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I am wondering if anyone keeps, or has interacted with lineolated parakeets/ barred parakeets/ "linnies" and what their experience has been with them. (These cuties)   I have become interested in them after coming across them quite accidentally a few days ago, and now I can't get them out of my head. Apparently they love snuggling into places and falling asleep in cozy spots for hours. They also like to hang upside down, and prefer to climb around rather than fly. They just sound so adorable I NEED ONE. And subpar anachronism, that is a truly awful thing to have happened. I feel so terrible for you. Sorry your little one had to go that way.. Wrecking Ball fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Jan 20, 2015 |
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Jan 20, 2015 04:24
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| # ? Jun 12, 2024 00:20 |
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Having raised baby birds from flesh jellybean stage to adulthood, I'll say that finishing off the hand-feeding stage can be done safely by beginners, but it will still require a lot of free time and with a strong emphasis on keeping things sterile and bacteria free. It's gross, it's messy, and it honestly didn't make a difference in how the babies viewed me since I was handling them daily anyway.
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Jan 20, 2015 04:29
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When we got Taco he was 9 weeks I think? And had just been weaned onto seed and fruit. We managed to get him onto pellets and fruit/veggies over the course of 1 or 2 weeks with no dramas at all. We are really lucky with Taco, we have had no dramas at all with him, he really is a little Wonder Bird.
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Jan 20, 2015 07:22
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So tonight I went out to a bird sanctuary near town with some right proper bird crazies. Mike Bamford has been studying waders for decades, Brad somethingorother has spent longer studying terns. Gill somethingorother has spent 20 years following Brad around with binoculars. We were attempting to use mist nets to trap, measure and band as many species as possible. After setting up, and waiting for about 2 hours, the grand total of captured birds was 1. A bronze wing pigeon that flew into the nets, and then freed itself. Oh well. At least I worked out what sort of binoculars to get.
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Jan 20, 2015 14:13
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Frogmanv2 posted:So tonight I went out to a bird sanctuary near town with some right proper bird crazies. Mike Bamford has been studying waders for decades, Brad somethingorother has spent longer studying terns. Gill somethingorother has spent 20 years following Brad around with binoculars. We were attempting to use mist nets to trap, measure and band as many species as possible. We have a dedicated birding thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3566028  There are some people in there (and the birding photography thread in Dorkroom) that do banding outings with experts too. (I post in both threads because I truly am a bird crazy)
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Jan 20, 2015 16:17
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So it appears that lovebirds have become difficult to find in central Texas. Does anybody know a good place to find a breeder?
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Jan 20, 2015 16:27
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Kenshin posted:We have a dedicated birding thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3566028 I did not know this. Cheers.
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Jan 20, 2015 16:41
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A flock of wild budgies has moved into the trees next to the building where I work (Florida - we have budgie populations throughout the state). They're fun to watch, but noisy as all get out and utterly impossible to take a good photo of. The mockingbirds seem to really, really hate them.
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Jan 20, 2015 17:48
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Cythereal posted:A flock of wild budgies has moved into the trees next to the building where I work (Florida - we have budgie populations throughout the state). I had a large cage with I think 6 budgies in it at one point. I can only imagine the noise an entire tree of them would make. The burbly chatter from budgies is probably my favorite bird noise. 
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Jan 20, 2015 22:08
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Agent355 posted:I had a large cage with I think 6 budgies in it at one point. I can only imagine the noise an entire tree of them would make. The burbly chatter from budgies is probably my favorite bird noise. We've already gotten a couple of complaints from students (I work at a university) about the CHEEPCHEEPCHEEP from the budgies and the aggrieved mockingbirds trying to evict them.
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Jan 20, 2015 22:16
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Budgies contentedly burbling is the cutest bird noise and I love it. The shrill flock calls and occasional scream (and the very loud excited chatter) are less adorable mostly due to volume.
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Jan 20, 2015 22:28
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I dunno about budgies but zebra finch beeps and chirps are loving adorable. A whole bunch of feathery squeaky toys.
