New Budgie, Advice Needed

[LittlePeep]

Hi all! This is my first bird, so apologies if I ask dumb questions, I'm still learning.

I purchased my parakeet 10 days ago and he seems to have adjusted fairly well so far, he's drinking and eating regularly and doesn't appear to be sick. I've observed him fluffed out and relaxed multiple times each day when he's not checking out the surroundings or playing with toys, he even grinds his beak and becomes even more fluffy when I spend time talking soothingly to him (which from my reading is a sign of contentment?).

My concern is that he doesn't seem to chirp very much at all, sometimes at random if I'm paying attention to something else or if I'm in the other room, but he doesn't seem to really chirp or talk that much at all. He will also chirp occasionally at certain types of music.

Is he still just adjusting to his new home and I should give him more time before worrying? It was my understanding that parakeets are not quiet birds. When I bought him he was kept in a group with others but didn't seem to interact with them a ton, now he is kept solo.

Thank you for any advice.

 

[ParrotGenie]

Hi all! This is my first bird, so apologies if I ask dumb questions, I'm still learning.

I purchased my parakeet 10 days ago and he seems to have adjusted fairly well so far, he's drinking and eating regularly and doesn't appear to be sick. I've observed him fluffed out and relaxed multiple times each day when he's not checking out the surroundings or playing with toys, he even grinds his beak and becomes even more fluffy when I spend time talking soothingly to him (which from my reading is a sign of contentment?).

My concern is that he doesn't seem to chirp very much at all, sometimes at random if I'm paying attention to something else or if I'm in the other room, but he doesn't seem to really chirp or talk that much at all. He will also chirp occasionally at certain types of music.

Is he still just adjusting to his new home and I should give him more time before worrying? It was my understanding that parakeets are not quiet birds. When I bought him he was kept in a group with others but didn't seem to interact with them a ton, now he is kept solo.

Thank you for any advice.

He in a new environment. It will take time for him to adjusted and start chirping like crazyl. My cockatiels took them a good month and now they sing and yell all the time and my Wylie started trying to talk as well, of course can't barely make out what he saying a lot of the time. Then it depends if he a female, or male as well? Males are the one that tend to chirp and the ones that can talk and depends on age?

 

[EllenD]

Yeah, enjoy the quiet-time while it lasts!!! 10-days is no time at all to have a bird in it's new home with it's new person/people, it's going to take months before he is settled-in and feels completely comfortable in his new environment and with his new people. Budgies are extremely social parrots, and they need lots and lots of time out of their cages every single day, and lots of interaction with you. YOU are now your bird's "Flock", as the other Budgies were in the pet shop and at the breeder's.

If you bought him at a pet shop like Petco or Petsmart, then chances are that it's going to take a while of you working with him every single day to get him to the point where you've earned his trust and he starts regularly stepping-up for you and wanted to spend time with you and on you, and to accept handling and petting from you. This is completely normal, and as long as you're committed to him, you'll end-up with a very intelligent, loving, cuddly little Budgie that is talking and singing up a storm...The male Budgies do tend to be a bit more vocal than the females, but Budgies are one of the parrot species where even the females talk and sing quite a bit. If your Budgie is under 1 year-old, which it most-likely is if you bought it at a pet shop, then you can't really tell their gender, as the color of their Ceres keep changing until they go through puberty. Once they go through puberty and and their first big molt, then you'll be able to tell the gender by the color of it's Cere...

Male Budgie's Cere Color: Solid Blue, Pink, or Purple

Female Budgie's Cere Color: Solid White, Tan, or Brown, OR Blue with white rings around each nostril.

***And just in-case you were wondering, NO, your bird does not need a friend in the form of another Budgie!!! The idea is that YOU and anyone else who lives in your home are going to be your bird's "Flock", and typically they do form a stronger, closer bond with one particular person in the Flock. A lot of new parrot owners who bring home their first bird mistakenly think that their bird is "lonely", or that they "need a birdy friend", so they go out and buy another Budgie, thinking that they can just bring it home, put it in the same cage as their first bird, and all will be well...And they quickly find out that they've made a horrible mistake for one of many reasons...

First of all, you have no idea how two parrots are going to react to each other, they are extremely intelligent, and they form relationships with each other much the way humans do...They may love each other and bond-closely with each other, they may simply tolerate each other, they may hate each other, and they may be aggressive or violent with each other...SO, the rule should always be "Never bring home a second bird for your first bird, only bring home a second bird because YOU WANT ANOTHER BIRD, and always assume that your two birds will not be able to be out of their cages together without supervision, or maybe even not at all...And you must always have a complete cage set-up for each new bird you bring home, you can NEVER just put a new bird in your current bird's cage, as they are extremely territorial about their cages, and this usually results in an injured or dead bird or birds...

The other problem with bringing home a "friend" for your bird is that as I already mentioned, they are extremely social "Flock Animals", and when given the chance between bonding with a person or bonding with another bird, especially another bird of their species, they typically choose the bird over the person...So if you bring home a second Budgie and it and your current Budgie do happen to like each other and bond closely to each other, that usually eliminates any chance for you to have any type of bond with either of them, and they suddenly turn into a pair of birds that you cannot interact with at all, nor have any type of relationship with...So if you're wanting to eventually bond-closely with your new Budgie, then YOU need to be "it's person" and it's "Flock", and if you're spending ample time with him/her every single day and you have their cage located in the 'main room" of your home, where you spend most of your time when you're at home (usually the living room, TV room, family room, etc.) so that he/she is always in your presence when you're simply watching TV, reading, talking to others, eating meals, playing video games, etc., then you will eventually form a very close bond with your Budgie, and there won't be any need to go and "buy him a friend", because he'll be very happy with you.

 

[HarryC]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of budgies. I'm a newbie too. My budgie, Harry, has been with me for six weeks now. The one thing I have learned in that time is that he is in no hurry to meet my expectations. The word budgerigar means "good to eat" and I think budgies know that and act accordingly. They do what instinct tells them to whether that means to chirp with contentment or hide until danger passes. Everything will happen on your bird's terms and not yours so there is nothing to worry about. Every bird is different so don't get excited when you read "my bird does this or that." I'm learning to just enjoy his presence and slowly work on gaining his trust. If I get to carried away he lets me know. Have fun and enjoy your bird but do it slowly.