Budgerigar/budgie parakeet exercise and baths? Help

Question

I have a few questions/problems regarding my budgerigar.

Let me begin with some intro/general info.

I've had my young budgie/parakeet, Sky, since Friday (August 1st), which is about 5 days today. I love her so much. I bought Sky from PetSmart, so she's a "bin budgie" and her wings are clipped (unfortunately they "have to"). Sky is a bird-raised parakeet, though I already hand- and shoulder-trained her within about 3 days of getting her. She also chirps at me here and there, responding sometimes when I whistle. So, Sky trusts me pretty completely.

(I will add additional info as necessary.)

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Now onto the questions.

1)

Unfortunately, however, I do not think Sky gets enough exercise, outside or inside the cage. She hops and flaps around in the cage when she wants to get to a certain perch or her food, but does little for a long while. I let her out of the cage everyday, in addition to spending loads of time with her. When Sky is outside her cage, she does little and just perches most of the time. She will, however, sometimes hop around and be a little active on the floor or flapping to somewhere from my hand.

It is not the issue of feeling uncomfortable/stressed about her surroundings or me. The issue may be partially relative to a sleep deficit if Sky is not getting as much sleep as she should. I have the rope & block toy that came with the cage, and a bell that I bought recently. There is little I can do to purchase more toys for her cage at this moment, though when I get a little more money I will.

What are some ways I could invoke Sky to exercise and come to me and perhaps move around the room a bit?

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2)

This is not so much a problem, but rather more of a question. As I have said, I got Sky about 5 days ago. So, I am not too worried yet about giving Sky a bath. However, it is about time for me to give her one.

How should I go about this?

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I will add additional info if many of the answers seem too generic and/or would not work or be difficult to do (for me specifically).

I hope that someone may be able to help me with these problems/concerns/questions.

Thanks in advance to those who respond.

Answer 1

As far as the play goes, all you can do is encourage her.  Try not keeping the toys in the cage all of the time, though, if you think she is not getting enough sleep they may keep her too stimulated.  Do you cover the cage when she should be sleeping?  Is her cage in a rowdy/noisy area?

As for the bath, just take her into a warm room with no drafts and give her a dish of water to play in.  Or put it in the bottom of her cage and let her go at it (again this needs to be in a  draft-free room so she doesn’t catch cold.)  If she won’t play in the water, get a clean misting bottle with room temp or slightly warm water and spray a gentle mist over her.  She should enjoy it and start ruffling her feathers and preening.

*edited*

Go for the misting bottle and see how she likes it.  Don't saturate her, though :)  Just a gentle mist to 'shower' down over her.  She should let you know quickly if she appreciates it or not.  Then make sure she is warm while she dries.

She may just be an extra mellow little bird.  Or, (don't laugh) she might be depressed.  Is your cage big enough to get her a friend?

You say she was 'bird raised', so it also may be that she just simply does not know what toys are for.

It sounds like you are doing everything right, especially spending so much time with her.  Keep that up.  She's going to be crazy about you, if she isn't already!  :)