HELP! New Budgie- I'm afraid he/she will starve

[Pajarita]

Yes, in babies, a light blue, flat cere means a hen and a pink, protruding cere means a boy -this becomes the opposite when they become adults so, in order to ascertain whether you are looking at a baby or a juvenile (which would begin to show the adult coloring), look at the eyes, if the bird is a baby, they should be a solid black, and at the bars on the head, they should reach all the way down to the cere with no solid color on the forehead.

[Wolf]

In that case he needs to pick one with the pinkish cere.

[marie83]

If your sure that your taking the bird back I would suggest getting a refund rather than replacement as several possible causes of signs of illness are actually contagious.

I would also ask you to consider not supporting petshops or breeders who mass produce birds to sell but take on one or preferably two who need to be rehomed or from a rescue. Obviously a couple of older ones will be much more challenging to tame but they will be much happier overall.

[Wolf]

If your sure that your taking the bird back I would suggest getting a refund rather than replacement as several possible causes of signs of illness are actually contagious.

I would also ask you to consider not supporting petshops or breeders who mass produce birds to sell but take on one or preferably two who need to be rehomed or from a rescue. Obviously a couple of older ones will be much more challenging to tame but they will be much happier overall.

That would be ideal, but it really doesn't sound as if her parents are all that supportive of this in the first place, although I could be in error.

[marie83]

If your sure that your taking the bird back I would suggest getting a refund rather than replacement as several possible causes of signs of illness are actually contagious.

I would also ask you to consider not supporting petshops or breeders who mass produce birds to sell but take on one or preferably two who need to be rehomed or from a rescue. Obviously a couple of older ones will be much more challenging to tame but they will be much happier overall.

5
That would be ideal, but it really doesn't sound as if her parents are all that supportive of this in the first place, although I could be in error.

unfortunately I got that impression too, hopefully we are wrong though. All things said I think everyone in the family needs to be supportive - not to say the OP can't be a good owner because I know some young people can but if there's a chance they may drag their heels about veterinary treatment in the future then it's worth reconsidering whether now is the right time to have a pet.
I had a job from the age of 14 and every penny went to the animals under my care in a bank account in case I needed it. Maybe this is something Alfie could consider in case financial support wasn't forthcoming in the future.
by the way to make it clear, I'm not saying that they wouldn't- I know my parents would have helped in a heartbeat if I had really needed help but they were primarily my responsibility.

[Wolf]

I am in agreement with you on all of this. As to them being primarily your responsibility that is also as it should have been, and it should be this way for Alfie as well.

[Alfie]

If your sure that your taking the bird back I would suggest getting a refund rather than replacement as several possible causes of signs of illness are actually contagious.

I would also ask you to consider not supporting petshops or breeders who mass produce birds to sell but take on one or preferably two who need to be rehomed or from a rescue. Obviously a couple of older ones will be much more challenging to tame but they will be much happier overall.

Yes, we got a refund for the bird. When we went to look at other birds at the same pet store, every one of them was on the ground breathing heavily with their feathers puffed up poor things. Today we went to a different, locally owned pet store which only keeps about 5 or 6 budgies at a time. We got a healthy, blue baby female. Also, my parents are supportive of all of this, but I don't think they understand that budgies are real pets which need proper care from vets and more than just food and water to stay healthy. I earn money on my own and will definitely be able to pay for the care of my new budgie.

[Wolf]

Since you have already said that this is new for you, I hope you are aware that you can not just feed seeds to your bird. It will need to eat a variety of foods in addition to its seed mix. Also the female budgie will not usually learn to speak, This trait seems to be due to the fact that the male is the one who must initiate the mating rituals and performs for the female.

[Alfie]

Yes, I know this But by variety of foods- I will be feeding him things like fruits, veggies, apple slices, and mini spray millet (as treats). Is that enough? Or will I need varied seed foods as well? I currently have the "Vita Prima Parakeet Formula."
Update on new Budgie: She's sitting at the bottom of the cage and looking around When we bought her she bit the petstore owner, hopefully she won't bite me too much...

[Alfie]

I read to her and played some quiet music. She seems to have calmed down, and she has now managed to climb up to the top perch in the cage (her wings came clipped and she doesn't seem used to it, I'm going to let them grow out). I noticed that she keeps fluffing up her feathers, especially after failing to reach a higher perch and falling. Is this because she's cold, or maybe she's trying to straighten her feathers?