MATCHA IS!!!

A while ago I asked about looking after a friend’s budgie, Charlie, and if it would be ok to keep him in the same room as my two girls (pictured here). The advice was not to as they might fight over Charlie.

Since then we have gotten a friend for Charlie, a female called Katie, and the two of them have bonded.

They’re in separate rooms but they whistle to each other nonstop, and to be honest they’re driving us slightly insane with it.

Would it now be ok to have both pairs in the same room, say if they didn’t have flight time at the same time?

https://preview.redd.it/kvlvgr4rs39d1.png?width=163&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf880108763e6b1cc102bfea3caef7532f2858fb

Hi 👋 one of my friends is currently sick and gave a 2 year old budgie to me temporarily (potentially permanently in the case he does not get better), have had it for a month now. I haven’t owned a pet before but I’ve done some research and the behaviour it’s been exhibiting confused me a bit since I’ve been the only one feeding it and giving it new toys.

Apparently you should get them out of the cage in like a month of having them but I haven’t even been successful necessarily having it on my hand fully. She will go onto my hand occasionally to eat honey blocks but sometimes bites other parts apart from my palm (which hurts) if there’s nothing to eat, but never stays on my hand for long and jumps off if I try to go out (I also leave the cage door open while I am sitting there in an effort for her to come out).

I explained this behaviour to my friend and they admitted that they never necessarily let her out of the cage apart from two to three times, which might be it. I do need help since I love her so much!!!

I got 2 budgies a while ago, they were young at the time and we tried to make them like me and my family. It’s at the point that when I put my hand in the cage they quickly jump on it and start biting me, one bites and it hurts while the other bites but it doesn’t hurt, they go on it instantly. Ones a boy ones a girl, we take good care of them and let them out one day a week. What should I do to make them let me pet them and like me more.

Use this post to share any budgies that are lost, found, or need a new home!

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Hey guys, I recently moved to a new apartment where the previous tenants used air wick and right off the bat it smelled like air wick and the smell wouldn’t go away. I have two budgies and I know this is very harmful to them so I opened doors and windows. The smell started to go away until it came back. I’m starting to think the building is putting air freshener in the air vents or something. And it’s really hard to get rid of. What should I do? Should I be worried? I genuinely can’t sleep thinking about this.

I often forget to spend time with my budgies, I get busy, and distracted.

I've tried setting alarms, but anytime they go off, I just turn them off and keep going on with my day. So alarms don't work.

Is there any other way to remind myself?

Never thought two little budgies would make such a mess! Anything on the cheaper side that works well with all of the seeds/poop/feathers i find everywhere 😭

Jim was such a good boy. I got him and his brother Peter Pam as youngsters at a mom and pop pet store in south Texas while on a trip just before the pandemic hit. The two of them were the best office mates anyone could ask for.

About a year later, I adopted Bob and Kevin, and for Jim and Kevin it was love at first sight. Everyone should have a love in their life like the two of them shared. It made my heart smile to see the two of them serenade each other and play every day. Every morning, I’d take them out in the same sequence: Kevin first, because he’s always at the door ready to go, then Jim following Kevin’s lead. He’d linger on my finger only briefly and flew to Kevin as soon as it left the cage.

One afternoon couple of weeks ago, Jim started to look like he wasn’t feeling well; bobbing tail, dirty vent. He’d also stand and stay on my hand, even without his millet-bribe. He’d fly if needed, but was definitely less energetic than usual.

So I took Jim to an emergency vet the next morning, after which he took antibiotics for days with no improvement. Then we saw a telemedicine vet.

During the telemedicine visit the vet asked me to palpate Jim’s lower belly. I discovered it seemed a little fluid and a little distended. Almost like a tiny water bed mattress. I came away with some leads: maybe cardiac issues, maybe a fungal infection, maybe a tumor.

So then I took Jim to a local avian vet who ran tests. At first they checked his belly for fluid, but there was only soft tissue. That was the first bad news; I was hoping they’d be able to drain fluid and make him more comfortable.

But then the x-rays said it all. Diagnosis: tumor, likely testicular. The only options were surgery in another city, and his chance of survival would be 5% while in the meantime waiting for surgery he’d be in discomfort/pain due to tumor size and effect, or euthanasia.

So I said goodbye and I told him how much I and the rest of his flock loved him while I held this so-special, so-sweet, lionhearted little guy in my hands. The vet gave him a sedative. He was eating millet, his favorite, and fell asleep in my hand between bites. He was gone before the vet gave him the other shot, so I knew it was the right choice, he wouldn’t have made it through surgery.

Being a parakeet parent is so hard sometimes. And it feels very lonely; no one I know in real life really understands what it’s like. People get it if you lose a dog or cat, but they tend to think it’s different with birds, especially small ones. If you’ve read this far, thank you for being here, understanding, and caring.

Jim, thank you for being such a wonderful, sweet, manly man. The rest of the flock and I will see you in our next incarnations.