Goodbye All

We have had a great run of Budgies, Budgies and Hedgies, and Budgies and Friends. You have all been great (except for the recent spammers). It has been really hard to give up the budgies. I have only one more task; find Mia a new home since her adoptive family don't want her anymore. My terrible allergies have resolved since getting rid of the budgies; they were definitnely the cause of my severe itching, though I could never admit it. It is terrible to miss the budgies so much. This happens particularly when I see lovely greens in meadows or in the supermarket which I know they would love. I also miss them when I read about birds, see their pictures, or talk about them. I hope that they are all happy in their new homes. Someday when I have a different living situation, where I can have an outdoor aviary, I hope I can get some budgies again.

Goodbye to the budgie family?

K and J are returning to the DC area. We need to find friends to adopt our beloved Budgie family.


JULIET

'Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone:
And yet no further than a wanton's bird;
Who lets it hop a little from her hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silk thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

ROMEO

I would I were thy bird.

JULIET

Sweet, so would I:
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! parting is such
sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Thanks Hannah (comment, last post)

Hannah made some very good comments re: the last post. Not all pet stores are tarred with the same brush. Some (in my experience, like Petco and Petsmart) do not treat their birds kindly; others, like Hannah's, are very good to their birds.

Hannah also points out the hassles of adoption. This was addressed in an earlier post in this blog; it is just ridiculous how high the bar is set for adopting a budgie, or any animal. First, they made me visit the bird. Then, one of their animal adoption people come check out my house (who do they think they are to check out MY house? eh?) and then, I can finally come get the bird. For a $30 adoption fee. Talk about disincentive! A budgie can be bought from a budgie bin, such as at Petco, for about $20. No wonder adoption lists of available animals are long, and birds continue to to sold via budgie bins.

Maybe it would be good if I would promote pet stores which really cared about budgies and other parrots and animals generally, and maybe also it would be good if some common sense prevailed at these adoption shelthers. That way, people who bought birds would have well socialized birds, and ideally, really get some education about them, which would reduce the birds up for adoption.

Stop Selling Budgies in Pet Stores!

Jan 1, 2009, Petco (and many other pet stores) stopped selling rabbits in pet stores. However, they continue to sell budgies and other parrots (and birds). They stated that it was "good for animals, good for business" and cited their relationships with animal rights groups as an important component in the decision.

Budgies and other parrots are highly intelligent, arguably sensitive, animals. There are also a significant number available for adoption. Mary Ann was adopted, for example, via the Montgomery County (Maryland) animal shelter. At the time she was adopted, there were eight other budgies waiting to be adopted (granted, six of them were in a "custody dispute").

There are many wonderful, healthy birds out there; a search today on Petfinder had 1624 hits for adoptable birds. Searching only for budgies, I found 88 available for adoption.

My impression is that birds in pet shops are often inbreed (ref Lola and Mia), raised in tiny miserable cages, get little interaction, and as such, become psycho. I think budgie interest groups could serve a great function if they would undertake a campaign to convince pet shops to stop selling birds, and push for adoption, first. One of the problems with rabbits was that people would get them and consider them "disposable", and just get rid of them when they got tired of them. This is the same situation budgies are in now in pet shops. It makes me sad; and it makes me, and should make you, gentle reader, mad as well.

I belong to a facebook budgie interest group--I will raise this issue with them and see what they have to say. If every one of the budgie fanciers on facebook contacted Petco at http://www.petco.com/content/contactsubtopic.aspx?PC=contactcompany&nav=17#top I bet it would make a difference.

(photo from lili.chin flicker collection, available to anyone photos--thanks lili.chin!)

Easy Come, Easy Go

Gypsy is gone: I gave him, and the cage, to the guys fixing our fence. They are Hispanic; it seems, at least in our neighborhood, that a lot of Hispanic families like budgies. Budgies are a more common pet in Hispanic families, it appears, to me on casual observation, then in Caucasian american families. However, I don't have substantiated data on this; it is merely anecdotal.

Anyway, regarding Gypsy, and comparisons to Magoo, as "Reston" recently commented: both male, both "wild type" green, and both prone to flying away rapidly and getting into less than ideal situations. Both, apparently, in need of a mate. They are not the same bird; Magoo was more pale,a nd I would know him anywhere. Gypsy had more blue on the belly and tail. And Gypsy was not as sweet. However, both are evidence that testosterone can be toxic, especially in the large doses of which teenage birds (and humans? other species?) are exposed.

