What color is she?

[Gemma Sarracenia]

This is a baby pic, too lazy to dig out the good camera today. I've had her over a year now, started trying to guess at her color when I first got her, got frustrated, and now I want to know again. Does she look cobalt, or is that a hint of violet? Is this greywing or a dilute? I think I saw a page that said the cheek patches on a dilute might be more faded?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

It's hard to tell mutations with these light colored budgies. A more current photo would help because baby feathers are lighter and less intensely colored than adult feathers. Snap a phone camera shot and post it.
I would say from this photo that she's greywing because the wing markings are more distinct in greywing than in dilute and I would say she has the violet trait not just cobalt.
She's really beautiful and has such a sweet face!

 

[Gemma Sarracenia]

Phone camera is awful though. I think after straining my eyes for a while with greywing to dilute comparisons, I agree with you, looking at her now compared to above, the main intensity difference is in the cheeks, they darkened so probably greywing then. Glad someone else saw the violet, I thought I might be fooling myself with wishful thinking, lol. Thank you

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Whatever color she is, she's pretty! Give her snuggles and Scritches for us!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Some people think Violet budgies look purple but they're more a very cool blue vs Cobalt which is less cool vs Sky Blue which is really an aqua blue. I've never seen a sky the color of a Sky Blue budgie- it's much closer to Cobalt or Violet! Online pictures of Violet budgies are often enhanced to make them look purple. It's actually pretty hard to tell some Violets from Cobalts, especially in the really pale mutations. And some budgies are both Violet and Cobalt (having one dark factor AND the violet factor) and some have TWO violet factors. It's easiest to tell Violet in an opaline budgie on the upper back between the wing- that area tends to look the most "violety" but it never looks purple. I have an opaline violet hen and she looks the most cool violet from above and perched next to her bestie, an opaline dominant pied Sky Blue male who is a light, bright clear aqua color.
Unless you're breeding her and are trying to predict the color of her offspring it really doesn't matter if your girl is a truly a Cobalt or a Violet or a Violet Cobalt. Or a Dilute or a Greywing. Just say she's whatever you want (within reason- she's not green!) but be prepared to explain to people unfamiliar with budgie mutations that No, Violet budgies are NOT purple!

 

[Gemma Sarracenia]

Well, actually, I am breeding her. Wanted to when I was a teen, didn't have birds for a while, but have been fighting the urge since I got budgies again a couple of years ago. I had to go to Petsmart, there were no available budgies when my daughter wanted one for Christmas (though we all really knew I was the most excited about "her" gift). I wanted a bird from a reputable breeder. I was so sad. Then the other day my kid started talking about "hey, can we go ahead and breed them" and I wasn't able to say no. I can attempt to be the breeder I wanted. It's spring, the ladies were already going into breeding condition, I was talking about moving the cage away from the window. Pixie was the first to bond with Sunny, though I hear that may cause poorly colored birds, a male from her clutch can go to Sky, who might get better color. I will probably start looking for a male for Pixie about then. And of course, I can bond Sunny to Sky some time after they rest.

Thank you for your help

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What are you going to do with the babies after they're weaned and fledged? You may be surprised at how many budgies you end up with after only six or eight months of breeding!
If you need any breeding advice just ask. I spent all last summer and fall breeding budgies.

 

[Gemma Sarracenia]

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind . Right now I have a neighbor who will take a few, and I'll have fun increasing my flock. Eventually, I will advertise in local trading groups, the places I myself scanned hoping to find someone who isn't too far. I have a dedicated room right now, but we're ready to put up a couple of screen doors so they can have the hall and room next to it as well. So, it might be a rare thing for us to sell a bird, I might just share a few with my friends and just have a few clutches. Contemplating that if I do sell, it will be an older bird who knows how to come on command, so I feel more secure that they won't be traumatized by chasing. My own birds don't even do that yet, lol.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Be prepared for not wanting to give up any of your babies! I don't trust anyone to take proper care of my budgies and keep them safe so I now have 19.

You'll need to practice Family Planning for Budgies.
To reduce the number of babies they produce I highly recommend only letting the parents raise two, max three chicks per clutch. My breeding pair last summer laid 9 or 10 eggs per clutch! Raising chicks is hard work, I diɗn't want to stress the parents that much and I didn't want all those budgies (and knew I wouldnt give them away) , so after 3 were laid I substituted plastic dummy eggs for the newly laid ones. Too many chicks also means poor quality, weak chicks and you obviously don't want that!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

If you have any budgies that you want to remain as human friendly pets in a small flock of males and females, don't start breeding those birds! Once a male and a female start breeding the only way to stop them is a physical separation of the sexes. A tame budgie that been bred will stay tame (in my experience)

 

[DonnaBudgie]

You shouldn't try to breed budgies in a colony situstion where a very large cage has multiple breeding pairs and extra budgies all sharing the cage. Although that's how they breed in nature, in the wild there's far more space obviously and conflicts can be handled by flying away. Captive colony breeding often results in flights between females over the nestboxes and they can be vicious. Eggs can be destroyed and chicks can be killed! It also makes the parentage of the chicks questionable because budgies can be quite promiscuous.

 

[Gemma Sarracenia]

Thank you! Lol, I can see myself ending up with 19. Hoping to get male and female aviaries (separate from the breeding cage I have and the isolation cage Sky is in now). May end up having one bird room for males and one bird room for females, so separation of the sexes has been thought out. And no big flocks breeding wild style! My partner had an uncle who did that for pet stores, I told him that's exactly the kind of behavior that I wanted to avoid.

I do have a question though. I saw a thread about a budgie's eggs breaking, she'd laid 8 (and like you said, I don't want 8!), so I thought I should separate them after 3 or 4... probably 3. Her first babies, you know. So, after the babies hatch, can he come back to help raise them or does he stay out? Will just dummy eggs work to stop it so he can stay? Maybe I can try dummy eggs after two and see if she lays again.

I already have food to soak if I have to feed, but the incubator I got is delayed, it's coming from China to America so it might be seriously delayed. I have some warm plant lights that I can put a thermometer near if needs must and she won't sit. How often to turn them? Just trying to think of scenarios I might have to face, no eggs yet.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

DON'T remove the male, just sub dummy eggs. He has the very important role of feeding the brooding female and the chicks. If ypu remove him you can't put him back.



She generally won't start sitting until after around 3 egg are laid.

DON'T try to incubate eggs OR brood featherless chicks without a thermostatically controlled incubator! It will not work. Temp is very important. I have two small but terrific eggs incubstorsbi bought on Amazon for $50 each two day delivery. Auto turning and doubles as a chick brooder. Janoel-12. Ignore any bad reviews. It works great!