New Here :)

[Budgie_Addicted]

Hello, my name is Laura and I live in Australia, QLD! I have finally convinced my parents to let me purchase a budgie, once we move into our next house because right now we're selling ours!
I have been very dedicated to budgies ever since I met one! Here is my story with birds and a little bit of extra info about me!

The budgie addiction started when I was at an old friend's house. She was pet-sitting her friends' pet budgie called Lulu. Lulu was a sweet budgie! Very tame! She looked a bit like this:

This is not exactly what she was, but it's similar. She was female too, not the male in the picture.
Anyways, I fell in love instantly with Lulu! And she liked me too! She would sit of my shoulder, play with me and do cute tricks like kisses (I know human saliva is toxic to budgies, but she just nibbled not french kissed ).
The first thing I asked my mum when she picked me up was: "Can we get a budgie?". Im pretty sure my friends mum felt bad haha.
Anyways, my dedication didn't stop right there, no way! For the next few months, I have made power points, speeches and presentations for my parents to watch and read (and listen to). They were slightly mellowing down. But did I stop there? No way! You usually don't find a teenager this dedicated to getting a budgie haha!

I studied so much about these fascinating little creatures! I have read every parakeet and budgie article on WikiHow, I have watched YouTube videos, I have researched so much!

And then...they gave in! They said when we move into our next temporary house (whilst another is being built on acreage), I can get a budgie! I am paying for everything! From the cage, to the food, to the toys and even the budgie itself!

I'd say I'm getting my budgie probably within the next month hopefully. We already have four offers on the house so Im pretty excited!

I have already figured out what I need, where I can get what I need and which breeder I am going to use. I am using a professional breeder with over 20 years experience.

But...my younger sister wants one too, but only because I'm getting one. I know this may sound a bit selfish but Im not too sure what to do about this. She likes the cockatiels too, so she would like either. But she's not committed to owning a bird, not going to pay for anything regarding the bird and will probably loose interest after a week. She's somewhat responsible but I know she's just not a bird person. She's already admitted she would rather something non-living instead, like an Equestrian YouTube channel (also! fun fact, me and my sister LOVE and ride horses too!). So yeah.. any suggestions on what to do? I've tried talking to her about it and she just gets angry.

Anyways, a few fun facts now.......

• We own 3 horses and I ride doing Dressage and my sister does Jumping
• We own 8 chickens which we love so much (I show my 4 Belgian Bantams)
• We own 1 dog called Maya
• We currently are selling our house with 5 acers
• Moving into another place we used to get people to rent from us with 5 acers
• Building on 11 acers!
• I am a bird and horse person

Questions I have:
1. At the house we will be moving into, I have placed a cute budgie suncatcher on my bedroom window. This is the sticker (it is smaller than it looks in the photo). Its probs the size of my palm (the head goes up to halfway on my fingers and the long tail drapes down though. Will this be enough?

I have placed it in the middle of my window as a sticker that indicates the window isn't fly-thru, its glass. I put it there for a safety measure but I think it's a bit too...just bare sitting there. Do I need more stickers?
2. To start off, I am purchasing one budgie. I won't let it be a lonely one though. I am going to go through the whole gradual process of taming and training (How to train your budgie from wikihow). Any tips? I may get another one in the future, but I'm not sure yet. Any tips or comments?
3. To wing clip or not to wing clip...that is the question. I'm unsure about this one too. Wing clipping limits the birds mobility, but doesn't stop it all together. How far can a clipped budgie fly? What are the down sides of clipping? I know birds have wings for a reason and seeing budgies fly makes me so happy, and there are possible fun training experiences like teaching the bird to return to your hand. But then again, the dangers like them flying into a fan (we have one in my bedroom). What should I do?

Thanks again! I have typed so much haha!

Laura x

 

[Scott]

Welcome Laura, appreciate your enthusiastic and informative introduction! You display great maturity advocating for your desires and assuming financial responsibility. Unsure of your age and intentions for the future, have you considered the effect of possible uni attendance on your budgies? Please consider linked thread nothing more than desire to share all available information! https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/what-students-should-ask-before-getting-a-bird.74211/

My hunch is your parents well aware of little sister's possible interest as gentle form of sibling rivalry. I'd advocate for her acquiring a bird only with understanding family may ultimately bear full responsibility!

Suncatcher is a beauty, might need several to establish window as no-fly zone! You are correct, birds often fly into glass and suffer injury or worse. I'll defer discussion of taming and training to members with actual budgie experience! (I have none)

Wing clipping one of the most debated topics! Probably equal number of pros and cons, it is for each parront to carefully consider with emphasis on safety and quality of life. A few random considerations: Birds as creatures of prey in households with dogs/cats may be safer unclipped for escape if precautions fail. Flight is an amazing gift providing health benefits of exercise and development of natural behaviors. An environment with potential open doors/windows may not be safe for flighted bird unless extreme precautions taken. Birds with chronic aggressive traits may mellow when clipped.

