Magoo Has Returned

Magoo has been unadopted as a Ringo by the adoptive family.  Our lease only allows for two birds, but we have now snuck in not only Boo (from the beginning) but now, Magoo. J. fetched Magoo in the ice and snow in Maryland and drove with him for two days from MD to TX.  He did very well in his little carrier, other than when once he got a bit cold going from the car to the motel.  Unfortunately J wasn't comfortable taking him right through the lobby, so he ended up staying in a less then pleasant, in fact, rather old holiday inn.  They both survived.  Upon arrival Magoo was placed in the very large cage  with his dad.  They did great!  Magoo did everything that a budgie does in a very short time.  He ate, he hopped and drank from the water bottle, he chewed on a stick, he rubbed his head on a stick...ahhh.  He was  a very happy budgie.  When Mary ann was added, he did ok (a day later).  Yet, the third day, Boo was added.  Magoo got really stressed.  He was shaking rapidly, with quivering wings, at high frequency, low amplitude.  Poor Magoo!  We removed Boo, and Magoo did well.  After  another day, we re-added Boo and all did well.  At this point, the pecking order seems to be Mary ann at the top (as always), then Boo=Magoo, and at the bottom, it appears, is Sutcliffe.  Though really, Boo is mean to everyone, but Mary ann trumps her.  Magoo is only mean to Boo and Sutcliffe.  And Mary Ann is generally mean, but she tolerates Sutcliffe the most.  So it is a bit circular.  So the cliche that applies may not be "pecking order" but "round robin".

I Need You and I Need My Space

Budgie social behavior clearly has defined distances that are acceptable. About one and one half a budgie length is a comfortable distance. Getting closer than less than one budgie length to another bird signifies a "one of us is gonna hafta move" action. This seems to be true horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Who makes whom move helps sort out the pecking order. In the aviary, very little true pecking goes on, as happened in a smaller cage. There is plenty of perch space, food bowls, at several different levels. Sutcliffe and Mary ann stay much closer to each other than this, as a breeding pair. He is always feeding her and hopping to be near her. It is also important not to be directly under anyone else. I suspect that this is for two reasons; 1. if you are right under someone else, you might get crapped on, literally. 2. having something on top means you can be swooped down upon and pinned, not a good thing for a tiny budgie who could serve as food for a larger bird of prey. Hiding in a thicket, though, with loose twigs above seems to be copacetic, once again for fairly obvious reasons--it would be very hard to swoop down and trap a budgie who was in a thicket. Also, climbing into a collection of twigs and pulling at them to tear them apart brings great joy to the budgies. It may help them keep their beaks groomed. Also, it probably is instinctually a good way to forage.

Happy Boo's Day-Tuesday February 11, 2008

Can it be? Another perfectly good week has gone by, much of it squandered on activities other than blogging, and now its Boo's day again?

All five budgies are doing well in the new cage. The perch order is variable. Sometimes, Boo just needs a bit of space and climbs to the top of the rungs (as seen here). Could this be because she is now going through puberty, and needs more time alone? Is she a broody teenager? Or testing her limits? Climbing up to the very top of the rungs, and hanging with tail down, wings folded, head straight, is how all five sleep at night these days. However, the rest of the time, they all seem to enjoy many different perches and food bowls (perches are many, and food bowls are "n+1"). On lower rungs, the inhabitants vary; sometimes Sutcliffe and Mia, Mia and Magoo, or Sutcliffe and Mary ann. There are almost always two birds on the bottom perches, but never Boo. We have seen almost no fighting all week. So, the cage seems to be copacetic. All the eucalyptus (the last of which was used in this cage set up) has been eaten, shredded, or trampled with joy except for a few twigs which still give much pleasure to the budgies, who like to hop on them, and let them bounce up and down a bit.

We note that some of our regular readers are also missing, some for known reasons: R due to extensive travel and hard work, and C, due to flu. Good wishes for happy flying and rapid fleeing of flu!!

Happy Boo's-Day! Tuesday, Jan 29th, 2008-Boo and her Nemesis

Have spent the last seven days productively? Or completely squandered them?
Either way, another week has passed and it is once again Boo's-Day! (trumpet flourish!)
Boo is pictured here with her nemesis, Mia. Yes, HER. Boo is decidedly a female. It was clear yesterday, when we noted HER cere turning a bit brown and krinkled. That is a classic hallmark of a female budgie. Other feminine traits include gnawing on sticks (although all budgies enjoy this).
And, another interesting Boo-note: When in a cage with Magoo, and Sutcliffe, Boo is the top-perch bird. Perhaps this is just her femininity coming into play? Are females the top perch sitters as a general rule?

Happy Boos Day! January 22, 2008-Pecking Orders

Yes, another week has gone by, and once again is is BOOS-day!

To celebrate Boo's day, we'll talk about Boo's status in the pecking order, how it isn't predictable, and how it might be informative regarding budgie politics generally (warning: they are quite complex). I will list pecking orders from top bird to bottom bird and annote when and how Boo filled these various roles.

1st. Boo was top bird when s/he and Lola were alone together in a cage. In fact, Boo was so aggressive towards Lola, that I was afraid that the latter would never get to feed properly nor sleep comfortably.

2nd. Boo is currently second on the totem pole, with Mia in third place. However, when it was only her/him and Mia in the cage, Boo was decidedly "Bottom Bird". He even rolled on his back in a pathetic way when Mia pecked her/him! This led the vet himself to say "what a submissive little bird!" The order is: Mary ann 1st, Boo second, Mia third. Boo and Mia bicker a lot.

3rd. With both Sutcliffe and Mary ann in the mix, along with Boo, as well as Lola, it was: Mary ann 1st, Sutcliffe second, Boo third (although seemed close: and sometimes Boo seemed tied with Sutcliffe for second), and Lola decidedly coming in last (as always).

Where will Magoo fit into this pecking order? And what might be a good way to research the pecking order with more combinations? I am thinking: try the following combinations:

-Boo with Magoo

-Boo, Magoo, and Sutcliffe

-Boo, Magoo, and Mia

-Mia and Magoo only

-Magoo and Mary ann only

-Magoo, Sutcliffe, and Mary ann

Magoo and Mia only

-Boo, Magoo, Sutcliffe, and Mary ann

-all five (this is the long range goal for the new big cage, in any case!)

All you math and engineering wizards can probably think of a very good way to organize and research this! A matrix for this is welcome.

Budgies Enjoy Adjacent Cages

Having had enough of three different cages to clean, and also, in order to move gradually towards one large cage (to be constructed this weekend?) we have moved Mia, Mary Ann, and Boo into one cage (Boo's), and moved the "hospital cage" up and adjacent so that they can fraternize cross-cages.

This video is taken right after the cages were placed adjacently. In the foreground cage and on the left (standing on top of nest box) is Magoo, the new baby. You can see s/he is doing really well. Mary ann and Sutcliffe are spending a lot of time making the "where are you CHIRP" to each other. Mia and Boo seem to want to fight. The baby is just dreadfully excited about the whole scenario. I have placed a cover on the cage area in between the two cages, to help them settle down. We'll let them fraternize a bit more this evening. I am thinking that perhaps, the new baby is well enough for all the budgies to go into one big cage. It will also be fun to observe their interactions as a flock.