The new girls!

[rose]

Well, I still haven't managed to talk myself into getting new budgies for myself yet, but there's a park ten minutes' walk away from me with an aviary where I can get a regular budgie fix (along with cockatiels, lovebirds,karakiri etc, and in the other half, a gang of finches).

I started taking in fruit and vegetables for them at the beginning of the year as their diet was clearly seed only, and then the other day, when I was talking to one of the park keepers about the budgie gender imbalance (8 boys to 2 poor harassed womenfolk!), he said that if I could find some more hens, they'd be happy to take them.

So meet Clare and Lois ...



... and Lois (again) and her sister Harriet!



They arrived on Thursday, and already on Friday a park keeper told me he'd seen "the menfolk eyeing up the new crumpet"!

[Marianne Marlow]

They're beautiful!

We have always had a hen imbalance here and believe me, the hens can "hold their own" with the boys!

Currently there are 3 hens and 6 boys.

[ffiscool]

Wow. How lovely and how lucky they are having you look out for them

There’s a park not from me also with an aviary but I’ve not been for ages

[jellybean]

So where did you "find" the gorgeous girls rose.

Was he not embarrassed that you were providing the fresh veg and not him 😉😁

[rose]

Aug 23, 2021 9:33:21 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

They're beautiful!

We have always had a hen imbalance here and believe me, the hens can "hold their own" with the boys!

Currently there are 3 hens and 6 boys.

I think 8 to 2 is a BIT much, though ! The poor girls always seem to be hiding in the nesting boxes (unproductively) ...

[rose]

Aug 23, 2021 9:50:24 GMT jellybean said:

So where did you "find" the gorgeous girls rose.

Was he not embarrassed that you were providing the fresh veg and not him 😉😁

I found this woman with an aviary around half an hour away from me (Eden Birds on FB). Most of her birds have names - obviously a good sign! - although she hadn't named the girls (they're called after the middle names of my 3 sisters).

The park men definitely don't look after (spoil?!) the birds the way I would. I guess the funding comes from the Council or some such organisation, so what with the cuts etc etc ... It was only when I got talking to an Australian park keeper (MOST unusual for Devizes!) who knew a bit more about how things would be in their natural habitat that I twigged how very basic their diet was. Needless to say, the budgies mostly ignore the veg in any case!