© Maureen Cranston 2002-
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Budgerigars This is a new venture for me. My recollections of budgies go back to my childhood when there always seemed to be a budgie in a cage. They were all characters and were very tame and played with toy cars and drank beer froth. Or at least that is my recollection.. Anyway, I was at a bird auction and one lot was a cage with two pairs of budgies. They looked adorable and I'm a sucker for a pretty bird so now I am the proud owner of four, quite noisy, budgies. They went straight into an aviary and it was comical to watch them find their wings so to speak. Wide open spaces were quite obviously a new thing for them but after clinging on to the wires for a while they explored their surroundings and now look as if they have always been there. They are evidently established pairs and stick together. Pair 1 (Homer and Marge) A vivid blue cock and a blue/green hen. Pair 2 (Bart and Lisa) A pale blue cock and a blue/green hen. The aviary they are in has some finch nesting boxes in it and after seeing Lisa climb in and out again I have ordered some budgie boxes. It would be great if they bred this year and I've been on the internet gathering all the information I can to make it easy for them. A good site is www.budgerigars.co.uk and I have learned a lot from it. Following their progress should be fun, I hope you will join us. 2002 Season Circumstances have changed a bit for the breeding season. I lost my two hen birds so breeding hasn't started and may not for this season but time will tell. I have been adding to my little flock though and I'll introduce you to them. I have the original cock birds Homer (vivid blue) and Bart (pale blue) To pair up with them I bought two one year old hens. One is green and the other blue/green. Bart has indicated his preference for the blue/green hen and they are busily bonding as I write. Strange because his last mate was the same colour. Homer is taking longer to show his affections. To increase my flock further I got a young blue/green cock (Krusty) but I don't expect him to breed until next year anyway. My latest buy is by far the most diverting one. I saw a cage full of pied baby budgies and bought two, one which is blue and white pied (Gordon) and one which is yellow and green pied (Custard) They are a real delight. I'm not sure yet which sex they are as their ceres are not yet showing true colours so the names might yet change. The name Gordon was chosen after the song "Gordon is a moron" It really is a moron and into everything. Both of them are so agile and seem to be forever hanging upside down or hanging on by one leg, even crawling through gaps it shouldn't be possible to get through. They won't breed until next year either so this year can be all fun for them. The nest boxes are out and great interest is being shown in them, even by Gordon but he just thinks they are an extension of his/her playground. I'm not sure if there is time for them to breed before the onset of the cold weather but I'm sure they know better than me. My last acquisition is a green hen with yellow wings. Quite pretty but not a rocket scientist and seems to be much smaller than the rest. She has been admired by all of the cocks but Krusty seems to be her best friend for the moment. In fact she has taken over a nestbox and, believe it or not, has two eggs in it. As it is mid-September I doubt if they will hatch but, you never know. Funny how the last to arrive is showing the way to the rest. I'll keep you posted! Her photo will have to go up on to the picture page too. The pied youngsters are still not 100% sexed but it looks like Custard is a cock. Gordon is still proving to be difficult, no surprise really, but I'm in no hurry. Well, the new lady has her baby which shows that she is brighter than I am. I really didn't think they would hatch at this late stage in the year. As it is my first time with baby budgies all I can tell you so far is that only one egg has hatched and that was about 5 days ago and all seems well so far. Bart and the blue green hen have 5 eggs at present so I'm holding my breath until they hatch. They at least have an inside box while the other two have the only outside box. No accounting for nature I guess. Watch this space!!
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