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Jan 20, 2015 22:33
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Wrecking Ball posted:I am wondering if anyone keeps, or has interacted with lineolated parakeets/ barred parakeets/ "linnies" and what their experience has been with them.  At least it means he can come outside with me and and help prune my grapevine. I suspect if I'd gotten him younger, toilet training would have been very doable, he definitely picks particular toilet areas, unfortunately we just couldn't agree on what constitutes a toilet area and the suit ended up being easier on both of us. Only other downside to these cute little buggers is they have an incredibly piercing and loud contact call. Seriously, 99% of the time it's the cutest quietest noises, but the second they realize you (or in my guy's case, his budgie bff) aren't as near as they like, it's like having the worst smoke detector go off. It's not an issue with some birds, but I've seen several linnies given up because the bird called constantly and the owner was losing their mind over it.
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Jan 20, 2015 22:45
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Battle Pigeon posted:I dunno about budgies but zebra finch beeps and chirps are loving adorable. A whole bunch of feathery squeaky toys. I grew up in The Pilbara in WA, massive flocks of wild budgies and finches (and galahs) were just a regular every day thing. Its pretty cool going out for a walk in the bush and seeing a flock of about a billion budgies all burbling and flapping about.
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Jan 21, 2015 03:10
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GoldStandardConure posted:I grew up in The Pilbara in WA, massive flocks of wild budgies and finches (and galahs) were just a regular every day thing. Its pretty cool going out for a walk in the bush and seeing a flock of about a billion budgies all burbling and flapping about. Wild budgies are common in parts of coastal Florida, but today was the first time I've seen them show up where I work. Fun to watch, but very, very loud most of the time. Kinda hope they'll stay. I have, however, come to the conclusion that birds are not the pet for me. Too smart and needy.
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Jan 21, 2015 03:15
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I had Inko out on the desk and while I was typing he stepped up on to my (covered) arm all by himself for the very first time 
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Jan 21, 2015 19:14
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awww, Inko!
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Jan 21, 2015 19:39
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Yay, Inko! 
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Jan 21, 2015 19:45
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Filed under "birds hate changes": I just got laser eye surgery and both birds are weirded out by me without glasses on. Alexis has come around quicker, wanting reassurance pets, but Auri is very confused and doesn't want me coming anywhere near her with my scary glasses-less face.
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Jan 22, 2015 02:19
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Sociopastry posted:Just a note, though, when buying budgies in particular- STAY THE gently caress AWAY FROM PET SHOPS. I didn't know that when I got Tokyo, and she turned out to be incredibly sickly and she ended up passing despite my best efforts. Get your budgie buddy from either a reputable breeder or a rescue. this myrtille was sick since the day i got him, and it turned out he had fatty liver disease. he didn't last more than 2 months after i bought him, and it was heartbreaking to see him having seizures in my hands near the end  i've got two new birds, pumpkin and june, a baby cockatiel from a breeder and a untame female budgie. they're both very sweet, and citron, my surviving petshop bird is bonding well with june. pumpkin is disabled (she has club foot from too little calcium when she was a baby baby), but she's the sweetest bird ever and always wants to be out and snuggling me. she loves to be petted for hours and does a little "let me out" dance in her cage whenever i'm home i'm trying to wean them all onto pellets, but i've had mixed results so far. i've been taking a half and half mix of birdseed and pellets and adding water so the pellets stick to the seeds (and also hopefully gives them some extra vitamins if they don't eat the pellets). should i be worried about the birds not getting enough food if they're not obviously searching for food all the time? they're hungrier than usual cause i'm not giving them a constant supply of birdseed like i did before, but I feed them a handful of seed and pellets twice a day.
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Jan 22, 2015 11:05
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I don't know if this is a legit strategy or if it only worked because my cockatiel is EXTRA stupid, but the way I got her to start eating pellets was to only offer them as "special treats" during playtime outside of the cage until she started eating them. Then I was 100% sure that she knew it was edible and I took away the seed and monitored her weight for a while. Your method should work eventually too, birds are stubborn when it comes to food. If you are worried about them eating enough, track their weight.
