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A Frost & Jewel Update

Dorcas George

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Hens sometimes can be very territorial. Jewel may see the small cage as hers and not want Frost to touch "her stuff". She may run Frost off in the small cage. The large cage, although not best at this time, is more neutral territory. It may work just fine putting them both in the small cage.
Well, Frost was the territorial one today! I was surprised at the kicks! I’m going to try the small cage and, for now, hope for the best. Just not today. Enough excitement for one day! Jewel wanted to nap but Frost was having none of that. He’d start preening her. They mostly settled down and both are sound asleep now. Not on the same perch. The issue, with Frost the seemingly kind of clueless one, and Jewel the very determined but wing-clipped one, is safely getting them both moved from large to small cage without mishap! Have to take my husband to VA tomorrow so they have to stay put for now. Hoping they are calm and happy in the AM.
 
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Lori D Pert

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Hi, have been away from here for abit but have read through this thread. First, you say Jewel is clipped but can manage small flights? Then I would not be concerned about her well being in the big cage. Budgies don't really rely on flight inside their cages they rely on their beaks to climb and their wings only to flutter from one perch to another. Sounds like she can accomplish this. She also sounds like a confident little hen who can put a boy in his place. Have you observed any true aggression between the two? Biting at the feet, pushing off the perch? The "boot" from one budgie to another is common but I would not worry about it. Observe them together but I think they will be OK. Now, will you be able to achive a strong bond with Jewel...well...maybe. She seems more outgoing and curious so if you continue to work with her.. yes, maybe. Had Frost been totally tame then it would be easy but he's not so Jewel is the one to work with even with them together in the same cage. I would house them together to see how it goes and continue to work on Jewel. If you can become a person of interest to her and she becomes more curious about you then that curiosity will win out. Once you win one, the other will follow (they may not be as secure about you but they will not fear you).
 

Sodapop&Co.

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Hi, have been away from here for abit but have read through this thread. First, you say Jewel is clipped but can manage small flights? Then I would not be concerned about her well being in the big cage. Budgies don't really rely on flight inside their cages they rely on their beaks to climb and their wings only to flutter from one perch to another. Sounds like she can accomplish this. She also sounds like a confident little hen who can put a boy in his place. Have you observed any true aggression between the two? Biting at the feet, pushing off the perch? The "boot" from one budgie to another is common but I would not worry about it. Observe them together but I think they will be OK. Now, will you be able to achive a strong bond with Jewel...well...maybe. She seems more outgoing and curious so if you continue to work with her.. yes, maybe. Had Frost been totally tame then it would be easy but he's not so Jewel is the one to work with even with them together in the same cage. I would house them together to see how it goes and continue to work on Jewel. If you can become a person of interest to her and she becomes more curious about you then that curiosity will win out. Once you win one, the other will follow (they may not be as secure about you but they will not fear you).
Great to "see" you! Is that a new baby in your profile picture?
 

Dorcas George

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Hi, have been away from here for abit but have read through this thread. First, you say Jewel is clipped but can manage small flights? Then I would not be concerned about her well being in the big cage. Budgies don't really rely on flight inside their cages they rely on their beaks to climb and their wings only to flutter from one perch to another. Sounds like she can accomplish this. She also sounds like a confident little hen who can put a boy in his place. Have you observed any true aggression between the two? Biting at the feet, pushing off the perch? The "boot" from one budgie to another is common but I would not worry about it. Observe them together but I think they will be OK. Now, will you be able to achive a strong bond with Jewel...well...maybe. She seems more outgoing and curious so if you continue to work with her.. yes, maybe. Had Frost been totally tame then it would be easy but he's not so Jewel is the one to work with even with them together in the same cage. I would house them together to see how it goes and continue to work on Jewel. If you can become a person of interest to her and she becomes more curious about you then that curiosity will win out. Once you win one, the other will follow (they may not be as secure about you but they will not fear you).
Hi Lori. I'm not worried about her navigating the cage, though she is spunky as can be and she does try to fly where Frost does and launches bravely only to land on the bottom. Then she figures out a different way. I can't wait for those flight feathers!

I will try to transition to the smaller cage for now, but have to come up with a good plan.....yeah. And if she gets all territorial, well, then will deal with that if it comes. This morning they are sitting side by side making warbles and things are happy in the Palace cage. I didn't see real aggression yesterday, but a bit of "king of the hill" posturing maybe. :hehepink: I was watching closely, because there was NEVER any of that with the boys. Just constant bromance.

I do intend to make Jewel the focus. It sure will be easier in a smaller cage. Ahem. That was MY plan but obviously not theirs. There are other cage issues, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, but not dealing with that yet. One day at a time...

Yesterday I was a bit concerned because I did have to "chase" and handle Jewel a bit to get her where she needed to be, but she didn't seem to be holding that against me and hopped happily on my hand for seed. Frost, as he used to do with Packer, watched for a second or two and then joined her. Silly Frost.

Have a great day, everyone! Nice to hang out with you all. Wouldn't it be nice if it were in person? Including birds? :heart2:
 

Dorcas George

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To me, it seems like size is key. I even grind the RB for some of mine - I'm talking grind the Nibbles size. I have one parrotlet that eats the next size up and one that ONLY will take nibbles. Then the budgies, you'd think they could eat bigger or smaller, either way but they actually like the mini. Weirdos!
At my house, once things are too tiny, they get left in the dish. NO eating powdery stuff. :angelic:
 

Dorcas George

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At my house, once things are too tiny, they get left in the dish. NO eating powdery stuff. :angelic:
I sure would love to see your flock. Birds pets are not a big thing here, and there are so many birds I’ve only seen in photos here at the Avenue. Like parrotlets....
1619449735289.png
 

Fergus Mom

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First of all, wanted to say I LOVE your signature @Dorcas George ! That is too cool.

