Budgerigars in Australia

 

Some useful tips on the hobby that have been a help to us over the years, we hope they may also be helpful to you.

Aviaries

Planning is of the utmost importance, some of these tips will help your decisions.

If you are considering building a new aviary, before any plans are drawn you should check for variations in wire sizes, as they vary with manufacturers, make sure you acquire your wire first and design your flights to suit.

Aviary size is up to individual choice and your situation, but plan for the future, it is easier to build a structure that is adaptable to growth, than to have to add on now and again due to overcrowding in your flights, with more birds than what your original intentions were.

When building a new aviary, extra consideration should be taken over the foundations.
Rodents can be a nuisance at any time, so a deterrent is to dig your foundation trench's twice as deep as normal and fill the bottom 90mm with broken glass, and poor the concrete over the top of it, this will stop any problems likely to occur with rodents digging under them.

If you are using new galvanized wire on any type of bird cage, make sure you wash it down with a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water.
This will kill off the zinc accumulated in the galvanizing process, and thus assure your birds of continued good health.

Treated pine is an option in the timber range, but be aware your birds will chew into the timber, and this product has chemicals that maybe detrimental to your birds


The size of perches in an aviary are of the utmost importance. Varying sizes will be an advantage to your birds, as they will exercise their feet as they land on different sizes. Try to emulate natural branches as often as possible.

Design your feed area with easy access, and out of way of the birds droppings, remember the wild budgie is a ground feeder. A platform under a row of perches at the covered end of your flight, leaves a reasonable space on the floor underneath to place all of your feed dishes.


 

Acquiring stock

When acquiring new stock birds, it is a good idea to enquire about the birds history, regarding what sort of diet, water, medication, the bird has had, when and if the bird has been bred from, if it has, can you see the progeny to see what features the bird is producing, and its pedigree, before you pay your money.

If acquiring older hens, always inspect the vent area for any swelling, if any is present it is not a good sign, and the hen should be disregarded.

If acquiring older cock birds it is a good idea to inspect the bird carefully, his cere should be a nice blue, if it has gone whitish or brown, disregard. Sometimes an older cock bird might not have been used for a period and if you could see his last rung young it might help in your decision. If he has not been used for some time, check his beak and toenails for length, his general condition, his feet and legs for any signs of swelling and if everything is ok he might be worth a risk if you can acquire him at a good price.

If you are dealing with reputable breeders, it is best you stay with them, or if you are after a related outcross, enquire who else may have purchased birds from them. They may act as a go between if necessary, to advise you who to approach.


 

Feeding

If you are not sure of how much seed to give your bird daily, a heaped teaspoon per day per bird will give you a good starting point, and evaluate what is left in the dish and adjust accordingly.

A good basic mix of 50% canary seed, 25% white millet and 25% japanese millet is a good start, which you can alter to suit your own situation, some other seeds that can be added are, sunflower, oats, or groats. There are more, but these will be quite sufficient to keep your birds very well.

Many breeders are in the habit of reclaiming or cleaning seed by winnowing it.
 "This is a process of removing the rubbish from leftover seed by means of sifting or blowing air over it"
If you use a pre- mixed seed be very aware that the birds have most likely taken more of one type of seed out of the mix, and the re-cleaned seed you are returning to your bins will more than likely be deficient in one or more types of seed. 
It is a good habit to top up the mixture to retain that balance.

As an alternative to the birds usual diet, try placing a measure of your usual bird mix in a old stocking, and soak in boiling hot water in a bucket for an hour. Leave this to dry out for 24 hours, and as it starts to germinate, give it to the birds, they will love it, by the way, take notice of the dirty water in the bucket.

Grit is a debated topic in the aviaries, but we like to give our birds the options of many things to eat, so the grit we use is a mixture from different sources, and includes shell grit our club obtains from an inland lake, added to commercial pigeon grit and coarse sea sand that we obtain up on our local beaches, plus a mix we get from Broken Hill, which is a by product of the mines , the mix is  1/4 part of each.
It is a good idea to procure all of your own ingredients for your grit mixture, find a nice balance and keep it freshly supplied to your birds.

Greenfeed is a very important item in the diet. Spinach, silver beet or English lavender is very good, chickweed is excellent, and another  item we use is Lemna. 
Any green feed fed to your birds should be thoroughly washed before you give it to them. Suspend it from the wire using a plastic clothes peg if possible, and they will enjoy it more. There is an article on Lemna on our site

Seed Storage.
A useful addition to the bird room is a obsolete chest freezer. 
Remove the power cords and clean thoroughly inside and out.
If you want to divide it into sections for different seeds, it is not hard to do, panel board cut to size works well. A small bag of naphthalene flakes taped to the lid will keep seed fresh and lice or mite at bay, the top of the freezer is also an ideal work bench in the bird room.

