New Addition :)

[Raiquee]

Well as told i purchased my budgie today! Not sure on sex, as he is bout 8 weeks old. He is indeed on of my manager's birds, and very sweet. However he is freaked out being in a new home and all, so hes just sitting on the perch. He does step up pretty well however, just not out of the cage He'd rather fly into my face! Well, now its the long week of just leaving him alone and letting him settle in.

Here's a pic! (if it works!)

P.S. Any name ideas? I want something really pretty. I am thinking Kyoko, but i have a week to think about it, seeing as i will start calling him/her it's name after that Thanks guys. More pics when he's feeling more at home! I will make him a mama's burd I am so estatic to have him in my family!

Congats on the new addition. He is a cutie!

[Crittercall]

Kyoko is a pretty name. I usually name my animals after I've had them for a few days and a name just starts coming out everytime I talk to them. (I've never claimed not to be crazy!!). Erin's first 'tiel got his name because she was in her b/r talking on the phone. I walked in and asked who she was talking to and she said "Stefan". So I started being silly and saying "Talking to Stefan - she's talking to Stefan" - just being goofy. The bird went nuts, preening himself, strutting up and down the perch. His name was Stefan!!

Good luck with him all the way around! He looks like a great buddy and of course we want a handsome portrait complete with name!

[Raiquee]

Thanks for the congrats guys!

I'm going to call my vet later and see how much a dna sexing would cost. I think his/her name will be Kyoto or Yui. Kyoto after well, Kyoto Japan or Yui which is chinese for moon.

He's terrified as of current. Understandable. My manager brought him into the store on Wed, and i bought him Thurs. So he's seen two homes in a little amount of time. I've kept his cage bare for now, simply 2 perches and his food and water dish. Once hes settled in i will introduce some toys into his cage, finally a bird that will play with toys!

I think i am more excitied than he is

I think he had night frights last night, but his cage wasn't covered. He's in a room with some other animals so i thought it freaked him out. I covered his cage and he was okay He's been pretty much quiet..i will try to get more pics once hes not scared for his life

[Crittercall]

It takes a while, Raiquee. Just give him some time and attention. And remember, no mirrors in the cage!

Good luck with the little feller. I'm sure he'll turn out just fine!

[sunshine]

with parakeets being 8 weeks old you should be able to tell the sex of him if his cere is blue then its male if its white or brownish he is a she parakeets dont have to have dna testing the cere tells the sex if not by 3 months you will know for sure if you look at my pictures you can tell the females from malehttp://www.geocities.com/thark98/photopageceltic.htmls

[kittygurl823]

Congatulations on your new birdie, Raiquee!!! I bet you are so excited!!! He is just beautiful!!! Ohhh I like Kyoto!!!! I think that is a great name! You will know better in the next few days how his personality is. I can't wait to see more pictures of him, I love his coloring, very pretty!!!!

Sunshine- Yup, you are right on the coloring of the cere, however in some cases, the colorings aren't always for certain, LOL! Dena has had her parakeet for 5 years and thought it was a boy, and one day, *she* decided to lay an egg! So, I guess in some cases DNA testing would be the only for sure way! I have 2 parakeets and Snowy is a girl for sure, she is an egg layer. Where as Casper, I thought was a boy, when I took Snowy to the vet in Dec, I had Casper along, and I asked my vet. He looked at him and said he couldn't tell for sure, there was a little bit of blue AND beige color in the cere, it could very well be a girl. Then looking at Snowy, he saw blue in hers too! lol!

[Raiquee]

the cere tends to turn its true color when the parakeet sexually matures and that ranges from 9 months to a year. So you won't know the true gender until then. We have cages opon cages of parakeets at work, all babies and they all have the cere the same color. A pinkish. That pinkish could go either blue or tan At least this is the info i learned from our bird trainer.

Critter) Thanks for the support! I made a point not to buy anything with mirrors when i went shopping today. I bought him a new cage because his was flimsy and dumb. He's got a nice metal one now, and i bought him a buttload of toys...in fact, more than could fit in the cage! He's perched on the top perch now, and he just sits there. Poor thing. I also found out DNA sexing would only cost me 45 bucks. Not too bad, i think i may schedule him for that and just a check up to make sure hes okay.