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Jan 22, 2015 14:23
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Pip pip pip posted:I don't know if this is a legit strategy or if it only worked because my cockatiel is EXTRA stupid, but the way I got her to start eating pellets was to only offer them as "special treats" during playtime outside of the cage until she started eating them. Then I was 100% sure that she knew it was edible and I took away the seed and monitored her weight for a while. yeah, i should get a food scale or something, though i dunno how I would measure the budgies since they're not tame yet. guess i should catch em and wrap em up in a towel and zero the scale with the towel's weight alone and i've done something similar with pumpkin a couple of times, and she's eaten a bit of pellets, but she always loses interest. i guess i should try again Condiv fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jan 22, 2015 |
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Jan 22, 2015 16:15
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So guys, I'm not sure what to do. Huxley doesn't seem all that affected- he's eating and drinking fine, burbling and chattering away, and has his head stuffed in a bell so he's still playing with his toys. However, he'll start making the loud whistle-yell that Ellison used to use when they were separated, and it will go on, and on, and on. For twenties of minutes if I don't find a way to distract him. At this point, I'm not sure whether to get another booge. I'm not emotionally ready, but the constant, screaming flock calls are breaking both my heart and my eardrums. Huxley is not hand tame and (despite my chagrin) has never been interested in spending time with me, even though I'm home all day and make decent company- should I look into getting another friend for him? He and Ellison were caged separately (spent most of the day with the doors open going back and forth from cage to cage with each other), so we still have Ellison's cage. Advice, goons?
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Jan 22, 2015 18:28
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It really sounds like Huxley needs a new buddy, but I understand that you're not ready for a new bird. Just remember, it's not a betrayal to Ellison to get Huxley a new friend! You're doing it for Huxley's benefit, after all, not to "replace" Ellison.
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Jan 22, 2015 19:00
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The budgie flock that set up shop in a tree near the building where I work is still there, a few days later. Looks like my university has picked up a bunch of parakeets living in the palmettos. Not as noisy now, but still adorable to watch.
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Jan 24, 2015 01:09
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Cythereal posted:The budgie flock that set up shop in a tree near the building where I work is still there, a few days later. Looks like my university has picked up a bunch of parakeets living in the palmettos. We've got a small group of white winged parakeets in the palms outside of my office lately, I'm hoping that I've never noticed them and they live there year round
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Jan 24, 2015 01:10
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Taco what are you doing? He is holding out one wing and tap dancing across my keyboard making kissy noises. of course when i get my camera out he stops.
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Jan 24, 2015 02:49
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Wants you to gently caress him.
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Jan 24, 2015 20:08
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We just got a new budgie named Kristoff (my Frozen obsessed daughter named him). He isn't my first bird I've owned, but he's the first in a while for me. It's really awesome having a bird in the house - I love the sound of a bird chirping and tweeting in the background and I used to love having a bird snuggled up to my neck. Quick question though - whenever I've gone up to look at him, is left wing is "vibrating" to the best I can describe it. I didn't notice it the first day we had him, I just started noticing it today (it's been about 3-4 days). He hasn't been dropped or injured from what I know. Is this just something that parakeets do? Or is this something to be concerned about? It almost seems like he's shivering, but it's only his wing - not his whole body. Just figured I'd check with all of you before checking with an avian vet (who isn't open until Monday anyway).
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Jan 25, 2015 01:11
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What is the toilet situation on parrots? If you own one, do you just resign yourself to constantly scrubbing gooey runny poo out of random surfaces and carpets and articles of clothing, or are birds decent about doing it only in one location? Can they hold it in? I always see photos and videos of cute birds but generally not much of the aftermath - 2 minutes after some cuddle photo, is your shirt inevitably covered in bird waste? I'm starting to research* getting a bird (probably a GCC or red-bellied poi) but I'm not sure what to expect on that front, coming from a long history of housebroken dogs and litter trained bunnies. Ideally it would spend most of its time out of the cage. *Speaking of which, researching species and their personality traits makes me feel like I'm chasing my tail in circles most of the time. So much conflicting information. LifeSizePotato fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 03:07
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You can potty train parrots if you're willing to put in the effort, but parrot poop isn't like most bird poop you're probably familiar with. It's not really runny and messy, it's actually incredibly easy to clean up and doesn't smell or stain. So even if you don't take the time to specifically potty train your bird the poo situation isn't that bad.
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Jan 25, 2015 03:18
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My 1.5 year old GCC has actually gotten a lot better about pooping on people's shoulders; we try to say "no" and put her back on one of her perches whenever it happens, but...birds, so I have no idea if that's actually why. Otherwise, yeah, get used to it if you want them around/on you a lot.
