Hello and Happy 2022!

[3milleteers]

Hello everyone,

We have been lurking for a few months but just want to say hi to everyone, and thank you for all the advice we have read and benefitted from as visitors to the forum. It is a really fantastic resource. 

The Three Milliteers are Summer, Sandy and Sky (I know, not terribly creative names for our little feathered friends ). Summer, our hen flew into our life as an escapee when she crashed into our conservatory windows whilst we had the blinds down and were cleaning the windows. We managed to catch her (she was clearly exhausted) and to cut a long story short we ended up giving her a home. We then obtained a couple of brothers to give her some company of her own kind to socialise with as well as with us. They were the last two in a local pet shop that later closed due to the pandemic and we didn't have the heart to separate them and leave one behind. So we now have a happy flock of three!

Anyway, we just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the knowledge and experience that you have shared. We are lucky in that one of us had a childhood budgie many years ago for around 8 years and so we had some idea of what their needs are, but we learnt a lot straight away by reading posts on here. For example, the advice now to use wooden/natural perches and avoid sandpaper. I'm sure that the little ones appreciate it! 

Best wishes everyone (feathered and otherwise) for a safe, happy and healthy new year.  
     

[Marianne Marlow]

A Happy and healthy 2022 to you and your flock.

Summer, Sandy and Sky are a lucky bunch (especially Summer, who started it all off!)

[jellybean]

Happy New Year to you too, and your little gang of 3.

I'm glad you took the two brothers, any pictures of the trio you could share?

[Hezz]

Hi and welcome to you and your three budgies. I’m glad the forum has been helpful and informative; the pinned threads are there to do just that.

[3milleteers]

Thank you for the welcome everyone.

Since jellybean asked, here are a couple of photo's of the little trio. Summer is the hen; Sandy the green lad, and Sky the blue fella. Fascinating how they all have such different personalities, and makes you wonder to what extent other species of wild birds do. The one of the two lads together was from when they were young - they did look cute then.

If anybody is able to identify their genetic mutations then we'd love to know. We think that the boys might be greywings or clearwings?

We hope that you like them

[ffiscool]

All lovely. I’ve no idea, sorry - others will know

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm not sure on the mutations but they are certainly a gorgeous bunch

Ira might have a guess

[Ira]

'Guess' is the correct word for it, Marianne Marlow, especially if they are greywing mutations, or any fancy sort of yellowface.

Definitely easier when looking at them in person...

Uh...

Can I just conclude that they're beautiful?


I'd ideally like a few more photos from different angles with better lighting, but my really weak guesses at the moment:

Summer - double factor type 2 yellow face, single factor dominant pied, opaline, sky blue, ?single factor violet

As for your boys, I believe one might be a single factor type 2 yellow face or possibly a golden face, because that green colour is the yellow of the yellow face bleeding into the base body colour by the look of it.
I would say they're both single factor spangles.
The wing markings are very dilute so possibly greywing but I have no experience with those mutations personally.
I can do some more research but really would need more photos.

They are a stunning trio.

[Marianne Marlow]

Ira any guess you make it going to be better than mine. I am no good at the complicated mutations!

[jellybean]

Three gorgeous birds, sorry I can't help with mutations either.

[3milleteers]

Thanks everyone, especially Ira, for your comments and advice. We think you are on to something with the suggestion that our boys are Spangles. Having done some reading up on those, we can see that our lads have some of the key identifiers including the 'reverse' markings on the wings with light edge markings (although the wing markings on ours are very dilute). We were told that they were brothers. It would be nice to think so but we'd still love them as much if we found out that they couldn't be.

Funny how they all have different personalities: Summer (hen) is independent and clever, takes no nonsense, and has an insecure but loving/trusting personality. Sandy is confident, outgoing, clever, sociable and obsessed with Summer; whilst Sky is the underdog - quiet natured, ever so polite, but stands up for himself when defending food and has a brave streak often being the first to try out new toys and other things.

Sorry to bore you with all this information and photos, but I attach some more in case they help with identification and confirmation of the boys' mutations. They aren't great pictures but hopefully show then from different angles and show their colours.

Thanks again everyone!

[ariella]

They are a really stunning trio. Really lovely colours there. Welcome to the forum.

[jellybean]

Wow, wow and wow, absolutely stunning birds.

[tweetiepiesmom]

I'll ad my Happy New Year to the rest! They are gorgeous colors - you'll never get tired of watching them and with their personalities they'll give you hours of entertainment.

[Ira]

3milleteers What colour are their wing markings? Your greeny boy appears to have green wing markings to me in that last photo.

I'm not 100% on genetic inheritance of different mutations, but I would have said they were brothers by looking at them, or at least not questioned it.