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Qubee posted:I leave the back against the wall uncovered so they have a tiny bit of light. Completely cover the cage. A play of shadows either from the light at night or during morning can spook the hell out of a bird enough to break it's leg when it gets hung up on a chain trying to get away from the, obvious, predator RIGHT OUTSIDE!! It's happened to me and have heard of it happening to many others. Completely covered = perfect night for sleeping. They can still be spooked via noise but I find budgies not as spooked from noises compared to larger parrots. When you uncover make sure it's slow and you are speaking gently. SLOOOOOOW AS MOLLASSES. EVIL Gibson fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Mar 2, 2021 |
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Mar 2, 2021 20:48
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| # ? May 26, 2024 21:48 |
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My diamond dove died last night. I found her at the bottom of the cage today, eyes closed, wouldn't wake up. Seated over a little bloodstain. Eggbound. I feel miserable. Last night I saw her hanging out on the floor of the cage, a behavior that I found concerning when I first saw it several months ago, but something I'd come to expect every couple of weeks as just being one of her customary perches. I feel like I could have paid more attention. She wasn't hand-tamed and her zebra finch cagemate was very protective, which was an impedance to working with her, but I was thinking of getting another finch and separating them into different cages so that I could try. She was always so very, very tolerant, as long as the finch wasn't flipping out. I feel like she might have been a good shoulder bird. And now I know how soft her feathers are. I should have made it more of a priority. 
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Mar 2, 2021 21:54
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Eikre posted:My diamond dove died last night. i am so sorry.
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Mar 2, 2021 21:58
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Eikre posted:My diamond dove died last night. I'm so sorry about your loss. I'm certain your dove lived a wonderful, happy life with you. Hang in there and take care of yourself. You are a good bird friend. ----------------------- Guess who weighs 115g?! Creeping up on 20% decrease in body weight. She isn't obese! But she is still so very fussy! 
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Mar 2, 2021 22:03
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Thanks for the heads up. I have two lightbulbs in my room front and back, and I turn one off so the cage is basically entirely in shadow when the top half is covered and a sliver of the bottom of the cage is illuminated, makes my room feel like it's having a sunset. Moving about doesn't cast shadows due to the lightbulb layout. I just have to hope that if a fright does happen, no serious injuries occur. Morning routine when I can hear them puttering about is to gently call their names, it's strangely the only ever time I've been able to wake up early without being annoyed. Then I just sort of fold the shirts I use to cover the cage up slowly onto the cage top and flick the light on, then go back to sleep. I think this may be the final cage update: it's been three days since I started Operation Lockdown. I keep them in the cage throughout the day and only let them out twice a day, one hour in the morning and one hour in the late afternoon about two hours before bed. Feeding only happens in the cage, no exception, to help solidify the idea that cage = safe and positive and good things. I don't let them eat seeds from my hands anymore, or spread it around on my desk. First day was awful, I felt like a monster. Second day was slightly better. Today, they'll happily sit and play in the cage and will sometimes not immediately try to fly out when I open the door. They'll accept that the door is, in fact, open, but carry on eating or playing with their toys or relaxing. They do get a bit antsy if I don't let them out when they are expecting it. Reckon I'm going to keep this routine up until they're comfortably and happily flying in and out of the cage of their own accord. I miss having them out all the time, I love when they're just on my shoulder or playing around my hand whilst I'm using the mouse. But they're still not perfect when it comes to cagetime. I'm just so grateful the stressing out and trying to squeeze through the bars has stopped.
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Mar 2, 2021 23:25
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Yes that's my experience too, making it a rule that food is inside the cage makes it much easier to convince birds to go back in.
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Mar 2, 2021 23:57
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While she WAS with you you made her life happy and pleasant, remember that.
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Mar 3, 2021 02:02
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Hummingbirb update: Two eggs! I snuck a pic while she was away. Right now she is in the nest keeping the eggs warm. 
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Mar 3, 2021 03:40
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 I removed the food as soon as I was advised to, and quickly upgraded the little fellow to a pet carrier lined with towels.
