achatterofgentlemen
Improving pet bird lives around the world
The collective noun for budgerigars is 'a chatter' - this name is given to them due to the constant chattering noise they make to communicate with each other. In the wild their sound travels for miles, and they use their sounds to find each other across the vast Australian outback.
Lasagna
The Original
The first little budgie that the human picked out. Lasagna is a special bird who knows how to give kisses and holds a special place in the human's heart.
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Due to an old injury he cannot fly well and often has to be saved from falling on the ground and getting stuck under the cage.
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Lasagna was named after the human's favourite pasta - as a joke - but the name stuck.
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In Memorium
Sheogorath
#ChaoticBoiSheo
Sheo was originally chosen by the human's partner, and adequately named for his wild behaviour. Despite knowing how to step up, this little parrot prefers a hands-off approach - unless you have millet.
His curiosity has gotten him in big trouble before, as he had to undergo treatment for heavy metal toxicity.
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A clipped baby Sheo ran all around the store when the humans bought him and had to be chased with a net!
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Fly free and chaotically our sweet boy: https://www.achatterofgentlemen.com/post/chaoticboisheo
Sherlock
Sherlock is the big brother of the team, he is the sweetest boy and laid back. He is a quirky boy which likes to chew on branches - especially to peel the bark off.
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Sherlock often puffs his chest out and tilts his head, turning his body into a question mark - which is both amusing and adorable.
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He is often too lazy to fly and has become a couch potato! Through flight encouragement and diet, the humans have slimmed him down and made him a stronger flier.
Pluto
In Memorium
Pluto is one of the biggest birds of the chatter, but is the lowest in the pecking order. This timid floofy head is often bullied during mealtimes and off perches. He would rather fly away than fight anyone.
Pluto gets anxious around humans, but rarely bites and is a very strong flier. He loves to chatter to Sherlock and Sheo or just relax on a swing by himself.
Pluto adores red capsicum and is almost constantly stained after eating it.
Sugar Sweet Tweet
The diva queen
Sugar is filled to the brim with attitude and energy. This girl has two personalities - extremely aggressive or melting into your hands for scritches. She is cage aggressive and is only just learning how to step up onto a stick.
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When separated or left alone, she will pluck or cling to the side of the cage in protest. She enjoys spending all day chewing, foraging and flying - but when bedtime comes, she will try to bite your finger off.
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She is the QUEEN of the Chatter
Frederick
In Memorium
Big shy boy
Frederick is a semi-tame budgie that is a
long term boarding resident of ours. He is
Jasper's best friend, and you will often find
them preening each other.
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He took about 6 months to start coming out of his shell, and now he loves chewing on Balsa and
Seagrass pieces!
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Frederick is best left alone to play without human interaction due to his nervous and untamed nature. We hope to build his confidence to eventually step up, but he's always happy to just hang out with the other budgies.
Jasper
Friendly and Sweet
Jasper is our other long term boarding resident. He is a friendly budgie that will land on your head and accept scritches occasionally.
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His favourite time of day is sundown when the seed comes out. During the other parts of the day, he spends his time napping and preening Frederick.
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Jasper is very cheeky though, when it comes to stepping up or going to bed, he can easily evade your fingers!
The Human
The human is highly passionate about animal welfare, especially in small birds. She is a veterinary nurse in training - with a preference to avians (pet and wild) and felines.
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Her dream is continue to learn about veterinary medicine, so she can pursue a career in caring for and advocating for under-represented animals around the world.
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The main topics of interest for the human is bird nutrition, behaviour, and husbandry. Budgerigars are her absolute favourite bird, but she does have a soft spot for many passerines.
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Meatball
The protector
Meatball is highly protective of Fuzzy, despite his small size he will stand on top of her to protect her. When out of sight, he will scream or sing for her until she returns.
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He is extremely timid and easily frightened - which are classic characteristics of canaries. Often anxious with close contact, he will seek places to hide or sit up high.
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Meatball's favourite things to do are to bathe, eat and find small items to bring back to his cage (including shredded paper, feathers and wood).
In Memorium
Peach Fuzz
A childhood dream come true
A little yellow singing canary was the human's dream bird as a child. Although, Fuzzy cannot sing, she is more than special enough.
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With only 1 leg due to an aviary attack and a feisty attitude, this tiny bird has the personality of a much larger creature. She will not hesitate to let her husband know that she needs her space and is a wonderful flier.
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Fuzzy is provided with platforms, which she loves to curl up into a ball on to sleep at night.
