# New Budgie help



## PlushPetTony (Jun 10, 2018)

I purchased a budgie from a pet store 3 days ago. The man told me she was quite young and would be easy to tame. After putting her in her new cage I have learned that she can't fly. I let her out to encourage her to try but she just falls down when she attempts to fly. She is very clumsy and often falls down while climbing. She seems to lack confidence.

She is also constantly squawking. She very rarely makes any other sound, I've tried playing music and budgie sounds but she continues to squawk and sound distressed. She has already lost 7 large feathers, mostly from her tail and there is one hanging awkwardly from her now. She has been scratching her cere and her bottom an awful lot, both with her foot and on the perch.

I tried to take a look at her wings but she has a very strong bite and she got very distressed so I couldn't see them perfectly but they don't look clipped. I've had budgies in the past but they were never this noisy and they could fly. Should I be worried?


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## Jesska (Apr 24, 2018)

Congrats on your beautiful baby!

You should allow your new budgie 2 weeks before you try to touch or handle them. Don't rush hand taming or flying. They need time to adjust to their new environment, cage, and you. Your budgie may perhaps be having flying/feather issues due to stress of being in a new place. So give your budgie that time to just get used to it's cage (It should be a safe place for them) and get used to you by your voice and social presence rather than physical.

It's not recommended you play budgie sounds for your bird. This can cause them to look for the source of the sounds and become stressed.

Other more experienced budgie lovers here can probably help with a bit more info, but it's good to read through the stickies here to get a lot of really good info. I have had birds my whole life and thought I knew a lot but after coming here I found out so much! 

Also, it's a good idea to arrange a first time check up with your budgie at an avian vet, just to make sure it's in a good bill of health.

Good luck! I hope we see a lot more of your little beauty!


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## JRS (Sep 3, 2016)

Hi there

As Jesska has said, it's usually recommended that we allow a new bird to settle in for a couple of weeks when first brought home: Covering the top and 3 sides of the cage to help them feel more secure, playing quiet music or TV noise, chatting to the bird but going into the cage only when needed.
https://www.talkbudgies.com/new-budgie-arrivals/295169-yes-your-bird-scared.html

I don't know if it's just the pose, but in the photograph, the wings do not look symmetrical. They don't appear to be clipped but the main flight feathers on the right wing look to be bent upwards. That, together with your observations of her inability to fly and falling when climbing would strongly suggest that a vet visit (preferably avian vet) is needed. 
She may have a feather problem, she may even have a broken wing.

Understandably, she could be under stress with the change in environment but I don't think 'lacking confidence' is the main problem here. 
You may wish to contact the pet shop first and see if they will reimburse the vet fees if she is found to have a problem.
Best of luck


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

Budgies need a minimum of two weeks to settle into their new home and you should not be trying to touch or tame them at this time. They are often submissive initially because they are terrified.
You can cover the top and three sides of the cage to help them feel more secure. Play music or the TV for them when you are not around during the day.

Taming and Bonding is all about helping your budgie learn to trust you and it takes a great deal of time and patience on your part. 
You should never grab your budgie or force her to be touched. 
To bond with your budgie, you need to build her trust in you.
She will have to learn over time that you will not hurt her, grab her and try to force her to allow you to hold her.

To build your budgie's trust, sit by her cage and read, talk or sing quietly to her for a period of at least 10-15 minutes, 3 or 4 times day. After the 2nd or 3rd day, rest your hand on the outside of the cage when you talk to her so she'll learn that your hand is safe and will not hurt her.

After a week, rest your hand inside the cage when you talk. 
Don't make sudden moves, don't try to touch her. 
Let her get used to the idea that the hand is now in her safe place and not harming her.

After 2 weeks, begin moving your hand slowly toward your budgie. If she becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until she calms down. When she's comfortable with your hand near her, you can offer her a bit of millet or a few seeds. In a few more days, you can begin your taming and bonding sessions.

Always work at your budgie's pace. 
Move slowly and talk reassuringly and calmly to her whenever you interact with her.

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

Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.

These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.

Site Guidelines
Posting on the Forums
Let's Talk Budgies
How-To Guides
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
Budgie Articles
List of Stickies
Be Prepared for Veterinary Expense
Avian First Aid
Why Quarantine?

A Heartfelt Plea to All Members
Guidance regarding Breeding Advice Threads

Recommended Minimum Cage Sizes
Essentials for a Great Cage
Resource Directory

When you upload pictures as attachments directly from your computer, tablet or phone, the forum automatically defaults to landscape. Additionally, the picture appears as what we term a "thumbnail" attachment.

To upload full-sized pictures with the proper orientation, please use a photo-sharing service such as Imgur and follow the steps in these instructions:
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You can practice uploading pictures in the site's "Test Forum:
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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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## PlushPetTony (Jun 10, 2018)

Thank you everyone for your help! I really appreciate it and will take your advice! Also @JRS yes her right wing feathers are permanently bent upwards. I was wondering if that was unnatural.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Yes, the way the feathers are bent is definitely not natural.

As Julia recommended, you need to have this budgie seen by an Avian Vet to see if there is a problem with the feather growth or whether or not she has a broken wing.

Avian Vets have special training to determine the cause of symptoms resulting from illness or trauma. 
This is important as "regular" vets will often overlook symptoms that are quickly obvious to an Avian Vet.
When you rely on anyone who has not had training in Avian diagnosis and care, you may be delaying effective treatment. 
This can prolong suffering that may be avoidable.
The bird will often require a more intense, prolonged treatment with a poorer chance of full recovery than it would have if you seek prompt professional diagnosis and treatment at the first sign of illness.

Having your budgie examined by an Avian Vet allows you to develop a good relationship with the vet in case your bird needs care for an injury or illness in the future. Additionally, it is always helpful for the vet to have a baseline for your bird to refer to should it need future treatment.

I strongly suggest you replace the plastic perches with natural wood perches of varying diameters to help prevent pressure sores.

https://www.talkbudgies.com/articles-budgie-disease-illness/340418-pressure-sores.html

The information in this link gives you better options of good selections for perches.

Essentials for a Great Cage
*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

You've come to the best possible place to learn about the best practices for keeping budgies!

Congratulations on your new budgie. I'm glad you'll be taking him to the vet to ensure that he is able to be evaluated and possibly treated!

Be sure also to read through the links provided above by FaeryBee. You'll find all you need to know about budgies within! If you have any questions after reading though everything, be sure to ask as we'd love to help! 

Please keep us posted on how he's doing soon! 

We hope to see you around the forums! :wave:


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

Any updates? Have you seen an avian vet? How is your beautiful little one doing? Although the photo isn’t the best, I do believe you have a boy. The cere looks to be a uniform pink, which would indicate male. In the lutino mutation, males will keep a pink cere even after maturity.


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