, they love oranges. the last time you do it, remove them from your shoulder and place them in the cage WITH the orange so that they realize the cage is a good place.

We raised budgies for over 30 yrs and sold them all completely hand trained, talk about fun standing in a flight cage with 50 young budgies flying overhead *L*

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by Melinda

We raised budgies for over 30 yrs and sold them all completely hand trained, talk about fun standing in a flight cage with 50 young budgies flying overhead *L*

I take it your place was loud!! That must've been quite the sight and sound!

We only had one budgie, but we were always amazed at how loud we had to turn up the TV at night to hear it over Ami's singing and chattering. It wasn't till the quiet of the morning, when we turned the TV on for the first time, that we realized how loud it was!

[Chris21711]

I've had budgies all my life and still have them. Above their beak, if blue - male, if beige - female. Cleaning solution 1 part bleach and 10 parts water, rinse thoroughly. I now use a product from corn cobs on their cage bottom. I burn inscense daily (I have as large open room). Perches in the cage should be of varying sizes. Please, please do not clip their wings it is traumatizing. Lots of toys and handling will make for happy birdies plus bigger the cage the better.

Here is a pic of my two boys Bill and Ben:

[Melinda]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

I take it your place was loud!! That must've been quite the sight and sound!

We only had one budgie, but we were always amazed at how loud we had to turn up the TV at night to hear it over Ami's singing and chattering. It wasn't till the quiet of the morning, when we turned the TV on for the first time, that we realized how loud it was!

*L* My dad had a special barn/avary for them, a dozen flight cages, wall cages, also had finches, doves, myna's, love birds, cockatiels ,canaries, he worked also with the spca when ever injured or abused birds were brought in, he accepted a cockatiel that some *&^%^$^ got fed up with being bit so he pulled off its top beak, dad made mush to feed it but she wouldn't eat....but didn't get weaker, till one day we watched on the monitor and the other cockatiel in its cage would chew up the feed and feed her!!! animals are amazing aren't they? sorry to hijack, back to regular programs *L*

[CherryBlossom]

Thanks so much everyone ... I promise I wont cut their wings ... cutting their nails shouldn't be that hard ...I do my dogs and my cats ... shouldn't be too different ...

right now I have them in separate cages because my white one doesn't like the new cage and she seems really nervous all the time in it ... so I put her back in her old cage beside the new cage ... I put her back in for about an hour a day then let her go back to her own cage on her own ... hopefully one day she will stay in the new cage ... I give her treats in the new cage to help her relize it's a nice place to be ...

is there a way to get her to stop screaming when she is sitting on my finger?
she does it for the entire time ... she doesn't jump off she just sits there and screams .... she's a weird one ... ha ha... I may give her to the senior that lives next door and just stick with storm for now ... I don't think Snow(white one) likes me very much :sad:

[CherryBlossom]

Here are some pics of Storm .... they are clearer




And this is Snow

[badger]

Don't give up just yet. Is she nervous in the cage or nervous around her cage-mate? Is there any way you could put the two cages together (door to door), so they could go back and forth? It may be just a small thing upsetting her, which you haven't yet noticed.
As for the screaming, could she be screaming with delight?

[CherryBlossom]

Originally Posted by badger

Don't give up just yet. Is she nervous in the cage or nervous around her cage-mate? Is there any way you could put the two cages together (door to door), so they could go back and forth? It may be just a small thing upsetting her, which you haven't yet noticed.
As for the screaming, could she be screaming with delight?

I think it might be part due to Storm (her cage mate) because they fight a lot but when she is alone in the cage she doesn't settle down at all .. she constantly tries to find an escape to get out of the cage... but when she is in the old one she is fine...

the cage doors don't match up at all the new cage the doors are up high on the cage and the old one the doors are near the bottom...

oh wow ... that scream is so loud ... hurts my ears and I'm sure the neighbors can hear it clearly ... ha ha ... but if it's delight then well she is aloud to do it ... during the day ... ha ha ... but it's sounds like the screaming she would do when I first got her and I was trying to get her used to me she would scream and crouch down in the bottom of the cage trying to hide from my hand ... puzzling bird she is ...

[Melinda]

you have two females cherryblossom, and don't be surprised if they lay eggs , they won't be fertile though (no good). Talk to her when she screams on your finger...or feed her a treat to calm her, if you have them separate, and one on your finger , thats the time to say one word over and over again to her, you could turn her screaming into talking. a better way is to place a towel over her cage and just lift it enough so she can only see your face, repeat a word over and over again to her like "pretty bird" or "hello"...make sure she has a small mirror in her cage, they "talk" to the mirror and you'll be surprised how fast she picks it up and says it into the mirror.