Pictures Bunch o' Budgies

[Emma&pico]

I am quite frustrated right now.
Sunbeam is only a little broody at the moment.
But I wanted to ask, how many of you think that I should remove Winston (and any other Male budgie) if Sunbeam was to act nesty again or even lay an egg?
I don't feel that it is right, to break a bond because I don't want to deal with eggs or accidentally ended up with an egg.

Welcome to the world of random thoughts in my head...

Is she bonded to winston ?

 

[AussieBird]

Is she bonded to winston ?

Yes, very.

 

[Kassiani]

If I had a mixed flock, I suppose I would just be prepared to replace eggs if any hen laid them. You always provide them with fresh branches and other new things to play with, and you aren’t providing a nesting spot. Are they just, well, at it all the time at the moment?

 

[Emma&pico]

Yes, very.

I don’t think I would separate a bonded pair just replace eggs and try deal with behaviours like you do
I think you give them loads of other entertainment than breeding

 

[avian2023]

awesome cage setup and i only went through page one.. first thank you very much for sharing and inspiring. can i please ask about the leaves you are hanging like what are they where you get and how to clean them and how long they stay fresh.. sorry too many questions. i am so inspired and wanted to learn more.. and your birds skin tone is so bright and natural..

 

[AussieBird]

If I had a mixed flock, I suppose I would just be prepared to replace eggs if any hen laid them. You always provide them with fresh branches and other new things to play with, and you aren’t providing a nesting spot. Are they just, well, at it all the time at the moment?

I don’t think I would separate a bonded pair just replace eggs and try deal with behaviours like you do
I think you give them loads of other entertainment than breeding

As long as they get along and no eggs are laid, I dont mind them acting nesty.
The reason I asked is I came across someone who insists the number one most important action about egg laying is to separate any girls and boys. To me that seems extreme, and should be the last course of action if all else fails and your hen is at high risk of egg bonding, etc.
I am not perfect at keeping a mixed flock, in fact I messed up big time yesterday
I'll post about that sometime later...

 

[AussieBird]

awesome cage setup and i only went through page one.. first thank you very much for sharing and inspiring. can i please ask about the leaves you are hanging like what are they where you get and how to clean them and how long they stay fresh.. sorry too many questions. i am so inspired and wanted to learn more.. and your birds skin tone is so bright and natural..

Hello, welcome to the thread
The main leaves I use are bottle brush, but sometimes I grab Eucalyptus or lilly pilly too. I get them from my backyard and I only rinse in water to clean. I've never timed how long they stay fresh, but I'd guess 2ish days? I often leave them there for a week or more because once dried out they're still a great shedding toy

 

[AussieBird]

So... the story I'd rather not share... but I feel it's only fair to share the good, bad, and ugly about keeping a mixed gender flock...

I stuffed up yesterday and it nearly cost me a budgie.
I think one of the most important things about a mixed gender flock is monitoring. You need to learn their personalities, and how to read body language, behaviour, etc. And take immediate action if something is off.

I knew Sunbeam was starting to bully, but I stupidly just rearranged the cage in the hope that that would distract her till I was finished work this week.
It did not.
I hadn't left for work much more then 2 hours, before I received a text saying my budgies had been fighting and someone was bleeding. Thankfully my family must have heard them and broke it up and separate Miss Em. I texted back questions to try and find out who was injured and whether they needed to take her to the vet. The bleeding appeared to stop, and we couldn't figure out where the injury was (so didn't actually know who the blood belonged to). So I asked for them to monitor and update me throughout the day.
Upon getting home from work I attempted to catch and examine Emelia, but she was too squirmy, squeaky and bitey for me to discover much. This morning I believe I have pinpointed it to a couple small spots on her foot. So I am continuing to monitor her, she seems fine, absolutely loved the big piece of millet she got for dinner last night. Her foot seems fine but needs to be watch because of course it's her legband foot, last thing I need is for it to swell.
So tomorrow since I am off work, I will properly set up the spare cage (which Em is currently in) and Sunbeam will go into "Timeout" (with Winston).
This was the absolute last thing that I needed yesterday

 

[AussieBird]

This is not a budgie. It's a fluffy marshmallow

 

[Xoetix]

Oh that little 'mallow needs a squeeeeesh

 

[AussieBird]

Oh that little 'mallow needs a squeeeeesh

I have no idea why she seems to look softer then Winston Who knew there could be different kinds of fluff!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Love your new avatar!!
Thst is a gorgeous round fluffy marshmallow

 

[Kassiani]

I'm sorry Emelia got hurt! Is there a way to split the flock into two cages with Sunbeam, Winston, and whoever else they might get along with in one, and Emelia and the rest in another?

 

[AussieBird]

I'm sorry Emelia got hurt! Is there a way to split the flock into two cages with Sunbeam, Winston, and whoever else they might get along with in one, and Emelia and the rest in another?

They have been split, but the issue is there's only five of them. I never want to only separate one, and I really hate groups of three. Currently Sunbeam and Winston have been moved to LJ's cage, and the other three are in the flight.

 

[AussieBird]

The budgies seem to really love piling things on when I already have a mountain of stuff to think about
I am really not looking forward to this week...

 

[Kassiani]

I'm so sorry! Stress is such a killer. Please take care of yourself through all this. Hopefully the budgies will have a good week!

I don't like have 3 budgies in a cage, either, because it ends up as two against one in my experience. It's usually Jelly who gets beat up and left out, and I can't allow that. I still need to get at least a 4th budgie to balance the flock. Maybe a 4th and 5th. I'm going to get males, though, because I think adding a female to the current randy mix would create more chaos than just the 3 boys together.

 

[TikiMyn]

Ahww It sounds like Emilia isn’t too hurt, hoping she feels better quickly and things will calm down in the flock. I have made mistakes in my flock too, it is hard too keep up with dynamics as they can change so quickly. I hope you won’t stress about things too much. You are doing so well by them mistakes can happen

 

[AussieBird]

I don't like have 3 budgies in a cage, either, because it ends up as two against one in my experience. It's usually Jelly who gets beat up and left out, and I can't allow that. I still need to get at least a 4th budgie to balance the flock. Maybe a 4th and 5th. I'm going to get males, though, because I think adding a female to the current randy mix would create more chaos than just the 3 boys together

Yeah, I need to balance out my flock soon, but I have no way to Quarantine right now (because of the new bird). The cute green dude that was at the pet shop was tempting, but wrong timing and I sure hope he's not still there!

Thanks for the kind words everyone
The budgies may cause a lot of stress but they also make me smile a lot. I still tell Sunbeam she has been quite naughty but she just looks at me like I am crazy

 

[Kassiani]

I saw two males left at the pet store on Sunday, and I was sorely tempted. One was green and one was that sort of olive green--very pretty! But, there are so many that need to be adopted, and I don't have time to quarantine right now.

Breathe, remember your new sweetheart on the way! I can't wait to see the photos

 

[GreenThing]

Sorry for your stress! I worry just having two. For me, it is difficult to tell how serious fighting will be, knowing that the cage can exacerbate it. Merlin will be quite physical (knocking Percy off a branch with his feet) when they are out of the cage, and I'm present, but I have never seen them physically aggressive in the cage (if anything, they seem to do little re-bonding activities, like the cage is their get-along shirt), except when it is bedtime. But I still worry that I'm wrong!

You have so many personalities and both genders to manage, it would stress me out!