Onix is a very stout looking bird at just 37 days of age. He sports an impressive demeanour alongside his gothic look as an Anthracite budgerigar. I'm liking him a whole lot more than I liked his father Nox at the same age - especially the longer mask.

He'll definitely have a spot on my show team in 2027. Whether he places in the bench or not, I'm sure he'll make me very proud.

His younger siblings don't stand out as much as he does, but I'm pretty stoked about his Mauve sisters.

In order : 1. Korra 🤍 ( 2.5 months old ) 2. Gumball 🩵 ( 1.5 year old ) 3. Pedro 🩵 ( 6 years old ) 4. Opal 💜 ( 5 years old )

Hello! i live somewhere where the temperature fluctuates greatly with two budgies, my ac is inconsistent, letting the room cold for half and hour then making it warm. are there any suggestions for a space heater that can stay on all winter? i was thinking maybe a reptile heater but it sounds so stupid and dangerous, i just wanted to hear another opinion as google isn’t cutting it.

Meet our newest family member, Moose! Any idea on sex and age?

Just picked up this cage at an auction for only $15 yesterday! I think the bar size is perfect. I'll surely add around 2-3 more toys so the birds have lots to play with. I'm thinking of adding another water bottle so each bird has their own? I've housed Goose and Onix in there comfortably, but I think I can fit a third budgie too. That's a good reason to get another budgie! I'm sure you all would agree! I love how lightweight this cage is with its wood build instead of heavy metal cages. They're density of chopsticks almost, so it should lessen the chances of injuries from flapping into the cage. So far, I love this cage as their home. I was so giddy when I was able to snag it!

Okay, now that I've got the fun stuff out of the way, some of you can take a deep breath and relax, because here's the REAL kicker I wanted to share - construction of our aviary has begun by our future homestead in the country. Framework is being laid out at the barn. I've got my first draft of the floor plans sent to the contractors. I've thrown in the 3D designs in there for them to visualise.

I've allocated three flight enclosures for the budgerigars, which should more than comfortably accommodate ~200 of them as my flock continues to expand. I've wanted to keep my younger ones separated for about a year before letting them move into their adult space. That hasn't always been possible with the space in our home at this time (which is quite plenty), but I'd find it easier to manage older and younger birds separately as they have slightly different dietary needs for the first year of their lifespan. Having a separate enclosure for all my outcross acquisitions will be quite nice too, that way I can sort my own line easily and pick them out faster when I show them.

Our tiels and Conures will get their own spaces too, and I'll also have space for the Gouldian Finches and Diamond Doves I've been wanting to acquire for a few years. Having the aviary's own plumbing and storage system will make maintenance so much easier due to installation of trough drains. Our older robot vacuum Mister Meryl Sweep (my favourite child) will also find their forever home there. It'll have its own HVAC unit and several exhaust fans installed to really maximise air filtration, as bird dander is not only hazardous to them, but also to us in enclosed spaces. The rooms will in the same breath, will have optimal temperature and humidity regulated through all seasons - especially our 42C/108F summers.

As for decor, there will be plenty of bird themed artwork laid around, and my awards boards from the shows will also move there. This will be a long term project that will take a few years before I consider the set-up fully complete, but I'm excited to afford our flock the much larger space they deserve.

And it gets even more exciting - because this is just the FIRST of TWO aviaries we'll have. The second aviary and animal home will be attached to our house after construction is over, where our other parrots will move into, along with the 6 dogs, 2 cats, and the rabbits. That will be an additional 1500 square feet of space for the animal family. My most favourite budgies (not necessarily the ones I'll be showing) will live there, along with our Quakers, Parrotlet, Conures, and possibly a Greenwing Macaw I've been wanting for years too.

Dreaming big is the easy part. Watching it become reality was something beyond inconceivable for many years, so I'm very excited for the upcoming changes in our lives. It's bittersweet, because we're very attached to our current home and would hate to part ways with her. But my family is ready for change.

^{l am an experienced aviculturist who specialises in budgerigars. I show these birds competitively in the United States. A lot of knowledge and specialised skillset are required to safely navigate through the breeding process. As always, I strongly advise against breeding without mentorship and veterinary technical skills. I document and share the good and the challenges with utmost transparency. I share our stories on Reddit, TikTok and Facebook.}

I had a male budgie named sky for 7 or 8 months. Doesn't sound like a long time but he made so much progress. He went from this budgie that was terrified of every little thing to chirping when he saw me and landing on me every chance he got. He loved everyone in the house, I was his favorite. I would be in my room playing my game and when I went in the living room he looked at me with the cutest little face I've ever seen in my life and flew right over to me. I have a female too and they used to bicker a lot but they were untimetely best friends. They flew everywhere together and mostly got along really well. My dad was outside and opened the door and he just dived at him and flew right out. He went so fast nobody could even see where he went. Sorry if im all over the place or not making sense eith this story, im just so upset and dont know what to do. I dont know what im gonna do without him. My other budgie has to habe another budgie around to be comfortable with us. He was the highlight of my day. When I get off work, I just looked forward to seeing them. I cant believe this just happened. We looked for hours, played budgie sounds, called for him. But never seen him or even heard him once. And I know budgies dont have a sense of where home is once they are outside. The thought of something happening to him makes me sick to my stomach. I live in ohio and I've seen multiple Hawks around here. I hate the fact me might get attacked. He is probably so scared and confused. We were all he knew, we were the only things keeping him alive. We had issues with our past budgies, they always died really soon because they were sick without us noticing. My female and him are the first budgies we've had that actually made it. I was so excited to have years and years eith these birds. And he flew away. And I hate to say this but between the 2, he was my favorite. I will miss you and love you forever sky.

