# I have some questions!



## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

Hi, I've had my budgie since my birthday on January 3rd of this year. Hes healthy, but I can not tell how old he is, he had his bars on his head from the time I got him until Mayish and Juneish. his eyes are still turning grey, they're dark but I can see his pupil now. and his Cere is slightly blueish, I think hes a boy but not quite sure. I dunno if hes just being slow with maturing, or somethings wrong with him, I got him at petsmart, I would've thought he'd be older than four months, he didn't have any shoots when I first got him even though he was not so tame now he is. does anyone know how old a budgie is when they are sold from a petsmart, I believe he was still a baby cause he still had his bars and I believe hes just went through his first molt, and Should I clip his wings, or should I not? and how can I introduce to him fruits and veggies, hes shyish. he loves Millet and the honey seed bar things, he seems like hes a pretty happy bird. 

:budgie:


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Hello, if you can post a picture that will help people determine his sex and age.
Clipping a budgies wings is a topic that has some who totally agree and others who believe not. I myself believe if at all possible don't clip. I have three budgies at present inside it was four until recently.
My birds are all Free flighted except when there is nobody at home. 
I love watching them fly around ,and it is great as a form of exercise for them.
However, I do not have children at home, I do have a sign on my back door stating Free Flighted birds Please Knock. 
My husband and myself are very vigilant and have the budgies in our thoughts always.
You also have to be very wary when cooking, have fans, heaters, turned off, doors can't be left open. 
Some people say clipping the wings helps with bonding and training, again I have not experienced any problems with my budgies being flighted regards this. SO it is a personal choice, if you do choose to get them clipped, please make sure it is done by a properly trained person.
Introducing a varied diet is a slow and steady process, have you read any of the stickies on these subjects? these will give you all sorts of valuable hints and tips. Have a read through and keep asking questions, nothing is silly around here.


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## Didoushkaya (May 18, 2015)

Hello and welcome to Talk Budgies! This is a great place to ask hundreds of questions and get really good answers. As Cathy said, nothing is too silly to ask (otherwise I would have been kicked out a while ago) 

I look forward to reading your posts and looking at your pictures if you can post any


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Please post a clear, in-focus picture of your budgie taken in natural light for confirmation with regard to his gender and age.

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

Budgies sold by Pet-Smart are about 10-12 weeks old according to the manager of the store in my area.

As Cathy indicated, wing-clipping is a very personal issue which people have strong feelings about. Please take look at the thread linked below.

http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/80356-clip-not-clip.html

The information in the stickies at the top of the Diet and Nutrition section of the forum will give you ideas on how to best introduce new foods to your budgie.
Diet and Nutrition - Talk Budgies Forums

The information in this link gives you an excellent diet for your bird:
Our Budgies Diet - Cute Little Birdies Aviary

To familiarize yourself with the forums, 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 are answered after you've read through all of them.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about your budgie and hopefully seeing some pictures hoto: soon!!

TalkBudgies.com Rules and Guidelines
How-To Guides - Talk Budgies Forums
Frequently Asked Questions: Talk Budgies Forums - FAQ
List of Stickies - Talk Budgies Forums

http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/55420-prepared-veterinary-care-expense.html
http://talkbudgies.com/emergency-room/225585-my-birdy-first-aid-kit.html
http://talkbudgies.com/your-budgies-health/102714-quarantine-really-important.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-info-[articles]/227841-50-common-budgie-dangers-watch-out.html

http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html
Essentials to a Great Cage-Talk Budgies Forums

Helpful Links - Talk Budgies Forums
Budgie Articles Forum - Talk Budgies Forums

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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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

Thank y'all for replying! my phone takes horrible pictures but I have tried! His cere looks more and more purpleish blue every day or every other day,



















not sure if the links will work I have more pictures XD


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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

okay here are the others!



























and here is a picture of Soren when I first got him


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

Aw what a little cutie  I think you have a little girl there and she's adorable


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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

I thought he was a boy the whole time cause his cere looks blue! my brother in laws brother said it was a boy cause he has had budgies before. 

and what is the easiest route of trimming his or her nails?


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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

Also, what is his or hers, mutation? And would it be to late to change the name? 

also, how can I introduce other foods like fruits to him or her? 
He seems to like the honey seed bar things, and LOVES Millet. could I use millet with training? and how would I teach him to dance?


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## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

I agree with niamh, look's like a sweet little hen. I am no good with mutation's, she gives the appearance of a light green, normal but I can't really tell what color her tail is in the pic's...

Check out some of the sticky's in our diet and nutrition section for diet change recommendations' and in our training and bonding sticky's for lot's of good info too...


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

What is her current name? Is there a variation you could use? It should be okay . I would stay away from honey as it is very sweet - could be used very sparingly as a treat. Crumble or pellets in their diet is very important along with vegetables and some fruit (again fruit is sugary so use as treats). It may take a while to introduce new foods so start by mixing them them through her seeds


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi and welcome to TB! :wave: 
It's wonderful you have so many questions--it's a mark of a truly vigilant budgie parent 

Soren is indeed a little girl! She is a light green opaline and is absolutely stunning. 
Hens have pale blue ceres that turn crusty brown when in condition, and males start out with pink or purplish ceres that mature into royal blue. It's a little strange! 

