Hello All!! New (And Very Excited!) Budgie Owner!

[WarriorPrincess]

Hello everyone!!

My name is Nakita, and I am from sunny Sarasota, FL.

I have been working in a pet store for several months and in that time have made friends with a beautiful pineapple conure, a stunning and incredibly cuddly Rose Breasted Cockatoo (Galah), and as of a week ago, a very cute juvie Parakeet (American Budgie)! The cockatoo is incredibly dear to me, but I cannot afford him, nor can I handle his big bird screaming in my apartment! However, after doing quite a bit of reading and research, I decided to go ahead and bring home my Budgie friend! (Hereafter I refer to said Budgie as "he", but as of yet he is a juvie and I don't know yet what "his" sex is!)

I purchased a medium sized flight cage for him, with lots of perches (wood, calcium, and a comfort rope perch) and several toys (rope, wood, leather, and a mirror). Spray millet, a cuttle bone, a mineral block treat, Zoopreem Smart Selects Parakeet food, and a snuggle sack. I got everything all set up for my little friend and brought him home today!!! I am so excited to have him! He is currently trying to adjust to his new cage, and hanging out on the perch I placed him on when I brought him home. He keeps doing this panting/beak thing, that I take to mean he is just stressed?

He steps up on my finger, and every time I walk into my bedroom he stretches each wing and foot for me, then shortly after the beak/panting thing resumes. If there is anything not okay about this, please let me know!! This is my first bird, and I just want him to be happy and healthy. His feathers are shiny, his little eyes are bright, and the look he gave me after looking around at his cage just seemed to say "for me?". I'm trying to leave him alone as much as possible to adjust. I don't want to stress him out unnecessarily. Having come from the store, he is used to music and noise, so I left the TV on to give him some background noise. I felt like complete silence after so much noise might freak him out.

I know they are flock animals, and I considered getting him a buddy, but he didn't seem particularly enamored with any of his cage mates and since he is already more tame than the others in his group, I didn't want to bring home another that wasn't tame at all and have it change his demeanor? I plan to love on him quite a bit every day once we get more used to eachother in this setting. Maybe I should leave the tv on? Or music? When I'm not home? Suggestions welcome. He already used to ride around on my shoulder at the store, so it's not like we are total strangers. But this is all new to him, and scary.

Anyways!! Here are a few pictures of my new baby and his cage!

 

[zoo mom]

What a cutie.

 

[zoo mom]

I was so taken with your adorable cutie that I forgot. Welcome.

 

[SueA555]

Adorable!

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome your budgie may be overwhelmed by all the changes but i would take him to an avian vet asap to get a baseline and make sure he is healthy

 

[WarriorPrincess]

Thanks everyone!!

welcome your budgie may be overwhelmed by all the changes but i would take him to an avian vet asap to get a baseline and make sure he is healthy

I was thinking about doing that. His behavior in the store has been normal, he has been eating, etc. But it never hurts to get a new baby checked out. I know of several avian vets in the area, one of which works with our stores. I'll give him a few days to calm down and settle a little before any more exciting outings though.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome! He is adorable. I don't know enough about budgies to know if the panting is normal- it's not in a cockatiel. But a vet check for any new bird is always a good idea. Also, keeping an eye on their dropping and weight is recommended. Often abnormal droppings and weight loss are early detectors of illness as birds tend to hide when they're sick- until they're really sick. And I always leave the radio or tv on for my bird when I'm not home.

 

[WarriorPrincess]

I imagine the panting is not a normal behavior, but as to whether it is unhealthy or not...or just stress related...I can't say. I thought maybe it was a bird stress thing? He doesn't seem to be panting most of the time. Just when I approach the cage.

But yes, a well-bird exam is in his future.

 

[sunnysmom]

I imagine the panting is not a normal behavior, but as to whether it is unhealthy or not...or just stress related...I can't say. I thought maybe it was a bird stress thing? He doesn't seem to be panting most of the time. Just when I approach the cage.

