Budgie Tails, Episode 5: Laurel’s Pole Dancing for Budgies

Every girl has to keep active to maintain her figure, and Laurel is no different.  In this video, she shows us her favorite day time activity…”pole dancing.”  Okay, really it’s just Laurel playing with her rocking chair swing, but the important thing is that it’s fun AND has health benefits!

If you have favorite birdy workouts to share, post below or visit our youtube page to submit a video response!

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Budgie Tails, Episode 4: Laurel’s Midday Rant

Sometimes a girl just has to get things off her chest, so I’ve given Laurel exclusive access to the microphone.  She has great advice for an effective rant, as well as an unforgettable “exit”…

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Breeding Budgies – Week 1

Week of 4/18/2011

The first week of my breeding experiment experience.  Since I was thoroughly cleaning the cage on Monday, I decided it would be a perfect time to add in all of the nesting materials.  I purchased these things in the afternoon and got to clean and set up the cage that evening.

Laurel and Hardy's Breeding Cage

Both Laurel and Hardy didn’t know what to make of the box or the new feeder at the bottom of the cage.

Laurel and Hardy unsure of the new setup

It took them about a half hour before Hardy (the ever curious) decided to go for the food.  I’m guessing it will be about a month before either of them venture into the nesting box.  Tuesday and Wednesday have come and gone without much happening.  I discovered that I was a little over-enthusiastic with the bedding I laid down in the nesting box, so I removed most of it on Tuesday.

Laurel was still a bit peeved from the cage cleaning, so she was pretty pout-y most of this time.  Wednesday night, Hardy tried to make nice to Laurel.  She did take a few pecks at him, but for the most part she let him talk and be near to her.

Laurel being pouty, Hardy being near her

Friday I decided to entice the birds to check out the nesting box.  I placed a small sprig of millet in the entry and opened up the top hatch.  Hardy is the brave one of the bunch, so I know if he will go in the box that Laurel will follow him.  He is taking a very big interest in it…the plan has been on for about 3 minutes, so he (and Laurel!) are checking everything out from afar.  This is very good…

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Breeding Budgies – Breeder Cage Setup

There are a lot of websites out there with information about parakeets.  Most of these websites are difficult to navigate, have very “scientific” articles, or contain the kind of information that makes me run away screaming!    Once I found the information I was looking for, I noticed very detailed instructions and specific tasks that must-be-done-or-your-birds-will-die, some of which was contradictory to other information I had read. For example, one website said that I would need special lighting so that the baby birds would get the necessary vitamin D and warmth they needed to survive. Another website said that I would need a syringe and the ability to “bottle feed” the babies. I’m not proposing that other people do what I am going to do, but I have decided to go a more “natural” route. What would the birds do if I (the human) wasn’t around? In the wild, there are no special lights, pens to mark up eggs with numbers, or syringe bearing animals to feed babies.

After weeding through the myriad of information about “proper” breeding, I purchased all of the items “necessary” for nesting birds.  Based on several websites I read through, you need several things to set the mood for parakeet breeding:

• Egg Laying Basics
• A Nesting Box, hung inside or outside the cage
• Bedding on top of the wire at the bottom of the cage
• Nesting materials (string, cotton, wood chips)
• Health Basics
• Mineral Stone
• Cuttle Bone
• Grit

I purchased the following from my local pet store, based on my knowledge at the time.  It has only been a few days and already my understanding of the “necessities” has changed a little lot.

The Nesting Box – All Living Things Parakeet Nesting Box.  The photo doesn’t show it clearly, but there is a small hole right below the entrance to the box.  It holds a perch which was inside the box I purchased.  I am not using this perch as it impedes the nesting area.  The nesting area has a concave cutout for the baby birds, which is important for preventing splayed legs.  At least, this is what I read.  🙂

My Breeder Cage Setup up, with nest box.

My parakeets live in a Hagen Vision II, which is H-U-G-E for two little parakeets.  The reason it is great for the nesting box is that the door clasps come off of the cage.  They just snap off, making it really easy to hang things from the “opening” that are flush with the cage.  I attached the box to the cage using a 1 1/2 inch screw, 2 washers, and a wing nut.

My Birds' fancy Hagen II mansion

The nesting box for my two birds takes up the left hand door on the lower set of doors.  I can still open and close the right side door.  I love that there is no divider between the doors, so it is possible to have a huge opening for getting things in and out of the cage.

Budgie Nest Lining

 The Nesting Material.  Being a complete novice at this whole thing, I probably went a little overboard on my nesting material purchases but like I mentioned earlier, these websites scare the bejeezies outta me!  My little birds got a nest lining, cotton, and a paper fiber (instead of wood chips).

