Hi Im new to all this. and have questions!! :)

[mhoward92]

Ok well Im very new to this. And i have some questions. I'm considering getting a parakeet but first i have some questions for everyone.

1) Well which is more tame? A male or a female?
2) What is the average life span on parakeets?

3) This one is a bit longer. I want to try to build an indoor cage for them. I want it sort of big. I was thinking something like 3ft wide by 2-3ft deep and 3 ft tall. so a fairly large indoor coop. But I don't know were in the world to start! what i mean is, i have no clue what to use for bracing. I mean do you use wood? or do they chew through that? And for the cage part. can you use like chickenwire? what type of material would you use for that? I'm just not sure. The whole reason i want to build my own cage is so that i don't have to spend $70.00 on one in the store. But if making a homemade one is going to be just as much i would like to know. But you all are the ones that know what materials to use. So please this one is the most important question. Please reply with either pictures or some information

4) can you actually "potty train" a bird? ... I know it sounds dumb but i see people let these birds free run in their homes. don't the birds poop everywhere? I guess im just going by my 25 chickens. They poop when they poop and they dont care.

Those are my main questions but please reply to them and try to answer because Im very lost and ive been reading for a while and can't seem to find them answers. And i ESPECIALLY can't find ANY info about a homemade cage. and if i do find something its all for outdoors. I need indoors. But please reply and tell me what you all think!!

Thanks in advance

Mitch

[AngelWings]

hello :D
welcome to talkbudgies :D:D

1) It depends, males are known to be calmer than females but from my experience my most tamest budgie ever was a female. But if you plan on having more than one, one little tip :P males together work, they get along, equal numbers of males and females get a long but female & female together don't get along and love to fight with each other but ofcourse a few do get along but most don't :XD:

2) With a proper diet, care and excersice budgies can live up to 10- 13 years...

3) I'm sorry i have no idea

4) hehe i wish there was a way to potty train a budgie but there isn't :P but their poop is small and don't even leave a stain :)

[enicol6]

Hi and welcome. I will only answer the question that I have some knowledge on. Both females and males make good pets but males tend to be slightly nicer. If you are having multiple birds, males generally get along and females often do not. Life span can be as short as 2 and as long as 12. And no unfortunatly you cannot potty train smaller birds. You can put towels/rags where they frequently perch. You have come to the right place for info :)

[mhoward92]

Ok well the little questions i understand now. But I take it that most of you just buy cages for your birds? because no one seems to have an answer for a homemade cage.

[AngelWings]

yep most of us have cages but alot of members here have aviaries & bird rooms and yes a few of them have made awesome bird cages :) i think they are just offline?

[enicol6]

Ok well the little questions i understand now. But I take it that most of you just buy cages for your birds? because no one seems to have an answer for a homemade cage.

There are people here who have built their cages but they may not be on right now. There is a thread about people showing pics of their cages. You could go through that one and see if there is any that strike you and P.M. that person. People are on here all different times and days and only a handful at a time. So keep trying and someone will be able to help you. Also use the search tool and you may find what you are looking for. Good luck :)

[atvchick95]

for home made cages, you can not use chicken wire - it is galvanized metal which is toxic to birds, wire mesh (also called Hardware cloth) is toxic to birds , the metal under it is galvanized and its coated with some sort of rubber or something I've never seen it just read about it.

But you can make your own with non galvanized wire, that is 1/2" spacing anything bigger and the birds can squeeze through.

You can use wood, You'd just have to wrap the Wire around it so they can't get to it, Or attach the wire to the inside of the wood (that's how my boyfriend was making ours then when I realized he had Galvanized wire it got thrown out the door faster then he got it done.)

I'm not good on measurements , but you don't want to make it so deep that the bird can get down there and you can't reach it - Never know when you have to catch one and check it to make sure it's not hurt. etc.

the recommended cage size for one budgie is 18x18x18 Square - and of course with any bird cage, Wider is better than tall.


a birds life span depends on how it's raised, as long as it's fed correctly and healthy, and lives in a healthy environment it can live a long time - Ive read stories of budgies living in thier 20's - even know average life span is 5-7 years.

yes you can teach a bird to be potty trained, I've read about alot of people doing it. You just have to know when they poop (i think budgies poop like every 15 min.) and if they're on your shoulder, finger etc. when it's almost that time, Put them some place, like on a play gym, over a paper towel, newspaper etc. and Tell them go poop. and wait until they poop, then go back to what you were doing with them. and keep it up.

I've read stories where the birds that can talk (like Quakers actually it was a Quaker I was reading about) would tell it's owner when he had to poop he'd say his name with Poop after it and she knew this was his signal to put him on the play gym, or over a piece of paper, and she'd say ok, go poop, and he'd go poop. and he'd say his name again and then say "went poop" and they'd go back to what they were doing.

of course it would take Time and patience to train them.

and I've also heard budgies don't poop while flying - Well mine proved those people wrong the other day, We were gathering them up to put them to bed, and one went flying past me and pooped right on my arm - I was none to happy LOL

[nev90]

Welcome to the forum

1/ Males are usually easier to train than females

2/ Average about 8 years but some live up to 15

3/ Wood is ok to use as long as it is a safe variety and hasn't been treated with toxic preservative. There is a list of wood that is safe for birds on this link http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml .
You can use netting or wire mesh but make sure that it has no loose galvanising on it, perhaps brush it well with a wire brush. You can buy premade cage fronts that have a door in them but I've no idea what they would cost in your country. If you are not used to building it might be easier to start with a large box and build on to it. Some sort of a tray in the bottom will make cleaning a lot easier. If you paint your cage be sure to use a non toxic paint.

4/ No you can't potty train them

[mhoward92]

Thanks for the replies. I'm getting a couple ideas for this now. but more imput will never hurt

[Pippin's mom]

Have you checked out the Do It Yourself forum there may be some ideas there.:)

[prettybird1212]

I was actually searching homemade aviaries last night and came across this

http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/panel_form_aviary_construction.php

1) males are generally more tame although females can be just as tame as males depending on the bird

2) Id say the life span is usu. between 7 and 10 yrs.

3) it shows how to make one, it'd probably cost over $70 but theyd get A LOT more room...

4) yes you can potty train them