# Meet Rudyard



## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi all,

I wanted to introduce myself and Rudyard. It's my first bird, but I've had other small animals (rabbit, hamsters, and rat). He seems to be bonding pretty fast based, not that I'm complaining. I just want to make sure I don't make any mistakes along the way and risk having to start over. I'd appreciate any tips from the experts.

So, I've had Rudy for 9 days now, and he seems to really like my attention. He's been closing his eyes when I sit next to the cage since the first day, and was eating millet from my fingers by the third day. I feel like I could have done it the first day if I bothered to buy some millet when I got Rudy. I touched his belly while he was eating the millet, and he just stopped and gave me this "did you just touch me dude?" kind of look. I apologized until he started eating again.

Anyhow, I've been taking it slow and not bothering him too much. Today, I got him to jump to my finger from his perch (first time he got on my finger!), but it was only one foot. The other was holding onto his cage.

Now, the questions:

Is it too early to let him out of his cage since I have no real plan to get him back in?

When he chatters his beak (like he's chewing or something), it means that he's comfortable? I think I read that somewhere.

How do I get him to perch on my finger by pushing (details please)? I tried a couple of little nudges, but he just kept looking at me with slight disdain. No "stepping up", as they say. He'll apparently perch from across the cage if I'm holding millet, though. What a greedy little birdie.

That's pretty much it for now. I wish someone would have told me to get a budgie earlier. I'm really liking having the little guy around.









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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome to the forums and the ever exciting world of budgie ownership! 
You have certainly come to the right place as you will find all you need to know on budgie care here.
Since you are very new to budgies, the information on the several articles and sticky threads located at the top part of each section of the forums will be extremely useful as you become more familiar with the species.
You can start by reading the more in depth info here at the Taming and Bonding section and also check the Diet and Nutrition section.

This may come as a shock to you, but by looking at your Rudy's cere I'm seeing a mainly whitish cere, which indicates that you have a young female budgie.

To answer your questions, since you had Rudy for just 8 days, it's not advisable to let her out yet as most likely she is still not fully acclimated and used to the room she's been in. Most likely, she is still in the process of settling in to her new home/environment. 
It would also be best for her to master the step up command, so that you are able to take her out and place her back in the cage without any stress at all.
For now, what's most important is to establish the foundations of trust with your budgie and this is done by spending time close to the cage and getting Rudy increasingly more comfortable around you. 
You can use your voice in a calm, positive, reassuring and encouraging way to further connect with her and by watching her body language you will be able to tell whether she is receptive to your advances in terms of training or not. 

That beak motion you have described where it seems your budgie is chewing something when in fact she is not is called beak grinding and budgies (as well as other pet birds) do this when they are perfectly content and ease. 
They will usually beak grind as they are getting ready to nap or to sleep for the night.

The step up will come naturally as your budgie gets more comfortable and is more trusting of you. You can continue to offer Rudy a tasty treat to encourage her to step onto your hand/finger.
It's best to not force your budgie to perch on your finger because by doing so prematurely and when your budgie is not yet ready, this can have a negative reaction and make your budgie more afraid and less receptive to training. You may also get some biting as a response.
When training, it's important proceed at the pet bird's pace and to respect the safe boundaries set by the bird when it comes to the close interactions we have with them.


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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

Thanks for the great advice. I've already been reading around in the stickies, which is probably where I read about the beak grinding. I just wanted to point out that Rudy's cere is actually very blueish. My photo app "cleaned" it to make his (her?) cere look more gre or white.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

You're very welcome and it's great that you are already taking advantage of the information found here! :thumbsup:

Your Rudy is very young (about 3 months old) and by now the cere is showing the typical colours of a young, immature female. Young females will have very light bluish mingled with white ceres, and white circles around the nostril area. As they grow, the white on the cere will spread more evenly and as the start to reach maturity/breeding condition, the cere will gradually tan till reaching a dark brown colour.
When out of breeding condition, the cere on females will revert to the creamy white colour which may or may not have some faint light bluish on the edges.

Young male budgies will have uniform pinkish/purplish coloured ceres with no hint of white. In most colour mutations, once the budgie reaches 6 months old, that's when the cere will usually mature into the royal blue colour.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

Rudy is a very pretty little girl  I agree with aluz that as her cere is light blue and white, she is female. Young males will have pink or purplish ceres with no trace of white that mature into the usual blue, as mentioned. 

I'm glad you've been reading through the stickies as you'll find lots of useful information around there as well as plenty of resources to help you along with your budgie owning journey 

If you have any questions afterwards, be sure to ask as we'd love to help. :thumbsup:

Hope to see you and baby Rudy around the forums! 

:wave:


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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

Ooooh. I didn't realize that my little budg isn't mature yet. I saw the blue and thought it must me a mature male. Does that mean she'll get much bigger?

I read the females can get pretty bossy. So far, she's been really sweet. I hope she stays that way. I did notice that it was much easier and quicker to bond with her than my previous small animals. I wonder if it's because birds are more receptive to human speach than rodent.

Anyhow, we're coming along swimmingly. I have no issue with her leaving her cage since she'll happily fly to perch on my finger if I hold a treat for her. She gave me a few pecks when I put my finger in her cage without treats. It was a soft mouthing, not really biting. She also vocalizes a lot more now. She'll sort of screech, but calm down when I go and sit next to her cage (I usually sit six or so feet away from her cage when I'm just lounging around). I'm assuming it's a flock call?

