New Budgie- When will tail and wing feathers grow back?

[Alfie]

I do feel bad, and not to justify my decision, but I had no idea the store owner wouldn't know what he was doing- the majority of the pets sold in that store are birds, and he even owns a huge macaw which roams the store freely! Luckily this Budgie seems pretty brave. In another thread you said I wouldn't be able to let the Budgie out, but untamed birds should be from the beginning- how would that be done, and how would the owner get the bird back into the cage? I want my budgie to have proper exercise for when her feathers grow back, so maybe I could let her out on the ground to let her flutter to whatever height she can for exercise... or should I wait and tame her in the cage first, given her situation?

[Wolf]

Pajarita said that you wouldn't be able to let the bird out in the normal manner because of the severity of the clipping. She knows much more especially with budgies than I do. The normal way is to let them out in a secure rom about 2 hours before dusk and then show them you placing their food in their cage so that they will go back in on their own to eat.
If her cage is of a size that you can set it on the floor and sit down on the floor with her, perhaps she will be willing to climb out and wander about some. But the only thing that normally works as exercise for a bird is flight. One of the big issues with clipping a birds wings is that it affects their balance and this makes it hard for them to even stay on a perch, especially at night as they prefer to sleep up as high as they can. So when you put her to bed make sure to pad the bottom of the cage with a folded towel which you can cover with newspaper.
You didn't know and you are not the first person who has listened to a salesperson at a pet store and been given the wrong information. What was done is done and now you just have to make the best of it and hope for the best.

[Alfie]

Ok. I'll wait until she's a bit more used to me to let her out. My brother is interested in getting a budgie as well, so maybe she'll at least have a buddy by Christmas.

[Wolf]

Well, perhaps if your brother decides to get one you can use what you have learned to help him with his.
Perhaps it would help for you to read and share this with him first...http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/ There is a lot of information on the site that this link is to and it may be of help for you, I certainly hope so.

[shiraartain]

I think a fellow bird would be helpful in another respect as well. When I first got my cockatiel he did not know how to fly and showed no interest in doing so, but after he bonded to my budgie he started practicing flapping his wings and eventually learned how to fly himself. (He preferred running around on the ground though, and my budgie would join him when she felt like it.)

Perhaps if your brother does get his bird and the two bond, your will at least be inspired to flap its wings often enough to lessen the amount of damage done to its body. (I am in no way saying this is a solution, just saying it stands a chance of decreasing the cons of this situation.)

But just remember: amother bird is not just a temporary "medication", it would be a companion to your parakeet. Though in my opinion parakeets are at their cutest when they're socializing with one another so no loss there .

[Pajarita]

My dear, a budgie that was not hand-fed (petstores simply don't sell the ones that are, you need to go to a VERY special breeder for that) will take months to get used to you. Lone, clipped ones feel scared and vulnerable and cannot get away so people think they are tamer, but they are not, they are just severely handicapped.

If you keep her at a solar schedule (and that means turning off the artificial lights at 3:30 pm this time of the year) and feed her gloop and another type of soft food for breakfast (which is the right way of feeding them) and seeds only for dinner, you can put the cage on the floor when you turn off the lights (put a couple of ladders so she can climb on objects), open the door and let her out. Sit on the floor next to the cage and don't move at all. Just sit there with a bit of millet on your lap (you can use a paper plate) and don't move. If she doesn't come out, don't worry, it's because she is so scared, wait about 1/2 hour, close the cage door and try again the next day. And the next, and the next until she comes out on her own and, when she does, just stay there (don't stare at her -it's a predator behavior- look at her out of the corner of your eye) and see what she does. After an hour or so, put the seeds (dinner) in her cage (put them on a paper plate or a piece of cardboard on the bottom of the cage so she can see it from the outside) and wait for her to go back in. If she doesn't, get up V E R Y slowly and walk out of the room. Wait 15 minutes and peep in to see if she has gone back on her own, they usually do (at least mine all do). If she hasn't, wait until it's dark and she is fast asleep and go back into the room with a small towel (a wash cloth works) and very gently pick her up and put her back in the cage for the night.

[Alfie]

Snow has been sleeping a lot, but stress and going to bed (just a tad!) late are hopefully the cause. There aren't any bird breeders where I live (I looked very hard) but I think that, despite the terrible wing clipping, we managed to find a store where we got a very adaptable bird who was used to humans. The store owner keeps only about 5 parakeets at a time, doesn't seem to sell them very often, and spends time with them. One of the cockatoos in a cage near them would whistle tunes back to the owner (something the same cockatoo wouldn't do to me). Anyways, just now, I placed my hand full of seeds in the cage with snow to see her reaction (Wolf recommended I try with millet, but she has ignored the millet I placed in the cage), and she didn't seem to mind much. She looked around and seemed alert while I was putting my hand in, but after a minute, she started blinking slowly and seemed relaxed. But this is either a good sign or a bad one, I hope she's not sick!

[Wolf]

When you first got this bird after returning the last one, I said that this one sounded like it was sick and once again advised you to take the bird to the vet for a wellness exam. The pet store should have had this done and given you a certificate of health from their vet or should pay for the first vet visit to certify that the bird is healthy. I don't know where you are so I can't say what the law says on this matter but it is common in the pet industry to supply this certification when you purchase a bird. The reason for this is that you can't always tell early if the bird is sick or not as they hide any illness until they are so weak that they can't hide it any longer and by this time it could easily be life threatening.
Even if the pet store provides a certificate of health for your bird it is always recommended that you take your bird to see an avian vet shortly after you get it. I still think that your bird sounds like it is sick and it needs to see the vet.
Budgies love millet, so if she is ignoring it when it is placed in her cage she is either not hungry at all or she is sick. Tell us how you are feeding you bird, by this I mean how much are you feeding her and how often. I still recommend that you get your bird in to see the vet for a check up as soon as possible.
Also read the information on the links that I provided you with as you really need the information.

[Alfie]

I read the budgie section in the link. To me, she seems to be acting normal and she eats quite a lot, but she mostly picks one type of seed out from the others. I don't want to frighten or stress her too much by taking her to the vet, but if that's what I need to do I will. She is fairly young and most of her life was spent at the pet store, so maybe she was never introduced to millet. I'll ask about taking her to the vet tomorrow.

[Alfie]

My mom is still against going to the vet. How can I convince her?