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"English Budgie" or "American Parakeet?"

Gussy

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I was hand feeding two babies I got from a breeder who said they are English Budgies. Now I'm kind of wondering if the one I still have really is indeed or if it is an "American Parakeet." I know they are the same species, but I was hoping for the bigger, more laid back English Budgies I have read so much about. A friend of mine who has many parakeets says she thinks my baby isn't English. Is there any way to tell? She's about 7 weeks old now.

IMG_3122.JPG IMG_3090.JPG
 

jmfleish

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He looks like an English Budgie to me but I'm no expert!;)
 

Lady Jane

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How much does he weigh? My larger EB weighs in at 48 grams. My other one is a small EB at 43 grams. If you go by size he looks English. I don't see the beard like feathers and larger head. He could be a mix of American and English. Is there a leg band? One thing for sure he is not 100 percent American
 

Gussy

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I don't have a scale small enough to weigh her and she doesn't have a leg band. I thought compared to the tiels she looked quite small, but I've rarely been around EBs. I assume she'll keep growing too since she's so young still?

Thanks for the feedback!
 

Gussy

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I guess according to the video, she'd be American?
 

Monica

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If not full english then definitely of english descent!

If you don't have one, you can get a digital kitchen or postal scale for pretty cheap and make sure it weighs in grams!
 

Shinobi

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budgerigars are an Australian native bird. The English and American budgerigars have been selectively bred from Australian Budgerigars.
 

Milestone

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Yeah, definitely some English in there.
 

xgreenbudgiex

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Yep I agree,
You can tell by the shape of the head and feather length.
 

Lady Jane

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Just to clarify the video - if budgie is spangled there are no cheek patches. Look at my boys and see one has them and one does not. They are both 100 present English. M M_zpsb61szz9h.jpg
 

PoukieBear

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I would say that he is only part English. He's super cute too !

Throat spots (not cheek patches, those are different) can be as little or as many as any other budgie. This is usually dependent on colour mutation.
 

Lady Jane

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English budgies tend to have larger spots and more of them than American budgies. I call them cheek spots. Here is a photo of a female English budgie I had in the past. She had lovely cheek spots. You wont see spots like this on an American budgie.



 

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camelotshadow

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Possibly a he & does not look so small next to the tiels. A standard budgie would even be smaller. Thats said its hard to tell size in pics & English budgies wts can vary.
7 weeks is young & it will develop the more poofy head but not all English budgies are really poofy. If it was a show english budgie than you might expect more but sometimes they get mixed. I don't think it will grow much in length size at all but it will gain weight & fill out.
Small birds are generally close to full length size when they wean.

Budgie Growth | Colorado Parrot Breeder

I don't know the background of my English budgie & it could have been mixed.
She was pretty big though but she died before 1 year of age.

She was spangle but she did seem to have a few spots...

bubbles P 116 089.jpg
 

camelotshadow

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Not sure of how those spots mature but a young budgie might not have its full potential of spots. They might further develop more/deeper color after a molt or two just like some baby birds get different colored feathers when they mature.
 

PoukieBear

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English budgies tend to have larger spots and more of them than American budgies. I call them cheek spots. Here is a photo of a female English budgie I had in the past. She had lovely cheek spots. You wont see spots like this on an American budgie.


Cheek patches and throat spots are different, not same thing.

Exhibition Budgerigars Public Group | Facebook

Exactly. It's important not to mix these up, as each one is different than the other, and each one is a different identifier for colour mutations.

Detail_shot_of_budgerigars_head by Michelle Bakota, on Flickr
 
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