Budgie Care List (for adoption of Budgies, in this case, Magoo)

Magoo is being adopted by a very nice person who works with K. She is excited to have him as a pet, and will take good care of him. It is a necessity as he and Sutcliffe are fighting badly, daily. Someone will eventually be hurt. They are knocking each other off perches and pinning each other down on the ground or side of the cage.

I wrote this list of Budgie Care Guidelines for the new owner. Readers are welcome to add! of course there are lots and lots of things to know about taking care of budgies. I wanted to go over the basics here. More re Magoo's adoption soon!

Budgie-General Care

Our vet is: Animal Avian Hospital of the Village, in Rice Village. They are really into birds. 2422 Robinhood, Houston, Texas, in the Rice University Village. 713-524-3800. He doesn’t really need any care, unless you want the vet to clip his wings for you.

Food-

It is good to give them food that has a mixture of seeds and pellets. We use “eggcite” but other types are also ok.

Regular feedings:

They need their bowls filled every day. Even if it looks full, the empty husks are left on top by the budgies and they can’t find food underneath the husks; therefore, some budgies starve because their owners think they have plenty but they really don’t know how to get at it.

However, if you want to leave the budgie(s) alone for several days, leave plenty of hanging “snack sticks”. About ½ stick per day per budgie seems to be the right amount. We have left the budgies up to a week with these and while the cage is a bit messy on return, the budgies do fine.

Special foods:

They shouldn’t get treats every day, as that will make it harder to train them. Use millet seed in your hand to tame the budgie. You will have to be patient but if you try every day, in a couple weeks or so the budgie will eat millet seed while sitting on your hand!

Vegetables and fruit:

They like cilantro or lettuce, and you can give that as often as you like. (Once it is wilted it has to be removed or they get runny stools). They also like strawberries, but even ½ strawberry is more than they can eat. I usually put ½ in the cage and then when they have had it for a day, take it out before it gets gross. Apparently they aren’t supposed to eat avocado. If you want to try a new fruit or vegetable, put it in every day for a couple of weeks. The budgie will ignore it for a while then get used to it and eat it with joy.

If the budgie can’t reach his beak to get at the food, then they won’t eat it. Ditto for water bottles. So the food has to be hung near a perch at “beak height” or so.

Water:

Fresh water is important. I use a hamster style bottle. Some people use water bowls/trays. I also give them “showers” with a spray bottle about once a week. They really like it! Of course the spray bottle should be used for water only.

Perches:

It is important to have wooden perches, as budgies like to chew to keep their beaks clean and trimmed. They like pecan or maple or any fruit tree branch. Don’t use cedar or magnolia. You can also buy wooden perches. Some plastic perches are ok too, but not all perches should be plastic as that can irritate their feet. It is important that perches are placed so that they can easily stand and access food and water.

Dangers:

Sprays that smell like cleaning sprays, fluids, are dangerous. Budgies are very sensitive to chemicals (remember the “canary in the coal mine”). Sometimes they can get a toenail caught in something in the cage, so any wires used should not have loose ends sticking into the cage. Doors on the cage should be closed with a “twisty tie” so the budgie doesn’t escape. Some human foods are dangerous; check on the internet before trying if you are unsure. If they are out of the cage, getting slammed in a door, stepped on, etc are all dangers of course.

Communication:

Budgies like to be talked too. They seem to know their names, maybe. leave the radio on for them during the day to prevent loneliness and give htem something to sing too. A quiet “jngle” means “danger” so the sound makes them feel reassured. They also like to be talked to.

Training:

With a lot of attention, a budgie can get very tame, especially if talked to. Also budgies get tamer if they are the “only bird” as they see you as their flock. But don’t be fooled by affection; if the budgie gets away outside, he will fly away (mainly due to getting disoriented). The most elemental training exercise is “finger sitting”. If a budgie is not paying attention, “finger ladder walking” is a good way to help him focus.

Other thoughts:

We put the birds out in the AM (weather permitting) and inside in the PM when the weather will not go below 60 degrees. Below 60, it is too cold for them. I also like it as then seeds don’t make any mess during the day. They do throw seeds around when they eat, because they “hull” (peel) the outside of the seed off and discard it (drop it). The hull is very fine so it floats down. I use a netting around the cage that you can get at the pet store to cover the cage and it helps quite a bit.

