the kids have named the baby budgie....

[gussiegrips]

For reasons which have passed me by, we seem to be having to hand rear a baby budgie.

It is very small and wasn't responding well yesterday. It appears to have grey feathers, like it's dad.

I warned the kids that it was likely to die, and they were not, under any circumstances to give it a name not after the rabbit debacle.

Naturally, I overheard "well, he's grey. We should name him after something to do with grey".

uh oh

"Graeme"

Graeme the budgie. So named, because he's grey. Hope the fecker lives now. Cheered me up no end.

Graeme.

Photo up. Keep your expectations low, it's a bit like internet dating - the reality doesn't quite match the mental image. He's not much of a looker, and is kind of self centred.

There's one of him about 10 days ago too - it's amazing how quickly they develop. The prawn like blob next to him is one of the ill-fated siblings, ceremonially buried in the communal plot (bin collection day came and went without discovery).

Still not convinced he's going to make it. Seems ok, but sleeps a lot and isn't as curious as I'd expect. Ach well, perhaps he takes after me?

Right, Puffin...are you sitting comfortably?

Quails.

When you put the budgies outside into an aviary (which cost HOW MUCH) you need to get quails because you have long coveted hens but DH says "no" to eat the fallen seed. To stop you from getting vermin. doesn't work, I nearly stood on a gallus wee mouse this morning

I bought six female adorable fluffy little bumblebees from some bloke in a carpark (hmmm. Mistakes are often purchased from some bloke in a carpark, no?)

One of them had the most glorious golden markings on his head - named "Sunny" and voted "favourite".

A few weeks later, and Sunny was rodgering everyone else. And, not in a good way. Violent pecking, raw plucked necks - he went all Chris Brown on my wee Rhiannas.

The problem with that was my 9 year old daughter's introduction to sex ed was a bit skewed...

"Mummy?"
"mmm?"
"you know when the quails are mating?"
"Mmm"
"you know how Sunny jumps on top of the female?"
"Mmm"
"is that what it's like in humans?"
"Erm, it can be. Why do you ask?"
"Because Daddy's quite big. Don't you get squashed?"
"...."
now, a better mother than me would be able to come up with an appropriate response. I am not a good mum...and heard my voice saying:
"don't worry about that. A gentleman always leans on his elbows"
"Oh. Good"

No. More. Pets.

Hahahaha @ the tale of the quails! I.got my sex ed from gerbils don't ask

Graeme is very cute :)

Best to get these talks over early. Saves worse later on.

Aw, he IS cute. Thanks for the pic. Don't you dare die, Graeme! You have to make it, now you have mn fame.

Did you have to regurgitate budgie seed for Graeme? And gnaw cuttle fish to show him how?
Why won't Mr Gussie allow chicken? They lay eggs and if they die you can casserole them.

sixteenth Mr Gussie is no fun, no fun at all.

He was reared with chickens. Many bad memories at missing the winning goal because of slipping in a poultry poo. That, and being attacked by the cockerel. I assume that in his younger days he had the look of a pullet about him?

And, nope, don't need to regurgitate. I DID need to buy budgie formula (that's a thing) and I may have been using my parmesan grater to grind cuttlefish into powder so it can be added.

And, I might have planted some millet seeds thinking it'd be naice for him.

If the bloody thing dies I'm going to have to come up with a whole new bunch of excuses about why I haven't done any hoovering/cooking/laundry...

You should write a book about having childhood pets!

I think the bunny debacle is fabulous... except for the new guineas we just bought - i have a feeling it may go that way for us too, hopefully with out the baby guineas.

Go graeme budgie!

btw - are tortoises easier than rodents? I was put off tortoises due to a MN thread, however you make them sound surprisingly low maintenance - and I don't mind pets so long as they are low maintenance.

We resorted to fish, two weeks after getting them, ds was still obsessed (still is after a couple of months to be fair) one got sick, risking it spreading to the whole tank, one night when ds was in bed Dh released it into the wild like free willy flushed it'd finally konked it, luckily the rest are still healthy and ds can't count high enough to know there's one missing.

Gussie you have made me howl with laughter. Please, please keep getting pets.

He is a beautiful baby budgie.

Reindeer - having investigated every possibility of petdom imaginable, then, yes, I can recommend a tortoise.