They end up, after a while, in the big cage. The little one was back in the living room and I was just trying to keep Jewel out of trouble as much as possible without grabbing her. At this point, I was frustrated with Frost, and questioning if he has cognitive impairment, and I was seriously impressed, though a little scared, for Jewel. That bird has chutzpah! I had put several perches in low places in the big cage. But nope. She climbs right to the roof. Frost goes in too. Door closed.
Oh my gosh - cognitive impairment LOLOLOL!!!
I have so often thought that about Fergus as he hops about their cage following Fiona's every single move and watching her like his relative - the hawk! Oh that cracked me up when I read this!

If you can become a person of interest to her and she becomes more curious about you then that curiosity will win out.
So good to see you back - and this comment cracked me up too cuz I watch too many of those crime episodes on TV sometimes! Where a "person of interest" means you're going to get interrogated Ha!!! Wise advice there Lori!

I was watching closely, because there was NEVER any of that with the boys. Just constant bromance.
Oh mercy - I have seen Fergus do that 'shove with the foot' thing when they were together the first year! I haven't seen him do it since they both passed 1 year old. I wasn't sure what to make of it at all, and wondered what "the boot" as Lori called it, meant!

Absolutely!
Oh YES it would, we would all talk birds for hours and hours!
 

Fergus Mom

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Oh - I meant to say, at first when I tried to coach mine into their "small" travel cage WITH the huge doors (my secret to getting them to go in?) I put the travel cage directly in front of the doors on the big cage (on a table) At first, they beaked their way out of the large cage to bypass the travel cage, so they could fly... like - "who the heck put THIS THING in front of our cage???" Then after a couple of days, their curiosity got the best of them (and the desire for ALL the millet in the world in the travel cage LOL). Then I moved the travel cage across from their large cage and they used to fly into it from time to time. That's no longer an option since their large cage has been moved to my living room so that they could get more sunlight. When the hot summer gets here, they will probably come back to my room.
 

Dorcas George

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I guess it's time for an update. I keep trying for a cute picture of the two of them so I can change my avatar, but no luck so far.

I had mentioned that I'm going to be traveling for a week and don't have anyone I trust to care for birds. Usual bird sitter will be with me in RV! So I need to get both birds into the smaller cage so we can put them inside the RV. Well...wow! Maybe I'll come back to that.

Good things: Jewel is happily eating pellets, has Frost now eating both LeFebre and Roundybush (used to turn up his beak at the RB ones) because she does. She prefers the little Roundybush ones. She LOVES greens. I had a bunch of carrots with the green tops--not always easy to find here. I hung a large, wet bunch on the side of the cage and she went berserk--in a happy way. She climbed into the middle. Got wet. Flung water drops. Peeked out (oh, so funny--all I could see was her little yellow face--I tried so hard to get a pic!) and climbed all over them, hung upside down, flapped wings....chomping greens all the while! Recently I didn't have anything but a few wilted celery leaves, but I put them in a dish and she headed right for them. Plopped her whole self into the dish while Frost hollered at her. Then ate a little and carried some around in her beak for a while, then flung some on the cage floor. Hopped down and nibbled those, so Frost decided to join her. She was having none of that. She grabbed the little bunch of leaves and ran madly around the cage floor with it, Frost chasing her and squawking. Hilarious!

As for their relationship, its good. They do what happy budgie pairs do, but they do squabble several times a day. Packer and Frost never did. Baby bird Jewel is already the boss, mostly.

I have two coconuts in the cage that I'll take out one of these days when she's older, and she eventually started exploring. She loves jumping in and swinging them. She tried out all the perches (something Frost has NEVER done--such a chicken!) so then he did too. She plays, chomps chewy toys, rips apart cotton things, and so on. So now Frost is becoming less of a perch potato and he's chomping and exploring more too. :)

Odd things: She was pretty friendly in the little cage. No stepping up, but quickly hopped on my hand for seed, pecked me gently, etc. Then in the big cage it all reversed. She got timid. And FROST started being more willing to hop on my hand for seed (about time after being here a year!) and will usually go first. It's like he suddenly decided that at least for this one thing he was going to show the baby bird how it's done. HA!

Challenging things: Jewel is pretty awesome. She is brave and feisty and adventuresome and she wants to fly so badly! Like when she flung herself out and on to Frost's big cage, and when SHE went to him (first trying to fly and then madly running across a the big living room floor) instead of the other way around when I was trying to get him to come to the small cage to meet her up close and personal.

I really do need to get them into the small cage for the trip of course, but also I can take them into a small room (big cage is kinda impossible) because she does get out. She's one determined little thing. I've followed her around on the floor more than once, kind of steering her away from where she shouldn't go. The ways she gets back up and inside of the big cage kind of amaze me. It will be interesting to see what happens she she gets those flight feathers.

Right now, Jewel is quietly sitting inside the big cage recuperating from a run around the floor and a few attempts to get up and back inside the cage, and Frost is on a window top, chirping happily. The small cage is nearby with the food, water and some millet. Empty for now. Cage doors are open. I am trying to be patient.

Oh, just as I was posting they both ended up on TOP of the little cage. They are both eating millet from the top. Sigh. Close though. I know you can't see the angle, but there is some space between the two cages. And a rope perch and a ladder....
 
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finchly

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I just love reading the update! I can imagine them doing each thing... Jewel being so zippy... Frost being a me-too like an annoying little brother :)
 
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