Hello again, I'm really loving the super nice and amazingly helpful community here! Being able to talk to budgie experts with experience has helped me so much more than googling. :budgie:
I like that I can have a place to jot down little notes about my buddies' progress!
7/13-7/19
Poor thing was all alone for at least this amount of time at my pet store, the last budgie. He didn't take it too well, either. He sat in one spot all day, shivering and pulling out his tail feathers. When my manager told me to move him to one of the smaller cages instead of his big empty one, I tried to be extra gentle and talk to him because I had a feeling he'd be coming home with me eventually. It took him about three days to stop shivering in his new cage, we were starting to get worried he wouldn't make it alone. :(
Mon, 7/20
The day we took him home! He was a very quiet bird the whole trip home and the whole time we set him his new cage, a spacious 24x18x36. We put him inside and he immediately stuck to the highest perch in the corner, next to a mirror. He was still very quiet, so I played a video of other budgies chirping and he immediately perked up and sang a little. When we approached the cage, he would move back to his corner. We(mostly I) would go up every once in awhile to talk to him for a few minutes, but otherwise gave him space.
Tues, 7/21
Dewey finally started exploring his cage! I saw him use every perch, use his cuttlebone, find his food bowl and eat, and use his ladder/climb upside down. He sang for hours too! I went up to the cage to talk to him for longer periods, around 30 min. He usually fluffs a little, stretches his wings, (he does this cute tow touch thing with his wing tips), and close his eyes slowly when I talk to him (does this mean he's comfortable?). Near the end of the day, I noticed he didn't move to his corner when I approached! He would stay in the same spot, or move around. He even felt comfortable moving to his food bowl and eating while I was standing there. We went back to my store and got two new branch perches and some more toys, although I haven't seen him play yet.
Today, 7/22
I had a long day of classes and didn't get home until around 5:30, so I didn't get to interact with him as much as yesterday. He still feels comfortable with me walking up to the cage though, and looks at me and tilts his head when I talk. Sometimes he'll cut me off and just start singing :) My boyfriend said he was singing even more than yesterday though, which is really good. Since he felt comfortable with me walking up and being around, I wanted to get him used to my hands in the cage. I put my hand in face up around the middle of his cage and just kept it still. He didn't move much at first, but he eventually started walking around, and even went to eat with it there! I took my hand out when he looked comfortable and was walking around, I didn't want to do it when he sat and ignored it as if to teach him that doing nothing will make the scary hand go away. I tried again a few hours later, this time with a bit of millet in my palm. He was a bit more skittish so I was sure to be still, and he got comfortable again. He went to eat a little bit, moved around his cage, back to eat, climb on his ladder, etc. He spent a lot more time looking at my hand and tilting his head at it. Again I removed it when he was comfortable and moving around. His appetite came back too.
And that's about it so far! I know I'm completely new at this so I want to go really slow with him, especially since he didn't come from a breeder. He hasn't really had any positive experiences with hands, but he's only around 3-4 months so I'm sure we'll be good friends soon :)