How To Raise Baby Budgies With A Cock and A Hen

Greetings to all my visitors and readers!

Hand Raised Baby Budgie

There has been a great deal of interest in the Budgie blogs I wrote back in December of 2011 concerning my cousin, who decided to try her hand at raising them herself. She's had success with this endeavor and will be sending me an update on how she has been doing these past months. Next week I will share a story of a recent event she experienced with one baby budgie and will update you all on how she is doing in general with her birds, when she sends me the information and some pictures. 

In the meantime, here is her site address www.wix.com/cbond25/cathys-budgie-website 

Newly Hatched, Hand Raised Baby Budgies

The budgies pictured in this blog have been hand raised and likely sold to good homes months ago. 

Watch for the update as to how my cousin is doing with her birds this coming week. 

Catspaw

More On Feral Cats

The caption on the website reads: 'She Deserves To Live

Feral cats are the descendants of our domesticated cats that have  returned to their wild state. They are distinguished from the local stray cat population ... pet cats that have been lost, abandoned or simply thrown on the side of the road and survive the fling from the car window. Most ferals are born in the wild while the offspring of a stray can also be considered feral by virtue of also being born in the wild. What constitutes wild? The brush at the back of your yard, the small forest across the road in a rural area; the city park is home to more than just pigeons!

Trapped feral for spay or neuter

Feral cats are a growing problem in Australia where they prey on a wide variety of the local wildlife; bird populations of cockatoos and other species suffer at their paws but they are just trying to survive like any other animal. In the arid and semi-arid areas of the country their primary food sources are mostly the introduced European rabbits and house mice that some genius figured was a good idea to bring over. In the forests and urbanized environs they feed mostly on the native marsupial prey that's available, this is based on the 22 studies that were done and summarized in the Dickman report in 1996. Unfortunately, in many of the arid parts of Australia where rabbits don't thrive, the cats take the native rodents which includes bird and reptile populations that form the smaller portion of the cats diets.

Cat with no home, no one to look after him but himself and he's punished for it

Feral cats have become the apex predators in some local ecosystems but in others they are preyed on by feral dogs, dingoes and coyotes. They have become the food sources of much larger animals like wolves, bears, cougars and leopards. Bobcats, the lynx, hyenas, even fishers have taken feral cats as a meal. As have local crocodiles, snakes, foxes and other birds of prey. The overall effects on wildlife vary but the impact of our domestic and feral cats on local wildlife is still a centuries old debate.

Feral Dogs

Australian Dingo

 

Coyote taking refuge in empty bus, as much a victim as the feral cats

 

 

More victims of human inhumanity

 

 

These are the predators of the feral cats that we humans have created in colonies round the globe over the past century. 


No animal deserves this treatment from a humane, civilized society and yet...

In1916 a report was done for the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture entitled The Domestic Cat: Bird Killer, Mouser and Destroyer of Wildlife. In this report, noted Ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush stated in the preface:
"Questions regarding the value or in-utility of the domestic cat and problems connected with limiting its more or less unwelcome outdoor activities are causing much dissension. The discussion has reached an acute stage. Medical men, game protectors and bird lovers call on legislators to enact restrictive laws. Then ardent cat lovers rouse themselves for combat. In the excitement of partisanship many loose and ill-considered statements are made."


This report actually cited Extinct Birds, a book published in 1905 by zoologist Walter Rothschild who stated, "man and his satellites, cats, rats, dogs and pigs are the worst and in fact the only important agents of destruction of the native avifaunas wherever they go."

Stephens Island Wren, extinct bird species

Rothschild went on to give several examples of cats in general causing the extermination of some bird species on islands.

Apparently the man gave equally no thought to how these feral and domesticated cats got there in the first place and that it took some brilliant 'human' to come up with the idiotic idea of populating already populated islands with rabbits and cats in the first place! Really, some people ought to try 'thinking' before they talk out loud!!


Even today there are farmers and gamekeepers that see feral cats as absolute vermin to be exterminated at all cost. Because the feral cat populations catch and eat ground nesting birds like pheasants and partridge that are protected, for no better reason than for people to kill them in flight when they go on their hypocritical bird hunts ~ not unlike the excuses they give for local fox hunting. To protect their birds some gamekeepers have resorted to setting traps and shooting any feral cats they find, on sight, as part of their ongoing, so-called pest control campaigns. Does this sound like a charmed life of freedom to you?


Please, think twice before dumping your unwanted cats on some farm or dairy or by the side of the road, your actions have direct consequences for these animals. Do the more humane thing and at least take the unwanted animal to a shelter or SPCA. Lets not forget that these animals actually 'trust' us to have their best interests at heart. No animal, pet or otherwise, is expendable. If they do become expendable in our world view, which animal is next? Will it be an animal or perhaps an unwanted child. Ask yourself.

