Whipper the Budgie

Mutations amongst Budgies is nothing new, considering there are now at least 32 primary colour mutations, but Whipper is a little bit different.

Whipper was thrown out of his cage, twice, by his mother, but luckily he was rescued by his loving owner Julie Hayward. Because of his unusual appearance he became somewhat of a celebrity in his home town Winton in the Southland District of New Zealand.

Instead of the usual straight feathers on a Budgie, Whipper has long, soft, curly plumage. A young girl who handled Whipper claims "He's so cute how he's got really fluffy, curly bits…". Not only does Whippers plumage set him apart from other Budgies, but his owner (Julie Hayward) states "He doesn't make the same sound as budgie. In fact he doesn't make the same sound as anything really…”

Whipper is actually classed as a “Feather duster” variety of budgie (a mutation which causes unrestricted feather growth), and is actually the 4th ever of his kind. He is slightly different to other feather dusters in the sense that the other 3 feather dusters have been known to merely sit and stare at the floor of their cage. Whipper, however, seems to be quite normal; he eats well, sings, is very social and does normal Budgie things; however he is unable to fly and it is also believed that he is blind.

Whipper with his owner Julie Hayward

Whipper received international stardom (almost), featuring on television shows and even radio programs! Whippers owner, Julie Hayward, gave an interview to a local New Zealand radio station called Hokonui gold, if you are interested in hearing what she has to say then you can download the interview by clicking here. You will need windows media player to listen though.