Help - What's Wrong With My New Budgie?

[Guest glasgowguy]

okay folks.. i've got my first budgie about 2 weeks ago. He (or She) is very young probably about 8 weeks old. He is feeding okay but my concern is that he does not want to play with any toys i gave him. He looks miserable most of the time. :ausb: There will be a few odd occasions during the day that he will chirp or fly about a wee bit in the cage.

 

At the beginning, i was so excited because only after a few days, he was not running away from my hand and could step up on my finger. I have him outside the cage pretty soon after that. He seems to be slightly more active and vocal outside but he spends most of the time staying still and not doing very much. I have to go to work weekdays so i left bad having him locked up for so long so left the cage door open for him. He know to go in and out of the cage by himself. After i am back from work, I can get him back quite easily as long as i have millet spray. I try to give him about 15 minutes everyday for training and he is doing alright (again as long as i have millets!).

 

I was wondering if he might be ill but he feeds okay and i cannot see any sign of illness from him. What should i do? I want him to be a bit more playful so i know he is alright.

 

Also ,anybody has any idea how long it will take for him to come to me by himself?.. He seems to only be interested in the food i have more than me at the moment!

 

thanks

ek

[Elly 0]

Pretty much what you are describing sounds personally normal, because he doesn't "act" the way some budgies playful, acrobatic and more may mean he is miserable but that is not entirely true.

 

Pretty when I first got him simply stood in one spot for the first 4 months, never played with a toy and only ate. I thought he was lonely and I wanted to get him another buddy but I waited. After the 4 month he came more out of his shell he started to play with his plastic balls but he is still very quiet in terms of he doesn't crawl all over the cage, play with tons of toys he is more content singing now that he came out of his shell. When I first got him I though something was wrong, I would read about all these budgies that would sit on shoulders, feed their owners, bang their toys but I was reassured this is his personality.

 

And it truly is his peronality :ausb:, he is still this way. 2 weeks is such a short time it took Pretty 4 plus months to come out of his shell.

 

So I would continue to give a lot of attention, continue to be consistent. Pretty doesn't eat from me either I don't mind it is just not him.

 

Now as for leaving the door open all day that is probably not wise there are too many things a budgie can get into that can not be safe even if you believe it is totally bird proofed. For your birds sake, I would keep him locked up until you get home. You may feel bad but you will feel worse if anything happened to him while unsupervised.

 

Also I am not sure how big the cage you have is now but if you can afford a bigger one that has made a huge difference in Pretty's outlook. I got a new cage a little under a month ago where he can fly back and forth and he is more active and vocal and he has started to talk.

 

I hope this helps from my own experience.

[Pixie 0]

Going along with Lovey here, your budgie sounds normal for a new bird.

We got ours on the 1st of April and he was very quiet.. did everything he could to avoid toys.. but happier out of the cage and would put himself back.. so I knew he didn't have a problem with the cage.

I took out all the toys just left one, then added another over a period of time.

He now plays with them.. loves the bells and will ding them with his beak.

Your doing well with him taking food from you.. ours won't do that yet.

Each one is different and as long as he is eating and drinking I wouldn't worry too much.

 

Again I wouldn't leave a cage open with out being around... friends of mine did that with theirs and the bird got trapped behind a piece of furniture and was dead by the time they got home from work.

[Elly 0]

taking food is a trust factor big time remember anything a budgie eat can be potential dangerous so as the trust builds you may find he will take food. just adding there, great advice Pixie

[Pixie 0]

Yes you are so right Lovey.. with the trust thing and also your right about the cage... when we changed ours, that made heaps of difference too..

Edited May 15, 2006 by Pixie

[Guest glasgowguy]

Hi there

 

Thanks for all the replies. I am now a bit happier, knowing that my bird's behavior is normal. He is in Rekord 3 just now. I have ordered a bigger cage but it will take a month or two for shipment to arrive.

 

I came home today and he was sitting on the perch that i connected on the outside near the cage door. I walked up to him gently and got him on and off my finger about 10 times before he flew off. I left him out in this room normally. He never goes anywhere apart from the bottom of the window frame high up. He likes to fly round and round but always go back to the windows (the bar just below the top four window panes) or flies between left and right side of the bay window.

 

I feel kind of cruel to keep him in the wee cage most part of the day for another 5-6 weeks before the big cage arrive. : ( I undertand what you are saying about the danger but is there any way to make the room safe?

 

ek

[**KAZ** 0]

As budgies like to chew, you must check your plants against the toxic plants list to be sure he won't get poisoned by chewing on them. Budgies can also fly into windows and hurt themselves. Out time should be supervised time, especially in the early stages. Can't think of anything else. All my 90 odd budgies are in outside aviaries. Many people on here with inside birds will be able to help.

Edited May 16, 2006 by budgiebird

[Guest Phoebe]

Wow, his current cage looks pretty good for just one budgie. Don't think you need that extra big cage unless you plan on getting more. Sounds like he is a normal, scared new budgie and doing what a lot of them do, remember, just like people, they have different personalities as everybody else has wonderfully pointed out. Love the fact you are so concerned and committed to him. What does scare me is the fact you let him out when you go to work, I KNOW you feel bad, I always rush home rather than joining co-workers for drinks or whatever after work. Even if he is confined to one room, the plants could be toxic to him, he could get stuck between things and panic or start to chew on electrical cords. Just buy him lot of interactive toys and rotate and replace them around every so often. Leave a radio on as well for company. Like I said, I think your current cage is just great for one budgie now that people can view it, opinions please?

Enjoy your new friend.

Edited May 16, 2006 by Phoebe

[Elly 0]

The one you have now is what I have for Pretty I honestly thought it was too small because he can not fly back and forth at all and that is why he just sat there (Laughing out loud). Our new cage is huge it has similar dimension of the one you want to purchase and you will find that the bigger cage the more active the bird. But right now being so new to your home the smaller cage is just fine. Merlin is in a smaller cage and I like it that way first it gives them security plus you can finger tame easier. Now the Pretty is in the bigger cage he is not as ready jumping on my finger.

[Sailorwolf 0]

I believe you should buy the biggest cage you can afford. Even for one budgie. Because in a big cage they can stretch and explore and you can add more areas to play in. I have a huge cage, 89 cm by 89 cm by 165 cm (as tall as me) and there is only 4 budgies in it. I don't believe that a small cage is good for one bird, because that bird will still want to fly around as much as when he is with many other birds.

The one you are buying (the big one) looks great, you will love creating new environments and set ups in it. Be careful of the top though, it has been known to collapse and squish birds, when open. If you are worried about that, just don't use that perch on the top. :bluebudgie:

[Elly 0]

I completely agree with sailorswife, she is right the bigger the better. In fact the huge cage I have could hold 4-6 but I have gotten used to just Pretty being in it that it doesn't look that big anymore for him :bluebudgie:.

[Sailorwolf 0]

Sailor WOLF As in Canis Lupus

 

Haha (Laughing out loud), that's the second time you've done that. :(Laughing out loud):

 

Too young to be married yet. :glare:

Edited May 17, 2006 by Sailorwolf

[Elly 0]

Thank you for the correction I am sorry