New budgie

[RenLynn]

Hello so I brought back my first sick budgie to the pet store and got a new one. I'm hoping it's healthy, so far so good but it seems to quiver it's tail, should I be concerned? I have had him 4 days.

The bird seems happy as he climbs the cage and hangs up side down. He preens himself, sings and chirps, He also eats his food. And as I said above, his tail quivers but it also will bob, not a lot though.

[liz]

You had a budgie for 20 days and returned it?
Then you got another one from the same place?

[RenLynn]

I only had the option to replace it with another.

[Wolf]

OK! I am here as promised so lets get started on this.
As I said I understand what and why you made the choice of returning the last bird and replaced it with a new bird and although I am not in agreement with it, the choice was yours to make and not mine.
The reason behind Liz's response was first of all that you returned the bird instead of taking it to the vet, which as the more experienced members are aware of is a death sentence for the last bird as the pet store will not get it the medical attention that it needs, they consider it to be a throw away bird. I am not trying to make you feel bad about your choice, because this is not a fact that pet store like to make known to the general public, I am just relating the actual facts of how they operate and since you are new to this world of birds, I do not expect you to have known this.
Liz was also surprised that you accepted another bird from them after they sold you a sick bird. Again this is a matter of knowledge which you did not possess and again you can not be faulted for that. We have all made mistakes in our learning to care for these birds and some of them would qualify as much worse than yours. So here is the low down on this situation and how to negotiate through it. First of all they sold you a sick bird and they do not utilize any quarantine procedures at the pet store so you have no guarantee that this second bird is healthy ( Liz's concern). What you now need to do is take your new bird to the vet for a wellness exam and probably blood work so that you can help this one if it is also sick. I am not going to say that it will be cheap, because avian vets are not cheap by any means, but they may work with you if you will just talk to them. If you will just find a way to do this, then given a little time working with this bird a whole new world will open up for you as they are so under rated that it makes me sick that they are considered to be throw away birds. Once you learn how to take good care of this bird and learn how to work with it, you will not find a more loving companion in the world. They are funny and they are smart, did you know that a budgie holds the worlds record for the most words spoken? This is not to say that yours will even learn to speak as most of them do not, but this is not to say that they are any less intelligent, as that would not be true.
Among my other birds I have a pair of budgies and they are the most talkative little things, always jabbering away and singing. At first, I found their constant chatter to be just a little irksome, but now it is background chatter. I do notice if it changes but mostly it is just there and in many ways it has become rather reassuring as well as soothing to me to hear them in the background.
You really need to find some way of establishing an emergency medical fund for your bird so that if something comes up you have the means of taking care of it. Some people purchase insurance for this kind of thing, I don't know what it costs but can get you enough information that you can look into it if you so choose to. Some people put a little money aside in a savings account and some get a credit card that they only use for their bird medical needs. Regardless of which way you choose, I am certain that in the long run you will find that it is well worth it for the amount of love and companionship that your bird will provide you with.