MagiStream

Does anyone know much about birds? I might be getting abird

Any bird could be territorial. At the very least, he might stress the female out while she's looking over her clutch. Are you intending to do a quarantine period with the new bird (Always recommended along with an avian vet visit especially since there will be chicks involved)? What is your introduction procedure?

Without knowing the above, I'd recommend holding off. It will be tough on her, but once they've hatched, you can very likely help out with hand feeding if necessary. Just keep an eye on her.

betheny5060 wrote:Does anyone know much about birds? I might be getting abird

What species? I'm knowledgeable in the parrot department, but am still learning with others.

Cassowary wrote:Insects don't really develop partialities to my knowledge, I think. Just as a note. I don't think what applies to rabbits and guinea pigs and such applies to them as much.

By the way, TxCat, what shape is it? Like a tube, or flattened? I'd like to try IDing it, if possible.

flattened tube, looked like, about as long as my palm from wrist to base of finger and about as thick as the little finger. Found in decaying saw palmetto and St. Augustine grass with a base of sand and a thin layer of decaying pine needles which form a moist, barely visible humus less than 1/8 thick. And we are in north central Florida in a mixed pine ad hardwood habitat. It demonstrated the typical "curl up and hope we go away" behavior as we got closer.

*sad face*. All the articles I found are about killing them, not identifying them. We also have a picture if you want it.

Sol: they don't seem to be particularly territorial to me. I had two boys and when one of them died, the other took his new cage mate to heart right away. However, if you are looking to bond a pair I would wait until the eggs havebhatched. At this point all her attention will be on them and she won't want much to do with a newcomer.

Betheny: you don't wamt a bird. You seem young amd they are not the easiest or least expensive pets to care for. Most need a lot more room than the cages you see in a pet store sold for them; I paid almost $200 for my set up which gives the budgies room to engage in batural behaviors and to fly around. For bigger birds like the other parrots you would need an even larger dage.

Parrots are not self entertaining. They have to be handled and a lot of time needs spent with them or they develop unhealthy and snoting behaviors like screeching, excessive preening, and night frights. They need stimulation and thst means lots of toys and lots of time. If you don't have at least a couple of hours per bird to spare, these are not the pet for you!

They also make a huge mess. most are seed eaters and so you will have hulls everywhere. They like shredding paper and twigs too. You have to change their papers at leadt every other day and wash perches and toys once weekly. The whole cage. Should be scrubbed thoroughly once monthly. You will need to vacuum frequently. They lose feathers and generate a lot of fine dust.

Really wouldn't recommend a bird as a pet until you have researched thoroughly and are wiling to commit the time and attention they need. It took me three years to do all that and another year to save for the right cage set up.

Grizzogold wrote:Any bird could be territorial. At the very least, he might stress the female out while she's looking over her clutch. Are you intending to do a quarantine period with the new bird (Always recommended along with an avian vet visit especially since there will be chicks involved)? What is your introduction procedure?

Without knowing the above, I'd recommend holding off. It will be tough on her, but once they've hatched, you can very likely help out with hand feeding if necessary. Just keep an eye on her.

I'm planning on doing nothing, not my birds. Dad was just gonna buy one and stick it in the cage, but decided it probably wouldn't end well for the eggs.

And I know that 'proper care' involves certain procedures, but you try convincing a 50 year old man who has done things his own way for years. It doesn't work. If he wants to just stick them in a cage together and hope for the best, it's what he is going to do. Should've seen the reaction the fish people at Petsmart got when they went into all these "do this and this and this" with him a few months ago... >_>

I just figured I'd ask here because I knew that Tx and a few others had Budgies. Was curious to see responses (not like he'll listen anyway, but I can probably at least convince him to wait a little longer).


Tx - Thanks. I didn't figure there would be an issue considering how many birds the pet store keeps in one cage, but wasn't sure with eggs involved.

I have a male cockatiel already. I am probley getting another cockatiel. So I am not sure If I should put them in the same cage are seprate cage? So hard to fiqure this out......

TxCat wrote:

Cassowary wrote:Insects don't really develop partialities to my knowledge, I think. Just as a note. I don't think what applies to rabbits and guinea pigs and such applies to them as much.

By the way, TxCat, what shape is it? Like a tube, or flattened? I'd like to try IDing it, if possible.

flattened tube, looked like, about as long as my palm from wrist to base of finger and about as thick as the little finger. Found in decaying saw palmetto and St. Augustine grass with a base of sand and a thin layer of decaying pine needles which form a moist, barely visible humus less than 1/8 thick. And we are in north central Florida in a mixed pine ad hardwood habitat. It demonstrated the typical "curl up and hope we go away" behavior as we got closer.