If housed correctly they are a doddle. Don't buy from a petshop (big trade of farmed torties imported from Eastern Europe) and don't house in a vivarium. Get one from the RSPCA or a breeder and bung it in a "tortoise table" (yes, that's what it's called. Sounds like something CITES should be confiscating, but there you go).

Speaking of CITES - you need a certificate. That's why a breeder's a good idea.

They are prone to respiratory diseases if kept in too humid an atmosphere. You know, like a glass tank. Petshops want to sell you the viv for profit, not for the tortoise.

Ours is in an indoor guineapig hutch. He has a UVB and a basking lamp (they need that for warmth and to help absorb calcium) so it works well as the burning hot lights are safely under the wire away from small fingers.

They are happiest outside in the sun - but, get a good enclosure. Those buggers are not slow, and can dig themselves into the ground in a flash. We've lost ours a couple of times (now solved by DD taking him for "a walk" on "a lead" made out of ribbon tied round him like he is a Christmas parcel. Odd, but works. Tortoise seems unfussed.

If you house them inside with a lamp then they don't need to hibernate. Things have moved on since Blue Peter - who killed thousands of tortoises with their crap advice - they need to be at least 4 years old to hibernate, and it's only really worth it if you want to breed it.

The other problem is feeding the wrong stuff. No pellets, no dog food, no crap, just weeds. We have a reputation for "weeding the neighbourhood" - any dandelion on the school run gets plucked.

Having said that, he is partial to a bit of pak choi and pea shoots.

And, he gets a bath every other day, ours is a bit of a reluctant drinker - and the one and only time I dealt with tortoise constipation motivates me to keep him well hydrated .

He's really interesting, totally cool - and, a CELEBRITY TORTOISE!

We adopted him from the SSPCA after he was found abandoned on a railway line in a storm. I'd been looking into getting one for ages for DD - saw it on twitter, called the SSPCA, now the happy owners of a tortoise.

Who'll live for another 70 years or so. DD's problem.

Oh Don't yep, we've got fish too. Started off with guppies and the usual tropicals. Now got a puffer fish. Who is fairly awesome, but, that reminds me, I MUST clean that tank tomorrow.

Tank cleaning is a fiddly job. Especially with a fish who wants to jump out the water and say "hi".

We've only got a little temperate tank with danios and some minnows I'd love a puffer though they're so cute
Does it ever puff or should you not encourage it?

I started with a wee tank like that, Don't. Gatway pet, a temperate tank. Can be beautiful, and easy to maintain too.

Ours doesn't puff - they only do it if harrassed.

Want a laugh?

Graeme the grey budgie has grown blue feathers overnight.

Could. Not. Make. This. Crap. Up.

Smuggler?

Aww. Thats so cute. All my budgies have been blue. He might be a pretty one yet. Is it a he ?

I'm overly emotionally involved with Graeme. He's not doing well, and, I'm all worried.

He's feeding, but doesn't really hop about, and won't feed himself - according to vet Google he should be self-weaning about now.

Put up the Big Cage, hoping that more space would encourage some running about - nope.

And, he's got a runny bum.

So, back to two-hourly feeds and bathing and blow drying him.

It's a bit like having a newborn. A sort of scraggy, ugly newborn.

I luffs him. He likes to sit on your foot and catch a ride as you walk about, which is a very sensible thing to do. He'd better be ok.

Disappointed to find your kids haven't nicknamed your new baby Budgie....

Whereabouts are you ?

I bet hes adorable. Im willing him on ! How old is he now ?

Awww, all the best to him... Hope he perks up

Ever tried to put a bra on a budgie?

I have.

A "crop bra" is cut out of that sticky stretchy bandage stuff and supports the bird's crop. I thought the problem was that his crop was stretched. Having been twice savaged by Graeme during the bra fitting process I have decided that he is actually ok.

I think he's 5 weeks now, Coffee. We're in Edinburgh, which has a shortage of avian vets, it seems.

Anyhoo, he's got a runny bum but doesn't seem bothered by that,isn't much keen on feeding himself and just wants attention all the time. Which makes me think he might be a boy...ha ha ha.

I have 7 kids here today. And, Graeme will need feeding every two hours. Is it too early for wine?