New birbs :P

[Waltteri]

Just got myself 2 wonderful budgies, Falco and Kirby. They're so wonderful but also scared on me. I bought them from another home and I don't think they were taken care of very well..

 

[janicedyh]

Welcome. It will take time for them to adjust. Be patient

 

[Waltteri]

I definetely will be from now on, I was really ignorant earlier and did something I shouldn't have. I mention this in a bit. I asked this somewhere else too so ill just copy paste if thats fine since i did not get a reply there and found this. As i mentioned I got 2 budgies.They're really cute and I think they're a couple. They stay together very close. I just wanted to ask some advice. I understand new budgies should be left alone a bit, but I got all excited and tried to handfeed one but it got out of its cage and it was a pain to try and grab to get back in. Eventually it went it by itself but I understand you're not supposed to grab them by force but I did it because he couldn't be flying crazily around the house. Wanted to know if this would affect my relationship later on. At the moment they're quite scared of me because they're settling into they're new environment and that's normal, but I hope they will forgive me and be happy with me later. I started humming to them as I heard that was good and one of them started tweeting along So adorable. Also wanted to know if them being a couple might make it harder for me to bond with them. Sorry for the long message and thank you for any advice.

 

[janicedyh]

Do you have any idea about ages?

 

[Waltteri]

Unfortunately no, I don't. The previous owners weren't sure about their age of gender so I got them for a lot cheaper. Is there any way I can tell? Also what would be the worst case? Apparently they were quite newly bought from the shop I would estimate them to be between 2-5 that's my best guess..

 

[janicedyh]

As far as gender, you can tell an adult male and female apart so post pics when you can and our budgie experts will be able to help

 

[Waltteri]

I believe they are male and female. I heard that if the fleshy part ontop of their beak(sorry I can't recall the name not so familiar with the anatomy) is purplish or blueish its a male. One of them has blue there and one has no specific color so i assume it's female as they seem to be a couple. Unless budgies can prefer the same sex? Im not sure haha. Anyway i will post picture in the morning, it's night here. But there's no way to determine age?

 

[janicedyh]

.I will leave the age and sex up to the people here that are familiar. As far as the same sex question...I would say, yes

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[greys4u]

Just back off and let them set their own pace, remember, their world has been turned upside down so be patient

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome to AA. Post some photos of your budgies when you get a chance.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Welcome and congratulations on your budgies! Just take it slow, and try not to force them to do anything. You can tell a baby budgie by the bars on his head. If they go all the way down to the cere the bird is quite young. If there is a big space with no bars, they are older.

 

[Waltteri]

I set my profile picture, It was hard to get both birds clearly. They really like to tweet in the morning

 

[Mizzely]

I have an untame quaker, I just open his door and let him come and go as he pleases, and yes he is fully flighted. A lot less stressful than trying to catch him! In the early days it definitely can hinder your progress with them, as they are prey animals and they can see us as predators, and being nabbed by a predator is scary!

 

[Waltteri]

That's what I was afraid of I'm scared they would never see me as friendly and never learn to trust me

 

[tka]

I found the idea of a trust bank helpful. Very briefly, positive interactions are like paying into the bank and negative interactions are like withdrawing from it. You don't want to get to a point where you've withdrawn more than you put in. There isn't a one-to-one correlation - a tiny positive interaction isn't enough to make up for a significant negative interaction. However, lots of tiny positive interactions can mount up and mean that an occasional negative interaction isn't devastating.

So yes, grabbing a bird is a negative interaction. But there's a lot you can do to make interacting with you fun and enjoyable and to build up those positive interactions. I would also think about how you can bird proof their space so them getting out isn't a reason to worry.

 

[Mizzely]

That's what I was afraid of I'm scared they would never see me as friendly and never learn to trust me

That doesn't me all is lost! It's a temporary set back is all, and since they are still new, you haven't really lost any ground