*sad face*. All the articles I found are about killing them, not identifying them. We also have a picture if you want it.

I know, when I looked up "florida millipedes" it was all about exterminating them They're helpful guys, why would anyone want to kill them?

A picture would be great.

Bugguide.net brought up some pretty pictures that somewhat match its description.

Soleil wrote:And I know that 'proper care' involves certain procedures, but you try convincing a 50 year old man who has done things his own way for years. It doesn't work. If he wants to just stick them in a cage together and hope for the best, it's what he is going to do. Should've seen the reaction the fish people at Petsmart got when they went into all these "do this and this and this" with him a few months ago... >_>

Oh, don't I know this. My last budgie became mine because my grandma bought one for my grandpa and he couldn't figure out why mine was faring so much better than his (Blue lived to be nearly 13 though). I hope I didn't come across as preachy as that certainly wasn't my intent.

Grizzogold wrote:

Soleil wrote:And I know that 'proper care' involves certain procedures, but you try convincing a 50 year old man who has done things his own way for years. It doesn't work. If he wants to just stick them in a cage together and hope for the best, it's what he is going to do. Should've seen the reaction the fish people at Petsmart got when they went into all these "do this and this and this" with him a few months ago... >_>

Oh, don't I know this. My last budgie became mine because my grandma bought one for my grandpa and he couldn't figure out why mine was faring so much better than his (Blue lived to be nearly 13 though). I hope I didn't come across as preachy as that certainly wasn't my intent.

Nah I know, I just don't want anyone thinking I'm blowing off what they're saying. If they were my birds I would probably do a bit better in following the more.. preferred guidelines. I'm just trying to keep him from killing them or doing something stupid.. Though, compared to me, he's good with animals. Me + small animals = horrible experience. I mean.. who kills hamsters? I do. I was never able to keep my hamsters or mice alive as a kid. I had.. 2 hamsters and 3 mice in a 7 year span.. -_- have no idea why they died, but I gave up trying. I will stick with dogs or cats.

I know quite a bit about birds, having kept a lot of non-parrots, as well as having done cockatiel and parakeet rescue, on top of wild bird rehab, and am currently mommy to a hybrid pet raven.

Soleil wrote:To those with Budgies:

Page or two back I was telling yall about how my dad's male budgie got out and escaped, well found him dead. Our cats caught him. Anyway, now dad is wanting to get a new male to go with our female since she's just kind of... flying solo with the eggs. However, I don't know if they're... territorial or whatever you'd call it and hurt the eggs. So should we hold off getting a new male until the eggs hatch?

I would definitely NOT add a new male while Mommy is on the eggs. He might go all new male lion of pride and kill the eggs or hatchlings. She might freak out and attack him. She might abandon the eggs to start over with him.
Because they are in captivity and she will have a constant and nearby supply of food, she should actually do a pretty good job of raising them herself. However, be prepared for neonate death, or to help out with feeding (which is a good idea once they get some feathers anyways, to help them become much better pets)
Once the babies are weaned, adding another male shouldn't be a problem.

betheny5060 wrote:I have a male cockatiel already. I am probley getting another cockatiel. So I am not sure If I should put them in the same cage are seprate cage? So hard to fiqure this out......

This will entirely depend on your bird, and the new bird, and on the size of your cage and finances. Some cockatiels will get along great. Sometimes male/male will fight. Sometimes female/ female will fight. Often they bond. If it's male/female though, be prepared for the male to get extremely aggressive towards you to protect his mate, who he will not allow you to handle. And then you WILL have to deal with eggs.
Another consideration- is your cage large enough to comfortably house two active, long tailed, small parrots? Or, do you have room for two cages? Will you tolerate the screeching of a jealous bird as you play with the other? How about the screeching of contact calls to each other? You WILL have twice as much mess to clean up after. You will have to afford feeding twice as much. Can you afford twice the vet bills?
When my family was rescuing 'tiels, many of them were one of the two birds a family had that just became unbearable after they got the second. Sometimes it was the 1st who suddenly became extremely aggressive. Sometimes it was the second because the family felt more loyalty to the first.
Two birds CAN be very rewarding and fun, but more often than not, your first will appreciate the lack of competition for your attention.