Hi,

 

My husband and I brought home our new budgie Fri. 9/24. He was active and engaged with other birds, was not puffy, had a clean vent area and had no discharge that we could see. We brought him home and I wasn't really expecting him to do much for the first day or so, but I was expecting him to eat and drink more. He's nibbled a bit on some carrots and millet that we've put in the cage. I marked the water line, but it hasn't changed since he came home. On Sat morning, he had yellow discoloration of the feathers around his vent and had also pooped on his foot. He's been preening and trying to clean himself, but isn't horribly active like he was at the store. I've also noticed that he puffs himself up but doesn't stay puffed up. I'm also worried that he might get dehydrated. This is the first bird for my husband and myself, so I'd appreciate any experience you are willing to share. I'm including some photos and a link to a video showing his fluffing behavior.

 

Thanks,

 

Jen

 

I tried to get a picture of his vent, because I know everyone is just dying to see it

 

 

Edited September 27, 201014 yr by 2pedersens

Welcome to the world of budgies!! He's a cute little fella.

 

I've watched your youtube clip and he seems fine -definitely not a sick bird. He looks a little scared but alert, which is understandable given he's a bub. He's not a lively as in the pet shop because now he's all alone and is adjusting to his new environment. Do you interact and talk to him alot? Given he's an only bird, he needs to know that your part of his flock. Is he tame?

 

Sometimes when you bring a new bird home, it can take a bit of time for them to settle and sometimes they can get sick. My avian vet calls this 'new bird syndrome'. They can become a bit stressed when they arrive (new environment and all) and when birds are stressed they are more prone to illness. It doesn't mean that we've done anything wrong with them, it's just one of those things. They often get over it by themselves, but if they don't then off to the vet they go. My latest two additions got a bit messy in the rear end but they were fine after a few days.

 

Budgies don't drink lots of water because they're wild counterparts live in arid environments and they can go without water for a while. So you won't notice the water container going down unlike a dog. Just make sure that the water is changed daily and that the container is clean.

 

I recommend reading the FAQs on this site, as they are a good source of info for new budgie owners. If you're unsure of anything, just ask and someone here will answer.

Welcome to the world of budgies!! He's a cute little fella.

 

I've watched your youtube clip and he seems fine -definitely not a sick bird. He looks a little scared but alert, which is understandable given he's a bub. He's not a lively as in the pet shop because now he's all alone and is adjusting to his new environment. Do you interact and talk to him alot? Given he's an only bird, he needs to know that your part of his flock. Is he tame?

 

Sometimes when you bring a new bird home, it can take a bit of time for them to settle and sometimes they can get sick. My avian vet calls this 'new bird syndrome'. They can become a bit stressed when they arrive (new environment and all) and when birds are stressed they are more prone to illness. It doesn't mean that we've done anything wrong with them, it's just one of those things. They often get over it by themselves, but if they don't then off to the vet they go. My latest two additions got a bit messy in the rear end but they were fine after a few days.

 

Budgies don't drink lots of water because they're wild counterparts live in arid environments and they can go without water for a while. So you won't notice the water container going down unlike a dog. Just make sure that the water is changed daily and that the container is clean.

 

I recommend reading the FAQs on this site, as they are a good source of info for new budgie owners. If you're unsure of anything, just ask and someone here will answer.

 

SL26,

 

Thanks for the fast response. I feel quite a bit relieved. He isn't tame yet. He's only just slightly comfortable with our hands inside the cage as long as we're a good 15cm from him. My hubby and I talk to him alot and have music playing for him when we're not there. He's only alone during the night and for 2 2-hour blocks during the day while my husband is in classes. We have him set up in the computer room where we both spend a lot of time doing homework We ultimately want a buddy for him, but we wanted him to be comfortable doing step-ups before he bonded with another keet. I will definitely check out more of the FAQs and my hubby's going to be hearing more about budgies than he ever thought possible

 

Jen

Hi Jen, welcome to the forum!

 

Your budgie sure is a cutie! And what a nice huge cage you got for him. He is a lucky bird! You will have lots of fun with him.

Hi

 

Cute budgie. Do you have a close up photo of its cere ? as there seems to be white on the cere which would make it a female not a male if so.

 

Please remove the sandpaper perch as these arent necessary and can actually harm their feet.

 

Good to have you here

Sandpaper posts are gone

 

Tried to take an up close pick of him but he was being coy (and moving) and the camera was focusing on the back of the cage. I was told that you couldn't tell definitively until they were close to a year, so we were just calling him Duke. Perhaps we'll have to change it to Dukette

 

I would change that to Duchess. I think it looks like a hen. Cute looking bird

Sandpaper posts are gone Tried to take an up close pick of him but he was being coy (and moving) and the camera was focusing on the back of the cage. I was told that you couldn't tell definitively until they were close to a year, so we were just calling him Duke. Perhaps we'll have to change it to Dukette

What you were told would have come from someone inexperienced in sexing budgies. Most of us here arent inexperienced. If the cere has white on it like it seems to have in the photos then Duke is a Duchess.

Sandpaper posts are gone

Thankyou

Sounds like you're doing all the right things, so you're off to a good start. I also sometimes play budgie/bird sounds to my birds which they love. See thread for more info: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=27384

 

Oops - didn't notice the sandpaper perch, very bad for their feet. You could try some natural branches instead. Not sure if you've got access to any eucalypts but something like that make good perches and it gives them something to chew as well. The key thing is making sure the wood is non-toxic.

 

Duke definitely looks like a Duchess - the guys on this forum are very experienced and certainly know how to sex babies and are a fantastic source of info!

We ended up getting some pine tree perches. Not sure where to go here in WA for eucalyptus. That's probably something we'd have to order.

 

Now I'm kind of curious. I've been going through some of the other posts on sexing budgies, and I'm thoroughly confused since the rules seem to change with the various mutations (or I'm just plain confused ). I'll have to keep studying. Since our bird is now female, what type of companion should we get? What kind of guidelines are there? I don't really want to be breeding, so do I focus on getting a female later on? How long should I wait (taking into consideration the 30 day quarantine?).

Edited September 29, 201014 yr by 2pedersens