Budgies combine urine and feces into one type of elimination. Normal is white with blackish/green middle, more or less.

History of Magoo:

Magoo was hatched in 12/07. You can see a lot of documentation about him here. http://boobudgie.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html and other places on the blog (ie, this blog!!!).

Update Mia and Magoo Thrive

We have heard an update from the Adoptive Family (AF) regarding Mia and Magoo (M and M).  Apparently Magoo is doing very well with finger sitting.  Also, amazingly, Mia will sometimes sit on a finger, and perhaps is more likely to do so when Magoo beckons her with a chhiirrrPPP.  That is amazing for timid little Mia!  I am not sure if Magoo is now Ringo, or not-will check on that.  The AF is clearly working regularly with M and M, and it seems to be paying off.  There is an adorable dachshund in the family, who seems a bit excited about the new additions.  But being intelligent, as dachshunds are, he has learned to not bark at them (which in turn got them rather flustered).  This is all very good news.  Whether or not the budgies stay part of the new family may depend a bit on the dachshunds adaption to them.  I was under the impression that dogs and budgies tended to get along well, but of course every dog, and every budgie is different.

Moving Highlights

Sorry to all our gentle blog readers (yes, both of you) for this long hiatus.  However, the move caused some delays in getting online to blog!  

The budgies did well during the packing up phase, mainly because of their location in the "summer palace".  However, a bittersweet moment (for the human flock) occurred when Mia and Magoo were adopted.  The good news is, that we now have a new family which has joined the human flock, especially, several girls who seem very well suited to budgie ownership.  I haven't heard yet if they are enjoying the budgies, but I certainly hope so.  If they don't like the budgies, we offered to take them back.  It was a no risk adoption.  I was rather sad at first to see them go, especially Magoo, who hatched in our house only just this last winter, but I know he will be happy.  He may even be renamed Ringo!

The drive and the stay near Nikko the cat (the latter of whom resides in Louisville) went well, but deserves longer posts in the future.  Pictures will also soon be posted from the trip.   The budgies were very quiet around Nikko, probably instinctually.  In the Prius, while driving, however, they seemed joyous and sang and chirped the entire way, especially if country music was playing, or classical.

Good News

As you can see here, this blog entry celebrates Mia and Magoo. They are definitely a "pair" and an adoptive family has been found, at least temoporarily, here in the greater suburban Washington DC area. It is a family I know, as I work with the mom and the dad in the family. They have several daughters, who are interested in having their own pets. I hope they really have fun with Mia and Magoo! I set up their cage today, and will set up another cage for the remaining three as well. The aviary will be moved, empty, with the moving van to Texas. I have purchased food, litter, and a book and magazine to help the girls learn about budgies. I am so excited that these wonderful birds will have a good home and be a part of the lives of young people.

Adopted and Beloved

Mary ann is a wonderful budgie. She is the only one who has been adopted from a shelter; the process for budgie adoption is ridiculous. In order to adopt a budgie from the pound, you need to visit twice, fill out forms, and even have a home inspection. They have set the bar absurdly high. We were about to adopt a budgie instead of getting Mia, but the hassle factor was so great that we gave in and went and bought her from the budgie bin. Couldn't they make the process a bit less of a disincentive for a pet that costs $15-25 at any local pet shop? It would be better for budgies I think, because adoption is better than purchase for most pets.

I suspect that Mary Ann was a beloved pet prior to what must have been an escape from somewhere. We don't know anything about her background so this is speculation. However, she is very tame, accustomed to finger sitting, and is quite beautiful. I can't imagine anyone ever giving her up voluntarily (but you just never know). She came from the Montgomery County animal shelter where there were several other options. I am glad we chose her.

She has been an excellent mother to her two offspring. She became very thin during her two incubations, but it plumping up again. For a while, before Magoo was conceived, she was getting so plump that she could not fly at all, even with full wings, and often fell off the perch. Hopefully the new aviary will afford her enough exercise to stay more fit. She was very unkind to Lola, but, doesn't seem to mind Mia that much, and doesn't seem to mind Boo at all despite Boo's puberty.

While she is not particularly attentive to Sutcliffe, she clearly considers him her "man". He may be overly attentive, feeding her pretty much regularly. She almost never even has to feed herself. We really love Mary ann a lot.