ADVICE PLEASE budgie found

[BelovedBirds]

Will you keep him?

Yes, we will keep looking for his owners but we've decided that if they are not to be found, we will keep him and get him everything he needs

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm so tempted to go buy myself a couple of budgies now! I haven't had budgies in years .... they're so beautiful and personable!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes, we will keep looking for his owners but we've decided that if they are not to be found, we will keep him and get him everything he needs

I can't help but feel that you were chosen to be his famiy.

 

[Finchbreeder]

Occasionally with small birds a strong wind will catch them and move them quite a distance, so think about which way the wind comes from and advertise "down wind"
But it could well be that he is from the group of released birds and is just smarter/luckier than the others.
Smart released birds will seek a friendly human, but most will feed hawks and cats. Unless they are released in the country of their origin near a wild flock, then they have a fighting chance of joining the wild flock.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Occasionally with small birds a strong wind will catch them and move them quite a distance, so think about which way the wind comes from and advertise "down wind"
But it could well be that he is from the group of released birds and is just smarter/luckier than the others.
Smart released birds will seek a friendly human, but most will feed hawks and cats. Unless they are released in the country of their origin near a wild flock, then they have a fighting chance of joining the wild flock.

Yes, I'm suspecting he's from an abandoned group, I've tried to find his owners in many online groups, I've looked all over the country online for missing posts, none are him...
He was definitely drawn to humans, and he strikes me as very clever. When I approached him, lying on the ground, he basically let me touch him, but flew away a couple metres, then something changed and he came back, considered landing on me, then landed beside me, back on the floor. When I went to pick him up again, I cupped my hands around him and he let me, he knew we were going to help him, in my view. He couldve gone into any of the trees or bushes that surrounded us... instead he came back to us, despite the dog right beside us. He's not the most tame, but he's coming out of his shell slowly and is starting to bond with us

 

[Finchbreeder]

Birds and people all need a little while to fit into a new environment.
Even when they know it is a better one, it's still a learning curve.
Sounds like you and the little one have a bright future.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Just an update!
No owner has come forward and as thoroughly as we have searched for missing posters and online posts, we have not seen anything that is even close to a match.
At this point I think it is clear that either the owners own a lot of birds and haven't noticed him escape, or they have not been able to/wanted to look for him.
Our highest suspicion is still that he was part of the group that was turned loose and abandoned relatively locally.

So it seems he will be staying, any recommendations for diet and enrichment would be appreciated. At this point we are ready to buy a more permanent enclosure and swap his food to a higher quality one. He's not been hugely interested in toys so far, but we are getting a nice variety for him so hopefully we find something that he likes.
He comes out of the cage daily for some mental stimulation and he goes back in very well when he decides to. I'd love to get him a girlfriend but this will have to be discussed with my family a bit later as things are a little hectic at the moment! Hopefully this can be arranged for him eventually though.

 

[BelovedBirds]

A photo of the very handsome boy, this was the evening we found him, he didn't stay in this carrier for very long don't worry.

 

[Finchbreeder]

Definately a boy and a very pretty one at that.
Would love to see more pics - to decide what colour/mutation/type he is.
The yellow and white combo on the head is unusual, the colour is not easy to discern in that light.
Budgies are chiefly a seed eating bird. But remember that that means they eat dry and green seeds naturally. So that is what is the best way to feed them.
My mother who is a show breeder of Budgies has her own mix, which chiefly consists of mixed millets, a little canary seed and in cold weather oats. They get green seeding grasses, and cuttlebone also.
Here Mum gives them bits off the bottlebrush for toys and the capsules that "Kinder Surprise" toys come in. Ever seen a baby budgie playing at being a knight with it's helmet on? Hilarious.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Definately a boy and a very pretty one at that.
Would love to see more pics - to decide what colour/mutation/type he is.
The yellow and white combo on the head is unusual, the colour is not easy to discern in that light.
Budgies are chiefly a seed eating bird. But remember that that means they eat dry and green seeds naturally. So that is what is the best way to feed them.
My mother who is a show breeder of Budgies has her own mix, which chiefly consists of mixed millets, a little canary seed and in cold weather oats. They get green seeding grasses, and cuttlebone also.
Here Mum gives them bits off the bottlebrush for toys and the capsules that "Kinder Surprise" toys come in. Ever seen a baby budgie playing at being a knight with it's helmet on? Hilarious.

That sounds adorable, goodness.

Yes he is a very pretty boy, and I'm pretty sure he knows it! He has a great personality too. I'd love to know what colour mutation he is

Another photo in better lighting of him in his temporary cage, he was being all fluffy because I accidentally woke him up lol.
He's got a lovely yellow face and then that sort of melts into a pastel creamy colour on his back and wings, a little green on his low back and that blue sort of colour on his tummy. He has faded stripes too that you can sort of see. I wonder how old he is, he's certainly adult...
I plan on maybe making our own seed mix too, I want to make sure he's getting good quality seed and a good balance, the pet store brands are less than ideal from what I've looked at so far.

Any suggestions on a good cage upgrade? I want something relatively spacious for him but I want the space to be accessible to him, rather than being tall, maybe length is better?