Help me, don't hurt me ~ the choice is yours, not mine

Catspaw

Do You Have Feral Cats Where You Live?

Believe it or not, cats are not native to all parts of the world and in many parts of the world, feral cats are the descendants of domestic cats that have been left behind or simply abandoned by travelers and visitors to a particular country. As a result, these feral cats can and probably do cause harm to foreign environments by preying on local species in the same way as they do in our back yards. This may be especially true on isolated islands where ferals have sometimes had a substantial and deleterious effect on the local fauna such as damaging trees and other plants that the native species use.

A clowder of feral cats and kittens

"Feral" is the word we use to refer to an animal that is not friendly when approached by us but it can also be applied to any domesticated animal that has been without human contact for anywhere from a long period of time to its lifetime. Hissing and growling are their self-defensive behaviors which, over time may change as the animal, whether "feral" or "stray", begins their journey towards a mutual trust between the humans that choose to provide food, water and care and the feral cat(s). 


Feral cats and strays differ only slightly in their behaviors especially if the stray cat has not been completely cut off from human interaction. Feral cats, born and living outdoors without any contact or care by people have been tamed to the point of being adoptable provided they are completely removed from their wild environment before their truly feral behaviors have been established and set into their personalities. Such behaviors are set while the kittens are still being raised by their mother as she teaches them to avoid human contact and that people are something to fear.

Feral cats display defensive behaviors and postures towards any person who ventures to come too close to them, then they run and hide.

Feral kitten eating a rabbit

Lifespans of ferals are difficult to determine with any kind of accuracy. One study states a median age of 4.7 years with a possible range somewhere between 0 to 8.3 years; yet other sources claim a mean lifespan of a meager 2 to 8 years before death, rarely from natural causes. For contrast a people raised cat, at birth, has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years for a male indoor cat with females living usually, a year maybe two longer. Some domesticated cats have lived until the grand old age of 25 years being well cared for by their human companions.

Ferals take their toll on native Australian Cockatoos

Throughout the Age of Discovery passing ships released a few rabbits onto islands with the idea of a future food source for other travelers that stopped there. Very generous but ill conceived as over time they multiplied out of control by eating through their habitats so cats were introduced to keep their numbers down along with the mice and rats. The cats tended to favor local species over the rabbits; they were both ecologically naive to the islands and much easier to hunt. Then their numbers began to increase dramatically and they colonized the islands themselves; the very people who introduced both rabbit and cat saw them as pests to be exterminated. A completely human caused problem with the animals losing on all sides! Do we not have the sense not to create situations like this? Or to resolve them without the usual cruelty that we inflict.


Our historical records date the arrival of ferals in Australia to be somewhere around 1824. In spite of this its been suggested that they have been in Australia long before the Europeans settled it; they may have arrived as a result of Dutch shipwrecks back in the 17 hundreds or years before that arriving from present day Indonesia on Macassan fisher ships and trepangers who frequented Australia's shores during the past century. However they arrived, anywhere in the world, feral cats have not lead a charmed life. Rather, its been a very difficult life with nothing but hardships and unkindness from their environments and, most often from human contact. 

They deserve better and its up to us, who claim we care, to rescue and tame them, to provide medical care and a safe home for these 'lost' cats to live out what is left of their lives in relative safety and comfort. Even the wildest feral can be tamed with enough time and commitment - I have managed, these years since, to tame a few; some of the barn cats on the farms and diaries I have lived on had feral cats that eventually came around to my gentle care of them. I have even managed to find homes for a few that finally realized they could have the life of a domesticated cat. Its worth pondering on the next time you see a cat in need, whether a feral, a stray or just lost and frightened. Remember, the responsibility is yours.

This feral won't go hungry today but what about tomorrow?

Catspaw

New Theme For The Coming Week

Ok, so cat litter is a decidedly uninteresting topic for most people unless they develop a problem with their cats not using it.  


This weeks theme is going to be anything funny about cats and dogs. Pictures, cartoons, stories... anything to do with silliness and humor. Now, since cats and birds kinda go together this theme will include birds of any feather. 


Looking forward to it...


Catspaw

Its A Crow! Its A Raven! ~~~ Its A CAT !!! AGGGG!!!!

The date was March 16th, 2012. The time was during the mid day meal. The cats were napping in the living room when, without warning, Molly, the drama queen started awake... thus waking Emerald, with the princess complex. Both assumed their most expert stalking positions and shrinking to the floor, both tore forwards to the patio door.

The objective achieved, the two battle cats peered out the window, their attention at full throttle. Waiting and watching for any movement their heads moving simultaneously together as they glowered at the 'something' that was attempting to invade their territory.

Did you see that?  That what?  I know you saw that!

