Hi
I got my budgies 2 years ago. A white one I called Merlin, and a blue one who is named Tikki. I bought them from a lady who had bought them in a shop 3 weeks before and regretted it since she found out she didn't have much time to take care of them. The shop had sold them to her as 2 babies under 8 weeks old but I realised later on that Merlin was already an adult by then, and that made it impossible to tame them as he would not allow Tikki to be friend with us, although he was himself quite harsh on the little fella and they argued most of the time.
During that Winter I tried and bought a new, yellow baby, keeping him isolated to tame him. It didn't work at all and it was a complete chaos, so I sold the baby to a good home and was left with the 2 wild guys again.
Last Summer I moved, Tikki and Merlin were enjoying sun and fresh air outside when the new parasol fell on their cage. The cage opened and they flew. I was so lucky to find them both after 3 and 4 days! Merlin was then 32g, but although hungry he was just fine. Tikki on the other hand was 30g, exhausted and in such a state that I barely recognized him when I got him back. They were both checked for parasites and such at the vet, and they were fine. They were themselves again pretty quick after that. However, I was really tired of their never ending noise and dust while having them for decorating purpose only since they didn't want anything to do with us, and I had been considering selling them for a while, but never found anyone filling my criterias for a good home for them.
Then the lady I had bought the yellow baby from showed interest, but told me they were too fat. I had never considered such a thing and had to weigh them. Merlin was a healthy 42g, but Tikki was definitely too fat with 58g. I changed their diet and tried to make him fly more often but he kept getting bigger and bigger. Flying was getting difficult and at one point I felt I was bullying him more than helping. Now he is losing feather regularily (still looking nice but the cage is full of them) and for the last 4-5 days I have been watching him change behavior as I think he is blind. He just sits there with his head up, the iris of his eyes is gone, they are completely black as when he was a baby, and he doesn't see if I approach him, panicks when I touch him. I remember when he was a baby and we joked that he needed glasses because he didn't see too well back then either. So then, I am thinking my little Tikki is not going to live long now, but the nice thing is to see how nice Merlin is to him.
Remember when they came here, Merlin was harsh on him, but now he helps and protects him. The other day they were outside and Merlin was drinking. I saw him climb along the branch to reach Tikki, talk soflty to him and walk down again to the fountain, trying to have Tikki follow him. Tikki followed but took the wrong branch and went up instead. Merlin walked up again, a little confused when he saw Tikki ending up in their "bedroom".
Then yesterday was shower-day, and Merlin is not fond of that, while Tikki loves it. But this time when I started the shower, Merlin was agitated and put himself in front of the spray and stopped fussing only when he was the only one under the water. When I moved it ti Tikki, Merlin moved to protect his friend, and when he couldn't avoid it, he just kept his beak against Tikki's jaw to give him leverage and stabilize him while talking softly to him. Now they are outside again and Tikki couldn't climb in the little cage I use to move them from the cage inside to the one outside so I had to catch him and put him in their "bedroom". He hasn't moved from there since, and Merlin is sitting at the door, talking to him and keeping him company.
Could you think of a better friend?
I got my budgies 2 years ago. A white one I called Merlin, and a blue one who is named Tikki. I bought them from a lady who had bought them in a shop 3 weeks before and regretted it since she found out she didn't have much time to take care of them. The shop had sold them to her as 2 babies under 8 weeks old but I realised later on that Merlin was already an adult by then, and that made it impossible to tame them as he would not allow Tikki to be friend with us, although he was himself quite harsh on the little fella and they argued most of the time.
During that Winter I tried and bought a new, yellow baby, keeping him isolated to tame him. It didn't work at all and it was a complete chaos, so I sold the baby to a good home and was left with the 2 wild guys again.
Last Summer I moved, Tikki and Merlin were enjoying sun and fresh air outside when the new parasol fell on their cage. The cage opened and they flew. I was so lucky to find them both after 3 and 4 days! Merlin was then 32g, but although hungry he was just fine. Tikki on the other hand was 30g, exhausted and in such a state that I barely recognized him when I got him back. They were both checked for parasites and such at the vet, and they were fine. They were themselves again pretty quick after that. However, I was really tired of their never ending noise and dust while having them for decorating purpose only since they didn't want anything to do with us, and I had been considering selling them for a while, but never found anyone filling my criterias for a good home for them.
Then the lady I had bought the yellow baby from showed interest, but told me they were too fat. I had never considered such a thing and had to weigh them. Merlin was a healthy 42g, but Tikki was definitely too fat with 58g. I changed their diet and tried to make him fly more often but he kept getting bigger and bigger. Flying was getting difficult and at one point I felt I was bullying him more than helping. Now he is losing feather regularily (still looking nice but the cage is full of them) and for the last 4-5 days I have been watching him change behavior as I think he is blind. He just sits there with his head up, the iris of his eyes is gone, they are completely black as when he was a baby, and he doesn't see if I approach him, panicks when I touch him. I remember when he was a baby and we joked that he needed glasses because he didn't see too well back then either. So then, I am thinking my little Tikki is not going to live long now, but the nice thing is to see how nice Merlin is to him.
Remember when they came here, Merlin was harsh on him, but now he helps and protects him. The other day they were outside and Merlin was drinking. I saw him climb along the branch to reach Tikki, talk soflty to him and walk down again to the fountain, trying to have Tikki follow him. Tikki followed but took the wrong branch and went up instead. Merlin walked up again, a little confused when he saw Tikki ending up in their "bedroom".
Then yesterday was shower-day, and Merlin is not fond of that, while Tikki loves it. But this time when I started the shower, Merlin was agitated and put himself in front of the spray and stopped fussing only when he was the only one under the water. When I moved it ti Tikki, Merlin moved to protect his friend, and when he couldn't avoid it, he just kept his beak against Tikki's jaw to give him leverage and stabilize him while talking softly to him. Now they are outside again and Tikki couldn't climb in the little cage I use to move them from the cage inside to the one outside so I had to catch him and put him in their "bedroom". He hasn't moved from there since, and Merlin is sitting at the door, talking to him and keeping him company.
Could you think of a better friend?