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Mar 3, 2021 05:57
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I had an interesting discussion with a friend, who also keeps birds. He has a Zebra Finch that is like a tiny puppy, it's so weird to see a bird behave that way when they're naturally rather reclusive and distant. He seems to be of the opinion that I need to be more hands on with my budgies, as he said the way I treat them is too 'formal', I guess, or polite? I told him budgies are a different breed entirely, they're not really that cuddly, they dictate when they want scratches or not. If I even attempt to stroke them or hold them, they get a bit irritated. He said if I keep practicing with the youngest (Wasabi), I can get him used to being held, or put on his back on my hand, or stroked and cuddled. I don't know if I fully agree with that, it kind of goes against what I have read about birds online: always respect their boundaries, never force anything, always let them initiate contact, encourage behaviour with positive reinforcement. A glaring example of our different schools of thought are how we get our birds to step up, I put my finger in front of them and let them hop on, he'll push his finger gently under the belly to get them off balance and force the step up. I'm not really sure whether I should listen to the advice. On the one hand, I'd love my two budgies to be even more cuddly and 100 percent okay with rougher (in the sense of stroking them, having them lay on their backs on my hand, letting me cuddle them any way I want) handling, but on the other, I feel like this is a great way to destroy a lot of the organic trust we've built up. We spend plenty of time together, they love to be on my shoulders, but they're like an extreme version of a cat - they only want to be cuddly and close when it suits them, otherwise they won't even entertain the thought and will flit off to do their own thing. I'd love to hear what you all have to say. I also wouldn't want to force them to do things they're unhappy with, but a small part of me wonders if that would only be the initial reaction, but over time they'd realise it's not that bad and they actually love using my hand as a hammock or letting me cuddle them under their chins whenever. I just accepted the fact that they're budgies and this is how they'll always be, slightly aloof with brief periods of cuddliness - but only ever on their terms. However, some pictures and videos I see online or on Reddit, people manage to have extremely cuddly and close budgies that'll happily lay in their hands, or get cuddles, stuff like that. I figured I'd perhaps chosen the wrong type of bird for my personality, and maybe should have gone with a cockatiel. I still absolutely love my two little poopheads, but the relationship can sometimes leave much to be desired. Question: Wasabi is a month younger than Chickadoodle, so 2 months old rather than 3 months. I notice he will keep harassing Chickadoodle for food. That's not a problem as Chickadoodle will tell him to buzz off when they're not in the mood, but is there a risk of Chickadoodle becoming malnourished due to all the feedings? I catch her feeding him a couple of times a day. He eats seeds no problem, I think he's just being lazy. I don't know whether to leave this behaviour or try and discourage it. Qubee fucked around with this message at 11:32 on Mar 3, 2021 |
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Mar 3, 2021 11:26
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Agrinja posted:
Habdsome!!
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Mar 3, 2021 17:43
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I guess the birdie Advil did the trick.
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Mar 4, 2021 03:53
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Awww, nice warm Hannah toeses
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Mar 4, 2021 10:47
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Chickadoodle is getting hella nibbly, which I've heard other people complain of with their female budgies.
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Mar 4, 2021 12:26
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Qubee posted:Chickadoodle is getting hella nibbly, which I've heard other people complain of with their female budgies. grace will sit on your shoulder and just constantly eat your earlobe so get used to it i guess
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Mar 4, 2021 13:34
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mediaphage posted:grace will sit on your shoulder and just constantly eat your earlobe so get used to it i guess Our first budgie ever growing up chose my mom as her favorite chew-human. It was kind of funny just hearing the occasional "OW!" coming from the home office. That budgie also learned she could dive bomb her door to get it open and land on a shoulder whenever she wanted. So what's kind of embarrassing is that when I was an early teen, I'd sometimes freak out if she landed on my shoulder cause i didn't want to get nibbled and one time I just ran while she was sitting on me and I stubbed my entire foot so hard on a brick fireplace and she was singing happily during the whole thing. She'd stick her head in your mouth if you went "aaah!"
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Mar 4, 2021 14:07
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Mar 4, 2021 14:48
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I want to see one of the birds that has a potty mouth from a previous owner (but whose current owner rescued them) order from Alexa
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Mar 4, 2021 15:12
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my friend got some emotional support budgies a few weeks ago and absolutely loves them the first few days she was almost crying from how much she cares about them its adorable
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Mar 4, 2021 15:33
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oh heres some pictures she said i could share they in da cage (she plans on getting them a bigger one, this was the biggest the store had)  from left to right: Cirrus, Strato, and Sol   cirrus eatin da seed  cirrus and strato chillin  i love them hbag fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Mar 4, 2021 |
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Mar 4, 2021 15:39
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oh my gosh I love them too
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Mar 4, 2021 15:45
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StrixNebulosa posted:oh my gosh I love them too
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Mar 4, 2021 16:19
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Sinbad will lose shoulder privileges if he doesn't stop chewing my glasses. What's the best way to discourage him. I just lean away and tell him no to reset him to preening hair but he inevitably returns to the glasses.
