Marvel_ous
Sprinting down the street
I have come to the complete conclusion, without a doubt, that a budgie would be the only bird I could own, and provide for all the needs and wants of, without straining my budget too much. I have plenty of money set aside for vet bills, and I have an occasional, if not steady, source of income. I just couldn't afford to spend hundreds of dollars monthly in providing for food, perches, and toys.
I have been lonely recently without my dogs, as I don't necessarily play well with my sisters, but I'm going to wait until two weeks after school starts (My schoolwork starts again shortly after New Year's), to ensure I would still have time once back on my regular schedule, before talking to my parents again about a bird.
This time, my questions are less on physical care and more on mental wellbeing.
I will be purchasing a young bird from a pet store, the PetSmart near me has very healthy budgies, I go there once every other week to volunteer at the dog and cat shelter inside, and every time I pass by, the enclosure is reasonably clean and all of the budgies are chirping, socializing, and playing. I would be choosing a very young one, so that taming and converting him/her onto a healthier diet will be easier. That brings up my first question.
1. The budgie would have constant access to pellets and water from the start, and I would offer seeds for an hour at a time, at a set time during the day, after I confirm he/she is eating from the pellets. How would you guys recommend going about introducing fresh fruits and vegetables? The "Seeds at a set time" will hopefully prevent picking through healthy foods to eat them. I would also use millet as a reward when I manage to catch a behavior I like.
2. I've heard differing views on introducing the bird to the home. I don't want my bird to become cage-bound, should I go with the traditional method of leaving him/her in the cage to get used to the surroundings? Or perhaps leave the cage door open to let him/her come out at his/her leisure? Or is there a different way? Since we have no other pets (And likely won't for a long time, at least not one free to roam the house.) the bird would have a lot of freedom in terms of out-of-cage time, and I'd like to let him know that early on.
3. We have one thick rug in our frontal living room that the bird wouldn't be allowed near, do any of you know good methods to keep her away? Potty training is likely a bad idea with such a small bird needing to go so frequently. It's the one surface in our house that we can't clean bird poop off of (easily), and putting it away isn't an option, as it's my mom's favorite piece of furniture.
4. We frequently have guests and friends over, do any of you have socialization tips for early on? I'd like him to be handleable by (or at least calm near) strangers. For obvious reasons I would only allow respectful older children and adults to even be near him or his cage.
5. In terms of behavior modeling, I would be using the "Reward good, redirect/ignore bad" method, as well as a bit of "Monkey see, monkey do" once I established trust. (I.E, playing with a new toy myself then showing it to my bird, hence reducing fear of the item. "Hey, Mom played with it, so it's probably safe.") Are there any pitfalls/better alternatives to these methods?
Thank you, guys! I might not be posting all that often, but I'm still not gone for good!
I have been lonely recently without my dogs, as I don't necessarily play well with my sisters, but I'm going to wait until two weeks after school starts (My schoolwork starts again shortly after New Year's), to ensure I would still have time once back on my regular schedule, before talking to my parents again about a bird.
This time, my questions are less on physical care and more on mental wellbeing.
I will be purchasing a young bird from a pet store, the PetSmart near me has very healthy budgies, I go there once every other week to volunteer at the dog and cat shelter inside, and every time I pass by, the enclosure is reasonably clean and all of the budgies are chirping, socializing, and playing. I would be choosing a very young one, so that taming and converting him/her onto a healthier diet will be easier. That brings up my first question.
1. The budgie would have constant access to pellets and water from the start, and I would offer seeds for an hour at a time, at a set time during the day, after I confirm he/she is eating from the pellets. How would you guys recommend going about introducing fresh fruits and vegetables? The "Seeds at a set time" will hopefully prevent picking through healthy foods to eat them. I would also use millet as a reward when I manage to catch a behavior I like.
2. I've heard differing views on introducing the bird to the home. I don't want my bird to become cage-bound, should I go with the traditional method of leaving him/her in the cage to get used to the surroundings? Or perhaps leave the cage door open to let him/her come out at his/her leisure? Or is there a different way? Since we have no other pets (And likely won't for a long time, at least not one free to roam the house.) the bird would have a lot of freedom in terms of out-of-cage time, and I'd like to let him know that early on.
3. We have one thick rug in our frontal living room that the bird wouldn't be allowed near, do any of you know good methods to keep her away? Potty training is likely a bad idea with such a small bird needing to go so frequently. It's the one surface in our house that we can't clean bird poop off of (easily), and putting it away isn't an option, as it's my mom's favorite piece of furniture.
4. We frequently have guests and friends over, do any of you have socialization tips for early on? I'd like him to be handleable by (or at least calm near) strangers. For obvious reasons I would only allow respectful older children and adults to even be near him or his cage.
5. In terms of behavior modeling, I would be using the "Reward good, redirect/ignore bad" method, as well as a bit of "Monkey see, monkey do" once I established trust. (I.E, playing with a new toy myself then showing it to my bird, hence reducing fear of the item. "Hey, Mom played with it, so it's probably safe.") Are there any pitfalls/better alternatives to these methods?
Thank you, guys! I might not be posting all that often, but I'm still not gone for good!
She was even offering to bird sit for any members in her area just for the exposure, though sadly there weren't any. (Most of us would love to have an offer like that in our area!) And as she said, no shelters or rescues for hours around. Besides, mine and hubby's first bird was an impulse buy from PetSmart when we ran in for dog food. Not the right way to choose a pet and we weren't thinking of the dark side of chain stores, we were just too smitten with that silly green clown to let him go home with anyone else. 