Budgie Nesting Cotton in Millet Spray Holder

The nesting lining comes in a little box that can attach to the inside of the cage, and is meant to be placed near the nesting box.  I am sure the bird puff cotton is supposed to go in some sort of special container too, but I used what I had and place it inside a millet spray holder.

Budgie Paper Fiber Material

Finally,  I purchased a paper fiber bedding to cover the ground (having something to forage in is supposed to encourage nesting behaviors) and to act as a cushion in the nesting box.  I have since seen several breeding videos for parakeets, and it doesn’t look like the nesting fiber is used very much for the babies, but at least I have the egg-laying basics covered!

For the health of my hen, I purchased several items.  Creating and laying eggs takes a lot of calcium, vitamins and minerals out of the female, so she needs to replenish these in her body to survive and be healthy.  I opted to get a mineral block and cuttlebone in one, instead of purchasing them separately.  Generally, my hen will destroy anything that is attached to the cage instead of eating it, so this is one less thing for her to destroy.  Fortunately, the Penn-Plax 2 in 1 is also contains iodine, in additon to the calcium in the cuttlebone and other minerals from the block.

Mineral Salt with Iodine and Cuttlebone

In the event that Laurel and Hardy don’t take to the Mineral block/Cuttlebone, I also picked up some oyster shells.  This is solely to Laurel’s benefit, as it contains lots of calcium for strong bones and hard-shell egss.

Grit and Oyster Shells

Of course, I also made sure I had plenty of grit available.  Grit is not necessary specifically for breeding, but it helps the birds digest their food better.

For a little fun, and since it’s been awhile since I purchased anything this “fancy” for my pets, I picked up some yogurt covered papaya (which they both love) and some dehydrated greens for them to snack on.

Yogurt covered Papaya courtesy of Petsmart.com

Dehydrated Greens courtesy of Petsmart.com

One last thing I purchased was a large bird feeder.  This feeder is intended for much larger birds, but it is perfect to sit at the bottom of my parakeet cage.  I read somewhere that my breeding budgies will go through a lot of food over the next few weeks/months, so having additional feeders is beneficial.

Large Feeder for mating budgies

***I used photos from Petsmart only because that is where I happened to purchase these particular items***

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Budgie Tails 003: Grit Box and Climbing Skillz

This video is classic Laurel.  I think climbing in the grit box, releasing it from her beak and watching/hearing it hit the ground is some kind of therapy for her.  She really seems to enjoy it more than anything!

She also previews some of the chasing she does – I hope I can catch that on video, but she will chase Hardy around the cage and pull on his feathers.  I think Hardy is expecting her to do this, so he takes preventive steps to save himself…

Do your budgies have “tell-tell” behaviors?

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Budgie Tails 002: Budgie Wing Clip

The other day I decided to clip my birds wings.  They were both flying to places I’d rather them not go.  Also, they were being cheeky when I attempted to herd them back to their cage by simply flying from one end of my sliding door valance to the other.

Hardy has had a difficult time adjusting to his limited flight and he can’t figure out why he’s landing on the floor.  He often checks his wings to make sure they are still working.  It’s pretty amusing.  Here’s a little video showing one of his escapades.

Do you have a “climbing budgie”?

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Budgie Tails 001: An Introduction to Laurel and Hardy

This is my first video of Laurel and Hardy!  Hardy doesn’t really care what I am doing, he just wants to be clean.  Laurel is a little unsure about the camera; she can also hear the birds outside.  I hope you enjoy a snapshot of my birds during their “quiet time” in the afternoon.

Do you have a female budgie that likes to make a mess?  I would love to hear your stories!  In the future, you will see just how destructive Laurel can be.

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Hello world!

I’ve kept budgies on and off since I was about 13.  My husband purchased my first pair of budgies as a Christmas gift the first year we were married, which was 4 years ago.  I had never had more than one bird before, and I thought it would be really neat if I got a boy and a girl.  Lo and behold – I did!  Laurel, my muted blue (I’m working on her mutation) is the hen.  Hardy, the normal green, is the cock.

Four years may or may not be too old to breed these two, but I thought I would give it a try.  I’ve been Google-ing information on budgie breeding and found out that while there is information out there, it’s pretty tough to find.  Also, I’ve really enjoyed watching video postings of peoples birds and their aviaries.  So why not join the fray?  I am by no means an expert at budgie raising, so this is just a record of one normal lady with her two normal crazy birds.

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