Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 8, 2023 15:41:41 GMT
Hello!
Earlier this week my husband and I came across a beautiful budgie lost in a park while out for a walk. Poor girl was exhausted and hungry and came right up to us asking for help. She is extremely sweet and gentle - while she's not yet accustomed to us I wouldn't say she's particularly fearful and thankfully she's not showing signs of major stress or any kind of aggression. I'm not sure how old she is, she does not have a striped cap but her eyes are black with no white around them. Her cere is dark brown.
So far we haven't been able to find her original family. We have some reason to believe she may have been dumped/abandoned in the park (her wings are clipped, for one).
Long story short, we're caring for her in the meantime (possibly permanently) and she's doing surprisingly well! She's eating, drinking, sleeping and as of yesterday singing again. That being said, it's been many years since I've had a budgie in the house and never one that's come to me in this way, so I have some questions if anyone more experienced would be willing to share some advice!
My main two questions are:
1. She's been in one of those small basic cages the last few days as we needed to get something for her at the pet store in a rush when we found her and options were limited. We ordered her a larger cage which has just arrived but I'm unsure how best to transfer her since I'm still in the process of letting her acclimate to me and I don't want to damage the trust I'm trying to build with her by touching her or forcing her in any way. She doesn't know how to step up yet and she is not interested in millet or other treats (yet).
That being said, the bigger cage will allow her to move, fly, and stretch properly as well as accommodate some toys and better perches. I have an instinct to try to move her since she's not fully acclimated to the small cage yet anyway. Any advice on how best to handle this?
2. We have two cats but they are not currently allowed in my office where I'm keeping her. I don't know how likely it is that we'll be able to have them share space to any degree (though my bird and cat growing up managed it fine). My thought was not to attempt anything until she's more settled and in the protection of her large cage. Any advice on how and when to cross that bridge in a way that will cause as little stress for her as possible?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
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Post by Loz on Jul 8, 2023 16:01:16 GMT
Thank you for rescuing that lost little girl, thank you so much. She's a lucky little bud.
I cannot help with the second question you raised. My instinct would be to always keep a cat away from a budgie, unless (possibly) the grew up together from babyhood. As for transferring from the small cage to the larger one, I have some experience with doing this for non-tame budgies. In my case, I hold the two cages together, open door to open door and let nature take its course. A budgie will normally, in my experience, want to move from a less attractive environment to a more attractive one - to a cage with more perches, more space, more food, maybe more toys if the budgie likes to play with toys.
The transfer will usually take time and so it's essential that you can support the two cages in-place, as holding up one to the other is not something you wish to do for too long.
I cannot adequately express my admiration for your kindness to that budgie-in-need.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Jul 8, 2023 16:57:44 GMT
Yes, I agree with what loz says about transferring her to the new cage. You said her wings are clipped so its unlikely she'll fly into the new cage. Put some perches inside each cage beside the doors that she can use to move from one cage into the other. I'd be inclined to leave her in the small cage for a week or so while you observe her for signs of illness. It seems many birds that have been rescued from outdoors have mites that need to be treated. observed her beak, cere, feet for signs of mites or other infection. It will be easier to treat her, if needed, from the small cage and any mites, etc won't be transferred to the larger cage. If you can't find her previous owner, she sounds like she'll be a great pet. The only advice I can offer concerning your cats is to keep them away from her until she's settled in your home. If at that time you want to have the cats in the same room as the budgie, only do it when the budgie is in the cage and you are also in the room where you can watch for potential problems. I've never had birds and cats at the same time but others have. Maybe they'll come on and offer better advice. Now is the time to locate your nearest avian vet. You don't want to be trying to locate a vet if an emergency arises! If she stays with you, I hope you'll have fun with her. Please come back and let us know how it works out and post some pictures of her.
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Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 8, 2023 20:08:04 GMT
Thank you for rescuing that lost little girl, thank you so much. She's a lucky little bud. I cannot help with the second question you raised. My instinct would be to always keep a cat away from a budgie, unless (possibly) the grew up together from babyhood. As for transferring from the small cage to the larger one, I have some experience with doing this for non-tame budgies. In my case, I hold the two cages together, open door to open door and let nature take its course. A budgie will normally, in my experience, want to move from a less attractive environment to a more attractive one - to a cage with more perches, more space, more food, maybe more toys if the budgie likes to play with toys. The transfer will usually take time and so it's essential that you can support the two cages in-place, as holding up one to the other is not something you wish to do for too long. I cannot adequately express my admiration for your kindness to that budgie-in-need. Thank you so much for the advice! tweetiepiesmom - We've had her since Monday and she isn't showing any signs of illness so I figured it's probably ok to try to transfer her. I opened both cage doors as you both suggested and she flew right into the new cage! She's been flying back and forth from her perch to the side of the cage a bit, checking things out and chirping with more enthusiasm than I've heard all week! In her small cage she was hardly moving at all so I'm happy to see some activity. Attached are some pictures from a few days ago!
