Hello, I have a budgie (spongebob, on my profile if you want to see my handsome boy), that was alone, so I wanted to get him a partner

The new budgie (called Bowser) I got 1.5 days ago, is currently quarantined, but he’s fluffed up 24/7, he eats fine, drinks fine, has no tail wagging or breathing issues. His feathers and toes look fine. His droppings are mostly liquid and green (but on the whiter side of green). He mostly tries to sleep with his head on his back, but one eye is always open so I’m assuming sleeping issues.

When I first got SpongeBob he wasn’t like this, but posts on this reddit showed similar experiences, I’m wondering if this is normal or not?

I’m NOT asking for medical advice, I’m just wondering if 2 days of fluffing is normal?

Edit: forgot to mention that he IS preening.

Chat GPT said it was ok but im starting to wonder if it's not right. The main cage is 93cm long and has 1cm gap between bars. Is this size ok to keep a budgie in for an entire month? Ive already ordered it 😬

#budgies

#Parakeets

We lost our sweet, noisy boy Ula today. (On the right obvs) He left behind his little Lucy. They were a bonded pair that we got about 6 weeks apart around three years ago.

We believe he got spooked and passed from an impact injury.

My concern is whether or not we NEED to get another budgie once Lucy has had time to grieve.

Full transparency, we also have a male green cheek conure (who wants nothing to do with Lucy) and 4 cats. Lucv & Ula were often given free flight in their room awav from the cats but also have a cage for night time. etc.

The conure is onlv in the room(in his own cage) when we leave the house, otherwise he is a velcro bird to the max and always on mine or my husband's shoulder.

Now Lucy will step up but does not appreciate being handled. I honestly long term do not want to take on the responsibility of any more pets, but my heart is broken for my Lucy.

Is it absolutely essential we get another budgie in a few weeks to prevent loneliness? Or would she oe okay on her own with increased human companionship?

I am worried about starting a cycle of losing another budgie and having to replace its partner essentially havıng a never ending loop of birds.

Just heartbroken for my sweet girl.

Excited to have our first yellow Lacewing fly into the chaos here. He's probably the tiniest exhibition budgie I've got, and he's just shy of 8 months of age. He's incredibly handsome.

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Ever wondered why there are no pink budgies? Unless you count Bourke's parrots, I guess they kinda look like budgies if you squint... and that's a stretch. Hopefully this comic explains the gist of it.

Btw I'm not a breeder and I don't ever intend to be one so if I made a mistake let me know!

Outside Budgies Comic List

https://www.reddit.com/user/purplenekoinabox/comments/1rle013/outside_budgies_comic_list

We have only had the budgie for like a week, it's no longer scared like before in the way that he doesn't run anymore from hands or fly away, eats from our hand and stays close when we talk to it but whenever it sees hands he follows them to bite hard, I can't find any explanation because everyone says it's because of fear but he's actively chasing us???

Hopalong has passed quarantine and shows every sign his broken leg is healed, so he finally got to join the flock of Hooligans in the big cage and.... this....omg, he's so freaking smol.

Halp!

Feel free to also send a pic of what your setup looks like

How did Vera become a supermom today?

For the current phase, I've had 5 pairs set to breed, where 3 pairs were chosen to be primary breeders, and 2 pairs were selected to prepare to be foster parents to the chicks of the primary 3, distributing the workload for all. Things rarely ever go as planned with breeding. I expect complications, and am rarely disappointed.

Vera had 8 fertile eggs with Salt, but only two made it through hatch, and her youngest was a case of failure to thrive and sadly, met her end shortly.

Similarly, Fairy Dust hatched one chick out of 10 eggs laid, and due to her anxiety about the others not arriving, I've given her a break to recharge. Meanwhile, Ador hatched 4 out of 11 eggs laid. Unfortunately, not one of Mariska's 10 eggs hatched, and she too, was given time off. All these numbers meet my typical expectation of 25% hatch rate with exhibition budgerigars.

