Hello to everyone! My name is Art and I just got my first Budgie the other day. I currently live and work in Iraq so getting this guy was no small feat. I have him set up in my office where he is near my desk and I can spend time with him throughout the day. He is roughly 2 to 3 years old and is not very tame. I am taking things very slow with him. Currently I talk to him and three or four times a day I will open his cage, put my hand inside for a few minutes and then remove it. He tolerates that well. I'll do that for a while until he gets used to my hand being in the cage with him. My wife is sending me some quality food as well as some treats and toys. He does eat the seed that I was given. I don't believe that he was ever offered any fruits or vegetables. I offered him some cucumbers, pear and some shredded carrots, but he just eyeballed it. The next day I put a wedge of pear up by his perch in the wire of the cage and he went to town on it. I was pleased with that. I did the same thing the following day with some apple and he ignored it. I put in another pear wedge and he went right over to it. I figure that I'll just try different things and see what he does and doesn't like. His cage may not be optimal, but I'm sure it could be worse. It's not like there is a pet store anywhere nearby... Here are some pics. They are from my phone so I don't expect to win any prizes. I welcome any advice that you guys may have for me. I have been doing as much research as I can and feel that I have recently learned a lot about these little guys.

 

Hello, welcome.

He is a handsome little fellow.

Hello Art!

He's a cutie! Have you named him yet?

 

 

 

Hi Art....welcome to our forum. Your budgie is lovely and you are doing all the right things with him so far.

 

Enjoy

Hi Art. Gee, you're a long way away in Iraq. Your little bird is a handsome wee fellow. How about calling him 'Garfunkel'?

 

If you can get a stainless steel bird kabob thing you hang from the top of the cage, try skewering thin rounds of carrot, apple or raw beetroot on it. He might start tearing it up for fun, then eventually start eating it.

 

 

 

Hi Art, welcome to the forum! He sure looks like a nice bird. And I think he's really lucky to have an owner like you.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone.

 

I have a name for him, however it may be a little racey to post on a public forum. I don't want to be asked to leave so we'll just refer to him as D.P.

 

stace - I will have a "stainless steel bird kabob thing" sent my way from the States. Thanks.

 

Does he look lean to you guys? He seems a little on the thin side to me.

Oh la la. Racey huh.

 

Main thing is to give them fresh seed, veges and water every day, and make sure their water isn't contaminated with poop.

 

 

Just one other thing. If you put seven layers of newspaper down on top of the grate (not under), just roll up the dirty one each day or so. Makes cleaning much much easier.

Hi Art and DP. If the little guy has given your pear a go, it seems he is game to try new things so that's a plus. Keep offering him veges and fruit, even if he has rejected them in the past. Sometimes they will look at the same thing for weeks and then one day tuck in. Doesn't have to be a lot of anything, just a variety. Doesn't look skinny to me, but that's only me. Maybe more experienced members could comment for you.

Welcome Art and little DP!

 

He is certainly handsome

 

If you are worried about his weight, pick him up and feel for his keel bone (bone in the front of the chest)

If its prominent and pointy then he needs some more meat on his bones lol

stace - Thanks for the newspaper tip. That will certainly make life easier. I'm all about that.

 

Maddy - I don't think that picking him up at this point is such a good idea. He'll freak out. When I get to that point i'll check him out, though. Thanks for the tip on how to do it.

 

On a positive note DP started singing today. He cracks me up. He perches on one leg and hunches over to keep one eye on me.

 

I was told that the best way to get him to perch on your hand was to "chase him around the cage until he's tired and he'll eventually give up and get on your hand". Hmmm. I don't think so...