Working on a bond with new budgies

[Terry57]

We ended up with three budgies who were dumped off at a pet store. A woman came in and tossed a tiny container onto the counter and said she found them on the side of the road and then ran back out. This is a pet shop that only sells things for dogs and cats, and they don't have any animals there at all. My daughter was in there when it happened, and the girls who were working there were panicked and had no idea what to do with them. Britty texted me and of course I said we'd take them.

The container they were in was filthy, and they had obviously been in it for awhile.

They are finally starting to get used to us and don't slam themselves into the cage bars when we sit and talk to them. They are terrified of the phone though so pictures will have to wait.
They're still in quarantine upstairs, but all their tests came back clear and I'm thrilled about that. I thought they were young because of their size but the vet thinks that their growth was stunted
My goal is to hopefully get them tame enough to be held, but it's been a long time since I worked with budgies. All of our other ones we had before were in a large flight cage and I just let them have time out but didn't work on holding them.

My granddaughter fell in love with them and I would love for her to be able to hold them. She is seven and very gentle, and I think this is a good age to teach her about birds.
I know that she may never be able to hold them because of what they went through, but I know she'll be fine with just watching and talking to them as well. They are staying here with us and she will see them when she comes to spend the night.
She named them, the green one is Jade, the light blue is Snowflake, and the darker blue one is Unicorn Fluffy Pants...haha.

They are still too scared to take millet from my hand, and I'm still working on that.

Any suggestions from our budgie specialists?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

We ended up with three budgies who were dumped off at a pet store. A woman came in and tossed a tiny container onto the counter and said she found them on the side of the road and then ran back out. This is a pet shop that only sells things for dogs and cats, and they don't have any animals there at all. My daughter was in there when it happened, and the girls who were working there were panicked and had no idea what to do with them. Britty texted me and of course I said we'd take them.

The container they were in was filthy, and they had obviously been in it for awhile.

View attachment 52715

They are finally starting to get used to us and don't slam themselves into the cage bars when we sit and talk to them. They are terrified of the phone though so pictures will have to wait.
They're still in quarantine upstairs, but all their tests came back clear and I'm thrilled about that. I thought they were young because of their size but the vet thinks that their growth was stunted
My goal is to hopefully get them tame enough to be held, but it's been a long time since I worked with budgies. All of our other ones we had before were in a large flight cage and I just let them have time out but didn't work on holding them.

My granddaughter fell in love with them and I would love for her to be able to hold them. She is seven and very gentle, and I think this is a good age to teach her about birds.
I know that she may never be able to hold them because of what they went through, but I know she'll be fine with just watching and talking to them as well. They are staying here with us and she will see them when she comes to spend the night.
She named them, the green one is Jade, the light blue is Snowflake, and the darker blue one is Unicorn Fluffy Pants...haha.

They are still too scared to take millet from my hand, and I'm still working on that.

Any suggestions from our budgie specialists?

Thank you for rescuing them! You're an angel! Give them time and maybe they'll come around and be good little pets for granddaughter. Even if they don't get tame she can still admire them.

 

[Terry57]

Thank you for rescuing them! You're an angel! Give them time and maybe they'll come around and be good little pets for granddaughter. Even if they don't get tame she can still admire them.

Aww, thank you for your kind words, I appreciate that
I agree, I know she will enjoy just watching them even if she can't hold them. I think it will teach her patience as well.

 

[zERo]

I so happy Britty was in the store when that happened! Just lined up perfectly

I guess only Hedwig and Grim were, in the beginning petrified like your budgies are.
Lots of holding millet near them, but it did help to already have Billy and Striga who would eat from my hand.

Hedwig has come around after 2 years but Grim took a few months of watching the other budgies eat out of my hand.

 

[Terry57]

I so happy Britty was in the store when that happened! Just lined up perfectly

It really did! Britty was texting me and her husband was calling Reg. haha

I guess only Hedwig and Grim were, in the beginning petrified like your budgies are.
Lots of holding millet near them, but it did help to already have Billy and Striga who would eat from my hand.

Hedwig has come around after 2 years but Grim took a few months of watching the other budgies eat out of my hand.

Oh, I do hope they come around. They have already come a long way so there is hope! It may help once they're in the little bird room with the others

 

[onamom]

So glad you were able to rescue these poor babies. That dirty container looks awful They have a better life now thanks to you guys! I don’t have any advice to give having never owned Budgies myself. I hope that in time they will settle.

 

[Terry57]

Thank you so much, Loren! They surprised me last night and didn't run when we brought up the camera!

Proudly introducing:

Jade

Snowflake

And last but not least, Unicorn Fluffy Pants!

Sneaking in a little smootch

The back of the cage is covered with a piece of the paper we use for the bottoms. For now, they seem to be more calm when the back is covered.

 

[saxguy64]

Awwwww, they're adorable!

 

[onamom]

Oh yay pictures! They are all so pretty. My favorite is Snowflake.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Oh yay pictures! They are all so pretty. My favorite is Snowflake.

I like Unicorn fluffy pants!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I like Unicorn fluffy pants!

They look like happy budgies already!

 

[Terry57]

Awwwww, they're adorable!

Thank you, I think so too! It's so nice to hear their chatter, I didn't realize how much I'd missed that.

Oh yay pictures! They are all so pretty. My favorite is Snowflake.

Snowflake is a beauty, I love her colouring, too!

I like Unicorn fluffy pants!

