Re: Seeking ideas about parakeets' environment

In article <476bdf2e$0$4984$4c368faf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Thea Barbato" <tbarbato@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Linda,
Thanks for the input - I was hoping to hear from you since I know you have
your own little flock.

Thea, the only drawback is that I have several species of birds
besides the budgies ... lovebirds, parrotlets, a quaker, and more
recently a Senegal parrot. Once the lovebirds and quaker pass on (which
won't be for quite a while), I'll only keep budgies and parrotlets. The
Senegal I expect to have for many years since he's still a youngster and
will be a year old at the end of February. Most of my birds were
"rescues", so that's why I have a mixed aviary. But to be very honest
with you, if I was starting all over, I wouldn't keep more than a couple
of species, as it makes it so much easier to house them and to have them
live peacefully with one another. As you can imagine, I'm always
"policing" the room when one gang is out while the others are in their
cages. It gets tiresome, to say the least, and I have to have eyes at
the back of my head at all times making sure no one lands on the wrong
cage or starts battling with someone bigger and stronger.

For the most part, I'm extremely careful with the birds, but just a
few weeks ago I had a terrible mishap in the birds' room. My sweet
little spectacled parrotlet, Boo-Boo, flew on top of my quaker's cage
and the quaker grabbed his leg through the bars and broke my parrotlet's
leg. I was (still am) in total shock and very upset about this.
Boo-Boo's leg isn't healing as it should, and it appears that it might
be crooked for the rest of his life. Still, in spite of this the little
guy manages very well to get around his cage, he eats well, plays with
his toys. Still, I feel just horrible about this. One option, as per
the avian vet, would be to break his leg again and reset it, but the
risks were too great ... paralysis or neurological damage. To me, this
wasn't an option whatsoever. So, as you can see from my own experience,
it's really so much easier and less worrisome to keep one type of bird.
Stick with your budgies and you'll be very happy.

Yes, the room should be bigger and nicer for them to
make it their own, so to speak instead of being in a bedroom upstairs. I'm
looking forward to making it a safe, birdy haven for them!

You're doing it the right way .... having them closer to your own
living quarters instead of an upstairs room. My bird room is on the
same floor as our main living area, but it's closed off with the door
that I described in my earlier post. I have quick access to them at all
times.

The sunroom is 12x24 and there is no 'door' to speak of. They will be
taking up half of the sunroom (my Congo Grey is in the other half) so I need
a safe, floor to ceiling barrier that will go 12' across making it a bit
challenging to find the right material with which to do it.

Twelve feet across is a very large opening. I didn't realize that
you had that much space to block off with a door of sorts. I'm hoping
someone can give you other ideas on how to go about doing this.

Showercurtain(s) are not a feasible choice - we're thinking of hardware
cloth or a
woven wire cloth that we pressure wash to remove the zinc and then put up
(it seems that they need to be scrubbed with vinegar first also to remove or
neutralize the zinc). I'm an impatient sort so am seeking the best, safest,
and quickest manner to keep them in their part of the room, but have to
carefully consider all aspects of it - but I'm ready for it to be done!!

This sounds like it might work. Your best bet would be to scout the
hardware and home-improvement stores and see what they have that maybe
you could utilize. Of course, you'd have to make sure that whatever
fabrics, or metals, or materials you use are free of toxic materials,
ie., that they're bird-safe in every way.

Quick question - do you use the dried grape vine wreaths that are found in
craft stores for your birds? I've been told they're safe as long as they're
not varnished and I intend to use them as swings in the room.

I don't use grapevine wreaths, but I would think they're safe if not
coated with varnish. I don't have any trees or plants (natural or
fabric) in my birds' room. I just don't want to take the chance of any
of the birds chewing on something that could be poisonous or cause a
blockage. Also, I'm not much of a 'plant person' to begin with (my cats
cured me of this), and because I have so many birds to care for, the
idea of looking after and maintaining plants is not something I'm really
interested in.

At my local pet store, they have wonderful rope toys that can be
suspended from the ceiling. These come in all shapes and sizes (some in
the shape of huge cubes, etc.) and many of them have wooden beads
intertwined with the cotton ropes. Perhaps you can consider a toy like
this but scaled to budgie size. Budgies also love boings. If you can
find these types of twisty hanging toys, I'd suggest you get a few of
them and attach them to your ceiling. I'm sure your budgies would adore
swinging from them and flying from one to the other.

BTW,. my budgies have been eating a veggie/grain mash diet and greens every
day, plus Volkmans (non-fortified) seed and seem to be doing very well.
I've found that Feeding Feathers yahoo group is invaluable in providing
healthy diet info for all birds!

Yes, it's a very interesting and helpful newsgroup. I keep on saying
that I'll start cooking/baking for my birds, but I haven't done this
yet. You can also offer your budgies dried egg granules, oat groats,
and millet in addition to what you're feeding them now.

Good luck with your lovely new home for the budgies. I'm sure it's
going to be a wonderful space for your babies.

Best wishes for a festive holiday season to you and yours.
---
LindaA

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary
than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We
cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully
understanding the necessary plan." (From: "Separate Lifetimes" by Irving
Townsend)
.

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