Sir Steven (Stevie)
A stray with a home
Stevie joined the team in November 2021 when she was found as a stray. We searched far and wide for her owner, but no one came forward for her.
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Originally thought to be a male, she was name Sir Steven, but now lovingly called Stevie.
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She is a timid, sweet girl who loves cuddles and beak kisses. Her favourite thing is to throw toys off tables and tear apart soft wood. She does not like new people or other birds, and often keeps to herself.
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She is a classic hormonal ringneck though, and is always making birdie mating noises.
Kenai
King of PewPewPew
Kenai was adopted from Kiwis New Life Bird Rescue as a friend for Stevie. He had a rough past, and was going to live at the sanctuary for the rest of his life.
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He loves to do the classic Ringneck "PewPew" yell, hold small pieces of wood in his foot to chew and fruity treats.
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Kenai isn't tame, but seems to enjoy keeping to himself and playing with his toys.
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In Memorium
Our Finches
Finchie and her original mate were never more than a metre away from each other. Often seen cuddling, preening one another and beeping. Their favourite thing was cuddling under the gumtree branches. Together, they were collectively known as The Finchies.
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During 2022, we introduced Gordon and Finchie 2.0 to the Corden Bleu team as well as Zebra Finches, Lord Meeperton and Testificate.
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Unfortunately, all our finches passed away from a wasting illness in 2022 and no matter how much care we gave them, they didn't make it.
In Memorium
Lemon Meringue
May Lemmy our silly girl fly high and rest in peace at the Rainbow Bridge.
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Read her story here: https://www.achatterofgentlemen.com/post/lemon-meringue
Zazu
Quiet and nervous
Since adopting Stevie, we've been wanting to add an Alexandrine to the family. We decided to visit one of the local rescues and fell in love with this handsome fella.
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Zazu had been an unclaimed stray 2 years ago, making him at least 5-6 years old now. He is semi-tame, with wing issues and is a very quiet boy.
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He will be given as much time as he needs to settle in, while we begin basic taming and desensitisation training. So far he is already showing fantastic progress, and we are so excited to work with him.
Isuzu
The Friendly Stray
Isuzu was a stray that came into my workplace, and despite best efforts we were unable to find his original owner.
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He is an extremely cheeky bird that loves destroying anything he can get his beak on, so he is always provided with wood, natural seed pods, shredding toys, perches with bark and foraging toys to keep him busy.
He loves to copy us laughing, whistle and says Peekaboo in different ways. He has learnt to love Zazu, and is always by his side or on out shoulder.
Oreo Storm
Little survivor
Oreo Storm suffered a terrible injury to his right leg, when his previous owner attempted a home ring removal. This little rescue bird has had an amputation as his leg was not able to be saved.
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He has fully healed now and enjoys free flying in the bird room. He spends his days doing aerial battles with Meatball, growling at the finches and sunbathing on the window perch.
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The Finches
Never to be abandoned again
Our 6 Zebra Finches and 1 Gouldian Finch were abandoned in an aviary along with 20+ other birds when their owner moved overstate in 2023.
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Luckily, the townspeople had been feeding the birds for a month to prevent them from starving, but it wasn't until G'day Birdie Sanctuary launched a rescue mission that they were saved.
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Our finches are named Crunchie, Caramello, Twirl, Mars, Snickers, Kit Kat, Cherry Ripe (RIP) and M&M. They love building nests from feathers, shredded paper, and leafy greens as well as foraging on the ground for food.
Larktholomew
Onto his second life
Lark came into my workplace after being attacked by a cat, with a hole in his crop and seed leaking out. When I opened the box, I thought I would see a dying bird, but instead was greeted with a bright, chirpy budgie who zoomed around the room with seed falling from his chest. He never even acted hurt or afraid. So I adopted him and he had surgery which gave him a second chance at life.
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He soon adapted to life in the bird room, and bonded to Lasagna immediately. You will often see him perched high up, chattering or being fed by Lazzi.
Angry Birb
Retired teaching bird
Angry Birb was a university teaching bird that was used to teach the next generation of vet students. Except, she was a fiesty, bitey girl who was unable to be adopted out after the semester ended.
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She was rehomed to someone close to the faculty, but she was then a lone bird who had in the past lived with many others.
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While boarding here, Angry Birb seemed happy to be surrounded by everyone in rhe bird room, so the owners opted to leave her with us. She is the third permanent boarder here alongside Jasper and Freddie.