I've also noticed that she looks a lot fluffier these days (not so much in the picture, since she's outside and less comfy?). Anyhow, thanks for the encouragement, and really glad to have found this resource.


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## Birdbaby (Jun 11, 2016)

Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! Shes very pretty  I'm sure more experienced members will advise as well. But I do know that budgies don't get very big. So she is more than likely "done growing" but will mature with time. 

I have 2 females and a male and honestly one of my sweetest babies is my girl Cosmo. I had always heard that females didn't make good pets until I joined here and got my own. Now I'm sure that that was a myth.

Edited to add that her teal blue color is astoundingly beautiful!!!!


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Angie is correct, she's about at her adult size, her body's hormones and everything still need to catch up 

By around 7-8 months old (judging by her head barring and irises, she is not yet four months old), she will go through the "teenager stage", as all budgies do when they hit puberty, in which her hormones will even out and she may be a bit moody and bossy for a bit. This will sort itself out in a month or more, so don't worry.

Females make lovely little companions, too--I have a female and she and I have been great friends for four years. Indeed, it is a myth that they are bossier/less friendly than males, one perpetuated by the fact that when mature females come "into condition", they can be a bit crabby. However, this soon rights itself and is a natural process that is not an indication of her true personality!

I'm glad she seems to be settling in well 

You may find this link interesting: 
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/339706-common-myths-about-female-budgies.html

Cheers! :yo:


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Your Rudy will not grow in actual height, but as she reaches adulthood her body will become fuller and that can give an impression of "growth".

I noticed in this latest photo that there is a coconut toy on the cage and since you have a budgie girl, in order to avoid problems in the future, it would be best for you remove it because the coconut can be used as a nesting site.
As a general rule, it's best to not give access to dark hiding areas as that can encourage even a solo female budgie to become broody and to consequently lay eggs.

You can check this link for detailed info: http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/90584-when-we-dont-want-eggs.html


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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

Thanks for the link, SW. It sounds very much like what I was starting to think.

BB:. Thank you for the compliment. Her sky camouflage is what really attracted me to her. It's so pretty

Aluz:. Yup. Just got rid of the hut. I got it because I thought i had a boy. Figured it would be fine without the nesting urge. 

It took so long to come up with a good name. I guess I need a new one now. I know Ruby would be obvious, but don't want to name my birdie after an ex, especially that one.

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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

You're very welcome  

What about something like Rae or Riley? Those don't sound too similar to Ruby, and hopefully aren't the names of any past exes


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

Your little girl is quite pretty and you've received excellent advice. :thumbup:
I'll be looking forward to hearing what you decide to name her. Rania might be an option - it means "Queen" 

Please take the time to read through all of the How To Guides, the FAQs and the stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.

You'll find most of your basic questions about budgies and caring for them will have been answered after you've read through all of them.

Site Guidelines
How-To Guides
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
Budgie Articles
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295001-list-stickies.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/333106-posting-forums.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295033-prepared-veterinary-care-expense.html
Avian First Aid
Why Quarantine?

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-general-budgie-info/227841-50-common-budgie-dangers-watch-out.html

http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/327881-heartfelt-plea-forum-members-new-old.html

http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html
http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/31719-essentials-great-cage.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/339826-resource-directory.html

When you upload pictures as thumbnail attachments directly from your computer, tablet or phone, the forum automatically defaults to landscape.

To upload full-sized pictures with the proper orientation, please use a photo-sharing service such as PhotoBucket and follow the steps in these instructions:
http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html

Examples Of Pictures To Post And Not Post - Talk Budgies Forums
http://talkbudgies.com/mutations-ge...king-mutation-gender-identification-help.html

By the way, all photos entered in any of our forum contests must be a full-size photo and not a thumbnail attachment so it's good to know how to upload them! 

If you have any questions after reading through everything, please be sure to ask!

Glad you decided to join us and looking forward to seeing you around the forums.

:wave:*


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

Hi :welcome:

Rudy (or whatever her new name will be) is a real cutie! Pretty color too. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more of her!


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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

Harper, the bird formally known as Rudy) is doing great. She figured out two things today. First, she figured out that she likes her head scratched. Second, she figured out that I'm a good resource for that. I noticed that she makes really quiet squeaky toy sounds while I scratch her. It's absolutely adorable. I wish I had a picture of her head scratching to share, but I need both hands for that as she's usually on my finger or in my hand at the time. She's also learned to fly to my finger from across the room on command ("finger" - keep it clean guys haha). So far, I think things are going pretty smoothly.

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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

I tried to grab a quick shot of Harper doing something cute, but it was over as soon as she saw the camera. She HAD to get my attention. This is what she did until I put the phone down. What a cutie.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Oh my goodness, baby Harper is the most adorable little bird ever!  

How sweet that she's enjoying her scritches roud: 

I hope to see lots more of her! :blue pied:


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## immorgan (Jun 30, 2016)

Welcome to TB! Harper is such a cutie pie  very beautiful blue color :loveeyes:


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## dEatHmOnkEy (Jun 22, 2016)

I got a shower perch today and Harper enjoyed her first people shower. She seemed grouchy with me for a little while. I don't know if it's because I tricked her away from the steamy bathroom with millet or if she just didn't enjoy the entire experience. She seems happy again. Maybe I'll try again in a week or so.

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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I'm glad she seemed to enjoy the shower! :rain:


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