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!! 2003 Season Well no babies this year but lots of new faces to introduce you to. Firstly the ladies. 1.Budgie Blonde - lutino but not too bright 2.Mouldy - Muted green colour with dark dots on her head 3.Lutino - True red eyed lady 4.Dark green lady 5.Yellow head,pale blue lady 6.Muted green. Now the boys 1.Lump - Bright yellow and green with lump on top of tail 2.Blue - Dark vivid blue colour 3.Whitey - White with pale blue patches 4.Olive - Khaki coloured 5.Dark Green 6.Lutino 7.Muted green They have paired off after a fashion but the few eggs that have been laid have come to nothing. More in the boxes just now but time will tell. At the moment the ones who have paired up are like this, 3/1, 6/5, 2/3, 1/7, but anything can happen in this aviary. Look out for the next installment 2004 Season Well I did actually have three chicks last year but very late on. They have all gone to new homes now and I have a new face and, sadly have lost a character. My friend Budgie Blonde wasn't too bright and managed to fly into something solid which badly bruised her cere and, sad to say, she didn't manage to recover. The list this year looks like this The Girls 1.New girl, dark green 2.Mouldy 3.Lutino 4.Yellow head, pale blue 5.Muted green The Boys are the same as last year and all look happy. The pairings are a bit difficult to determine at present but I will be able to tell later Although it is early I put the nestboxes into the hut on Boxing Day and two have eggs already, one with four and the other with one so far. Strangely it is Mouldy and the muted green hen (who are the same colour)but if they will hatch or not remains to be seen. The inside area of the hut has been reduced to accomodate canaries in part of it so they may prefer to use the outdoor boxes when I eventually put them up. Of the first layings only one chick made it to adulthood and it has been rehomed. The next two chicks died at roughly 18 days old for no obvious reason and this round has 6 eggs with four hatched at the moment. They are under the newest green hen so it should be OK. I really think that my birds were too old,and indeed I have lost the olive cock and the yellow headed hen in the last three weeks or so. I suppose that they are dying of old age but it is still upsetting and I have a bad decision to make. One cock, called Lump has had a growth at the base of his tail since he arrived but lately it has grown a lot and is now very big. As it can't be removed I think that eventually I will have to make the decision to release him from any further distress. Not a thing I like to do. He has formed a bond with the lutino hen so it will be distressing for her too.