In the News: Birdman of Berlin shared flat with 1,700 budgies

[tamaran2]

Birdman of Berlin shared flat with 1,700 budgies

Birdman of Berlin shared flat with 1,700 budgies

Berlin city officials, summoned by complaints over the noise, found a 60-year-old man sharing his two-room flat with 1,700 budgerigars.
The budgies were living on perches installed along the walls, while the floors were saturated with droppings, veterinary services said here Wednesday.

The pensioner told officials he had adopted two birds because he felt lonely and that nature had done the rest.

About 1,000 of the birds were evacuated on Tuesday, 300 on Wednesday, while the remainder were to be taken from the flat to a rescue shelter over the next few days, officials said. The tenant was also having to move as the flat was deemed no longer fit for human habitation.

[Lessadalinar]

Hmph...Complaints of noise? HAHAHA

What about the smell!

Must have smelled like Roses

2 birds grew into 1700. Just simply... wow.

[pippy]

So they would have all inter-bred?

[Astrid660]

that's no good. it would be another thing if he adopted that many, but wow... that must have taken quite some time, to breed into 1700 ??

[amanda143]

Wouldn't have been so bad if he had cleaned up after them. I clean my aviary every day! lol

[Kevin]

jebus, anyone want to do the math on how long it would take to exponentially grow a population from 2 to 1700 with a budgies gestation / rearing time given reasonable down time between clutches....

[Lori~D]

Well I do know that in the wild they start breeding and nesting at six months old so there is the place to start. how many clutches can one pair have a year (if allowed as in the wild). Do the math, haha not me

[angelicarboreals]

All I can say is wow. I could never live with that many birds, and I could not imagine how someone could live with that kind of mess and not be deathly ill. Those poor birds.

[LouieBird]

OMG! Lets see, assuming 2 clutches per year with 4 to 6 babies per clutch and if the babies start producing at 6 months and so on and so on and so on ..... somewhere between the 3rd and 4th year you'd be waist deep in 'em.
I wonder if he lived in a brick house? The 14 Buds here can do a LOT of damage. Imagine what 1700 would do?

[tamaran2]

Originally Posted by LouieBird

OMG! Lets see, assuming 2 clutches per year with 4 to 6 babies per clutch and if the babies start producing at 6 months and so on and so on and so on ..... somewhere between the 3rd and 4th year you'd be waist deep in 'em.
I wonder if he lived in a brick house? The 14 Buds here can do a LOT of damage. Imagine what 1700 would do?

Brick House.?..No the article said:

sharing his two-room flat

I can't even imagine that one....