I've had budgies b4 in my life time but never had any close contact with them b4 untill now.........

 

October 2004 .Sunny, (my budgie) was purchased from a over crowded cage in a busy market place. He was chosen at random not really caring which one i got all i knew was i wanted one. He was nearly a year old they told me from an avery. so i wasnt expecting a very friendly bird.

 

After a few days i decided to see what he was like and pick him up... to my suprise he made little fuss about it.

I feel i am very lucky because he will tollerate just about anything... he doesnt bite and he isnt noisy. and no training was needed. you'd swear he was a hand reared bird.

 

but the problem is... he doesnt seam happy... he doesnt play games doesnt play with toys doesnt talk doesnt even make sounds unless he is outside screeching at wild birdies.

 

i thought maybe it is just his personality. i spend as much time as possible with him... always dragging him to where ever i am in the house... and i have even purchased a bird play gym to see if he might like that. still waiting for it, to see if that will make him move around and play.

 

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas to bring him out of his shell ? or if it is normal... seeing i havnt had much budgie exsperiance....

It does sound like he should be better adjusted by now.

 

Has he been to the avian vet for a well bird visit? It worries me that he was unusually tame for an older, aviary bird and that he is also very quiet. I know you've had him for months but some illnesses can linger for months or even years before really taking their toll. Being unusually tame is actually a sign of illness sometimes. So is quietness. How are his droppings and appetite? Does he often look fluffed up in appearance?

 

What's he like when you bring him out of the cage? Does he explore things or just sit in one spot? And while he's in the cage does he move around very much?

 

It might just take a lot of time, love, and patience for him to come out of his shell but it would still be a very good idea to get him checked out by an avian vet just in case his problem is physical. Let them run some general tests on him (like fecal tests and maybe even bloodwork if they think it's necessary) just to rule out any possible illness. If he gets a clean bill of health you can rest assured that it's just a behavioral thing and he just needs time to adjust more.

 

I hope he begins to show his personality for you soon.

i have never taken him to the vet.... but to me he looks very healthy eats well poo is normal and yes sometimes he does go walking around the house... but looks bored while he is doing it....

and he isnt in his cage much but when he is he is usually sleeping cause it is mainly at night.

Hm. He might be completely healthy, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to have him checked out anyway. Budgies hide illness till the very last minute. (If they were to show weakness in the wild, they'd be the first to be picked off by a predator so it's instinct to appear as healthy as possible even if something serious is wrong.) I learned the hard way that a healthy bird on the outside isn't always a healthy bird on the inside.

 

It just bothers me a bit to hear about a budgie being so quiet and reserved. It's true, all budgies have different personalities, but at the same time a budgie is a budgie and is going to do certain basic budgie things. Chirping, chatter, and a bit of playfulness is typical. It's worrying to hear about a budgie that doesn't do much of that.

 

I don't want to scare you or anything and I'm not trying to be totally negative. I'd just hate to see something bad happen to your pet. I know first hand how it feels to watch one of them leave the world and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I really hate how negative I always sound when I reply to things like this but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Edited April 7, 200520 yr by devvle

Sunny is alert and takes not of what is going on about... and there isnt any vets here that specialise in bird behaviour but i'll take him down to the vets now and see what they have to say. cause he is truly worth it. eventhough he doesnt do much he is still a sweetie.

thanks for your opinion !

You probably won't get much use out of a regular vet. Have you searched online to see if there are avian vets anywhere around you? That's how I found mine. A small animal (dog and cat) vet is probably just going to take a couple of looks at him then charge you for it.

yeah but i couldnt find any....

so i dont know what else to do then.

maybe a specialist breeder cound help ? i know a few of them.

what do u think ?

Yeah, it might be good to talk to a good breeder. Maybe they would even know of a vet? Or call other vets and see if they know of any avian ones? Hopefully they can either give you an idea of where to go or offer some helpful advice based on their experience.

alrighty then. that will be my next course of action. and we will see from there,

thanks kindly for your help.

You're welcome! I hope it all turns out okay. I'm sure it will, you're a good budgie parent!

Good advice from devvle there. I wouldn't normally say this but have you tried him with a bell or a mirror? They can get a bit protective of these but I just wonder if you could try one and see if it gives him a bit of 'spark'.

Try a general bird conditioner too in case he's lacking something in his diet.

Julie

yeah he sits on a mirror next to my pc when i am on here. and he just stares at himself. but still does nothing...

 

and i found it is the one place where he will eat different foods if i put them on the mirror...

 

as for bells he just isnt interested....

 

Also i had a chat to a bird specialist today who said he doesnt think anything is wrong but he knows a animal doc who will do some blood tests to make sure. :doctor:

 

so fingers cross he is well and he is just a quiet bird....

yes i would definitely follow devvles advice if i was in the same situation. and if the only vet you can get to is a regular vet then i would advise you to go and get him checked over anyway, ask your vet if they know any avian specialists you can ask to be referred on and i think you will find that they will be happy to help you as much as they can

 

i would be worried about his health as he came from an overcrowded market place where it would be easy for a sick bird to pass on any illneses.