With twin concentrated efforts they were determined to stare their enemy down! But, what was the enemy and where?  Was it...

Over there, do you see it now? See WHAT! Well, LOOK!!

A Crow that landed on the patio deck for some leftover cat food?
A Raven that flew just past to see if it could spot the same food?
No, it was...

Oh T-H-A-T!  Its a...

 grey barn cat who came in from the cold.

P-l-e-a-s-e, I asking nicely?

Catspaw

~~ Raising Budgie Babies! ~~

So, my cousin has been raising budgie babies and selling them to good homes. This is her story ~~~

Its December 26, 2011 in the home of my cousin. In an excited email she told us the great news that, in her words:

 "Great news! I just wanted to share this with you all. There’s a chick in the nest, alive and kicking!!!!

The egg hatched about an hour ago. I heard something and then both my birds were in the nest box. I checked it out because there seemed to be some excitement in the nest box then I saw the chick! Will take pictures as soon as I can. She is on the nest and will feed the chick 4 times an hour so I can not disturb her too much now.

The other eggs are due to hatch within a day or two in the order the four eggs were laid.

A day after Christmas too! Yup, I am a bird breeder!! Oh, I wish you were here to see this with me. This is so exciting!!"

One Day Old Baby Budgie

Then last December 28, 2011 I received this from her:

 "I have 3 budgies, my female, Shyla and her mate Chico started breeding. She laid 4 eggs. This morning another egg hatched. Now I have two baby chicks in the nest. Both parents feed them. When they are 6 weeks old and eating on their own I can sell them. I will be trying to sell them on the Kijiji website or I can sell them to the pet stores, they will take them for sure. Budgies do sell very well. But it is very exciting to watch it all unfold in your own home."

One More to go...

Now its January 1, 2012 and another email tells me this:

" Just wanted to let you know that the fourth and final egg hatched this morning, on New Years Day! Four eggs were laid and four eggs hatched. They are all alive and doing great. Both parents feed them and they are so protective of their babies. Each time an egg would hatch, the parents got so excited! It is really remarkable to see this all unfold."

Sadly on January 11th she sent me this email update:

"Two of my baby chicks did not survive. They hatched late and were not big enough to fight for the food and it appears that they were trampled to death. But two of the chicks have survived and are doing great. They are growing fast and they are beginning to get their feathers now and their eyes are open and they are moving around more in the nest box. Looks like they both will be white budgies which are considered pretty birds and sell for a higher price. In a couple of weeks when they have all their feathers and are coming out of the nest box and eating on their own, I can sell them. I may have a buyer for one of them already; will have to wait and see. I have never done this before so out of four chicks, I still had two chicks that survived."

Four baby budgies

 As of March 8th:

"Guess what? I did it! I was successful! A lady phoned me this afternoon and wanted to buy one of my budgies! She told me that she wanted to buy one for her daughter. She went to the pet stores to buy one but was not happy with what she saw because she wanted a ‘baby’ budgie; which by the way, to get a baby budgie right out of the nest is not easy to do. The pet store gave her my phone number and directed her to call me to get a ‘baby budgie!’ She told me that.

All I have done so far was posted on a piece of paper that I had some baby budgies for sale and I put them up in the malls and corner stores. My camera won't work so I need to get a new one so I can get some pictures of the budgies. Anyway, the lady with her daughter showed up tonight and I sold her a beautiful blue and white female budgie. This budgie was only 2 and half months old – born January 2nd 2012. This budgie had a beautiful voice too and the female budgie is a lot quieter than the male which was what they wanted. They both seem very excited about buying my budgie so I do feel confident that she went to a good home. They are calling her Twitter – seems to fit her too. I sold her for $30.00 – not bad for one bird – ay!! In the stores they sell them for $35.00 – $45.00 and up.

And my female budgie, Shyla, has once again, so far, laid 2 more eggs in the nest box. So by the end of the month looks like there will once again be a few chicks in the nest." 

Would You Look At That!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was a kid my mother had a cranky male budgie named Poncho, he was green and lorded it in his cage!  His favorite activity was to be let out of his cage all day after he had his wings clipped, although by then he was getting too fat to fly! He was so very proud of the 'game' HE invented ~~ it went like this: someone put a spoon on the dishwasher where his cage was and Poncho thought it GREAT FUN to pick it up in his beak and throw it off. He'd chatter loudly and happily to himself after the fact and got really annoyed when we didn't put the spoon back on the dishwasher. He'd play this game for hours if we let him...

This was a great story to share, I hope other readers and visitors will share a story, idea or suggestion in my comment box. 

Catspaw

Kitty Klip Art

I selected this free cat clip art from a free use site, I hope you like it.

free cat clip art - Google search were my parameters. 

cat book

getting a talking to...

working on my degree

the well read cat

They call me Mr. Boo

 Catspaw