Hello Parrot Forums! My girlfriend and I are first time bird owners who have recently adopted a little blue parakeet, Selene, who needed a permanent home. Unfortunately, she has had a bit of a difficult life before coming to live with us-- she was dumped by her first owner when they moved and has bounced around between a couple other people, I'm assuming with no one really making any effort to socialize/tame her.
She's been in our home for about a week and a half now. She seems very tense and nervous-- she sits in the same corner of her cage most of the day. She'll hop over to her food and water bowls, and her poop looks like normal bird poop, but she doesn't really play with any of her toys except for picking at a little mirror in "her spot." I worry that she has some birdy mental health problems from being moved around so much and not being properly taken care of :/ She does perk up a bit and chatter away sweetly when my gf and I are talking to each other or playing music or podcasts, and the toys already in her cage that she came to us in show signs of wear and tear, which makes me tentatively hopefully that once she has time to really adjust and know that she's safe, she'll start playing again.
I'm going to start offering her fruit and veggies, and eventually give her some new toys, but I'm taking things very slow because she freaks out and zooms around whenever a hand enters the cage and I'm worried she'll hurt herself if she gets too scared. I've been sitting next to her for a little while each morning when I'm drinking my coffee and she seems to be adjusting a bit to having me nearby. I've read some good advice like hanging new toys outside of the cage in her line of sight so she gets used to them, and covering some walls of the cage so she feels safer-- is there anything else I should be doing to help her settle in?
She's been in our home for about a week and a half now. She seems very tense and nervous-- she sits in the same corner of her cage most of the day. She'll hop over to her food and water bowls, and her poop looks like normal bird poop, but she doesn't really play with any of her toys except for picking at a little mirror in "her spot." I worry that she has some birdy mental health problems from being moved around so much and not being properly taken care of :/ She does perk up a bit and chatter away sweetly when my gf and I are talking to each other or playing music or podcasts, and the toys already in her cage that she came to us in show signs of wear and tear, which makes me tentatively hopefully that once she has time to really adjust and know that she's safe, she'll start playing again.
I'm going to start offering her fruit and veggies, and eventually give her some new toys, but I'm taking things very slow because she freaks out and zooms around whenever a hand enters the cage and I'm worried she'll hurt herself if she gets too scared. I've been sitting next to her for a little while each morning when I'm drinking my coffee and she seems to be adjusting a bit to having me nearby. I've read some good advice like hanging new toys outside of the cage in her line of sight so she gets used to them, and covering some walls of the cage so she feels safer-- is there anything else I should be doing to help her settle in?