Good luck with your quest, let us know how things are going!!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Welcome Laura, appreciate your enthusiastic and informative introduction! You display great maturity advocating for your desires and assuming financial responsibility. Unsure of your age and intentions for the future, have you considered the effect of possible uni attendance on your budgies? Please consider linked thread nothing more than desire to share all available information! https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/what-students-should-ask-before-getting-a-bird.74211/

My hunch is your parents well aware of little sister's possible interest as gentle form of sibling rivalry. I'd advocate for her acquiring a bird only with understanding family may ultimately bear full responsibility!

Suncatcher is a beauty, might need several to establish window as no-fly zone! You are correct, birds often fly into glass and suffer injury or worse. I'll defer discussion of taming and training to members with actual budgie experience! (I have none)

Wing clipping one of the most debated topics! Probably equal number of pros and cons, it is for each parront to carefully consider with emphasis on safety and quality of life. A few random considerations: Birds as creatures of prey in households with dogs/cats may be safer unclipped for escape if precautions fail. Flight is an amazing gift providing health benefits of exercise and development of natural behaviors. An environment with potential open doors/windows may not be safe for flighted bird unless extreme precautions taken. Birds with chronic aggressive traits may mellow when clipped.

Good luck with your quest, let us know how things are going!!

Thanks so much Scott! Really some helpful information there! I'll check out that link that you said there, and have a read thru. Since I will go into uni in a few years (not long now!) I will need to consider a few things, as budgies do live for a while! I'm sure my sister will eventually get a budgie too and yes, sibling rivalry haha, I agree 100% with what you said. Yes, I thought that I might have to get a few more to fully establish the window. There are similar ones that are gorgeous at the shop I bought the original one, so I'll look into grabbing a few more. And yes, ask 100 people about wing clipping and you'll get so many different answers! I think I may leave the budgie unclipped to start with, and see how things go - then I'll re-evaluate.
Thanks so much again! I will keep everyone posted!

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome Laura to you and your soon-to-be-budgie! I share your love of these fabulous feathered little bundles of energy, they are a much underrated companion parrot in my opinion. My little guy Valentino is not the least bit tame, although I'm sure he would be if it wasn't for a certain purple-crowned terror who quite dominates my household! But he is the most wonderful singer and I love the way his voice fills my house with happy chatter all day long!

In addition to Scott's most excellent advice above, may I offer you the following link that contains a lot of very valuable info in the area of taming and training? I'm pretty lousy in those areas myself

Taming and bonding with budgerigars: tips for beginners

I have seen a lot of questions on the forums about taming budgies. Some users have suggested that I create a single post with some helpful information. There's a lot of myths about budgies. Firstly, many people do not regard them as parrots. Budgies ARE parrots: they can bond with their owner...

www.parrotforums.com

When you are choosing which budgie to adopt, the best thing to do is look for the bird that chooses you - the job of taming and training is made a LOT easier when you pick the one that already gravitates towards you

In general I also usually recommend scheduling a visit with a specialist avian vet as soon as is practicable following any new acquisition. This is important as it establishes a baseline of health and can nip any potential health nasties (and there are a couple, unfortunately) in the bud before they have a chance to become a major problem. It's also good to build a relationship with your vet so that in the unfortunate event of an emergency, your vet will have a record of your bird's medical history at their fingertips. Annual checkups are also advocated since parrots have evolved over millions of years to disguise symptoms of illness very well indeed, sometimes until it is too late to help them. I see you live in Queensland - should you happen to live in our fair State Capital, I would be happy to recommend a very good service to you!

I look forward very much to seeing your new baby when he or she arrives and wish the two of you a long and happy life together! Welcome aboard

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Welcome Laura to you and your soon-to-be-budgie! I share your love of these fabulous feathered little bundles of energy, they are a much underrated companion parrot in my opinion. My little guy Valentino is not the least bit tame, although I'm sure he would be if it wasn't for a certain purple-crowned terror who quite dominates my household! But he is the most wonderful singer and I love the way his voice fills my house with happy chatter all day long!