 


 

Breeding 

When setting up a wooden breeding cage, use plenty of shell grit or sand on the floor and supply adequate cuttlefish. Don't forget to ensure that the perches are firmly attached to the cage and they are roughened up with a rasp or coarse sandpaper, as a smooth surface makes it difficult for the hen to grasp when mating.

Be sure wood shavings for nest boxes are obtained from a reliable source, and that no treated pine has found its way into the mix.

Always trim your birds toenails and beaks before the breeding season, only nip the very ends off, as too much will start them bleeding, if this happens, a drop of witch hazel will stop the blood.

A good idea when setting up your birds for the breeding cages, is to try and place the red-eye varieties into the lower darker cages, away from the brighter light in your room, we get better results using this system.

If you paint your breeding nest boxes with blackboard paint on the outer front, you can write notes on the surface easily with chalk, and wipe off when finally added to your register. ( You could try the inside, the birds might take notice (:- )

Records are a must, be sure to maintain up to date accurate and comprehensive records.
Do not put this chore off until later, when you think you will have more time.
It is far easier to record what is happening ( how the chicks grow, their variety and sex, the parents habits ) at this time while it is fresh in your memory, than later when you have started to forget many of those small, but all too important details.
A good time to work on your records is when you are ringing your chicks.

You will find at times that some hens will not venture into the nest box at all, this is generally because they are disturbed by the large size of the entrance hole.
If you get a piece of 3mm cardboard, cut it in a square shape larger than the entrance hole, and tack it over the original hole in the box, then pierce a hole the size of a ball point pen through the centre of it, you will find the hen usually chews her way into the box through the cardboard, and settles down to breed.
Be sure you make a note of these hens for future reference.

Do not take anything for granted in your bird room, keep a close watch on cock birds that are feeding youngsters, as they sometimes can become so involved in feeding the hen and chicks that they forget to feed themselves, and can starve to death.
Examine your birds by hand at times to make sure they are holding their condition.

 


 

Rearing young birds

When the youngsters have been weaned from their parents, after approx 6 weeks, they will generally slip back a little in condition, so it is very important to keep a supply of good food items, and plenty of water, plus a calcium supply in a form that suits you, "liquid or solid", as this is a crucial growing period. If you have an adult cock bird that is a very good parent, he will be in his element in with the youngsters, and will tend their every need, they are worth their weight in gold if you have one of these cocks, we keep up a supply of white millet sprays to the youngsters at all time.

Place a cut down round bucket in your youngsters training cage, with seed about 50mm deep in the bottom, place the birds that are just out of the nest in the bucket, it will get your young birds to assimilate, as they have no corners to hide in.


 

Illness

The most important thing to remember when treating a sick bird is to keep it warm, at all times.

A quick pick me up for a bird off colour is cold black tea added to the drinking water,1 teaspoon per 100ml of water.  
Brandy is also a good reviver for the sick bird, and the distraught breeder.
A small artists brush is handy for giving medicine to small chicks, and applying antiseptics etc, wash well when finished using.

A good tonic to keep your birds healthy is a mixture of 2 parts bi-carbonate of soda to 1 part citric acid, mixed together dry, and scattered on a baking tray, then placed in a warming oven for 20 minutes. Store in a sealed container.
Add 1 teaspoon of this dried mix to 1 litre of water and stir. 
Give every other day. This mix appears to keep the birds Ph level constant, and makes them a lot less susceptible to disease.

As budgerigars are prone to tumours and cancer, a good mixture to sometimes rid the system of the problem, is a prolonged course of beetroot fluid in the drinker in place of usual water.
Boil freshly picked beet in water, with no additives, and drain off the fluid, and bottle it, retaining it in the fridge for further use.
 A six week course will sometimes rid the problem.

It is perhaps a good precaution to give cooled, boiled water to your birds at all times.

A good precautionary medication to give your birds once a month is Condies Crystals (Potassium Permanganate). Six to eight crystals should be added to a container of boiled water 24 hours prior to use, and let settle and discolour. You will notice that when first added to the water it will be a violet colour, which under no circumstances is to be given to the birds. This is a mild antibiotic.

If you place a sheet of white paper on the cage bottom of any sick bird, you should be able to tell at a glance if the droppings are normal or otherwise.


Showing your birds

Good planning is essential to a successful show season, pick the shows that suit you, and then your team about 12 weeks ahead.
If you are going to cut or pull tail feathers, do them one at a time 12 weeks ahead of your first show, spaced so that a new tail feather has appeared before the second one is touched. Spots can be left until 7 weeks prior to the first show, when I remove them all, and let new ones re-grow. Flights should be checked for damage well ahead, and removed if in very poor condition, do this with a very steady pull on the flight, holding the wing firmly, and the offending flight between thumb and forefinger.

