8 Things I Learned About Perry

Since my husband and I got our parakeet on November 27, here are the things we learned about him so far:

1. He has trust issues like other budgies who exhibit prey behavior. So you must take it slow with taming and training. Avoid sudden movement such as abruptly moving the cage or putting your hand in it. We spend lots of quality time with Perry. We established a routine of feeding, bathing, and what we call "flying time" when we leave the cage door open. This routine is a nice way to gain his trust as he associates good experiences with us.

2. Spraying is his preferred way of bathing. Budgies have their own personalities and as we tried to experiment such as putting a small tub of water in the cage and having a steady flow of water from above the cage, Perry likes spraying/misting.

3. When he is stressed (you can tell when he walks to and fro, flaps his wings inside the cage, or squawks), classical music calms him down particularly Mozart, Beethoven, and Vivaldi. Meanwhile, Bon Jovi makes him chirp incessantly to "It's My Life."

4. He is triggered to make loud noises at the sound of water from the faucet and applause. Perry goes quiet exactly when these stop.

5. He takes his siesta and sleeps again when the sun sets. If he's still awake when we turn out the lights, he automatically goes from his main perch to his small swing or the higher perch before closing his eyes. The explanation I found online is that in the wild, budgies take the highest branch at night to stay away from predators. It's funny that in the first few weeks, Perry kept one eye open to stay alert with his unfamiliar surroundings. Or, he closed both but opened one eye when I slowly walked towards him.

6. Aside from store-bought seed mix which is the main component of his diet, he also eats millet spray, Moringa leaves, spinach, and lately, orange. He was hesitant to eat oranges before (offered on a spoon or in his feeding container). But when I put some on my finger, he tasted it after I ate an orange in front of him. I also ate the first one he refused and acted as if it tasted so so delicious. He just looked and seemed green with envy. Haha!

7. Sometimes, he also pecks and chews on a cuttlebone. He was afraid the first time we put it in the cage.

8. He seems to like it when I "massage" him while singing a lullaby. Initially, I used a cotton bud but now he's okay with my finger.