But yes, a well-bird exam is in his future.

Sorry- I guess I should have said if panting was normally a sign of stress in budgies. I'm not sure. I know it's not regular behavior. But your right a vet check is the safest route.

 

[Conure_girl]

Welcome I too am new I think you will really enjoy this forum! Ps: you have a cute budgie!

 

[firdy num num]

Welcome to the avenue! I have always loved the name Nakita, Congrats on your new baby, glad you joined and have great fun.

 

[QBird]

Welcome your new Budgie looks so sweet

 

[JosienBB]

I hope your vet check goes well A suggestion I have is I would remove those dowel perches in his cage and replace them with a variety of natural branchy perches (dowels are not good for a bird's feet). Some shreddable bird toys would be good too -- birds like things they can destroy Balsa, palm shredders, yucca are a few examples.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Welcome to the neighborhood! Your budgie is gorgeous!

 

[Skyler]

Hi and congrats --I love budgies.
MY late beloved Skyler was so stressed his first three weeks he didn't make a peep and sat in a corner basically shaking. After I put on a canary CD he finally started moving, yelling---I thought he was lonely ---but he was ready to battle the "other birds. So although your new baby needs to go to the vet I am hoping he is just stressed.
I agree about the perches---you need to vary the size and materials otherwise they develop sores-perhaps a bong/bungie? . And if possible I would try early on ,to encourage some pellets along with the seed. Budgies need seed more than most parrots but they can also suffer from fatty liver disease.
Skyler loved any toy that he could move or manipulate , swinging on the bungee, and splashing in his bath tub. So I would just watch and see if likes bells, mirrors, shredders . You can also try putting fresh veggies like greens, or broccoli on a birdie skewer. Another fun treat/toy is air popped popcorn(no oil or salt).

Wow "he" (his beak looks a tad pinky that would mean a female but he seems too sweet to not be a male budgie) is already on your shoulder!!! What a cutie, have fun


Budgies rock

 

[Mr Peepers]

Welcome fellow/lady budgie lover you certainly got yourself a lovely little budgie to make you into a feather loving fiend like the rest of us. The panting with budgies happens often if you are too close to them and they are afraid its their way of showing they are stressed or nervous, when I see this I look away when handling my budgie while he pants.. I talk very softly to him and then lightly blow air on his body from my breath to help him cool down and relax.

My avian and his assistants all hold my budgie or canary in their hands when examining them out clipping nails or administering medicine and I always see them talking very softly and lightly blowing on the birds and my birds never seem to pant and they don't look stressed while this happens so this works.

My birds come home and carry on with their normal noisy lives like they never visited the nasty vet people.

I have no clue if you have a hen or cock but I'm sure you will find out in a few months in the meantime enjoy those adorable baby bars on its head and the large baby black eyes. It sounds like you have this baby interested in you already so hand taming will be easy for you both. ENJOY!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome and congratulations on your beautiful baby budgie.

 

[Marlene]

and Glad you joined!

 

[calibird]

Welcome to The Avenue.

 

[WarriorPrincess]

Thank you all for your kind words of welcome!!

A quick update...my little baby has quit panting all together, has started eating and jumping all over the place from perch to perch! He played with his mirror toy a bit, and somewhere hiding in the bottom of that cage picture is a shred-able palm toy he can destroy all he wants! He also toyed around with his swing a bit today and started chirping to me when I was in the room. He is no longer panicking when I approach the cage, and seems interested instead of scared. He hopped right on my finger when I got home, but wasn't a fan of scritches just yet. I didn't want to bother him too much on his second day home, so I put him back on a perch and gave him some spray millet.

I am so relieved the panting has stopped and that he is acting more normal/playful now.

Where would I go about getting more natural wood perches instead of dowels? He has a comfort rope perch and a calcium perch as well as the dowels.