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Jan 25, 2015 03:18
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Agent355 posted:You can potty train parrots if you're willing to put in the effort, but parrot poop isn't like most bird poop you're probably familiar with. It's not really runny and messy, it's actually incredibly easy to clean up and doesn't smell or stain. So even if you don't take the time to specifically potty train your bird the poo situation isn't that bad. That's really interesting and good to know. I was pretty much expecting to find piles of pigeon or duck poop everywhere, which sounds like an utter nightmare. I was almost thinking I'd need to not let it into carpeted rooms. LifeSizePotato fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 03:20
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My parrot just shat on me. I picked it up with a single square of toilet paper and have returned to my blackberry margarita. Lovebird poo poo is even easier to deal with.
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Jan 25, 2015 03:53
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Git Mah Belt Son posted:We just got a new budgie named Kristoff (my Frozen obsessed daughter named him). He isn't my first bird I've owned, but he's the first in a while for me. It's really awesome having a bird in the house - I love the sound of a bird chirping and tweeting in the background and I used to love having a bird snuggled up to my neck. Our GCC vibrates when she is excited, usually it is eight before we pick her up.
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Jan 25, 2015 04:29
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Just don't make a habit of eating small white sprinkled chocolate Nonpareils while hanging out with a bird. Mistakes have been made, mistakes I regret.
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Jan 25, 2015 04:40
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Bird crap chat: Amadeus is toilet-trained. If he needs to poop he'll start shuffling in place and making little distressed sounds until I hold him over a designated bird poo poo spot and tell him to "take your poop." Bird poo poo spots are the trashcan next to my desk, the one in the bathroom, and the area in front of his cage -- he likes to sit on the open cage door and so I keep a paper towel on the floor beneath him. If I take too long to respond to his poopdance he might have an accident, but he does give me plenty of warning. He also has places he prefers not to poop, like his cage and his playpen, and places where he will never poop: his sleep cage and my bed, for which I am very grateful.  He holds it a lot longer if he's in one of those places. Hours at a time.The actual potty-training mostly consisted of holding him over a trashcan whenever he made a suspicious movement and then smothering him with praise when he crapped, but not responding if he pooped outside of the okay area. Birds can be very praise-motivated, and they're smart, so he picked up the link between pooping in the trashcan and being told that he's a VERY GOOD BIRD pretty quickly. YMMV of course. And that's a lot of words I wrote about poop. LITERALLY A BIRD fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 04:51
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Alexis is toilet trained for everything except for the couch. I can't get her to stop pooping there, but her poops are tiny, don't really stain, and I just wash the couch cover in the washing machine every other month. She basically acts like Amadeus does above with the shuffling and chirping. Auri really doesn't like to hang out anywhere but her perches anyway so there are just paper towels under each perch that I change regularly.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:02
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The only problem with poop is when you see them poo poo on something you are ok with and then you put them on your shirtless shoulder cause its ridiculously hot, and they poo poo right down your chest. Yes that just happened.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:13
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Jinxie Monroe posted:I have a sweet older rescue linnie. They are adorable and make the sweetest little contented purrs and warks, I do wish someone had warned me that their poop is really messy before I got one though. Mine took to wearing a flightsuit with minimal fuss, so I can let him out without getting streaks of birdshit down all my walls and on everything I love. I just have to deal with being a level of bird crazy that puts their bird in a diaper. Thank you for your input. Although they sound really sweet, and I still want one, I think I am going to hold off on getting a linnie until my living situation changes. My apartment is just too small to deal with the potential of really messy bird poops flying all over the limited space I live in. I am going to get a second budgie so that my girl I have now, won't be so lonely in the day time while I am at work. Still debating on the second budgie's gender. I have heard housing two females together can result in quarrels. On the other hand, if I get a male, I am also in no position to get accidental clutches of budgie eggs. Milly (my girl) is already horny enough as it is (regurgitating on my fingers) and I try so hard to prevent that. She has no tents, tubes, or bowls to lay in, but I have heard they will lay an egg on the floor if they have to. She gets a covered cage at night, her cage is re-arranged once a week, and I don't even pat/stroke/scratch her (she just tries to bite me if I do, so I just let her perch on my shoulders and fingers and that is our relationship.) Not sure what else to do to prevent that breeding behavior. If I add a male, won't she just breed with him? I guess I could house them separately but it sort of defeats the purpose of getting another budgie for her companionship.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:41
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