Golden Wings Aviaries

10/03/2025

Figgy baby number 2 hatched Sunday 9th March 2025

One more to goooooooo 😍

09/03/2025

When you're doing nest cleaning and feel like you're being watched 😆😆😆

A big box, and they want to smoosh themselves into the corner to watch me re-make their bed 😅

5 gorgeous German fallow opalines and a little foster lacewing hagoromo, all in Penny and Oscars nest 🥰

08/03/2025

I think it's the first time that I've been out properly since last year!

Took the kids and the ferrets over the park today 🥰

The ferrets had a good run around, as did the kids and then a quick stop to feed the deer and a quick snack at the cafe!

It was lovely to get a bit of sun 🌞

I crashed out for over an hour though, when we got back 😅

So anyone waiting on replies to messages, please bare with me and I'll get back to you all soon ❤️

07/03/2025

Here we go with round 3...

*uck sake Figgy 😆😅

1st baby hatched Thursday, 6th March 2025.

I've also ordered split rings with GWA1 on them, so any future DNA certificates can be linked to the ring number, not just the babies given name.

2nd baby on its way to hatching now, so will probably make an appearance tomorrow ❤️

06/03/2025

Thank you so much to Vicky, who sent in pictures of her GWA baby Bounty!

Bounty is a texas clearbody clearwing opaline baby boy and was hand tame straight from the nest.

From the get-go, he was an amazing little boy, and I knew that Vicky would be over the moon with him 🥰

He said hand tame in his new home and Vicky is absolutely over the moon with him!

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures and thank you for choosing GWA for your baby ❤️

05/03/2025

Getting bigger 😍😍😍

Can really start to see the cere colour difference between the boy and girl at this point ❤️

These babies are from Oscar and Penny and will be offered down the waiting list to those waiting 😍, I so have a full clutch of these babies, so hopefully, I'll have a fair few to offer out 🥳

All of these babies will be golden face opaline german fallow, 50% of the girls will also be cinnamon so will appear lighter than the rest.

Our little lady here is a visual cinnamon, and you can see the body dilution, too 😄

One thing I have noticed, too, is that they're really floofy. They have really soft feathers and are good, solid birds.

04/03/2025

Hia guys, just a gentle reminder ❤️

Due to the transition of me moving on some of my birds and focusing on hagoromos, I had to partially close my waiting list to those not wanting hagoromo budgies.

I have never closed my waiting list since Golden Wings Aviaries was created, but I didn't want to disappoint people and waste their time if I couldn't provide them with a baby that they wanted. So rather than me saying yes and making promises I couldn't keep, i informed them of the transition.

Anyone who asked to join my waiting list was made aware that the number of non hagoromo babies I will have available will be specifically for those already on the list due to the limited number.

As such, I've had some people decide to go elsewhere due to the uncertainty of availability. 😪

3 people were messaged today, and all of them have since changed their minds, meaning that their spot has gone to waste to someone who wanted one of my non hagoromo babies.

When people go on my waiting list, I politely ask that if you change your mind, please do let me know at your earliest convenience because it not only wastes my time but your place could be taken by someone else that I've since turned away..

Sorry to have a grumble, but a message to let me know takes 30 seconds and frees up space for someone else. ❤️

Anyway, I currently have some beautiful girls currently looking for perches, including one of recessive pieds from my last clutch from Toby and Rya. Drop me a message if you're interested 💗

03/03/2025

A close call for Sundance! 😳

Sundance was gifted to me as she is a German fallow rainbow and had come from my rainbow lines. The lady who returned her, Alison, knew that the mutation was so rare, rather than selling her on, she returned her back to me so she could be put back into the bloodline for future generations. ❤️

I paired her up with one of my boys, and she went into the breeding cage. All was well, and she started laying eggs.

She laid her first 2 and was due to lay again on the 1st March. She didn't. Now, this isn't unusual for first-time clutches, so I kept a close eye on her.

I did notice that her eggs were cold, but again, a typical situation with a pair with no experience and the hormones to brood usually kick in around eggs 3/4. 🪺

So I waited for the 3rd egg. It didn't come. I noticed she looked a bit strange around the eyes, squinty almost. This wasn't normal. So I thought I would give her 24 hours as it was possible she was preparing to lay another egg.

After 24 hours, I found her slumped on her side, in the nest box, having a seizure. Immediately, I crop fed her 1ml of neat calcium and removed her and her partner Butch to a monitoring cage. 🥺

She hung around the bottom of the cage but went straight to eating. With knowing she had a good appetite, it was a good sign that she had will to live, and I was prepared to fight with her. She was, however, tremoring really badly. Her wings were twitching, and she had terrible balance. 😥

Before closing up, I gave her another crop feed of 1ml calcium and made sure she had a full crop of seed.

It's really tricky with a bird that isn't tame. If you disturb them too much, you can make the situation worse. If you don't intervene enough, the bird could pass away. So I decided to crank up the heating so she was nice and warm and left her overnight, dreading what I may find in the morning. 🫣

The next day, she was alert and bright, perched well, but still had a slight squint to her eyes. Her tremors had stopped, but she was very sleepy. I was half expecting to find an egg on the bottom of the cage, but I didn't. Another 1ml calcium was administered, and I kept a close eye.

Today, she was like a new bird. She's stable. Her posture is good, still a bit squinty, but overall seems to have made a good recovery. 😄

I'm just about to close up tonight, and I find something very unusual on the bottom of the cage.
The next egg! 🥚

The egg was well overdue and completely rock hard and calcified! No wonder the poor girl was squinting! I think I'd be doing more than squinting if that came out of me! 😳

She seems so relieved!