Haha, me too! I laughed so hard when I found out what Jordyn had named her.

They look like happy budgies already!

They're doing really well, better than I would have expected I'm excited to get them moved downstairs and to a bigger cage.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

They're so cute!

 

[StormyPica]

Here's a tip:
If they see millet as a treat (meaning they like millet), just hold millet while talking to them and stuff. This helps them associate you with good things (food). Plus it's pretty easy. Also try to make a routine so they feel safer. And you can always change it later, but it's good to have in the first few weeks.

 

[clark_conure]

yeah just keep doing what your doing.....they come around.

 

[psitticine]

We ended up with three budgies who were dumped off at a pet store. A woman came in and tossed a tiny container onto the counter and said she found them on the side of the road and then ran back out. This is a pet shop that only sells things for dogs and cats, and they don't have any animals there at all. My daughter was in there when it happened, and the girls who were working there were panicked and had no idea what to do with them. Britty texted me and of course I said we'd take them.

The container they were in was filthy, and they had obviously been in it for awhile.

View attachment 52715

They are finally starting to get used to us and don't slam themselves into the cage bars when we sit and talk to them. They are terrified of the phone though so pictures will have to wait.
They're still in quarantine upstairs, but all their tests came back clear and I'm thrilled about that. I thought they were young because of their size but the vet thinks that their growth was stunted
My goal is to hopefully get them tame enough to be held, but it's been a long time since I worked with budgies. All of our other ones we had before were in a large flight cage and I just let them have time out but didn't work on holding them.

My granddaughter fell in love with them and I would love for her to be able to hold them. She is seven and very gentle, and I think this is a good age to teach her about birds.
I know that she may never be able to hold them because of what they went through, but I know she'll be fine with just watching and talking to them as well. They are staying here with us and she will see them when she comes to spend the night.
She named them, the green one is Jade, the light blue is Snowflake, and the darker blue one is Unicorn Fluffy Pants...haha.

They are still too scared to take millet from my hand, and I'm still working on that.

Any suggestions from our budgie specialists?

It sounds like you've been blessed with some new friends.

I haven't kept budgies, but I had a lovebird that had been re-homed a couple of times that I had to ease into being social with.

I would advise just spending as much time as you can in the same room with them for a few weeks so they can get used to you. Once they've calmed down and started to adjust (hopefully), you can start opening the cage for them and monitoring their behavior, watching for signs of alarm and distancing yourself if you're still seeing that behavior. Then start to normalize having your hand near the cage, but not fully inside. Maybe try keeping the food bowls in the cage when you fill them up, just opening the door to the bowl instead of reaching all the way in to give them food--this is assuming you have a basic cage for them with sliding doors of course. Hope this helps!

 

[Terry57]

Here's a tip:
If they see millet as a treat (meaning they like millet), just hold millet while talking to them and stuff. This helps them associate you with good things (food). Plus it's pretty easy. Also try to make a routine so they feel safer. And you can always change it later, but it's good to have in the first few weeks.

They do love millet, thank you Ollie! We do have a routine for everybody so that may be helping. They seem to be doing much better than they were at first

yeah just keep doing what your doing.....they come around.

Thank you Clark, I appreciate that

It sounds like you've been blessed with some new friends.

I haven't kept budgies, but I had a lovebird that had been re-homed a couple of times that I had to ease into being social with.

I would advise just spending as much time as you can in the same room with them for a few weeks so they can get used to you. Once they've calmed down and started to adjust (hopefully), you can start opening the cage for them and monitoring their behavior, watching for signs of alarm and distancing yourself if you're still seeing that behavior. Then start to normalize having your hand near the cage, but not fully inside. Maybe try keeping the food bowls in the cage when you fill them up, just opening the door to the bowl instead of reaching all the way in to give them food--this is assuming you have a basic cage for them with sliding doors of course. Hope this helps!

I know how hard taming lovebirds can be, that's awesome that you were able to do it!
They are still in a smaller cage that I use for quarantine, so unfortunately we have to reach into the cage for food, water and chop as there aren't enough food dishes with doors.
I've been spending some time with them, I think that after our reno is finished that I'll have much more time to just sit with them. Thank you for your help

 

[psitticine]

They do love millet, thank you Ollie! We do have a routine for everybody so that may be helping. They seem to be doing much better than they were at first


Thank you Clark, I appreciate that


I know how hard taming lovebirds can be, that's awesome that you were able to do it!
They are still in a smaller cage that I use for quarantine, so unfortunately we have to reach into the cage for food, water and chop as there aren't enough food dishes with doors.
I've been spending some time with them, I think that after our reno is finished that I'll have much more time to just sit with them. Thank you for your help

Thank you so much too! He was my first bird.

You probably already know this, but If you’re renovating… be sure to not do any sanding, spackling, gluing, etc in the same room as the budgies. If you’re using paint either use low or non-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint, or just bring them to a friend for boarding while you’re painting. I’d suggest a couple days or whenever you stop smelling the paint entirely before bringing them back in the house. Their respiratory systems are incredibly sensitive and breathing in fumes from paint can be fatal for them. That being said, acrylic paint is safe to use around them as it’s water based, just make sure they don’t come in direct contact with it.

 

[kme3388]

That container is nasty you are a wonderful person to take on 3 additional feathered friends without any questions asked. I’m glad the budgies found a good home.

Unicorn fluffy pants? how did this name come about?