 

i think he will be quite reserved by nature as he came from such poor conditions so i think the more time you spend with him the more he will want to come out and play time is the best healer but you can help him a long the way by providing him with the best possible diet and lots of different perches and toys to try and cheer him up. also, are you out for most of the day and he is left on his own? it is a good idea to leave the radio on for him so he doesnt feel all alone.

 

i really think he will do just fine with all the care and attention you give him. let us know how he gets on with his checkup. :doctor:

He is with me pretty much all day !

 

and as with diet i provided him with everything i have ever heard that is good for a budgie... except the whole eucalyptus thing cause i dont know what thats all about nor which type to provide.

 

so lets see what happens tomorrow morning with the specialist.

i have a regular eucalyptus tree in my garden that i bought from the garden centre last summer. Would that be okay to give to the birds? Didnt realise they liked it. Is it the leaves they like?

Emma X

My budgie has been the same way for the past three months since i seperated from my boyfriend and so he had to be seperated from his other budgie pals. However i have recently been leaving the radio on for him when i'm not there and i came home last night to the most hyperactive budgie ever - fighting his reflection, tweeting away jumping around the place. Also, recently i changed his seed from normal cheap pet shop stuff to some brand name , trill i think. But he still won't eat anything other than seed!!

As for him being tame it is possible for young aviary birds to be tame my budgie came from a breeder where the birds are kept in an aviary but when the budgies are born the breeder handles them everyday to get them used to human contact !!

i have a regular eucalyptus tree in my garden that i bought from the garden centre last summer. Would that be okay to give to the birds? Didnt realise they liked it. Is it the leaves they like?

Emma X

 

no idea... all i read was budgies are mad about it... but only certain types...

 

and they like all parts of the tree ! still trying to find out what types though... guess just have to try a few and find out....

Edited April 7, 200520 yr by Sunny

Emma-if you have a look at General Questions About Budgies-Eucalyptus Trees,there's some discussion going on there.

Julie

Sunny whereabout in NSW are you?. If you want to email me I can ask my avian vet is she can tell me of someone in your area

Cindy

hey sunny, my bird rovroski sounds a little bit like yours (only he's not very tame...) he wouldn't play with his toys until i bought a younger budgie who's kinda crazy and loooves toys, i guess rovroski saw him having a good time and he started playing too. does your budgie come out of his cage when you open it for him? cause rovros won't come out, he's not very active and there's othing wrong with his health(i took him to the vet for a check up and there was othig wrong)...let us know what the specialist told you maybe i'll get some answers for rovro's behaviour too!

is he kept on his own? becuase skittle(my budgie) came from an avery anc it took him a while to settle in and get use to being on his own. now (5 months on) he is fine.

ATD

 

p.s. sorry only skim reading (Laughing out loud) emm not sure.. have you though about a friend?

ATD

Edited April 8, 200520 yr by Sky

okay so now sunny has seen a bird doctor.. :doctor:

 

He assured me sunny was healthy.

 

and i should concider myself lucky he was so easy to tame....

 

and that his quite behaviour was due to the fact that sunny has been so use to being with other birds ( i got him when he was already a year old) and the change was a situation that he doesnt quite know how to handle... meaning he doesnt know how to behave in this new environment. but in time sunny will be the bird he should be... (doesnt make any sense to be , but hey the doc knows best i guess)

 

I was told another bird would bring him out of his shell because thats what he is use to.... lost of other birds... but i dont want another bird just yet.... so an alternative was to provide sunny with alot of stimulation to try and encourage him to do things...

 

so i went down then street and bought a ridiculous amount of toys and things for birds to i can try them out on him...

 

also my neighbour gave me some branches to make a perch for sunny when he is next to my computer so he would stop chewing the speakers. and so i made the best perch i could with my lack of building skills...

 

and omg within minutes of sunny being on this perch he has made the first screeches (bird talk) ever !!! i was impressed.... maybe he found something familiar about it and he loves it !!! YAY !

 

so in time i am sure my bird will be the happy budgie that he deserves to be...

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/sunn...unny/perch2.jpg

 

(my stand...(Laughing out loud))

Well that's really good news Sunny and that perch looks fantastic,keep up the good work.

Julie

yes that is good news, at least now you can put your mind at rest

 

that perch looks amazing! what a good idea, im glad little sunny looks so happy. i think you both will have lots of fun teaching him to play with his toys.

 

keep us posted on his progress!

awwwwwwww, thanks for your kind words....

 

im sure sunny and i will have lots of fun ! and great times ahead of us.

 

time and patiance and he will be fine , i am sure of it.....

 

thanks kindly.

 

Carmen