Hi Guys!

[Anmah]

hello everyone. i am a new owner of two beautiful budgies. the white pied one is chilli and green one is pedmo. i got them about two weeks ago from a pet shop. the owner there abused his birds and when i got them home they were extreamly terrified of hands. they trembled at the sight of them. however i got them to warm up to me in two days and they started eating from my hands. when i talked to them they jumped onto the cage bars to get close to me. =
However, a few days ago two two men broke into my house and when my birds started making noise they shot into the cage and broke the door. chilli got frightened and fluttered around damaging his wing. but now he is fine.but now the relationship between us is ruined and my budgies absolutely hate everything outside the cage including me. so i joined the site hoping to get some good advise from you guys.
plus, my bigger cage is ruined so i have to place them in a smaller one untill august when i purchase a new one.

[liz]

I hope they catch the guys who broke in. Stealing is one thing but harming a critter is far worse.

Welcome to the forum. Hope is not lost.

Please contact someone about the owner of the pet shop: Humane Society, SPCA or even a Avian Rescue. I don't know that it would help much but I know a rescue would send someone to check it out and take it from there.

[Pajarita]

Welcome, Annah, Chili and Pedmo. Budgies don't need to be abused or neglected to be afraid of people, all they need is to be parent-raised in an aviary situation, and that's 100% of the ones sold in petstores so their reaction is not because of previous abuse but a completely normal one. As to your taming them in two days, well... it would be a miracle if that was really the case. But they did get a big fright and I can see how they would still be traumatized by it. The advice is the same we give to everybody: spend A LOT of time keeping them company, talking, singing, whistling to them, offer them treats from your hand -don't put your hand in the cage or on the sides of it, don't ask them for anything and open the door to the cage 1 to 2 hours before sunset so they can come out and fly around. If you don't free-feed high protein food, they usually go back into the cage on their own for their dinner.

[Anmah]

Thanks guys!
We have actually complained about the pet shops around here.The only thing the humane society did was ask the shop owners to clean up the dead bird or two outside. A time came when we stopped complaining. The shops around here are dark small rooms with so much moisture and smell that it is hard to breathe. The cage in which 50 budgies are placed is so small that i think would be too small for my babies. The owner had no knowledge of birds and when i asked him their age he said me to buy a male and female and when they would have babies i can start aging them. Otherwise there was no way to tell their age. He also told me that they cant be tame nor talk. Only thing they do is scream. However my babies have beautiful voice and pedmo can already say two phrases that i use really often.
Also he twisted chilli's neck and squeezed his head to prevent bites. But he is alright now.
Plus i think Chilli might be a girl.
And also they caught the two men. They are in jail right now.

[Wolf]

Any word on what happened to your birds?

[Anmah]

Pedmo is ok today. I was able to feed him some treats through the cage bars. Chilli is still scared a little . I hope he gets better soon. It is like he is in shock. My vet says it will be over soon and and same old curious chilli will come around.

[Wolf]

I am glad to hear that they are going to be fine. I know how traumatic gunfire can be for birds as I live on 6 acres of wooded land and must go to the back of the property if I want to do any shooting and still have to limit it so that my birds don't get too upset. So I can imagine what close range and enclosed would be like for them.
Actually though I mixed you up with another poster on another forum who just had a Congo African Grey and a Timneh Grey stolen, Both of you posted within minutes of each other and both of you were on my mind.

[liz]

Anmah, You can tell by Wolf's last post that you and your Budgies are now in our family.

Keep in mind that your budgies are not wild. They are scared. If they were scared kids you would talk softly and not demand anything of them. You would wait until it calmed down and came to you for attention.

[Pajarita]

Unfortunately, as long as the birds are protected from the elements and have access to food and water even if the water is slimy and the food is spoiled and they are all stressed out and crowded in a filthy cage, the law says they are fine so the cruelty officers can't do anything about it. It's only when they find them with no food or water and a large number of them very sick and dying that they take them away. We have VERY inadequate animal cruelty laws...

[Anmah]

yeah, i was really scared that one day. i came home, found the lock broken, rushed to my precious birds and found them whimpering on the cage floor bumping into each other.
chilli was especially shocked. it was like he could not understand what was happening to him. i could not stop crying and spent the entire night calming them down. in the morning pedmo was back to normal and going about his business but i thought chilli would not make it. a friend advised me to make a birdie hospital bed and that helped calm him down. however the nearest vet was 6 hrs ride away so i found a really good one on skype and he helped me save my birds life.
chilli is fine yet unsure about everything. he is quieter and scared of dark. he absolutely hates the night cover and want me to sing to him his favourite songs before he goes to sleep. so i am going to take very small baby steps with him while i am target training pedmo.
Also guys, dont worry about the faraway vet becuz in about 8-9 years i am ging to become the best vet the world has ever seen.
Plus, i love my budgies. [[hugs and kisses]]
and dont worry about the mean shop owners. Papa says we are going to complain until someone takes action. we might not be able to give the birds better homes but we can improve their condition in the shop.