I'm a bit worried because he didn't eat or drink ANYTHING last night, no seed hulls what so ever. He's healthy, but is he too freaked to explore his cage? I stuck my hand in there today slowly and he let me gently rub under his wing without even flapping! I tried offering him a bit of papaya, but he didn't take it.

~Worried mum

[Jodi]

Congrats on the new addition!

I agree the only way to sex a bird with 100% accuracy is a DNA test. They're fairly cheap to so that's nice (we only paid $30).

I'm sure he's still stressed out over the change - our birdie pals are very sensitive. Give him a few more days to settle in....talk to him lots and let him know you're there. And keep offering him food treats. That's great that you got him a new cage and lots of toys - I'm sure he'll be very happy.

[Raiquee]

Jodi) Thanks. I keep talking to him and hes perked up a bit. He tilts his head and looks at me as i say "Hiiiii~!" hehe. He also loves to get his crop/belly rubbed, he closed his eyes and just sat on the perch letting me rub his belly. Hes not finger trained as of yet, but he did step up onto my finger a few times.

I'm just worried as he hasn't eaten or drank anything yet...i will see if he does by tonight...if not, can i be really worried?

[kittygurl823]

Raiquee - Awwwww I know how worried you are. It seems like he is getting used to you and his new surroundings, as he is letting you pet him! How sweet!
Try not to worry too much yet about him not eating and drinking just yet, give him a little time. I rarely witness my birds drinking water, lol, chances are, he has been drinking some. What are you feeding him, the same food he was getting when he was with your manager? I'm sure he will come around and start to check out his food soon. Just keep looking at his food to see, as I know you are, girl! Parakeets also love millet for a treat as well! He might nibble on some of that, too.

[Jodi]

Have ya tried any warm, mushy comfort foods? have you tried feeding him off your fingers?

He come home with you yesterday, right? Seriously, I wouldn't get too worried yet. He may be eating and drinking some when you're not noticing. Has he had any poops? If so, are they normal birdie poops? (sorry to be gross, but if he's having normal poops it's the best indication that he's eating/drinking.) Put fresh papers under his cage and then check the papers in a few hours and see if there are any poops. Ahhh, the fun life of a bird mom - poop patrol!!

[Laurie]

Congratulations on your new addition! I hope he's eating and drinking for you soon. Poopies too!

[Raiquee]

I guess i am being a worry wart I love him so much already!

His poops are normal, and i caught him in the general direction of his food, so maybe he is picking at it. Just when i changed his water this morning, it was spotless, nothing in it. And i didn't see ANY seed hulls. So i kinda got freaked out

Now i walk in the room and i say "Hi baby" and he looks at me now. Before he was facing the wall and wouldn't look at me. Now he turns his head to peer down at me. I can see he is perking up. He had me worried for a second there! I am going to leave him alone until Tuesday, and that will be our first training session. He steps up (even though he doesn't know the command, he does it naturally. I say he doesn't know it because it takes many times of step up step up to get him to actually do it XD) and will sit on my finger comfortably in the cage. But when coming to pull him out he hops back onto the perch. So first training session will be of him perching on my finger and hopefully coming out of the cage. I'll give him a small smooch on the head and a piece of strawberry or grape as a reward

Oh, yes he is on the same food my manager had him on. I plan to switch him over to zupreme, but that will be a far time off. I will be introducing fresh fruits and veggies speared on a kabob once he is comfortable.

I went shopping and bought him all the following:

New cage
Playgym
a boing rope perch
a beach walk perch
a cactus and millet treat/toy
a peakcock feather preening toy
a treat stick
a little furry "hut" or tent that they can cuddle up and roost in (which doesn't fit in his cage! grr!)
Bird bath
a small traveler for trips to the vet
a cage cover
a plastic spinny toy thing
sugarcane treats

It's very possible that there was more, but who knows

Sorry for the long post!

[Deja]

Congrats on your new baby! He sounds wonderfully sweet - and very lucky! He's going to love all of his treats and toys!
How is he doing? Has he settled in nicely? How are the training sessions going?
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