# New baby



## Musicalmummy (Dec 15, 2015)

Hi we got our budgie yesterday. I'm so worried that it will get sick or we do something wrong. This morning it sat on the bottom of the cage for a while. It did eventually go back up and sit on his swing. He has discovered his food dish but has now sat right inside to eat and at one stage was laying sideways that I thought he was stuck. Is this all normal?


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## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

Welcome to talk budgies. All the behavior you have described is very normal for your new bird. You should cover the cage on three sides to help him/her feel secure for the time being. During the first few weeks just sit by the cage and talk softly or read to your bird, don't attempt to handle. We have a lot of good info here in our training and bonding section sticky's, and all the other sub forums too. Maybe you can read some of this info to your budgie, it's good stuff and will help you get started on the right foot with your new friend. would love to see some pic's...


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## EvanShankar (Nov 11, 2015)

Jonah said:


> Welcome to talk budgies. All the behavior you have described is very normal for your new bird. You should cover the cage on three sides to help him/her feel secure for the time being. During the first few weeks just sit by the cage and talk softly or read to your bird, don't attempt to handle. We have a lot of good info here in our training and bonding section sticky's, and all the other sub forums too. Maybe you can read some of this info to your budgie, it's good stuff and will help you get started on the right foot with your new friend. would love to see some pic's...


Very great advice! When we got our budgies they stood still on the grill of the cage too!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Do you know how old your budgie is?
Did you get him from a breeder or a pet-store?
Very young budgies often like to sit in their food bowl. If the dish has a cover on it, you may want to remove the cover for awhile so the little guy doesn't get stuck or injured.

Having your new 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.

Budgies are often submissive for the first few days simply because they are terrified. 

You can cover the top and three sides of the cage to help the budgie feel more secure. Playing music for him when you aren't around will be helpful as well. Budgies perceive no noise as meaning there may be danger.

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 him to be touched. 
Most budgies once they pass the "baby" stage, do not like to be petted or touched. Bonding means allowing them to choose to be with you.

To bond with your budgie, you need to build his trust in you.
He will have to learn over time that you will not hurt him, grab him and try to force him to allow you to hold him.

To build your budgie's trust, sit by his cage and read, talk or sing quietly to him 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 him so he'll learn that your hand is safe and will not hurt him.

After a week, rest your hand inside the cage when you talk. 
Don't make sudden moves, don't try to touch him. 
Let his get used to the idea that the hand is now in his safe place and not harming him. If he becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until he calms down.

After 2 weeks, begin moving your hand slowly toward your budgie. If he becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until he calms down. When he's comfortable with your hand near him, you can offer him 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 him whenever you interact with him.

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!!

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

:wave:*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and :welcome: to the forums 

Your new baby is exhibiting all the behaviours a new budgie usually does 

You've been given great advice on how to begin gaining your budgie's trust, and I'm sure that in a few weeks he/she will be very happy to be in your family! 

There are plenty of articles on here that detail exactly how you should go about gaining the trust of your budgie--although it will take time, the results are worth it!

Along the way, feel free to post pictures (you can never have too many! hoto, Training Journals, or ask about anything you couldn't find the answer to already. 

I hope to meet him/her soon and am looking forward to seeing you around the forums  

:wave:


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## Musicalmummy (Dec 15, 2015)

Thanks everyone. I am told he is about 8 weeks or so.
At what stage do we get his wing clipped?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I would suggest you read the information in this link before deciding whether or not to have your budgie's wings clipped.

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-general-budgie-info/103950-wings-clip-not-clip.html

If you do decide to have them clipped, please be sure to have only the minimum feathers necessary clipped and do not allow the person clipping them to clip them too short. *


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

What a precious boy! 

It is not necessary to clip a budgies wings, although some chose to, which can be explored in this thread:
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/80356-clip-not-clip.html

There are different opinions on clipping but it is still just as possible to tame a budgie with full wings as clipped wings 

EDIT: Oh, Deb beat me! Well, now you definitely know what to read :laughing:


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## Musicalmummy (Dec 15, 2015)

When someone saw his pic on Facebook they told me he looked like he is 6 months or more??


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

He definitely is not 6 months old  

He has barring down to his nose, black eyes, and an immature cere colour, all pointing to an age of around 2-3 months. As he gets older, the bars will fade first as he moults, and around 6-7 months of age, his cere and eyes will change to those of a mature adult. 

He is such a pretty boy!


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Welcome to be owned by a Budgie ! Oh sorry I meant welcome to owning a budgie, HA HA . You will find out many interesting facts here and we love hearing all the crazy funny things they get up to, what is your budgies name ?


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## Musicalmummy (Dec 15, 2015)

His name is sunny :grinning:. He seems to preen a lot. Not sure if he's itchy or a nervous thing.


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## Riovedo (Oct 22, 2015)

I brought my second budgie home 5 days ago and I clipped his wings before I transferred him to his cage. It's not hard to do but I did a lot of reading and watched many videos on how to properly do it when I bought my first budgie. If you are at all uneasy about doing this properly then I'd have an avian vet handle it....there's no room for error. I myself like to have the wings clipped this one and only time because its easier for me to train my budgies and by the time the feathers grow back in they are pretty much tame. But this is just my opinion!


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