Hi all, new to this (budgies and reddit) so Im hoping for some guidance

Background: Moved in w/ GF who had Male Budgie whos about 6-7. Was already trained and well-behaved, took maybe a month for him to get used to ME and the new environment.

We just got a new Budgie (Cloudy) that we believe is a young female, we properly quarantined her and then introduced the two birds to each other. They get along great, however shes now OBSESSED with being around him and still doesn't trust us. Have had a few incidents where we had to physically catch her and put her back in the cage and when they call to each other shes trying to open all the doors/hatches to escape (which she managed to do once already).

I am very new to this, especially with raising and training a Budgie. I want to do this right and I feel like im failing. We have separated them again and she seems to have calmed down. So here are my questions

\- How long did it take you all for your budgie to trust you and what were some of the tactics you used?

\- Can you get a Budgie to trust you even after a few instances where you may have frightened them?

\- Is it better to train her separated from the other budgie or try to use him as a guide and show her we can be trusted?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated 👏🏻

Hi all, new to this (budgies and reddit) so Im hoping for some guidance

Background: Moved in w/ GF who had Male Budgie whos about 6-7. Was already trained and well-behaved, took maybe a month for him to get used to ME and the new environment.

We just got a new Budgie (Cloudy) that we believe is a young female, we properly quarantined her and then introduced the two birds to each other. They get along great, however shes now OBSESSED with being around him and still doesn't trust us. Have had a few incidents where we had to physically catch her and put her back in the cage and when they call to each other shes trying to open all the doors/hatches to escape (which she managed to do once already).

I am very new to this, especially with raising and training a Budgie. I want to do this right and I feel like im failing. We have separated them again and she seems to have calmed down. So here are my questions

\- How long did it take you all for your budgie to trust you and what were some of the tactics you used?

\- Can you get a Budgie to trust you even after a few instances where you may have frightened them?

\- Is it better to train her separated from the other budgie or try to use him as a guide and show her we can be trusted?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated 👏🏻

Looking for a few budgies, afraid to buy from the big pet stores as I hear they have bad breeders and the birds are often sick or have genetic issues/inbreeding. But I cannot find a rescue or anything near me. I'm in the Florida panhandle area. Anyone know of a parakeet rescue?

They Are new and Moved in, today. So please only nice comments for them to Read 😁

Onix is just a month old and is turning out to be beauty with brains. He gently leans into my fingers and tries to pull them towards himself when he wants face rubs. How can I say no to that?

Did you know that Anthracite budgies are very rare, and a handful of people in the USA breed them? I'm one of those few, and have coveted this variety since 2012, when I was still in high school! Onix is one of my very few Anthracites that I have. And I'm very smitten with him, as I am with his father Nox who he looks like.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ybe3jg61by9ga53ph1aic/2026-10-10-20.40.46.mp4?rlkey=zpv2r7i0oymzxv90b78njkxd7&st=zmuyjmdm&dl=0

Its like her voice has changed, even when flying her voice sounds different. Is she sick or stressed? She sounds more like a whistle lately.

TIA

(sorry for my panting)

Can somebody help I wanna get a friend for my budgie what gender should I get ? I heard two females cant get along

My budgie, about 4 months old, and his cage mate are let out to explore their bird gyms on top of cage, they come out every day for most of the day. I went to put them back in. My girl, Chubby, is easy to get back in, she's hand trained. Lemonhead, the male in question, is more difficult. I picked him up and had to hold him just a bit tighter, to prevent him from flying back to top of cage as I went to put him in. Lo and behold, he did just that, and I had feathers in my hand. He did an "ass blast" as if he had too much cargo and just ditched it. He is not hurt, just dumped his tail feathers. I wasn't pulling on his feathers in any way, just had my hand around him ice cream cone style. So my question is how long before they grow back? He looks like a yellow chick now instead of a budgie! They have a big cage with flat areas, and hammock, so he doesn't always have to balance himself on a perch, but still, I'll be glad to see some tail feathers again.

Havent experienced one of these myself before. Spinch got spooked by a pretty rough thunderstorm last night, and lost his two tail feathers. The rest of the night i had a night light on. Just want some reassurance that the feathers will come back normal?

Just looking for any ideas or thought I haven’t considered yet