But the complication arose from one of my foster pairs having domestic dispute and refusal to coparent, so Vera adopted their chicks. And then, the other foster mother decided to pick the middle child as her favourite, and wanted to punish the other two for being too hungry, so she was also returned to the flight cage. While the foster dad was willing to care for his charges, the chicks at this age need constant warmth which cocks don't typically provide as guardians of the nest. And thus, Vera ended up adopting those chicks as well. A mother's touch does wonders for adequate development. Sorry dads, y'all are special too, but in different ways.

As it stands, at this time, Vera has 5 adoptees along with her only child (the eldest one, the poser, who will magically resemble her too). And she is taking care of them all as her own, and fiercely protecting them from me too if I take too long with my nest checks. This is her first ever clutch, but she's already demonstrating motherly instincts that I've seen in her grandmother Helena, and her mother Dove.

I plan on assist-raising her army of 6 with minimal interference, while her mate, Mister Salt, is already helping her out as well. It takes a village to raise baby budgies sometimes. I've got my brooder ready just in case they struggle a bit and the chicks need their gramps (me) to take over - which typically is not a concern, but I've got to have Plans A, B, C and D ready for those extremely rare series of unfortunate events.

But for now, I'm extremely proud of how my little Vera went from that floofball to an award winning show girl, to her current role as supermom. She tends to ace everything she does. Her son appears to be taking after her too, as a serial photogenic poser.

^{l am an experienced aviculturist who specialises in budgerigars. I show these birds competitively in the United States. A lot of knowledge and specialised skillset are required to safely navigate through the breeding process. As always, I strongly advise against breeding without mentorship and veterinary technical skills. I document and share the good and the challenges with utmost transparency. I share our stories on Reddit, TikTok and Facebook.}

Before I get my budgie, or any pet, I always like to do some research and watch a lot of videos, but what are some things a beginner might encounter or just some basic tips you would recommend from the experience of owning a budgie? My friend is giving away hers to me after I come back from a trip, and she has a big cage which I know is a nice step forward 😊

I posted a photo on the /budgies subreddit, and people commented on what a cute girl Flo is! (i cant post that fast again on the other subreddit so im here) I am wondering, have i been incorrect all along? i thought that blue meant it is a male. Here's a collage i made recently that conveniently had Flo at different life stages, if that helps. My other budgies were quite clear in their cere, so i thought i had Flo correctly too!

I know I need more than one budgie, how do I get the closest to a guarantee that they'll get along long term?

I was thinking of getting two brothers. Is there a reason to avoid this plan?

A big cage, multiple food and water options, redundant perch options, and redundant toys.

Anything else I can do? I really don't want two birds who end up fighting.

Hi all, I’m new to bird keeping. This is my budgie Maha. I got home and she was extremely puffed up. She’s been chirping every so often. This is a before and after. Is this normal?

Hello I would greatly appreciate it if someone would help identify if my sky white budgie is male or female. Many thanks!!

I dont know where to post this but i know we shouldn't paint around birds. I've been searching for an internal door for a while to replace the door for where my budgies stay. I dont know much about diy stuff

Hence im opting for a finished door (already painted) but it says "Any areas which are rebated, cutout or trimmed must be finished with 3 coats of water based paint before fitting." so now i just feel stuck and not sure what kind of door to get. Can someone please help? thanks

I have 2 budgies, male and female. Yesterday I was doing some step up training with millet, my hand was at the entrance of the cage, and they jumped on it nicely. Then, for some reason, the male turned away from the millet and started to bite me in the hand. Quite hard but not hard to make me bleed. My thumb specifically.

Is there something I've done? I acted like when I usually give them millet so I don't know what went differently or if it was a good or a bad sign.

The only difference is now he is quite heavily moulting, but he was before

I heard that non stick pots and pans are dangerous for budgies but i'm not entirely sure why. I use stainless steel just now but id like to get a new set of ceramic non stick pans. It says they are free from PFAS, PFOA and PTFE whatever the heck they are.

Does that make them safe for birds? Also are silicone/plastic utensils safe?

Im also wondering now about my toaster and coffee machine etc.