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sex and age please?

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  FaeryBee 
#1 ·
Hello
First post. Thanks for allowing me in your beautiful forum. I'm from Egypt.
I've bought this cute budgie yesterday. Could you please tell me if its a female or male, and if possible, the age and mutation too?
And how much more she will be ready for mating and breeding.
Have a great day!
Many thanks.







 
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#2 ·
Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

Your little budgie is a very pretty female.
She looks to be between 6 months and 1 year old.

One of our mutation experts will let you know what her exact mutation is when they log into the forum.

Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, all of the How To Guides, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and the stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.

Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.

These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.

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#3 ·
Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

Your female is an adorable little girl. She is very young, as FaeryBee has said, between 6 months and a year of age (probably closer to 8 months, I would guess). Budgies should not be bred until they are adults; over a year old.

Do you have experience breeding budgies? It's important that you do not try to breed budgies without the proper knowledge and experience with the species, as there is a lot you must do to ensure your budgies' health and safety, and a lot that can go wrong.

She is gorgeous, and I can't wait to see more of her! She looks to be a sky blue violet opaline goldenface budgie.

Meanwhile, be sure to read through the links provided above! These links will contain all the information you need to stay updated on the best of budgie care practices. If you have any questions after reading through things, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help.

Hope to see you around! :wave:
 
#4 ·
I initially missed the part where you asked about breeding. :eek:

Before breeding any species, it is important to learn as much about the animals, their personalities and the best practices to follow for responsible and ethical breeding prior to making the commitment to take on the responsibility. This requires extensive research and an openness to continual learning.

We try to discourage most members from breeding their birds and those who do are encouraged to spend at least a year learning as much about budgies and how to give them the best care possible before even considering doing so. Additionally, that time can be used to research the "best practices" which should be followed if/when a budgie is bred.
 
#5 ·
Thanks so much for welcoming me and for the useful info.
Here is how both my male and female looks now. How old is the male?







And regarding breeding, I thought its a natural thing for them to mate and lay eggs, isn't it? who am I to discourage them from living their lives as its meant to be? what am I missing here?

By the way, I don't lock them in the cage. The door is always open and they fly all day around in the house, and get in whenever they like, usually from sunset to sunrise. Is that good for them?
 
#6 ·
In the pictures you just posted it appears that your female may have a case of scaly face mites, this is something that will not go away on its own and needs to be treated as it will get worse and can evolve into quite a problem, do you have access to an avian vet?
 
#10 ·
Thanks so much for alerting me. No, I have no access to an avian vet. It would be great if there is something I can do myself.
Here are pics of the beak today..





I read that paraffin oil can be applied on the beak and cere, so I did this morning. Is that OK? I used lamp oil, applied it using a cotton swab.

Should I apply it on the male too? he doesn't seem infected.
 
#7 ·
We try to discourage most members from breeding their birds and those who do are encouraged to spend at least a year learning as much about budgies and how to give them the best care possible before even considering doing so. Additionally, that time can be used to research the "best practices" which should be followed if/when a budgie is bred.
Budgies originate as wild birds in Australia and keeping them as pets has been going on for well over a hundred years. Wild budgies haven't changed much in the wild and their behaviors are related to finding food, socializing, avoiding predators, and part of their life, breeding. Budgies that people keep,(including a large variety of shapes, sizes and color varieties) have behaviors that are very similar to wild budgies, but don't necessarily fit in the way some humans care for them. Their diets, caging, and allowing them to be as "free" as possible are modified by the way humans manage them, including their safety.
Breeding is not always an option in wild budgies, due to seasonal changes, food availability and habitat for raising a family. That said, people breeding any animal should take responsibility for the extra and often quirky requirements to successfully breed any animal. In addition to these responsibilities there is also the issue of finding adequate homes for youngsters. If you have experience in breeding budgies, it's certainly your freedom to do so, and at the same time, know that keeping budgies as pets, doesn't require them to go about breeding, at an age or in an environment that could be less than favorable. Most people enjoy their budgies for their interesting behaviors, beautiful colors, and their individual personalities. A lot of parrot in a little package. :) Enjoy them.
 
#8 ·
Hi there, :welcome:

You ask “why” discourage breeding? Why not let the birds be birds and do as they do in the wild?

Of course every living thing in the world is going to procrate to continue the survival of it’s species. Considering that, sure it’s a natural process in the wild. But the budgies we keep aren’t in the wild. They’re kept in a confined space, and even our best attempts to duplicate nature in habitat and diet, etc. falls short of being authentic. The various circumstances under which captive budgies live isn’t “natural”, so we then need to look at how to keep these animals at their best in this “artificial” environment.

So much knowledge in so many areas is needed to successfully keep any animal, let alone complicate things with the added aspect of breeding. With breeding our pets, there will be factors to take into account things such as territorial behaviors and aggression, and the fact that many budgies don’t exactly ‘fall in love’ with each other and want to breed just because they’re simply a male and a female of the same species. Also genetics, are they for sure not related, are they in the best of health (beyond what you can see), what additions need to be made to the diet in preparation for breeding, etc.

In the wild, birds have all these things figured out instinctively, and seek out their own mates, figure out territorial boundaries with an unlimited amount of free space, and know just what to eat and what they don’t need during breeding and raising of a clutch. Also in the wild, things occasionally do go wrong, and it’s survival of ****est out there. With birds in our care in our homes, it’s part of our responsibility to do all we can for them and know what to do when something unexpectedly goes wrong. With an inexperienced breeder, the likelihood of ‘things going wrong’ is higher in this artificial living environment we’ve created.

In order to as best as possible duplicate the conditions of the wild, this takes a good amount of time and knowledge, as well as an openness of mind to learn new ideas and how to properly apply them. Also, observing behaviors of individuals under different circumstances, and knowing what it means and what needs to be done to correct, also takes time to learn.

The most responsible breeders (which is what we are trying to promote), have taken the time necessary to thoroughly research and observe.

You are not being cruel to your budgies by any means, by not letting them breed. No more ‘cruel’ than taking their ancestors out of the wild and forcing them to live in our cages and homes. :)
 
#11 ·
DO NOT use lamp oil there may be things in it that are toxic, please wipe off whatever you have put on the beak. In the most recent pictures I do not see as much of that white crusty material that was on the previous pictures, what does it look like in person?
 
#13 ·
Ivermectin is the medication of choice for treating this condition. "Lamp oil" is toxic around any bird. Ivermectin is available on-line for treating small birds. The treatment has to be continued on a regular basic until it clears (which may take several months in serious cases).
 
#15 ·
Scaly mites also live in the feathers, not just on the beak. The beak looks slightly less dry, which makes sense, given that you put oil on it, but there is no way to tell if the mites are truly gone.

You can order ivermectin online and treat her yourself to ensure no mites remain :)
 
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