So moral of the story here is that calcium with vitamin D3 is sooooo important! And it's absolutely crucial to know how to crop feed! If I hadn't sprang into action with treatment and crop needle, she probably wouldn't have made it! 💪

Her 2 eggs have been fostered to another nest, and she will stay with Butch in the monitoring cage for about 4 weeks. After this, she'll be returned to the flight for more rest, and hopefully, around summertime, she may want to try again.

If not, that's absolutely fine, and she'll be retired to my flock as a pet 🥰

02/03/2025

Handrearing baby cockateils is so much easier than budgies, but my God, do they eat a lot 😆
Honestly, the amount of formula I'm going through is crazy and that's just rearing one!

Send me strength because Figgy is back on eggs again, 3 this time 🙄

I've tried caging her alone, and she screams, I've tried caging her with Gomez (her partner), and they scream in surround sound and thrash around the cage, damaging their feathers. I've tried taking the quail hides away, and she just lays eggs in her favourite spot anyway.

So, against my better judgement and everything that I tell people NOT to do, I've had to give her a nest box. 🙈

She is going to lay and try to raise babies regardless of what I do, but God forbid the little mare actually raise them to weaning 🥲

So she has a nest box, this way, it will keep the babies safe from all the other birds that were unfortunately getting to them and unaliving them, and there was nothing I could do 😭

It's not the best outcome and it's certainly not something I would recommend but if she's this persistent, it's either rehome her where she will behave the same way with someone else, or keep her here and make sure she's monitored with all the supplements she needs. 😩

Pecan was the only survivor from the last clutch because she was laying soft shell eggs, so now she's having liquid calcium given to her via crop needle and this clutch of 3 are all perfectly formed eggs with nice thickness to them. 🥚

Honestly, there are days where I question if I'm doing the right thing. She's happiest on babies, well, until she gets bored, but I can't bear to watch her being caged and screaming.

She's hard work, but I'm hoping my experience and expertise will be enough to keep her healthy, despite her life choices 🫠

So, I guess in a few weeks, there will be more cockateil content, and it seems I'm going to be stuck handrearing babies for the rest of her life 😆

Send HELP 😅😂

01/03/2025

Budgie Vlog - Benji and Madeline - Nest Ivy - Rainbow/German fallow rainbow and hagoromo fosters ❤️

28/02/2025

Oooh, the dramas!

A little bit of blood taken from a nail clipping for Walnut and Pecan, and we will be able to find out what genders they are 😍

I hadn't even taken the sample, but they did not like being restricted in a towel. You'd think I was murdering them 😅

Now they're both giving me stink eye 👁

Poor bubbas, I'm a horrible mumma, but at least we will know if they're males or females ❤️

2 blood samples will be off tomorrow to Avigenics for DNA sexing, can't wait to see what they are 🥰

27/02/2025

Hia guys!

I'm still poorly so please forgive me for the lack of nest vlogs. I get really out of breath talking for too long 😪

Facebook has restrictions and I can't upload videos with pictures unfortunately so if I could kindly guide you over to my Tiktok page, this is where all of my videos are uploaded.

I try and upload one video a day with a variety of different types of budgies being shown 🥰

The videos give you a really good idea on what the types look like as the bird can be seen in video format rather than just pictures 😁

So please give me a follow on Tiktok and have a browse through the many mutations I have to show 😍

https://www.tiktok.com/?_t=ZN-8uH7ECJkKAQ&_r=1

All engagement is appreciated, even if it's just an emoji comment or a like or share, it really boosts my reach and I've even had a couple of people find me on Tiktok now and have their own GWA babies 😍

Please help me spread the love ❤️

1190 Followers, 731 Following, 19.2k Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by Savannah Smith

26/02/2025

Couldn't resist taking some pictures of this gorgeous duo! Both of these are Golden face German fallow opalines but I believe we have one which is also cinnamon 😍

Can you see the difference of intensity of colour between the 2 birds? Cinnamon dilutes the body colour so will make the bird appear lighter!

As neither parents are cinnamon, it must mean that dad is split and therefore the lighter baby is a little girl ❤️

How cute are they though? Their parents are Oscar and Penny 💓

25/02/2025

The gorgeous little Pecan is now out in the flight and is already making friends! He's able to fly and after a few uncoordinated test flights in my living room, it was decided that the flight would be safer for him to spread his wings ❤️

He seems over the moon to have a bit of bird company too 😍

24/02/2025

Re-upload - Budgie Vlog - Mystic and Mazikeen - Nest sunflower - Pick'n'mix 🥰

23/02/2025

Toby and his babies have now moved from a breeding cage to a monitoring cage to give them a little more space.

He was getting a little uppity with them and trying to pull them out of the nest so it was safer all round if they were moved to a cage with no nest box.

They have adapted really well and have a hamster hut as a chick hide, which still gives them some security and warmth, instead of being completely out in the open. 🌡

Toby is doing a great job of feeding them all and is much less stressed as the babies are now exploring and trying to crack seed for themselves ❤️

Managed to catch one of his daughters out having a drink and a quick preen before heading back to bed 🥰

22/02/2025

Hi guys, I just wanted to give you a quick update regarding the waiting list.

Over the last few months, we've been desperately trying to fulfil requests for baby boys for those on the waiting list, but unfortunately, we've had around 95% of all of our nests, producing females 😅

So I do apologise about the wait, but please be assured that I'm doing my absolute best to offer out any boys I have as quickly as possible.

If anyone is on my list and has now changed their mind, please do let me know ❤️

We do have 2 gorgeous unclaimed hago girls looking for their forever perch, which are the most affordable end 😉

So please reach out and drop me a message 🥰

21/02/2025

Budgie Vlog - Rascal and Dream - Nest Tulip - Pick'N'Mix 🥰