I want budgies... Pics of yours too please.

[LiamRatSnake]

Pic And...can anyone recommend a good cage? I remember from college that bars need to be horizontal and the cage also horizontally orientated. I've looked after a good range of birds so know the basic ins and outs and will do more research obviously.
I like Lutino and blue budgies. P

[Stephen P]

You're right about the bars - I have an indoor aviary, but the elderly or ones that need recouperating go into Ferplast cages. I've removed the wooden perches that are supplied and use stripped apple tree branches as being thinner they're easier for them to grip.

You could look in Cage & Aviary, its out on Thursdays, as some breeders will have paired up and should have some chicks. Others will only just have paired so would be another 6 weeks before they have young ready. I presume you want young ones.

They are lovely birds to keep with some wonderful colours, I have 24, 3 cockatiels, a Senegal and an African Grey.

[LiamRatSnake]

Originally Posted by Stephen P

You're right about the bars - I have an indoor aviary, but the elderly or ones that need recouperating go into Ferplast cages. I've removed the wooden perches that are supplied and use stripped apple tree branches as being thinner they're easier for them to grip.

You could look in Cage & Aviary, its out on Thursdays, as some breeders will have paired up and should have some chicks. Others will only just have paired so would be another 6 weeks before they have young ready. I presume you want young ones.

They are lovely birds to keep with some wonderful colours, I have 24, 3 cockatiels, a Senegal and an African Grey.

I'm actually not bothered about age, tame is nice and I've always preferred male budgies, but I quite like the idea of offering a home to an untwanted single or pair. Yeah I was planning using branches and those stiff ropes you get, we have apple trees around anyway. I like blue budgies best I think.

[selina20]

If you want one to talk then generally go for a male. If you get a pair make sure they are unrelated as you dont want inbreeding. I would personnally go for a breeder and get some off them. Most breeders supply pet shops and sell for about £5 each. Also you cut down on stuff like mites and scaley face and foot. Make sure like with any cage it has a lock on it as they CAN open cages lol. I had to have locks on most of my cages when i had a breeding stud of 500. Make sure you can sex budgies males have blue nostrills and hens have brown. However with youngsters they can both have blue. Hens usually have white rings around their nostrills.

Also make sure the birds have all their flight feathers as they could carry french moult which isnt a nice disease.

I dont know much about indoor pet cages as i was a breeder. If you would like any more info then pm me.

[LiamRatSnake]

Originally Posted by selina20

If you want one to talk then generally go for a male. If you get a pair make sure they are unrelated as you dont want inbreeding. I would personnally go for a breeder and get some off them. Most breeders supply pet shops and sell for about £5 each. Also you cut down on stuff like mites and scaley face and foot. Make sure like with any cage it has a lock on it as they CAN open cages lol. I had to have locks on most of my cages when i had a breeding stud of 500. Make sure you can sex budgies males have blue nostrills and hens have brown. However with youngsters they can both have blue. Hens usually have white rings around their nostrills.

Also make sure the birds have all their flight feathers as they could carry french moult which isnt a nice disease.

I dont know much about indoor pet cages as i was a breeder. If you would like any more info then pm me.

Thanks for the info, I know a fair bit about budgies, but only really want I learnt from college and to be fair I can't take it as gospel. Aye I remember how to sex them and got quite good at that after a while. I'm not really interested in talking but have always preferred male budgies anyway as they always seemed the most tame. I would like to know if two males can live together happily, I seem to remember they did in college. Not interested in babies really, it's enough stress with all the other animal's babies without budgie babies to worry about aswell lol. I'm planning on the budgies having the flight of the room most of the daylight hours. Thanks for the health tips What kind of age would be ideal to get them?

[selina20]

Originally Posted by LiamRatSnake

Thanks for the info, I know a fair bit about budgies, but only really want I learnt from college and to be fair I can't take it as gospel. Aye I remember how to sex them and got quite good at that after a while. I'm not really interested in talking but have always preferred male budgies anyway as they always seemed the most tame. I would like to know if two males can live together happily, I seem to remember they did in college. Not interested in babies really, it's enough stress with all the other animal's babies without budgie babies to worry about aswell lol. I'm planning on the budgies having the flight of the room most of the daylight hours. Thanks for the health tips What kind of age would be ideal to get them?

