Unexpectadly out of my depth,..

[Redballoon]

Well Skippah's little buddy arrived today. I called him Gilligan. I went to the breeder Debbie got skippah from. A few things seemed odd to me
1) people were coming and going and swapping budgies for a seed and supplies, and the guy just seemed to chuck the new arrivals in a big cage of assorted budgies.
2) The guy didn't have much time for me at all and just wanted my 25 bux and me out of there asap. I tried to ask a few questions but he looked at me like budgies were like rodent mice, they live they die, you move on. Gilligan is pale blue and white and very very quiet. In fact he just stands where ever you leave him and doesn't move,...at all. He does not tremble and will sit on the dogs head with no fear at all. He has no fear of me and his attempts at biting me are a joke after what I am used to with Skippah. The only advise the breeder decided I was worthy of was keep the bird out of drafts. So I went elsewhere for my supplies. I got budgie starter mix and they said if the bird didn't eat it, to soak it it in warm water. he hasn't eaten or drunk anything yet. I got a cage, a ladder, a mirror and a cuttle fish. Anything I have forgotten? I am hoping to introduce Gilligan to my grandson Tomorrow when the bird has had a chance to settle and relax. Does he need a nesting box? A private area to go and sleep or get away from prying eyes? how much time out of the cage should have each day? I realise he needs to be caged when we are not about as he is tiny, but the whole idea is to have a hand tamed and trained bird to come to my Grandsons finger on command.

I am taking all advice with great thanx in advance.

 

[nzchickadee]

Hi Red!
I want the cocky, you got a budgie. So I'll tell you my two cents now, and come back for your two cents later.

Take away the mirror, at least for a few weeks. Don't go stingy on toys either though. Budgies are apparently known for befriending their mirrors instead of their humans.

Don't bother with a nest box, just cover him at night. She has a 'happy hut' (check out the photo in the thread) which she sometimes hides in, but I reckon nest box space could be better utilized with toys, especially chew toys!

As for time out, when we are home the door is open. She comes out when she pleases, spending most of her time on our shoulders, she sends herself back when she has had enough of us. She is supertame, but also fully flighted so that she has plenty of exercise.

Pete also gets fruit and veges everyday. Shes a spoilt little.... bird but she is also very healthy.

You'll be sweet. Too many people treat budgies like a come and go and watch and thats all pet. Pretend he's a mini parrot. Heck, mine even has a flightsuit for kindergarten visits!

Just remember him as a little Skippah

(If you put a swing in, he will prob. sleep on that)

 

[meghanxx4]

Ok,first of all. I would not introduce him to grandson quite yet, let him settle in in a week or two. Budgies are very outgoing, perhaps one of the most outgoing and energetic parrots around.
You need a cage that is at least 18Wx18Hx26L (or so)... longer than height is preferred. Do you know for sure if he's a male? If you take a pic i can tell you the mutation and gender.
They are not like conures or other birds, they don't need a happy hut or nest box or whatever to sleep in. You can buy a Platform however, its not mandatory, but it's nice to have. Like i'm sure you know with Skippah, they have to have different textures and thicknesses of perches, so not all wooden dowels. mix it up with, rope, sand/conditioning, natural perches of all different thicknesses. A good food to give them to help them settle in is millet, almost all birds will eat that if they're too shy to eat the other stuff in their bowl/cage yet. Millet is not a diet though, so just give it that until he starts eating the stuff and then get give it to em as you choose like treat. Make sure the seed you have has little, or no sun flower seeds. sun flower seeds are bad all together. ok as a treat but its a no, no as a diet. I would take the mirror out. Mirrors aren't very good for birds. Maybe keep it on though, it may give it something to look forward to to come out of the cage for. yes they need to be caged as all birds when your not around or not in sight. He can't live on your grandsons finger forever. Do you know how old the budgie is? if you don't know if you post pic i can make a valid guess. IF its got plain black eyes chances are its under a year... like 8 months and younger, if its got a bit of iris like if its grey its mos tikely between a 8 months and a year. if its got a full white iris its over year.

But we need pictures!!!!

 

[Redballoon]

Ok I have para phrased the help I have gotten so far;

Take away the mirror, at least for a few weeks.
Don't go stingy on toys either though.especially chew toys!
Don't bother with a nest box, just cover him at night
fruit and vegies everyday.
Pretend he's a mini parrot.
If you put a swing in, he will probably sleep on that
do not introduce him to grandson quite yet. Let him settle in in a week or two
You need a cage that is at least 18Wx18Hx26L (or so)
buy a Platform however, its not mandatory, but it's nice to have.
they have to have different textures and thicknesses of perches, so not all wooden dowels. mix it up with, rope, sand/conditioning, natural perches of all different thicknesses.
A good food to give them to help them settle in is millet
sun flower seeds are bad all together.

Is there anything We have missed yet?

 

[Peta]

Plenty of interation from both you and your grandson will help tame him. If I remember rightly your grandson is very young? so for a while at least show him how to interact. Kids are pretty smart, and I'm sure your grandson is gonna be very excited at having a mini skippah. Really everything you do for skippah you can do for Gilligan, maybe not quite as robust Your able to read Skippah so well, and I'm sure that in no time at all your gonna be able to read this little guy just as well. I don't think I can add much more than the others have done, Good Luck to ya, yeah we definately want some pics.