You should not consider entering a bird in poor condition in a show, as it only detracts from your own ability to pick a show team, and also makes for a very difficult task for the Judge.

Check your birds thoroughly in a show cage before you enter them for a show, and correct any minor problem.
Gaping feathers, broken or bent feathers, dirty or soiled feathers, tail too long, soiled leg ring, dirty feet etc, some extra time spent here can be the difference between winning and losing.

A good way to straighten bad tails or flights, is 6 teaspoons of Brown Sugar in boiling water, stirring til dissolved. Dip the flight or tail into the mixture, being careful not to dip the feather too far, dry carefully with a piece of paper towel, and the end result will be a very straight tail or flight for the show.

Always make sure that the show cage mixture you use is well mixed and clean, as poor quality seed in the bottom of the cage puts negative thoughts in the judges mind.

Travelling Tips. When you take your birds away from home base, make sure you take a supply of seed and water with you, and a small first aid kit for emergencies. When you take your birds out of your vehicle, be aware that you are taking them from a darkened quiet environment into bright sunlight, which will frighten the bird, take your birds out very slowly and adjust the light with a towel or cover over the cage, all red eye birds are very intolerant of this sudden light change, take care.

Two handy items to take with you to a show are, a black marking pen and a bottle of white out, they make a handy touch up kit for repairing a show cage if it gets marked on the journey to the show.

A handy tool to have in the show kit is a 1/2 hacksaw blade for removing obstinate pin feathers, use as a comb.

On return from the show, place your birds in a stock cage, and let them have a good feed and settle down before returning them to flights.

After returning from a show, you no doubt will have cage stickers on the front of your cage, if they are obstinate to remove, a drop of eucalyptus on the sticker will generally help.

If your birds do poorly on the show bench, don't complain but accept defeat as part of the game.
Remember there is no disgrace in being beaten, the disgrace lies in moaning about it.

Learn to laugh when you win, and lose.

 


 

Health & Cleanliness

Do not use a show cage to house your sick birds, as failure to sterilize the cage afterwards could mean passing on disease to other birds.
Obtain a hospital cage and sterilize it after every use.
Keep a spray bottle of sterilizing agent, and after handling sick or injured birds spray your hands and dry with paper towel, always make it a habit to tend to sick birds last in your rounds, so as not to transfer germs to healthy stock.

A good system of cleanliness in your bird room is vital to your own health as well as your birds, there are many good hand cleaners available on the market, but be sure to use the same one consistently, as the birds get used to the same smell, a sudden change in the cleansers scent can make a hen leave a nest of eggs.

If you use towels in your bird room, make sure they are washed regularly, with a disinfectant added to the water, you do not want to accumulate bacteria on a used towel hanging on a hook. Paper disposable towels are preferable.
Another handy item in the cleaning department is a container of wet ones, which are good for cleaning a chicks feet, beak, vent etc.

Wash & clean all of your utensils regularly, including your floor brooms and shovels. It is easy to transfer bacteria by way of a broom, from one flight to another.

Feather dust will accumulate in yours rooms, so keep it to a minimum with an ioniser, and in your house keeping, include the ceiling and windows.

 


 

General

An alternative 12volt power source in the bird room for your night lights and radio, is a good support system for your main power supply. It can be run off a car or motor bike battery that is recharged when required, it is low cost, safe, and will not leave your birds in the dark if there is a power blackout.

If you are making, or having made new nest boxes, it is a good idea to have made a spare concave block for each nest box, simplifies cleaning tasks during the breeding season.

A handy extra in the bird room is a bag of large marbles( 20mm Diameter:).
If using young hens it can be invaluable to put one in the nest box and stop the hens sitting too tight on the eggs, this you will find, stops these younger hens squashing the first chick when it hatches.

If you have ever considered installing a drip watering system in your breeding cages, be aware that it is a fairly big job and would need a lot of thought before putting into practise.
A good place to observe a watering system like this is a chicken hatchery, where you might pick up some good tips.

Undershot beaks are not a very common occurrence, but you find that most breeders discard birds with this problem. I think it is caused by heat in the beak when the bird is very young caused by a build up of feed stuck there, thus it is very important that we clean the beak with a small pick, either wooden, plastic or stainless steel, every day or two.
If you happen to let one slip you by, there is a way to help a little, trim the beak back very short with a pair of nail scissors, and apply a very small amount of neat's-foot oil daily to the beak, this will promote the growth, and if you trim as it grows it generally grows back correctly.( PS.Neatsfoot oil should be available at a good saddlery, if you cannot acquire it, mutton fat is the next best thing.)

