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Post by Billie on Jul 11, 2006 12:02:00 GMT
It certainly is Karen, although it is hard to laugh when they squabble and fight over who is going to get to the broccoli. Ahh what it is to be popular eh
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Post by Billie on Jul 11, 2006 10:32:28 GMT
My flock of four are in their large community cage now and as far as taming is going for more than one at once, so far so good. Harry is bold and will do anything for broccoli so I hold a piece in the cage by the same perch and don't move. Harry was eating this fine and I have gradually moved it further and further round so he has to step onto my finger to get to it and although tentative at first he is now climbing all over my hand and even flies straight on to my hand if one of the other birds is blocking his route. Minty took a bit longer but anything Harry has he and Sky want some of so after a while Minty took to jostling Harry out of the way for the Broccoli and he too flies to my hand if Harry is in the way. The other two birds Sky and Minty were a bit more timid but Sky happily eats from the perch next to my hand but is only just starting to put the odd foot on my finger. Blue who is the most timid will now come down to me and take some Broccoli but hasn't yet put feet near me. As everyone says just do the same thing regularly. I only offer Broccoli from that one perch and don't wave it around after them, they come and try it in their own time. I'm really pleased as I haven't had a tame budgie that would sit on my finger since I was about 5, 30 years is a long time to wait but they make you feel so special that they trust you enough to sit on your hand
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Post by Billie on Jun 20, 2006 17:02:15 GMT
When my babies first arrived home I covered their cage each evening so that only the lower perches were lit by the room lights in the evening. This has of late not been happening as we have had a spell of hot weather and I thought they would get too stuffy and hot with the cage covered. Sky and Minty stars of Seed pot mining have a new game. Who can sit nearest the outside edge of the cage! They sleep side by side normally resting against each other & looking adorable . All seems calm, then the one who isn't next to the cage bars leaps on the wall and wedges itself into that spot. This usually involves only getting one foot on the perch and being squished against the bars as the bird currently in the space rarely give up with out argument. After a bit of nudging the new bird is in its spot and preparers to sleep. A minute of calm then it all starts over. We counted them do this 8 times last night. Its soooo funny
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Post by Billie on Jul 5, 2006 14:12:27 GMT
Minty flew to and sat on my thumb to eat broccoli today, mainly coz Harry kept attacking him if he tried to shove Harry out of the way to get to it from the tree. Blue my silent and sometimes stroppy budge actually came down the tree to eat broccoli from me, avoiding my hand but its still a first . I've cut veg into pieces and they are hysterical, Minty grabs a piece and flies up to the tree, at which point every body wants to be his friend and starts following him then he drops it. Will post pictures in budge photo section.
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Post by Billie on Jul 3, 2006 16:41:47 GMT
Hand taming in the community cage is going really well. All my birds LOVE broccoli, so when I put the pot of veg in I hold a piece up to the perch and they go nuts for it. Harry put one foot on the broccoli and one on my hand, then put both feet on me when I moved the broccoli out of easy reach.
The babies Sky and Minty both ate from my hand but only perch briefly and almost by mistake on my fingers. They all do budgies shuffle for the broccoli, when its in easy reach and fight each other for a turn. Even Blue who is normally grumpy and ignores me flies to and fro over my hand and actually landed on me yesterday, although she flew off like her feet hand been burn on contact!
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Post by Billie on Jun 30, 2006 20:08:58 GMT
I blew on Harry and he lept off my hand and although he has been on since he is definately more wary . I have used this in the past on other birds if they were being naughty and it worked ok. I think I will stick to ignoring it for a while and see how it goes. They moved into a large comunity cage on Thursday so not expecting much although Harry did take carrot from my hand today .
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Post by Billie on Jun 20, 2006 16:50:05 GMT
Yep, Harry has been known to both leap and bound, if he's in a particularly mad mood he'll try to do both and fall over. Harry is my star pupil, I chose him because he was bold as well as pretty. He was the first to have a bath, try veg and eat from my hand and now is first to stand on my hand. . So far when he's on my hand I stay quiet and don't move even if he nips. Yesterday after he had sat on me then wandered off I got a piece of millet and I held it in a way that was easy for him to get to as a reward, is this a good plan or is it rewarding nipping. This is great as in the cage next to him are two very young babies about 6 weeks old and they were hanging off the bars of their cage whilst he sat on me. When I offered them a piece of broccoli held in such a way that they had to reach over my fingers to get it Minty tried for a while then put a foot on my finger to make it easier to get at, then ended up sitting on my hand to eat. Its been a bit of a week of firsts Sky has had her first bath and Minty decided to join her in there today. You can get two budgies into a bath that hangs on the cage if they're dead small. It's the pair in the seed pot mining pictures that did it.
