Newbie with a dilemma !!

[doghouse135]

Good morning all

I have recently 'acquired' a new budgie. I was in the local P@H when a lady came in saying she'd found a budgie in the road. She'd left it at home in a cardboard box but wanted to put it in a cage 'for the time being'. The cages she was looking at were tiny so I offered to go and collect it and put it in a spare cage I had - not a budgie cage but should suffice.

Anyway, we went and collected the budgie last Saturday. She was in a very bad way and although didn't have any puncture wounds, it looked like she had been attacked by other birds.

We brought her home and she sat hunched up on the floor of the cage but did spend about an hour eating some millet that I put in there for her - she didn't want the other seed at this stage

We covered her over and prayed that she would be ok. In the morning, I got up and there she was all preened and looking beautiful sitting on her swing at the top of the cage.

Anyway, we haven't been able to trace her original owners despite many attempts this week and typically we've all fallen in love with her (my dad used to have an aviary when I was small).

I believe she has been an 'indoor' bird as she's not frightened of the hoover etc (I could be wrong though)

Sorry for the waffle, I'll get onto why I have a dilemma. All the family really want to keep her and ideally get her a friend BUT I have a cat and 2 dogs (one of which is a naughty puppy) so the free flying time I could allow the birds would be limited - certainly not daily.

I also would be loathe to pass her onto another home where I don't know how well she would be looked after - it's a risk I don't like taking.

I have a large array of animals in addition to the cat and dogs and have always kept rescues here but want to do the best for her. I have a chipmunk aviary at the moment but do not have the room for another aviary although I would like to have a budgie one now - she's so sweet

Hmmmm - what's the solution ?

Thank you

Karen

[BudgiesBuddy]

Hi Karen and welcome to forum

Well done for taking care of the budgie. Budgies with less flight time should have a big cage, preferably a wide one so they can fly in the cage. It seems like you have quite a zoo at home. Looking forward to some pictures of the budgie and possibly others

[Hezz]

Karen where are you? If you give some idea of your location, there maybe someone close by on the forum who can give the budgie the time and attention, possibly friends, it needs. You can rest assured that anyone from this forum will do their utmost to give any bird a very good home.

Also have you tried parrotalert.com? They are on the top of our home page. Many birds are reunited with their rightful owners by this great service:
www.parrotalert.com/

[Marianne Marlow]

Hi Karen, welcome!

Firstly well done on taking in this budgie.

Secondly, please try to find her owners before you consider keeping her. As Hezz said above - Parrotalert (banner at top of forum).

If you cannot find the owners and want to keep her then as BB said - get a large cage (as big as you can afford) that allows flight back and forth - not everyone has space, time or is able to let their birds out.

Well done for being a caring and responsible pet owner.

Marianne

[doghouse135]

Thank you for your replies.

I'm in Kent. The cage I have her in currently is 24 x 19 x 31 (width)

I won't get her a friend yet although it's very tempting. What size cage should a pair be in ?

Thank you

Karen

[doghouse135]

I have registered on her Parrotalert.

I don't think she's very old although old enough for her cere to have changed colour.

She's a happy little thing and as the week has progressed, she has become more and more vocal ;D

How long do you recommend I leave it when trying to find her owners? - I'm not sure what distances they can fly as I can't find anyone reporting a budgie missing within 50 miles of where I live.

At this stage, I don't want to put a photo on the internet of her in case someone 'claims' they have lost her and at the minute, her colouring is the only identifiable thing I can think to ask of someone if they claim she's theirs (hope that makes sense)

When I get some spare time later, I'll put some piccies on of my other rescues for you all to see. Be patient, there's a few - lol

[doghouse135]

As requested, here are a few of my clan



















Unfortunately, I can't find any piccies of the 3 gerbils or 5 dwarf hamsters - they move too fast - ha ha ;D

[BudgiesBuddy]

You have quite a variety. They all are very beautiful



I love this picture

[Nani]

Welcome!!

When meeting up with potential owners request that they bring a photo of their missing budgie to see if it is the same as the one you found. How many spots are on the bib? Try to observe anything that might even remotely stand out..clipped wings, non-clipped etc etc.

Ask the local vets in the area if anyone has reported a missing budgie. Just give them your contact information and request to be contacted if anyone knows anything.

How I am jealous of your setup and family of critters! I love animals and the bunnies and chipmunks are so adorable! And your dog is so cute!

How did you get around to having a chipmunk aviary? We need background stories on each critter!
Get the biggest cage you can find, afford and fit. I'm not sure on exact measurements..someone will help you along with that.
As for waiting period until the owners are found...I know some people who searched for their budgie for months, others for a few weeks. How long would you search for and hold out hope for?

[doghouse135]

If it were me, I'd never stop looking for a missing pet Thankfully, I've never been in that position and hope I never am.

Background stories on each animal - OK, here goes -

Yogi (dog) - he was returned to the breeder because he was kryptorchid and had a low grade heart murmur. The gundog breeder knew he wouldn't be able to sell him and asked us if we'd like him. We got him neutered, his heart murmur disappeared and he's now 4 ;D
Fidget (puppy) - the same gun dog breeder contacted us as he had a puppy that wasn't thriving. Same dad as Yogi but different mum. We took Fidget on and started to build him up. Unfortunately, life was still a struggle for him and in March he collapsed and was diagnosed with a hole in his heart. He needed an urgent operation at a cost of £4500 (specialist vets). Our insurance refused to pay out so my vet agreed to attempt the surgery at a reduced cost - eventually we paid £1800 - thankfully he's come through it absolutely fine.
Misty (cat) - she was a gift to my son for his birthday - he'd always wanted a kitten. She's not a rescue
Puff (bearded dragon) - he was a birthday gift to my other son (because his brother got the cat !!!)
Chipmunks - we originally rescued one from a childs bedroom. It was being kept in a very very small hamster cage. We've had to increase the size of his cage very slowly over the years because he doesn't like big open spaces. My other agouti chipmunk was in a garden centre being kept in very inappropriate conditions. My two dilute chipmunks (white) were purchased from a breeder in Essex. Chipmunks need very large spaces to live in, hence the aviary. They love to jump, climb and spin.
Guinea Pigs - these have come from all over the place. Our local P@H has my number in their directory and when a pregnant rescue comes into their adoption centre, they give me a call. 5 of my current 8 piggies have come from there. At one point we had 14 piggies here
Todd & Tulip (rabbits) - Todd came from a breeder as my son wanted a dwarf/mini lop. Tulip was a very poorly rabbit at P@H that they weren't going to be able to sell. We took her on and she's now 100% better. The right meds and bit of time and effort was all that was needed with her.
Dwarf hamsters - these are my sons. He has 5 in his bedroom and all are rescues.
Pip, Daisy and Lulu (Gerbils) - these are rescues because people tend not to like white gerbils so they get discarded.
Snowball (Budgie) - story as above. Temporarily with us until her owner can be found but already a very much loved member of the Noahs Ark family.

I think that's it - apart from my husband and two children