If you are doing some paint jobs around the bird room, and have an unexpected visitor, place your brush or roller into a plastic bag and put it on the bottom shelf of your fridge. It will be in top condition when you take it out ready to resume painting those cages, even if it is the next day.

A simple way to remove the build up of feathers from your bird wire, is to vacuum it using the brush fitting that would normally be used for cleaning blinds.

This is appropriate for the hot weather, if travelling with our birds, we use a plastic carry cage ( 2' x 1' Dimension) that has been especially built for us, and cover it with a damp towel, keeps the birds nice and cool whilst in the car.

Noise levels in our breeding room, which is 15 metres away from our aviary has always been a problem early in the season, so it was discussed at length and our younger son Tim came up with this idea, which was formerly a school project he had done 3 years ago. Its an interesting device, a small do it yourself transmitter. Once made it was placed in the aviary, with the birds noise relayed to the breeding room via a radio, which acts as the receiver.
It transmits a FM signal and you tune your receiving radio to the frequency emitted. This worked very well and created a very good noise level when we first paired up the birds.
This tiny device was procured from a radio store in kit form for about $10(Aust).

Make it a set routine that you check your aviary for defects in wiring, timber and so on.
As budgerigars are always chewing in corners of the flights, it is not hard to miss a hole that has been chewed in a corner.


A bottle of correction fluid has more than one use in the bird room, it can be used for repairing a small crack in an egg or an unusual mistake in your paperwork.

When storing crop needles it will prolong longevity if you place some light oil. eg: vegetable, olive, sunflower, etc on the tip of the needle to stop any corrosion.

When cleaning your wooden cages, a good cheap cleaning product is raw salt, make a slurry by adding water, and brush into the cage, leave until dry and brush out, if there were any organisms in the cage this will rid them, as salt is natures own cleaner.

While we are on salt, it along with lime are excellent additives to your nest boxes. When you are preparing your boxes for the breeding season, add either of these items under your concave block, this will aid in arresting any lice or mite problems.

Periodical Outcrossing To High Quality Normals Is Beneficial
Those who have paired up their birds on paper, often have second thoughts on a particular pairing, and in many cases the original idea is changed to advantage.
When considering the mating of a pair of Budgerigars there are, of course, several points that must be taken into consideration if the best results are to be obtained.
It is no good going all out for one particular aspect to the detriment of the others, the idea is to produce the best quality possible birds.
Sometimes when breeding for colour, other points may have to be neglected for a time, particularly if the idea is to raise as many birds as possible of that colour variety.
Once this point has been achieved, however, I always feel it is very necessary that good Normal birds should be introduced.

A good simple deterrent for mite or lice is 6 small blocks of camphor dissolved in 600ml of methylated spirits, mix well and shake before using, spray breeding cages before and after breeding season for best results.

A way to decrease the amount of flecking in the offspring of a heavily flecked parent, is to pair the offending flecked bird with a very clean normal cinnamon bird. The cinnamon factor seems to have the effect of cleansing over flecked stock.

Air-sac mite. This mite lives in the lung and even bone tissue. Its symptoms are variable but usually include dry, harsh respiration and tail pumping. Treatment for a minor infestation is by getting the birds to inhale a low irritant aerosol insecticide. Place the bird in a show cage with a towel draped over the front, direct one short spray into cage and cover and leave. This may have to be repeated the next day to work effectively. If the problem keeps recurring, seek advice from a vet.

When the Budgerigar Mutates to produce another colour form, something happens to modify one of the existing colour varieties. The variation can effect either the basic colour or the melanin colouration.
For example:-Green becomes Blue if yellow is removed. The Normal become Opaline if the melanin is removed from the head and shoulders and changed on the wings.
A bird is Greywing because the melanin is diluted, a Clearwing if the melanin is diluted even further, and a Cinnamon if the melanin is modified.
When the Grey factor is applied to any variety it has the effect of introducing black to all the feathers which are not normally yellow or white. The body colour has a Grey overtone.
In the face of Greens it merely modifies it because Green is dominant, as is also Grey. In the case of Blues it masks the colour completely because Blue is recessive.
Unfortunately, the dark factor seems to have an adverse effect on size. Dark Greens are generally, but not always, a little smaller than Light Greens. They have one dose of darkness. Olives are again generally smaller than Dark Greens and these have two doses of darkness.
There are always exceptions to the general rule and when this occurs, the birds are in great demand.

The word split is used to describe birds that are the result of crossing two different mutations.
When writing a colour description an oblique line ( / )is used to divide the visual colour from the invisible colour.