Tag: billy

Billy has passed away

Sad news. Billy passed away today.

He was approximately 5 years old.

Billy came to us with Daisy, Colin and Iris in January 2020 as their owner had a cat and all four were kept in a small cage on the coffee table.

I took him to the vet in 2021 as his droppings started to be really sloppy and odd. She told me not to be surprised if he didn’t live to be an old bird as he had liver and kidney issues. I also was told to use milk thistle and avian avipro a few times a week and make sure he ate vegetables.

His droppings never improved but he flew, played, sang so he had a good quality of life. Until yesterday evening when I noticed that he wasn’t moving about very much, just sitting with his eyes closed. Billy was a very nervous bird. When I had taken him to the vet he needed oxygen just to be examined, so I didn’t feel taking him back would improve his length or quality of life. I decided to watch and wait.

Unfortunately this morning he didn’t want to come out of his cage and I did not see him eat, just drink water.

I knew the inevitable was coming. He gradually stopped being able to perch as his feet wouldn’t work, so I put him in the travel box with food and water and talked to him calmly.

After an hour or so I could see the signs that he would not last long. He started twitching, so I held him and talked to him until he passed. It was all very calm. I told him he was a very good boy and that we loved him.

I’ll miss you Billy. As will your friends Iris, Daisy, George, Peter, Dinku, Rocky, Barney, Ayla and Chipper.

Billy is in all of the photos, but you can see him on his own in the photo with the red playground.

May 2023 update – Lots of budgie photos!

A lovely selection of recent photos of the gang. Also to add that yesterday morning I took the cover off of Penny’s cage and could not see her at the back on her usual bedtime perch. I looked all around the cage, including the floor – fearing the worst. My heart leapt. Then I looked up and there she was, at the front staring at me!!

This is Penny below! Little minx tried to give me a heart attack 🙂

George on my hand. Max in background.
Iris and Daisy. They do not normally sit together, so this was a Kodak moment!

Max, George and Dinku posing. Such pretty boys.

Chipper and Billy. Funny how similar budgies like to sit together.

Proof that Dinku does eventually go in to bed. Sorry it’s blurry but I had little time to take the photo.

In the evening, I open Penny’s cage and she has supervised visits from her friends.

Peter and George are the best of friends and like to stay in the cage together all day. It’s where they feel safe. George is now 10 years and 10 months old.

Millet day

The budgies are having some millet to cheer them up on a gloomy day. Also in a bid to stop the girls chewing the curtains. Obviously the latter did not work.

George looking out of the window and eating breakfast (Bertie on the right)
Max playing with the number 6 block on the sofa
Iris and Chipper
Lyra and Penny eyeing me suspiciously
Lyra move away from me, indicating she doesn’t want me to come any closer with the camera, so after this photo I back away.

Lots of photos of the budgies!

Max and Chipper are getting on very well. They like to come to my table to play on the T-Perch and have a general run about. Chipper is also about to go into his first moult and is changing colour! His face is more of a golden colour now and the yellow is coming through all over him. Who knows what he will look like once it’s finished 🙂

Max is very sociable, both with the other budgies and with me. When he’s not chasing Chipper about he can be seen trying to sing to Daisy, or sitting with George, Bertie and Peter, preening.

Iris is being her usual henny self, trying to pull off the seed pots and scatter seed everywhere.

Daisy keeps biting the curtain.

George doesn’t come out much as he cannot fly too well, but he is 9 and a half and had a stroke last year. He still sings and plays, but takes it easy and rests quite a bit.

Penny and Lyra still do their own thing, I have changed things around in their cage a little by removing two rope perches that they didn’t really use. I’ll be very gradually making more changes for them as they do not like me putting my hand in their cage.

Bertie’s flight feathers have returned, so he’s not ending up on the floor any more and can fly about properly.

Peter occasionally likes to sing to Max and is trying to make friends.

Colin and Billy spend most of their day chasing after their hens and trying to keep them in line (Daisy and Iris)

Here are some photos!

The little ones

The new additions to the flock, or as I like to call them "The Little Ones" are doing very well settling in.

Iris is a very clever hen it seems. She’s started going in on her own at night so that she did not need to be grabbed (gently) to be put in for bed.

Then last night a miracle happened – all of them went in on their own!

First Iris, then Colin, Billy and finally Daisy. It took them about 10 minutes in total but it’ll get quicker!

They squiggle at each other a lot at night time though, it seems to take an age for them to settle down.

Rehoming four budgies all at once when you already had a flock of five is not for the faint hearted!

By the way, none of them are Royal Budgies, I just put Harry and Meghan in the tags to see if some Royal fans might like to see some cute budgies.