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Post by Loz on Jul 8, 2023 20:13:52 GMT
What a beauty! I would consider some treatment for mites in case she's picked some up in her travels. The easiest method is using S76 in her water - FAB Finches s76 for Air Sac Birds Mites Red Mite Worms Wormer Lice In Water Treatment (30ml) amzn.eu/d/2WcRwa4It is supplied with instructions.
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Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 8, 2023 20:47:38 GMT
Thanks Loz! I found a place that looks like they will ship from within the US so I will pick some up!
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Jul 8, 2023 22:12:57 GMT
She is a pretty little girl! Lucky bird that you came along and rescued her. Have you given her a name yet?
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Post by Hezz on Jul 9, 2023 1:54:30 GMT
Get her some proper bird-safe tree branches for her to perch on - much better for her feet keeping them exercised and supple and also gives her something to chew on. There are plenty of sites on line that give lists of what are bird safe and what aren’t. If you have access to any seeding grasses that aren’t sprayed with either herbicides or pesticides or fertiliser, pick the seed heads, rinse and offer these to her pegged to the side of the cage. This sort of thing is their natural food source and most budgies can’t resist them although it may take some time before she recognises them as food.
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Post by lemonora on Jul 9, 2023 8:55:46 GMT
I just want to say thank you for rescuing her that’s an amazing thing you did She looks happy and comfortable in the pictures also safe which is amazing I just am so happy for her ❤️🐥 You’re great people to do this ❤️ And you came to the right place Many people here rescue and care for many birds It’s a lovely forum with lovely caring people Wish you the best and wishing the little bud a happy and long life with you ❤️😍🐥🥰
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Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 9, 2023 14:27:42 GMT
Thanks Hezz! Some natural perches for her cage are on the way!
Lemonora thanks for the kind words! I honestly couldn't imagine seeing her there and not rescuing her or at least trying to help and find somewhere that could take her if my circumstances hadn't allowed it. It broke my heart when I saw her!
Another couple of question, this time regarding food -
Does anyone have recommendations for a good feed for her? She has a basic seed blend that was all I could get from the pet store but I know that isn't great. I'm in the US so if there are any brands anyone can recommend that I can get here I'm definitely looking to upgrade that next.
Also regarding diet, I've been providing some fresh berries and greens as well as some millet in an extra bowl on the side of her cage (which my budgie growing up loved) but she hasn't approached anything but her seeds. Do you think she doesn't like these things or just needs time to get comfortable enough to try them?
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Post by Loz on Jul 9, 2023 14:40:26 GMT
It's hard to get a singleton budgie to like a new (to them) food. Patience, persistence and letting the birb find their own way to a new delicacy is the only method I know of! I've had most success with clipping greens to the side of the cage so that the budgie gets curious and starts picking at them (compared to chopping up veggies and placing them in a bowl.) tweetiepiesmom any suggestions for a seed mix for this girl?
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Jul 9, 2023 15:31:53 GMT
My vet recommended a 50/50 mixture of Zupreem Fun Food and Zupreem Sensible Seeds, the one for 'small birds/parakeets'. The packages have a picture of a budgie on it. It contains seeds, pellets and dried greens. You can find it in pet stores (Pet Smart, Petco), on Amazon and Chewy.com. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, you might try their bag of greens called Power Greens, which is a mixture of various leafy greens. You'll find it with the bagged lettuces. My guys also love fresh spinach leaves. Just keep putting it in the cage - she'll decide to chew it and then realize its food. It does take time before budgies start to eat new food.
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Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 10, 2023 0:05:16 GMT
Thank you I will give that a try!
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Post by Hezz on Jul 10, 2023 1:27:54 GMT
Many budgies will have only be given seed to eat so they don’t recognise any of the other things, even millet sprays, as food. Don’t be too worried about the fruit so much as budgies don’t need the extra sugar that fruits provide. Instead concentrate more on veg, as I mentioned before seeding grasses are generally well taken to, sprouts are great for a fresh food, some of the herbs such as basil and dill, at this stage you may have more success with small leafy plants as she still needs to learn to see them as food. You can also prepare a mix of veg (all raw) for her - carrot, beetroot, broccoli, sweet corn, sprouts, snow peas, sweet potato - whatever you have available. Chop everything up finely and sprinkle some of her seed over the top; this is one of the best options to get her to taste and hopefully eating her veg but don’t give up if she proves to be stubborn and make the mix more green than red or orange. It can be a lot of trial and error to find what works best for you and her.
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Jul 8, 2023 14:34:11 GMT
millie
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 13
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Post by millie on Jul 10, 2023 17:52:49 GMT
Thanks Hezz, that's helpful! Any thoughts on the pros and cons of playing budgie sounds for her? She chats, grinds her beak, and sings when I turn it on but she also "calls" more frequently for the other birds that aren't there she seems generally happier and more relaxed/inclined to move around her cage when I'm playing them. I've tried playing some different kinds of calm music for her but so far she stays mostly silent and unmoving unless the budgie sounds are playing.
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