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Post by santinoandmondo on Feb 26, 2014 3:03:07 GMT
I wanted to ask your opinion to confirm but I think our budgies' ceres are less crusty looking. Mondo (green/yellow) definitely looks normal. And her royal highness Santino, our little egg-laying queen (white/blue) is looking a little less brown, I think. Maybe??? Please?? Santino last month  Mondo last month  Both birds today  Keeping my fingers crossed, Cherry |
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Post by Pammy on Feb 26, 2014 4:55:45 GMT
Oh my, yes, they certainly do look as though they are coming out of breeding condition. This is just wonderful news!! I'm so glad you found the answers and such a great avian vet. Santino's pink face from the mineral block is so adorable I can hardly stand it.  |
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Post by santinoandmondo on Feb 26, 2014 13:04:44 GMT
I'm so relieved. I'm a little fearful of what the summer months will bring though - more eggs again. I wonder if keeping them covered like that will work when daylight hours are longer? Seems a shame that they can't enjoy the sunlight when we do. I'm happy to say that Santino has definitely slowed waaaaay down on chewing her cuttlebone and mineral block so that must mean that her body doesn't feel the need to produce the eggs. She's still a grumpy gal though. Mondo can have a sleepover in the same cage but I take her out the following morning after Santino chases her around a bit. When her cere doesn't have any brown at all, I will try to have them back together in one cage. Now that I've been buying yucca pieces for the birds to chew on, Santino's pinkness is fading. She likes to rub their faces onto the edges after she has chewed away the softer parts. She loves to chew the yucca, more so than the wooden rectangles. And the play set is doing the trick on keeping them busy at the windows so they aren't chewing my sashes any more!  Attachments:
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Post by kmic on Feb 26, 2014 13:34:45 GMT
So glad with their progress! Well done!
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Feb 26, 2014 14:39:24 GMT
awesome, just need the same thing during the summer
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Post by santinoandmondo on Feb 26, 2014 23:35:49 GMT
OH NOOOOOO. I jinxed myself. Santino laid egg #9 this afternoon but it had been 9 days since she laid her prior one which is the longest period of time in between eggs in the 3 clutches she has had. Typically, she lays one every 2 or 3 days. I read recently that it takes nearly 3 weeks for an egg to form inside a parakeet's body and the male has to fertilize an egg when it is still soft inside the female's body. Interesting, isn't it? Santino laid it in the rubble beneath her cuttlebone and it was the typical perfectly formed, hard shell. I added it to her collection of eggs so now she has 5 but haven't seen her sitting on them at all. I should have guessed when she started tearing up the sides of her little corrugated cardboard box that she wanted another. She didn't seem as distended as in prior eggs so I was hoping she was done. As an aside, since I've transitioned them over to mostly pellet food, the birds' coloring seems more vivid! Mondo has a definite teal sheen to her trim green body. I'm sure it has helped Santino keep in fine egg-laying form as well  . Sigh. Cherry |
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Post by Pammy on Feb 27, 2014 0:33:15 GMT
Well, since she seems to be going out of condition, maybe she just needed to let that last one out, and won't lay anymore. We can hope!
I'm happy you are noticing signs of improved health in your budgies.
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Post by santinoandmondo on Mar 2, 2014 14:16:15 GMT
Santino laid another egg yesterday afternoon  . I was truly hoping she would stop. I guess the bright side is that her cere is changing color but her little body must have had some eggs still forming inside. I will have to look for my prior post to see when I spoke to the vet. It's hard to keep them covered for 14+ hours a day. I cover them up at 6 PM and uncover between 8 and 8:30 AM. They went to veggies only during the day about a week ago. She has not shown any interest in sitting on the eggs. May have to go to the avian vet after all . Cherry |
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Mar 2, 2014 16:38:37 GMT
aww, thats a bummer
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Post by Pammy on Mar 3, 2014 4:14:25 GMT
Aww, I'm sorry to hear it, Cherry. I wonder how long that poor bird can keep that up.
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Post by santinoandmondo on Mar 3, 2014 4:39:10 GMT
I just hope we are giving her the right foods so she can lay the eggs without depleting her own body's calcium. Her bones would become brittle. I am hoping the change in diet, i.e. less protein, will alter the hormones in her body so she will not feel the need to reproduce. My husband thinks we need to give the new diet a couple more weeks before taking her in. I think I will call the vet at the end of this week/ early next week.
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Post by Pammy on Mar 3, 2014 23:59:37 GMT
I'm in agreement with your husband, Cherry. Any change needs a little while to make any kind of a difference. Please continue to keep us posted about our little egg layer.
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Post by santinoandmondo on Mar 4, 2014 23:54:35 GMT
Ugh. Santino laid another egg yesterday . She has laid 12 eggs since January 10; of which 3 have appeared since I spoke to the avian vet on February 18. When I uncover the cages in the mornings now, she is often sitting at the bottom of her cage. It takes her a minute or two to start moving around and hops up to a perch. And since this weekend, Mondo started doing something really strange when we first let her out of the cage for flight time Her pupils get small i.e. eyes rimmed in white - not sure what that is called and then she sits on a perch with her tail way up, almost like in a trance. After a minute or less, she looks normal. Cherry |
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Post by Pammy on Mar 5, 2014 0:42:31 GMT
I am interested to hear whether anyone has any experience or knowledge about what Mondo is doing. I've never heard of such a thing. I'm sure it is greatly concerning to you, Cherry. I'm just baffled about Santino, especially considering everything you are doing to try to help her. Between Santino and April's Sunny, I am feeling some worry and concern over December and Noel reaching maturity.
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Post by lisamarie on Mar 5, 2014 0:49:56 GMT
Cherry, I have never heard of that before. I googled it, and found this response "Its called pinning. The terms "eye pinning" and "eye flashing" both refer to a common behavioral display in pet parrot species. During this display, the bird will quickly expand and contract the pupils of its eyes.
While eye pinning is a perfectly natural response to certain types of stimulation, it can look quite bizzare to those who are new to owning birds. If you notice your feathered friend pinning his eyes, please be assured that there is no cause for alarm. In fact, your pet may just be trying to communicate with you!
It's easy to think of eye pinning as a type of body language, but it's not always easy to identify just what the parrot is trying to say when he does it. Eye pinning behavior can be a sign of happiness, contentment, excitement, curiosity, or aggression -- so it's best to analyze any observations in conjunction with other physical clues the bird may exhibit, such as lunging, hissing, head-bobbing, or feather ruffling.
In my experience, i've found that eye pinning usually means that the bird has seen or heard something that it is interested in. If they are looking in a mirror or reflective surface their interest is the bird they see in that reflection. Eye pinning is often seen in males who are trying to impress or mate with a female."
Pammy - I would not worry. Bonnie has been mature, and Clyde would be her "mate" and she hasn't had an egg problem. I'm seeing trend that it is more common in "unpaired" females, although I could be wrong. Just my observation.
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. I was truly hoping she would stop. I guess the bright side is that her cere is changing color but her little body must have had some eggs still forming inside. I will have to look for my prior post to see when I spoke to the vet. It's hard to keep them covered for 14+ hours a day. I cover them up at 6 PM and uncover between 8 and 8:30 AM. They went to veggies only during the day about a week ago. She has not shown any interest in sitting on the eggs. May have to go to the avian vet after all 
