Their first night sleeping "rough".

[Hezz]

Loki and the budgie boys had their first night sleeping out in the aviary last night. I was probably the most nervous but seemingly all went without a hitch. Biggest down side - it's summer here so light early. Loki was telling the world to get moving at 5.35am. It didn't worry me, I was already awake. I do hope that the neighbours didn't hear him too loudly.

We have a short trip away coming up in a few weeks and a neighbour is coming over to attend to the necessaries regarding the birds, a (very) responsible high-school girl who has had her own birds in the past, and it will be school holidays by then as well. So the boys will be in the aviary to make things easier for her. Mango will still be in the house, though. At least she will be able to hear the others.

[Moogie]

haha nice wake up call for all it seems,any way mornings are the best time of day so every one SHOULD be awake x

[Marianne Marlow]

Wot. No photos?!

[skysmum]

Nov 24, 2019 13:33:08 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

Wot. No photos?!

Took the words right out of my mouth Marianne . We definitely need evidence of this misdemeanour

[jellybean]

It's amazing how Loki and the boys get along together, glad all went well.

A big bonus Hezz being able to go away and not worry.

[BloomCountyLover]

pictures or it never happened...

[Hezz]

To be honest I didn't even think of photos. They spent the night there again last night as well; only difference was that it was 5.25am when the first Loki bell went off. In his defence, though, it seems that they had a visitor in the shape of a butcher-bird. I only saw it flying off, but Loki definitely sounded the alarm. Everything is double meshed so I wasn't concerned in that way.

I haven't been able to work out where they are all sleeping. I thought the little boys would migrate back into the little cage and roost, but I haven't seen the tell-tale poop clumps on the paper. Loki has a cardboard box with shredded whatever-he-can-find that he sleeps in in his cage, so I moved that out there for him, but I don't know whether he used it or not.

[Marianne Marlow]

I think I'd be too worried to let my birds sleep out in an aviary.

I'm glad you have double meshed it! (but then I wouldn't expect anything less!)

[Hezz]

Nov 25, 2019 10:22:48 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I think I'd be too worried to let my birds sleep out in an aviary.

I'm glad you have double meshed it! (but then I wouldn't expect anything less!)

I was worried, Marianne, and it has taken me this long to be able to do it - also forced upon me but the upcoming trip away, as I don't want their first time sleeping rough when there was no one to step in if things went pear-shaped. But they all quietened down as it got dark (Loki yelled at me for a while as it was getting dark, probably to tell me "hey, we're all still out here, you know".

It helped that it was my son's first evening home for a long time, so I had a distraction.

[Marianne Marlow]

Hezz. Well it's like leaving your kids in the garden on their own for the night, I'm not surprised you were worried!

[criswell]

It sounds like an excellent adventure for them. I remember wanting to camp our in the garden as a kid. I was never brave enough to stay out there though

I just had to look up butcher birds as I'd not heard of them before. I'm glad your boys are safe behind double mesh.

[samwiseg]

Wow how cool is that camping out?!

I expect Loki has a lot to focus on alarm calling about now even if it's the inanimate objects too like feathers?! He must shout quite a bit when outside?!!!

Am sure they'll get used to it, have they got a sheltered area too?

Can't remember, so long since we've seen ANY PHOTOS

[Shirls]

I think Loki is going to miss you like mad Hezz. It is so lovely that they can go outside though, Butcher bird or not, with Loki guarding and giving the warning alarm!

If it's anything like my chickens as far as alarm calls - they recognise the blackbird alarm call. I think all creatures recognise other creatures alarm calls.

[Deleted]

@shirls During some animal behaviour modules in uni we discovered that a lot of birds share a similar sounding alarm call.

[Hezz]

Nov 25, 2019 19:38:58 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

Hezz. Well it's like leaving your kids in the garden on their own for the night, I'm not surprised you were worried!

I would have told the kids to suck it up and not be such wusses. But they would have had the ability to come back inside of their own volition, to be fair.