In addition to Scott's most excellent advice above, may I offer you the following link that contains a lot of very valuable info in the area of taming and training? I'm pretty lousy in those areas myself

Taming and bonding with budgerigars: tips for beginners

I have seen a lot of questions on the forums about taming budgies. Some users have suggested that I create a single post with some helpful information. There's a lot of myths about budgies. Firstly, many people do not regard them as parrots. Budgies ARE parrots: they can bond with their owner...

www.parrotforums.com

When you are choosing which budgie to adopt, the best thing to do is look for the bird that chooses you - the job of taming and training is made a LOT easier when you pick the one that already gravitates towards you

In general I also usually recommend scheduling a visit with a specialist avian vet as soon as is practicable following any new acquisition. This is important as it establishes a baseline of health and can nip any potential health nasties (and there are a couple, unfortunately) in the bud before they have a chance to become a major problem. It's also good to build a relationship with your vet so that in the unfortunate event of an emergency, your vet will have a record of your bird's medical history at their fingertips. Annual checkups are also advocated since parrots have evolved over millions of years to disguise symptoms of illness very well indeed, sometimes until it is too late to help them. I see you live in Queensland - should you happen to live in our fair State Capital, I would be happy to recommend a very good service to you!

I look forward very much to seeing your new baby when he or she arrives and wish the two of you a long and happy life together! Welcome aboard

Thanks so much LaManuka! I will definitely check out that link asap! Yes, I'll try to see which bird comes to me, good strategy! Yeah, I have planned out what I'm going to do with my budgie when I get him/her home (one of which is go see an avain vet as soon as possible for the 'all clear!' And when that time comes, I'd love to hear which vet you recommend and I'll go check them out! And of course, the annual check ups will be scheduled in too. Thanks again

 

[LaManuka]

Good to know that you have already factored in a visit to the vet! I'll share the link to my vet with you so that you can familiarise yourself in advance. The boss-man there is legendary in the field and his team of vets and nurses are, in my very humble opinion, among the very best you will find anywhere in the world...

Chermside Clinic

The Unusual Pet Vets Chermside Formerly Brisbane Bird Vets, our clinic is now welcoming all exotic pet species. Book Online (07) 3359 2233 CONTACT US Turrbal Country A: 248 Hamilton Road Chermside QLD, 4032 E: chermside@unusualpetvets.com.au HOURS Monday-Friday: 8:30am-6:00pm Saturday: Closed...

www.brisbanebirdvet.com.au

A good avian vet is also an absolute goldmine of information in terms of behavioural advice and handy tips and tricks too. I've been taking my guys there for more years than I care to remember and would be quite lost without them!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Good to know that you have already factored in a visit to the vet! I'll share the link to my vet with you so that you can familiarise yourself in advance. The boss-man there is legendary in the field and his team of vets and nurses are, in my very humble opinion, among the very best you will find anywhere in the world...

Chermside Clinic

The Unusual Pet Vets Chermside Formerly Brisbane Bird Vets, our clinic is now welcoming all exotic pet species. Book Online (07) 3359 2233 CONTACT US Turrbal Country A: 248 Hamilton Road Chermside QLD, 4032 E: chermside@unusualpetvets.com.au HOURS Monday-Friday: 8:30am-6:00pm Saturday: Closed...

www.brisbanebirdvet.com.au

A good avian vet is also an absolute goldmine of information in terms of behavioural advice and handy tips and tricks too. I've been taking my guys there for more years than I care to remember and would be quite lost without them!

Thanks so much!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

WE JUST SOLD OUR HOUSE-

 

[Skarila]

Hello and welcome!

It's been such a joy to read your post! I really needed this in the morning, such positive energy!

What I love about budgies is how energetic they are! Yesterday I was trying to take some photos of our Csilli and she just couldn't stay still, she just wanted to look around and play with my partner She is a shy little rescued girl, but full of love.

I'm happy for you that your parents allowed you to have a budgie! Here's some tips and maybe some newer information for you what to look out for when you get your new little buddy:

- I highly highly recommend to get a budgie that is already tame on the hands from very young age, because they are such little skittish birds, taming them from completely wild state can be a real challenge! (or the one who chooses you) In 7 years we have Csilli, she not once stepped onto our hands or flew to a table! Max she ever did was flew to our shoulder here and there, but is not afraid to jump around on the cage to play with us and demand belly kisses... And before she even stopped being afraid of her own shadow was 3 years as what we had it, in year 5-6 was the first time she stepped onto our forearm. Shy little thing.
- Girls are suuuper playful and can get nippy, boys looove to chirp and sing all day, but also play. Our girl loves to whistle and chirp too (not as energetic as a boy) and it's so adorable, gets us every time.
- Please avoid mirrors! You'd want your bird's focus on you! They can get obsessed with mirrors, since they think there's another bird! Also with girls it can provoke them in the evening since they're territorial little raptors.
- Regarding your sister - deff try to involve her in your daily activities with your new feathered friend! Budgies aren't really knows to be a one person birds. In our case what happens is that few days Csilli prefers to play with me, sometimes with my partner, but I think ultimately it is my partner she loves the most, but she sees us both as a part of her flock and accepts us both. Acquiring a 2nd bird could backfire really badly, especially before they're not tame, as they will prefer the other bird's company. They will hear each other even when in different room, and I can guarantee you they will shout endlessly. Not fun. However, that's a whole new topic to discuss, but yeah, just start with one and while it is your bird, try to involve your sis in it as well, to get your bird socialised well.
-My views on clipping - no, just no. I never could. They're not fast fliers anyway, and they really don't divebomb just to bite someone.
-for your window, perhaps getting more stickers on it could be helpful for sure! But also a huge X over the window helps as well, not sure how much for a small budgie, I know it deterred our cockatiel from smashing into it. Also don't be surprised if your new budgie wants to check out the budgie sticker
-They're cute, ok. Just so stinkin' cute.
-Also Scott's and LaManuka's advices are truly spot on.