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Mar 4, 2021 16:47
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SuperKlaus posted:Sinbad will lose shoulder privileges if he doesn't stop chewing my glasses. What's the best way to discourage him. I just lean away and tell him no to reset him to preening hair but he inevitably returns to the glasses. It's delicious surprise plastic in your hair, and it needs to be preened out! If there's a way to make them not do that, I never found it in more than twenty years of lovebird ownership. I just accepted my fate and switched to contacts until she passed.
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Mar 4, 2021 17:43
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hbag posted:oh heres some pictures she said i could share Nice to see you in the bird thread, hbag. You've been making the rounds! Aww, they're still babies! Are they tame?
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Mar 4, 2021 18:27
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Plant MONSTER. posted:Nice to see you in the bird thread, hbag. You've been making the rounds! Aww, they're still babies! Are they tame? Apparently Cirrus is sorta tame, but Strato and Sol aren't.
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Mar 4, 2021 18:31
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This might seem counterintuitive but your friend should know not to feel afraid or apprehensive when trying to interact with them even if they flip their poo poo, there's no real need for letting new birds "settle in". Get 'em on yo fingers asap. They'll get used to it after a couple of weeks or months.
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Mar 4, 2021 18:38
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Plant MONSTER. posted:This might seem counterintuitive but your friend should know not to feel afraid or apprehensive when trying to interact with them even if they flip their poo poo, there's no real need for letting new birds "settle in". Get 'em on yo fingers asap. yea for a little while grace would do what i can only term a hatebeak deathshriek if your fingers approached the cage. then she finally realized we weren't coming to pluck her and now she's a snuggle bug.
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Mar 4, 2021 19:42
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Ozzy still does hatebeak deathshriek but he generally either very gently holds my finger in his beak or just pokes me with his tongue while he does it. He only sounds like he wants to murder me. I find this hilarious but I would never tell him, he's very proud.
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Mar 4, 2021 19:46
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my friend loves grace btw
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Mar 4, 2021 19:51
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hbag posted:oh heres some pictures she said i could share Strato doing the sternest soft snugg in between Cirrus and Sol is my eternal vibe
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Mar 4, 2021 20:38
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i have been told that strato is currently On The Swing but my friend cant get pictures because if she gets close he'll get off
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Mar 4, 2021 21:01
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Strato looks like the youngest of the bunch, makes sense that he wants to snug and leech as much delicious heat as possible.
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Mar 4, 2021 21:02
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hbag posted:i have been told that strato is currently On The Swing but my friend cant get pictures because if she gets close he'll get off This is also known as the Parakeet Picture Conundrum. It's like trying to take a picture of the Predator. (THEY ARE SO ADORABLE!!! )
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Mar 4, 2021 22:06
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hbag posted:my friend loves grace btw this fills me with joy
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Mar 4, 2021 22:56
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Does this mean anything? https://twitter.com/tinymira/status/1367852384320372747?s=21 He just does this for minutes on end. He seems okay, I just want to make sure. (I know he’s a hen, he’s just a he/him hen)
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Mar 5, 2021 20:46
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be good and try hard!
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Content and happy with a full crop. That clicking is them working the muscles in their crop processing the food in there, grinding it down for their stomach. You'll mostly notice them doing this a little while after they've eaten.
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Mar 5, 2021 20:47
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That's a happy Tiny Birb. 
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Mar 5, 2021 20:50
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That little pudden is busy thinking about the important business of digesting the food. I'm no budgie expert, but I know happy parrots, and that birb is busy and content. They aren't super sleepy, but they are not unhappy, and they are focussed on something comfortable.
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Mar 5, 2021 20:56
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Oh, what a relief! He’s been hanging out on my shoulder and doing that for over 15 minutes at a stretch. He seems happy (he leaves of his own accord when he’s ready), I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a symptom of something.  Thanks! I love Scamp!! 
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Mar 5, 2021 20:59
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