I think Soren is a perfect name her her as it is and I think it's very gender neutral, so I would stay with it! 
As for diets, pet store birds are usually fed on mainly seed diets. Although they do eat mostly seeds in the wild, there are lots of other factors that play into this diet, and domesticated budgies need a diet of pellets and seed (always offer more pellets than seed) supplemented with daily fruits and veggies, as well as cuttlebones/mineral blocks for good overall health. Converting to pellets is hard, but definitely worth it! I recommend Roudybush (smallest size possible), Harrison's, or ZuPreem Fruitblend (get XS canary size).
The best way to feed pellets is as 70-75% of the main diet. 
Seeds can be given 1-2 tsp. a day, either separate or mixed in with the pellets. 
Most birds will not touch pellets as long as there are seeds in the cage, so I would recommend maybe switching them onto pellets first so they learn to recognize them as food and not ignore them after they've finished their daily seed. 

Weaning budgies onto pellets can take forever and be extremely frustrating. The best way is to do it in ratios: Every time you change Soren's food, add in a few more pellets, then a few more, then a few more (about a teaspoon more every two days) and after a week, the ratio should be at about 25-30% pellets to 70-75% seed. At this point, they usually only ate the seeds, and then begged for more seeds, ignoring the pellets.
Do not give in to their begging for more seeds! Most birds will only begin to eat pellets after there's no other option.

Eventually, increase the pellets until they are 50-50 with the seeds, and finally mostly pellets, then cut out seeds entirely. Budgies can go for 2 days without food, so don't worry if they don't eat. They're usually inclined to take a nibble during this time! 
After a few days or so with just pellets, you can add seeds back in and offer like 1-2 tsp. of seeds separately as mentioned. 

Also, romaine lettuce, kale, parsley, carrot and broccoli are easy vegetables to give. Just wash them well, stick them in the bars, clip them to the cage with a binder clip and remove after a few hours. That way, she can have a balanced diet! :thumbsup: 
Try not to give her too many honey sticks, as they can be very fattening 

Hope this helps, keep us posted! Hope to see you and your pretty little girl around here


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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

I seriously thought she was a he for the longest time, and I got the name soren from my favorite movie, Legends of the Guardians, the main character a barn owl's name is Soren. I wish to change it to a more girlyish name XD. just not sure what yet. 

And I thought their main diet was seed too my mom never told me to get pellets too cause her mom raised lots of birds when I was a baby and before I was born. But I will get her pellets indeed. Will a female budgie learn to talk as well? and should I get another budgie for her, I am currently living with my sister, not sure how she'd feel about me having another bird, Shes quiet until I turn on the tv or music then she likes to get loud, she loves giving kisses and preening me XD and thank you for answering my questions!


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## Didoushkaya (May 18, 2015)

Hi Kayla and welcome to Talk Budgies!

Well done for asking so many questions. Your girl is very cute and I look forward to seeing more shots of her 

Make sure to post a video when she learns to dance


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## TheBlueCarbuncl (Jun 10, 2015)

It is a girl, indeed. She's so beautiful! To know if it's a boy or a girl look around the nostrils/holes if there's white, then it's a girl! Since blue is a bit confusing ^_^ (only for young budgies) as for the age, I took mine when he was only three months (I didn't know that at first) but I kept an eye on his cere becuz it changes colour when they turn 8 months. Since mine is a recessive pied his cere won't change, it'll stay pink. But it did tilt to slightly purplish blue. So on June he turned 8 months and I had him for 5 months only. So mathematically XD he was 3 when I took him. Female budgie's cere turn to brown and sometimes a bit crusty when they become adult (8 months).

"Budgies that are younger than 4 months will have a full head of cap feathers that are barred all the way down to the cere. At three to four months of age, the budgie will go through its first molt, and these cap feathers will be replaced by clear, non-barred feathers.
This does not apply for the color varieties Lutino/Albino and Recessive Pieds." - that's from a website. 
So your budgie might be 3-6 months old it's rlly hard to tell. I guess that when budgies turn 1 year old the lines will be completely gone.

As for wing clipping (I unfortunately clipped mine) there's no need to clip it's wing, unless If the budgie won't be tamed and you lost all the hope then it's okay to. But I truly don't recommend that. Just let the budgie out in a small room (a bathroom would do) becuz there's no much stuff and it would be easily to get the budgie back when it flies away and stands on a high place. After that you can take her out in any other place.

introducing veggies and fruits is an easy matter. I would first place, for example, a slice of Apple (beware of the seeds, becuz they are toxic) beside the cage, so that my budgie would stare at it for a little while, And then put it inside the cage for 2-3 minutes for 5 days or even a week (not too near to the budgie though) That sometimes won't work with my budgie so I have this particular perch where I place the fruits and veggies (supported by the cage) and then when I leave, Peter would jump on that perch and start investigating what that is. I just recently started giving my budgie veggies and fruits though ^_^ so I still have a lot of work to do! 
Hope this link helps too ^_^ 
Budgerigar aka "Budgie" | Beauty Of Birds.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I love that movie! Soren is the best 

I have a list of name ideas if that would help, there are a few girly names that sound like Soren on there like Sora and Sorrel. 
http://talkbudgies.com/new-budgie-arrivals/271522-unique-names-unique-budgies.html#2807010

Female budgies can learn to talk, it depends on the personality of your little one but it is very possible. Budgies do love noise, so if the house is quiet, put on the radio or the TV. Before I leave the house, I always turn on music!
Single budgies, male or female, always do well with enough attention. My little girl Mallorn is a single lady, and she and I do quite well together. 
I think that your little girl will be just fine


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## Kaybudgie (Jun 19, 2015)

Thank you all for replys! I think I shall call her Sorana, I knew she acted like a Diva. maybe one day I will get her a boyfriend.


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