And show us your chickens!!! I love chickens!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Hello and welcome!

It's been such a joy to read your post! I really needed this in the morning, such positive energy!

What I love about budgies is how energetic they are! Yesterday I was trying to take some photos of our Csilli and she just couldn't stay still, she just wanted to look around and play with my partner She is a shy little rescued girl, but full of love.

I'm happy for you that your parents allowed you to have a budgie! Here's some tips and maybe some newer information for you what to look out for when you get your new little buddy:

- I highly highly recommend to get a budgie that is already tame on the hands from very young age, because they are such little skittish birds, taming them from completely wild state can be a real challenge! (or the one who chooses you) In 7 years we have Csilli, she not once stepped onto our hands or flew to a table! Max she ever did was flew to our shoulder here and there, but is not afraid to jump around on the cage to play with us and demand belly kisses... And before she even stopped being afraid of her own shadow was 3 years as what we had it, in year 5-6 was the first time she stepped onto our forearm. Shy little thing.
- Girls are suuuper playful and can get nippy, boys looove to chirp and sing all day, but also play. Our girl loves to whistle and chirp too (not as energetic as a boy) and it's so adorable, gets us every time.
- Please avoid mirrors! You'd want your bird's focus on you! They can get obsessed with mirrors, since they think there's another bird! Also with girls it can provoke them in the evening since they're territorial little raptors.
- Regarding your sister - deff try to involve her in your daily activities with your new feathered friend! Budgies aren't really knows to be a one person birds. In our case what happens is that few days Csilli prefers to play with me, sometimes with my partner, but I think ultimately it is my partner she loves the most, but she sees us both as a part of her flock and accepts us both. Acquiring a 2nd bird could backfire really badly, especially before they're not tame, as they will prefer the other bird's company. They will hear each other even when in different room, and I can guarantee you they will shout endlessly. Not fun. However, that's a whole new topic to discuss, but yeah, just start with one and while it is your bird, try to involve your sis in it as well, to get your bird socialised well.
-My views on clipping - no, just no. I never could. They're not fast fliers anyway, and they really don't divebomb just to bite someone.
-for your window, perhaps getting more stickers on it could be helpful for sure! But also a huge X over the window helps as well, not sure how much for a small budgie, I know it deterred our cockatiel from smashing into it. Also don't be surprised if your new budgie wants to check out the budgie sticker
-They're cute, ok. Just so stinkin' cute.
-Also Scott's and LaManuka's advices are truly spot on.

And show us your chickens!!! I love chickens!

Thanks so much for your loving and informative post! Definitely not getting a mirror, I've heard the damage they can do to your bird (both mental and physical). And of course! The chickens! Here are some adorbs pics

 

[Skarila]

Thanks so much for your loving and informative post! Definitely not getting a mirror, I've heard the damage they can do to your bird (both mental and physical). And of course! The chickens! Here are some adorbs pics
View attachment 30527View attachment 30528View attachment 30529View attachment 30530View attachment 30531View attachment 30532View attachment 30533

Oh My Goooosh how fluffy they look, I would just hug them all <3 They all look so happy!

The last one looks like something straight from a colouring book, I love their markings

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Oh My Goooosh how fluffy they look, I would just hug them all <3 They all look so happy!

The last one looks like something straight from a colouring book, I love their markings

They are such happy girlies Thank you so much

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you!

 

[Scott]

Congratulations for house sale!! Now comes the hard part... if you've lived there for a while!! You never know how much stuff you have until sorting through and debating what is truly necessary!

Gorgeous chickens!!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Welcome to you!

Thank you!

 

[Budgie_Addicted]

Congratulations for house sale!! Now comes the hard part... if you've lived there for a while!! You never know how much stuff you have until sorting through and debating what is truly necessary!

Gorgeous chickens!!

Thanks! Everyone in my family is very excited at the moment! We have lived there for ages, over 10 years! It'll be hard moving out but I know no pain no gain! One step closer to that budgie I guess! Yes, our family has a lot of random stuff here and there. And the fact we have horses makes it even harder! We have a tack room full of saddles, bridles and lots of horse stuff! We cant move our chicken coop, so we have to build a new one. I think I have a feeling I'll be throwing out a lot of papers and junk from my room!