Newbie here! Meet Ricky Ricardo!

[carson]

My husband Stephan and I bought Ricardo from a pet store about 6 weeks ago and we think he is about 5mos old.  He has settled in and I am thrilled to have a friend as I work from home all day and his cage sits close to my desk on a stand.

His feathers were trimmed for training by the gal who helped us at the store.  Not sure how long we should expect before they're grown back (another couple of mos?)

I am in the process of taming him... he won't eat treats yet but is starting to eat some veg/fruit cut up small. Stephan had budgies as a kid and is pretty good about the beginnings of 'step up' and getting him to sit outside the cage, however I am more timid than Stephan when it comes to baby-ing the bird and saying he should be put back if he looks uncomfortable.

His step up is good - but he is pretty adamant about not wanting to come out of his cage and will just jump from perch to perch from your finger - so getting him out has to be done quickly. Again, thinking we should slow down until he actually wants to come out? How much is too much at this stage?

I am starting to feel like he is obsessing with his main perch toy and snuggling with the bell at the end... I want to be the one he wants to play with to gain whatever closeness he is probably missing from the many cage-mates he had at the store.  It was never my intention to get two budgies but wondering now if I should so that he doesn't feel/look so lonely and chooses to 'bond' with his toy!

He sits with me all day and I pay as much attention to him as possible in between meetings and emails - but he still looks kind lonely!

We are taking him out of his cage on a small play perch at the dinner table so that he is with us for dinner and will start to feel comfortable enough to eat some of his food while out - but that is only because we have made going back to his cage not an option for those 15-20min.

Anyway! Excited to be on the forum and some encouragement or advise is welcome!

[tweetiepiesmom]

I love the name From what I can see of him, he does look to be very young. It all takes patience. By trimming his flight wings, he no longer has his biggest defense mechanism - the ability to fly away so maybe that's part of why he's a bit reticent to come out. He's still getting used to his surroundings. If you want advice on his cage set up, post some pictures and the experts will help. So happy for you and your new pal!

[Morgan]

It is still very early. I think interacting with him in ways that doesn’t make him nervous is best. Taking him out is probably good too, but maybe set him someplace (like on top of his cage, in a pinch) where he can go back inside on his own if he wants to. You can attach a perch to the outside of the cage the same as you would inside, and place one or two right by his door for example, so he learns where the door is too.

Also, don’t stare at him directly with both eyes open. We have the forward facing eyes of a predator, which makes a prey animal like a budgie feel like we might be sizing them up for lunch! You can close one eye and wink at him, or keep your eyes relaxed and blink slowly, or very often - all to break up that two-eyed stare. You can google the blinking game as well for more ideas how to play with him in this way.

As for the cage setup, I only see on plastic perch and a dowel ladder. I would get rid of anything plastic and especially anything “sandy” as those can cause bumble foot. They don’t keep the nails trim either because they are not very comfortable to grip tightly, so your bird ends up not closing his toes and the nails overgrown instead. Natural wood perches will help keep his nails trim and may be fun for him to chew on too.

Since he is just settling in, I don’t know what you should do about the toy situation. Usually I would think moving it to a new location in the cage, or replacing it with another would be a good idea. But for now it might be better to just leave it so he has something to feel comfortable with until he starts to bond with you. He will want more live interaction eventually, he just needs to learn to trust you first. This is actually more difficult with the wings clipped because he has no choice, and will feel more vulnerable and less confident in himself without his only ability to escape a scary situation.

So just be very very patient with him and I’m sure he will come around.

Others will be one with more/better advice too! Welcome to the forum!

[yellowfacedviolet]

Welcome to you both. Yes, a great name. Is there a Lucy in his future? I once had a pair named Fred and Ethel.

[Deleted]

Welcome to the forum. Love the name!!

[carson]

Thanks all for the great advise! Makes me feel better...I am going to have to be more patient! Will see about finding real wood perches for him too!