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Post by Billie on Jun 20, 2006 12:43:20 GMT
I have two young budgies in a cage together, Harry happily takes food offered from my hand and yesterday stepped onto my offered finger, instead of what I expected which was for him to leap off horrified he walked along my hand and was mouthing me to compaire my skin to the perch. Harry would sit there standing on me,look at my hand/arm them pounce like a cat does after a mouse and 'play bite'. He didn't break the skin so I think it was just testing. The same thing happened this morning ate broccoli from my hand fine, then started walking on me and pouncing. My question basically is, should I ignore the nipping as a birds learning curve or will this encourage him to bite.
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Post by Billie on Jun 18, 2006 15:25:15 GMT
Funny you should mention that, to make up for not refilling the pot with seed I put a wooden bead in there instead. I have a great toy box of wooden beads made especially for small birds from a company called Jungle Talk . I have strung a length together an hung that from the ceiling as well. It took them a week to investigate the hanging one and now they can't get enough of it. See www.jungletalk.com/Index.htmI'd love to buy some of the nice wooden toys but can't find a uk store selling small sized ones. Most are aimed at parrots.
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Post by Billie on Jun 12, 2006 11:53:10 GMT
Oh they certainly have, I don't even mind having to hoover 4 times a day . Though I'm hoping by the time they are all in together in the one cage and Tilley's cage next to them rather than beigh across the room that it won't be so bad. I love my little mess makers.
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Post by Billie on Jun 11, 2006 9:20:03 GMT
Well they're not impressed that I haven't refilled their playpen! Although they still play in the empty pots and eat nicely from the alternative ones I've put in the cage. They are all my little stars this week. They have been here now for 8 days today, and for the first time everyone has finally realized that the pot of veggies I put in each morning isn't poisoned and have had a great time this morning walking around carrying pieces of chopped broccoli and feeding each other with it . Harry has been a bit of a star this week, because of his bold personality he had had a bath when none of the others did, licked a piece of carrot, and an orange segment- cut in half. The slices of apple didn't go down too well Sky and Minty trod on theirs and that was as close to it as they would go. Blue having glared at it and me for several minutes, walked up to it shredded it and threw the pieces all round the cage with a and that's what I think of you fruit idea! look on her face. Don't you just love having baby birds, its so much fun to see them try stuff for the first time. I've always had older birds in the past, but these little guys are fantastic. I know, file me under "excited new parent"!
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Post by Billie on Jun 8, 2006 15:16:25 GMT
Just had to break up the most hysterical fight. Minty was half into the pot for a bit of mining when Sky came down and got both feet on his tail so he could get up, there followed a beak fight and me falling about laughing. Forget the world cup, who needs a tv when there are birds in the house. Even my husband who has in the past shown no more that the passing interest in my previous budgie Taz, and only then to tell him to shut up when he couldn't hear the tv, has taken to sitting and watching them to. I think we have a convert! Harry gets a star today for having his first bath, (he's the one in the second cage watching intently).
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Post by Billie on Jun 8, 2006 14:55:54 GMT
I think they do it coz they are really young and maybe miss the nest box. They have the hump with me right now coz I have given them alternative pots which hook on the inside of the cage which they feed from normally, and haven't refilled the 'mines'. I came home to find the living room covered with seed the last time I filled the pots up and two very smug babies who I couldn't be cross with coz they did a cute little call then preened each other. Aww Bless Talk about butter wouldn't melt in their mouths! I'm just worried that they will get stuck or get hurt trying to get out. Mashing their feathers comprehensively with this game, but you're only young once right! I held a piece of millet in the cage yesterday and Sky came over and ate it. Invented 'The Millet Game' on Tuesday this involves holding a small piece of millet outside the cage, waiting for a bird to take a couple of bites, then offering it to the next bird. This was a great success, firstly for getting them used to a moving hand and secondly because they only got a couple of bites each they really stayed interested and eager for their go. Try it its great
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Post by Billie on Jun 7, 2006 16:13:59 GMT
Here are some pictures of my new baby budgies Sky and Minty, seed pot mining. This involves one of them climbing into the seed pot, then running on the spot which spills all the seed out. Sometimes the other bird tries to get in as well. The funniest version is when the Minty kicked seed onto his back and then Sky ate seed off him, Minty turned his head round (still in the pot) and begged to be fed and Sky fed him which he did. Aww blesss. First climb into the pot Scrabble around a bit Make sue everyone can see you A few fancy moves for the judges just to finish off. Does my bum look big in this? No bird was harmed in pursuit of these images, although their sanity was questioned! ;D
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Post by Billie on Aug 29, 2007 20:39:38 GMT
Here are some helpful links www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/acquiring.phpI would definately go for zeebee's as a first bird they are nice and simple to keep easy diets and best kept in pairs. Please do lots of research into whatever bird you are considering buying. It is better to find out before you buy that the bird is too difficult to keep than do a bad job of looking after one through lack of knowledge. This is what I should have done I bought a pair of grass finches or Hecks as they are also called coz they were beautiful. I didn't know anything about them and didn't really know how to look after them properly. I put them in the aivery for a few days when the weather was nice and they died, they wern't hardy enough for outdoors and I didn't know that. It is a terrible thing to make a creature suffer for your ignorance, even if it isn't intentional. Good luck for your search. Billie x
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