They can but its best to get nest mates. I used to split my babies when they left the nest into either a cock cage or a hen cage and i rarely had any scrapping.
The best age is as soon as they have been taken from mum and dad. Usually breeders will keep them for a week and then rehome them to check that they are ok etc. Also to watch their 1st moult.
You will struggle to find cheap lutinos the 1s in pet shops are usually double factor spangles with black eyes. Lutinos always have red eyes.
Blue budgies also cost more to a pet shop as they are "pretty" so are pieds. If you get offered a pure black budgie do not touch it with a barge pole as its probably a "feather duster" which means they continuously grow their feathers and never moult causing them to die young.
To reduce stress on a budgie when moving it i recommend investing in some Spark or Critical Care as i used to give them this before a show. Like all birds upon handling budgies can have a heart attack and i have lost show birds when plucking their spots due to this. Also if the bird is unwell during a moult then both work. I would only get one or the other and put a small amount in the water when you get them.
If you get younger birds then its best off giving them egg food in meals when you 1st get them as it will get them eating as some can be funny about different types of seeds.
Stay away in pet shops for any older birds as they are usually ex breeding stock so a few years old. Check the rings if you can if they have them. A bird rung last year or this year as rings change in november will have the breeders number and then vertically 09 or 10 this is the year they hatched. Also if you would like to check the breeder then enter the number on the BS website and they will tell you.
If you want to know more then i can answer most questions. I bred budgies from the age of 5 to 15 and won National Levels with my birds in the Junior classes.

[puppyluv774]

Do you Know how 2 look after em?
Because if you don't, i have lots of advice on them.My grandad and i breed em.

[LiamRatSnake]

Originally Posted by selina20

They can but its best to get nest mates. I used to split my babies when they left the nest into either a cock cage or a hen cage and i rarely had any scrapping.
The best age is as soon as they have been taken from mum and dad. Usually breeders will keep them for a week and then rehome them to check that they are ok etc. Also to watch their 1st moult.
You will struggle to find cheap lutinos the 1s in pet shops are usually double factor spangles with black eyes. Lutinos always have red eyes.
Blue budgies also cost more to a pet shop as they are "pretty" so are pieds. If you get offered a pure black budgie do not touch it with a barge pole as its probably a "feather duster" which means they continuously grow their feathers and never moult causing them to die young.
To reduce stress on a budgie when moving it i recommend investing in some Spark or Critical Care as i used to give them this before a show. Like all birds upon handling budgies can have a heart attack and i have lost show birds when plucking their spots due to this. Also if the bird is unwell during a moult then both work. I would only get one or the other and put a small amount in the water when you get them.
If you get younger birds then its best off giving them egg food in meals when you 1st get them as it will get them eating as some can be funny about different types of seeds.
Stay away in pet shops for any older birds as they are usually ex breeding stock so a few years old. Check the rings if you can if they have them. A bird rung last year or this year as rings change in november will have the breeders number and then vertically 09 or 10 this is the year they hatched. Also if you would like to check the breeder then enter the number on the BS website and they will tell you.
If you want to know more then i can answer most questions. I bred budgies from the age of 5 to 15 and won National Levels with my birds in the Junior classes.

Wow thanks for all the info. Brilliant. Like any pets I like to take it very seriously. It will be a few weeks yet and in the meantime we're looking at cages. I'm not sure whether to get a single budgie or a pair, it'll be important to me to be able to catch my budgies fairly easily so I can get them in the cage without stressing them and to the vets ect. Not interested in tricks or talking but I want them to be able to train them to step up onto a finger or perch.

[LiamRatSnake]

I've also seen some that are both blue and green and I really like them, so if anyone knows what they're called that'd be cool.
I believe I can tell babies by the barring on the heads too? Although they generally do look younger and fluffier anyway.

[LiamRatSnake]

Alsooooooooooo.... What's the best covering for the floor of the cage? Newspaper/kitchen roll/sandpaper/sand/wood shavings ect? We used sand in college and I found it pretty effective, we sifted it bi-weekly, but I was a bit scared as some would eat seed from the floor.