2) The guy didn't have much time for me at all and just wanted my 25 bux and me out of there asap. I tried to ask a few questions but he looked at me like budgies were like rodent mice, they live they die, you move on.

People like this should be given a good ole slap, c'mon tell us how close were you to doing just that.

 

[Redballoon]

I voted with my money and bought all my supplies elsewhere.
If I didn,t want to rescue Gilligan so much I would have bought the bird elsewhere also.

 

[TexDot33]

Is there anything We have missed yet?

yep, keep them away from any "three hour tours" and don't let Gilligan wear a hat 'cause you wouldn't want Skippah to have something to beat Gilligan with ...

 

[Redballoon]

Ark Ark Ark,........ Very funny.
actually,.... very very funny. Well done.

 

[Deanna]

If this has already been mentioned, please forgive me. Gilligan should be kept in an isolation/quarantine set-up for at least 45 days. Practice hand washing diligently between birds at all times.

Excellent feed back from everyone. I, too, am very much so against mirrors ... they invite the wrong type of bonding that you are seeking.

Welcome Gilligan!!! LOVE the name!

 

[meghanxx4]

Ok I have para phrased the help I have gotten so far;

Take away the mirror, at least for a few weeks.
Don't go stingy on toys either though.especially chew toys!
Don't bother with a nest box, just cover him at night
fruit and vegies everyday.
Pretend he's a mini parrot.
If you put a swing in, he will probably sleep on that
do not introduce him to grandson quite yet. Let him settle in in a week or two
You need a cage that is at least 18Wx18Hx26L (or so)
buy a Platform however, its not mandatory, but it's nice to have.
they have to have different textures and thicknesses of perches, so not all wooden dowels. mix it up with, rope, sand/conditioning, natural perches of all different thicknesses.
A good food to give them to help them settle in is millet
sun flower seeds are bad all together.

Is there anything We have missed yet?

AND i forgot to add,

You also need a mineral block.

A good chew toy to buy is natural balsa wood. It's soft wood.. you cna usually get it a hardware or craft store. just make sure it natural, not coloured, or treated. If you want it coloured however you can colour it at home with food colouring. Or you can by the hamster/rodent chew sticks. You can cut it in little peices and stick it between the bars of the cage. Or you can drill a hole in the wood and hang it.

Make sure the bars are no wider than 1/2 inch

You can always show your son the budgie while it's inside the cage, but i would wait till its settled in until you actually like take it out and and let your grandson hold it and stuff.

You do NOT need grit. You don't need fresh fruit and veggies everyday, every other day is fine. You can however it is fine to give it everyday, just don't over do it.

make sure to quarrintine him away from Skippah for about a month. In case he has a disease or something you don't want your Skippah getting it.


Thats all i can think of right now.

 

[Redballoon]

Will a cuttle fish do the same thing as a mineral block?
The cuttle fish I bought him is about 5 times bigger than Gilligan himself, so it should last ages.
I am worried that the bird does not move from wherever you put him.
I haven't seen him eat, but Debbie said she saw him drinking last night. What ever stick you put him on, he just sits there, totally silent and unmoving. He has shown no signs of any emotion. He doesn't nip or struggle to get away from you. I even sat him on the dogs head, and I got no response. I haven't heard a single peep from him yet. I replaced one of the dowels with a natural stick covered in bark. I removed the mirror. (for now, or for good)? I will go and buy more toys today, but I cant see him ever using them. I will of course take 3 million pix today for your appraisal. I intend letting him fly free and fully flighted,but for now his wing is clipped, till he gets used to us all. I shall report in soon. One last thing,.. please explain what you mean by "a platform"? Do you mean a piece of board that he can stand on that is flat and he can walk around on? Just something that Isn't a perch?

 

[Redballoon]

here is the first non blurry picture I could take on my own.
I will take hundreds more when Debbie drags her lazy butt out of bed.

Pando is unsure about Gilligan, but I am conditioning him. The cat is just getting its ass kicked outside before I open the little ones cage. I don't think there is any way of conditioning a cat not to try and eat little birds. Ok hit me with the info please. What sort of Budgie do we have living with us? If you you need better pix, tell me what angles you need and what parts of the bird you want to see close up (beak, eyes,what)?

 

[Minzer84]

A sharper picture of the face would be helpful, as close as you can get (so the eyes and the cere can be seen...). If the bird is very young however, the cere may not give information as to the sex of the bird yet...

 

[TexDot33]

traditionally a blue colored cere is a male budgie and a pinkish color cere is a female ... but like Minzer said, it may be too soon to tell though!

Great shot of Pando though ...

 

[Redballoon]

I am about to display my ignorance here,...What is a cere?
Sorry for sounding lame.

 

[Minzer84]

Where the nostrils are

 

[TexDot33]

The two holes just behind Gilligan's beak ... it's ok, I always thought that they were called Nares ... my bad, at least I was corrected by someone in vet school!

 

[Minzer84]

"The nares are usually located directly above the beak. In some birds, they are located in a fleshy, often waxy structure at the base of the beak called the cere." (wikipedia)

I wasn't aware I was being monitored on my terminology

:worship2::50:

 

[TexDot33]

No need to bow now ... c'mon we were talking about two different things and I was just confused ... it's ok ..

 

[Redballoon]

Are these any more help?