*sigh*

StevePax · Post by **StevePax** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 2:13 pm

Don't forget: bigger bird=bigger poop.

I'm just sayin'.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:14 am

lol Steve! Well the woman with the pionus isn't sure if she's going to sell him, but she said I can have him if she does. So I have to save my pennies and if she says I can have him I'll take him, if not I'll get either a budgie or a Bourke's. We're also looking for a puppy! PUPPY!!!!!! this is a life long dream of mine (I wasn't allowed pets as a kid) so this summer should be a good one for me whether or not I get into vet school (I find out in July).
The finches are getting louder, still, and John is getting excited for when I get to go bring them in, a few more weeks, but he's finally had enough. I love that he admitted that I was right in wanting a budgie instead

I guess when I'm a vet and have a nice house and am permanently fixed somewhere I'll be able to build my aviary and get my finches then... I'll probably not get zebras though lol! The chicks are starting to pick on eachother and the parents a little bit, but hopefully they behave themselves until I can bring them in. I found another egg in the cage today

but no one seems to be sitting on it so I guess it's ok. The one male in my clutch is starting to get really cheeky, he's got a nice song though, different from Sam, strangely enough...

zookeeper · Post by **zookeeper** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:39 pm

Cockatiels are absolutely HORRIFIED of cats and can freak out and kill themselves in a panic -- so if you have cats I'd recommend dropping 'tiels from your list.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:36 am

Hey! Good luck with your application to vet school! One of the best ways to learn about the animals you'll be dealing with is to keep them, in my opinion ;)

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:29 am

lol thanks Crystal, that's actually my excuse for having so many pets!

not everyone believes me though...

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:12 pm

Well I think I've decided on a budgie. I joined another forum and got blasted for having cats and ferrets

I also got blasted for wanting to keep the cage hanging from the ceiling instead of getting one on a cage, which is interesting b/c when I started out here you all suggested hanging the cage. I guess to each his own, but it would have been nice to find a forum like this about hookbills where people weren't so quick to jump all over you for asking questions.
Anyways the parrotlets, although people are divided, it seems they need more room than my cage, they also can be nasty, I think John would prefer a p'let since they're feisty, but I think I'd prefer the budgie. I'm also going to take a look at the linnies.
I'm hoping this week or next week will be the week we can set this in motion. The black is almost entirely gone off the chicks' beaks and they're happily (still) driving us crazy

I'll post pics of the babies before they go and the new bird when I get it. They've got a very sweet hand tame budgie at Super Pet that is mostly white with some blue.

StevePax · Post by **StevePax** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:04 pm

Good luck with your budgie!

Ironically, I used to have a couple of parakeets. We had to get rid of them because my wife said they were too loud! Then she made me wait to get finches until I bought her a house. Now, house or no house, there will be no more budgies in our family - it seems she was really irritated by those, but she likes the little finch sounds (even the zebs!). I guess here we just have more space for her to not be listening to them every second.

Anyway, budgies can be lots of fun!

Rue · Post by **Rue** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:12 pm

I'm sorry you didn't have a better experience over at the parrot forum...

...but honestly...they're really the nicest group...most are willing to go out of their way to help other members...

Might want to give them another chance...I noticed lots of 'welcomes' in your intro. post!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:43 pm

I have a pair of budgies. The male chirps and mimics alot but doesn't do the annoying squawking like my hen. Since joining a budgie forum, I have learned this is typical. I am able to tune her out most of the time but the bf finds it aggravating. I've discovered misting her or distracting them with a favorite food will usually get her to quiet down.

I'd definitely suggest get get a male/males.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:18 am

sorry Rue, I don't like having my other pets crapped on. I know they had good intentions but when someone asks people to stop and they don't it's just not worth it. I get that some think my cage is too small, fine that doesn't bother me, but over half the posts in that thread weren't about the birds I was asking about they were about how malicious my cats and ferrets are. Getting, "Your cage is too small and your other pets will kill your bird" over and over is a little aggravating. It's especially frustrating when there's lots of different opinions on cage size, I know someone with this cage that has 2 budgies in it, I personally think that if you're able to give a lot of out of cage time, like I am, then a slightly small cage isn't that bad, if the bird is sitting in it for 20hrs a day then yes the cage needs to be big. Also the number of toys and such also effect cage efficiency, you could have a whole room for your bird without a single toy and that would be worse than a slightly small cage with a ton of toys. They just made me feel like I was stupid and I feel that I am neither stupid or uncaring like some of them seemed to think I am. I'm now reluctant to post about wanting a budgie since I know I'll get lectured more about how tiny my cage is and how nasty my other animals are.

Tammie, Actually your experiences with Casper are one of the reason why I'm wanting a budgie! I really like that he can talk and I think they have the sweetest faces! I definitely want a male, but I don't know if I'll be able to forsure get one, since their cere won't have changed colour yet, I want a young one so I can make him nice and friendly. If I get a budgie I may have to look into your budgie forum. I'll just not mention that I have cats and ferrets

I think I might name my budgie Burt, I think it has a nice ring to it, Burt the Budgie!

StevePax · Post by **StevePax** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:26 am

Thalia,

Take a look at the forum here, just for parakeets. I used to frequent here when I had budgies - it was just getting started then, but looks like it's much bigger now. You might find a good group there to spend time with.

Good luck!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:26 pm

Thalia,

We get the odd person saying you shouldn't do this or that but for the post part they are all fairly broad minded people on that budgie forum. Many of the members keep cats and various animals other than birds. We try to discourage posts that are judgemental, but do have disagreements from time to time, nothing serious though.

Here's the link if you want to check it out, http://www.budgerigars.co.uk/forum/index.php

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:31 pm

ok thanks for the links guys, I'll take a look. I don't suppose anyone knows anything about linnies eh?

Rue · Post by **Rue** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 1:30 pm

Uh-huh...linnies are absolutely delightful little birds. I find them more 'parroty' than the budgies.

We have 2 budgie hens...just the 'bulk-bin' variety. One is a sweet-heart...we lucked out with her...the other is a classic case of poor breeding...

...budgies are very noisy...and personally I find them grating compared to the finches...I like the sounds of the finches...very relaxing and enjoyable...

...linnies aren't are loud or as irritating in their calls...but still...can make a lot of noise...

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:03 pm

ok thanks Rue, I'll see about them too.
I'll talk with the aviary about my cage size and see if they think it's ok for linnies and budgies. I've been trying to read care sheets on the internet but everyone's opinion differs some say my cage is big enough others say it's way too small, one page said I could put 2 small birds in my cage, another page said that budgies/p'lets/linnies need full flight cages or aviaries

It's all very confusing.