Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 8, 2012 18:16:02 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 8, 2012 18:16:02 GMT
Hi This is my first post although I have been reading for a while.
In brief I am a retired Brit living in Southern Spain. I have three dogs, three cats, seven dependent feral cats a tank full of fish and - of course- four budgie boys. I will leave how I came by the budgies till another time!
My problem is that I have never been able to get the budgies to bathe. Even when it gets very hot here in the summer and I spray them with the mist setting on the hose pipe they behave as if I was trying to murder them!
Has anyone got any ideas how to get them to bathe please? They are outside in a hexagonal aviary four foot six across.
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Mar 8, 2012 18:21:13 GMT
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Mar 8, 2012 18:21:13 GMT
Hi Kate and welcome to forum Not all budgies like to bathe. Half of mine don't like it at all and the rest are simply crazy about it. Depending upon your cage setup, you can leave the water in shallow dish on the floor everyday for some time and they will start exploring it soon.
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Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 8, 2012 18:39:29 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 8, 2012 18:39:29 GMT
Thanks BudgiesBuddy I didn't realise that some budgies are non bathers! I think that must be the way mine are.
I did try the dish of water on the sand for quite a while but they refused to have anything to do with it. I tried a home made one on the aviary mesh with no success as well.
Perhaps they will just have to stay dirty!
It's a shame I do so like to watch other birds bathing.
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,816
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Hi
Mar 8, 2012 19:27:10 GMT
Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 8, 2012 19:27:10 GMT
Welcome Kate and Zoo ;D
Some of mine like to rub their feathers on wet basil leaves. Have you tried supplying wet herbs on a shallow dish or plate?
Or clip them to the sides of the cage.
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Oct 8, 2011 14:18:45 GMT
ruthpaton
Normal Green
Posts: 364
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Hi
Mar 8, 2012 20:35:47 GMT
Post by ruthpaton on Mar 8, 2012 20:35:47 GMT
Hello Kate - and welcome! Sounds like a busy household there... :-) Looking forward to hearing more about your four budgie boys and how they came to live with you. As others have said, not all budgies like to bathe although some love it. Marianne's idea of wet basil leaves is a great one and well worth a try!
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Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 8, 2012 20:46:39 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 8, 2012 20:46:39 GMT
Thanks for that suggestion Marianne and Ruth.
I have tried growing basil here for the kitchen but it is too hot for it. However I do sometimes see little pots of it in the supermarkets. I could get one of those next time they are in stock and see what happens. Its not cheap but for a treat now and then it would be possible.
Could it work with parsley? That is plentiful and cheap here.
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Mar 8, 2012 21:39:24 GMT
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Mar 8, 2012 21:39:24 GMT
It will work with any green leaves which they like to eat, parsley is good too. Mine love coriander leaves.
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Mar 9, 2012 0:16:41 GMT
Post by Hezz on Mar 9, 2012 0:16:41 GMT
Hi Kate and welcome. I use small sprigs of eucalyptus leaves and hang them in the (very large) cage, dripping wet. One of my budgies throws himself into the leaves for a bath, one hates baths completely and the other would rather a mist with a spray bottle. The budgie who hates bathing loves chewing the leaves and stems of the sprigs and thus gets wet anyway, whether she likes it or not! So for me it is win-win all around. And if they still don't like it, tell them too bad, it does rain in the desert at times, so all good little budgies get soaked whether they want to or not.
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Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 9, 2012 6:03:17 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 9, 2012 6:03:17 GMT
Thanks everyone. I will try parsley and coriander on market day then. They are sold in big, very cheap bunches here.
The plentiful stone fruit tree leaves I know are off limits as they are poison.
The other leaves I can just pick are olive and citrus. Is anything known about their safety?
Hezz - we have lots of eucalyptus here put they are so tall I wouldn't be able to reach the leaves. I gather you live in a desert region as well. Here we are on the very edge of the only desert in Europe - that's why they get a misting down in summer wether they like it or not. The aviary is under a gazebo in summer and has additional layers of sun shading fabric but they still sometimes pant and spread their wings, so I damp the whole area down - budgies and all - to give them a cool off.
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Mar 9, 2012 6:48:19 GMT
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Mar 9, 2012 6:48:19 GMT
The aviary is under a gazebo in summer and has additional layers of sun shading fabric but they still sometimes pant and spread their wings, so I damp the whole area down - budgies and all - to give them a cool off. How's the floor of the aviary like?
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Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 9, 2012 7:58:09 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 9, 2012 7:58:09 GMT
The floor of the aviary is a concrete hexagon with ceramic tiles on top. I cover that with about half an inch of local sand from the ramblas (dried river beds) and change when needed.
The aviary is galvanised mesh and came as a kit. It has a solid metal roof and about 6 inches of solid metal round the base.
When I spray off because of the heat I soak the gazebo canvas, the sun netting, the aviary (and birds), the sand and all the surrounding soil and plants. As it all evaporates it makes a big difference to the temperature for about an hour. Then I go out and do it again. Fortunately it only needs doing during the siesta hours when the sun is at its worst. It is a very tying job during July and August!
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Mar 9, 2012 8:24:19 GMT
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Mar 9, 2012 8:24:19 GMT
That's what I wanted to say. However a brick floor is easy to cool with the water. A friend of mine places bricks on the floor in summer and sprays them with water every other hour. Birds spend most of time on the floor as it is a lot cooler there than perches
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Mar 8, 2012 6:40:43 GMT
kate
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 34
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Hi
Mar 9, 2012 11:47:46 GMT
Post by kate on Mar 9, 2012 11:47:46 GMT
It sounds like we are going along the same lines with our efforts to cool the budgies.
Mine don't come down for the cooling effect of the floor, they stay high up where the drying canvas and netting cool them. Also, high up they are safe from that horrid woman that keeps coming every hour and doing dreaful things to them with a hose pipe!
Thanks for your help BB.
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Mar 9, 2012 13:42:21 GMT
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Mar 9, 2012 13:42:21 GMT
You're welcome
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Mar 10, 2012 0:49:59 GMT
Post by Hezz on Mar 10, 2012 0:49:59 GMT
Thanks everyone. I will try parsley and coriander on market day then. They are sold in big, very cheap bunches here. The plentiful stone fruit tree leaves I know are off limits as they are poison. The other leaves I can just pick are olive and citrus. Is anything known about their safety? Hezz - we have lots of eucalyptus here put they are so tall I wouldn't be able to reach the leaves. I gather you live in a desert region as well. Here we are on the very edge of the only desert in Europe - that's why they get a misting down in summer wether they like it or not. The aviary is under a gazebo in summer and has additional layers of sun shading fabric but they still sometimes pant and spread their wings, so I damp the whole area down - budgies and all - to give them a cool off. I am actually at the opposite end of the wet-dry scale, living in the tropics, but the budgie is a desert bird is what I was getting at.
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