My DD and I got a first real bird on Saturday.
I wish I found this site before buying a bird.
But we are happy with Sunny Sunshine.

She seems to be so restless in the cage. She hangs upside down and put her head through between her legs. I can't get her to chew on the squid bone (?) instead, she chews on the door of her cage. Is this bad for her beak?

My biggest problem is that she dumps the food out of the container. First day, I refilled 2 times and vacuumed twice. Second day refilled 3 times and vacuumed twice then, went to buy another kind of food. SHE STILL does it!
She seems to be choosing what she wants to eat using her beak to shavel the food out. Then she goes in there using her legs to dig the food out, kind of like how cat covers its waste.
Is there a solution to this?
PLease help!

my bird buddy the green one chews on the cage all the time and he hangs upside down and does a flip around his perches. the cuttle bone is only for them to sharpen their beaks. they will only use it if the need it. you could try turning it sideways and she could be using it when you aren;t around. just look for signs of it being used. my sister has a keet and she has never bought her a cuttle bone and she is doing fine. about the food i have no idea about why or anyway to stop it. not many people like those feeders that you fill op and the seed comes down into a little cup. but that might be something you should look into. also do you have any toys, maybe she is just bored and needs something else to play with. good luck.

Hi cuttle bones are a source of calcium. Some birds are more attracted to them than others..Im sure that if it is a needed nutrient, the birds instinct will kick in and she will use it. Its great that she is hanging upside down, this is a sign of playfulness, i wouldnt worry about her chewing on the bars. Does she have lots of toys??? My birds love bells, they also love to shred paper. Just be careful not to give them paper with lots of ink dye (just incase) I wouldnt suggest getting a mirror if you want your bird to attach to you.

The pet stores offer those No spill food containers, they are designed with a hole for the bird to stick their head in. this might help with the mess... Sounds like you have a fiesty bird..I think this is a sign of a Healthy active inteligent baby

Thank you!!

I am going to stop by to get a no spill food container today!
She has so many toys in there but the door seems to get her attention. She doesn't try to come out but she lifts and drops the door. She picks the ladder and moves it to another spot.
I am gonna give her some papers to shred and taking away the mirror.

Thank you so much.. I was worried that my bird was a crazy one since she came from Petco..

Sunny Sunshine died on friday.
We came home to find her dead. My daughter almost sounded barking with her deep cry from her tummy. I wonder why? We took super good care of her. We were so attached to her.. Is it Petco curse? I don't know if we should try it again.

I'm so sorry to hear that! I don't know about the Petco issue - I've heard similar stories from other members on this site. In my opinion you should try it again, but you may check for breeders in your area. Their little bodies are delicate and small things can get them ill, but if you can start out with a healthy one, odds are you will have a great pet and companion for your daughter.

I'm sorry for your loss. I don't think PetCo is necessarily evil, but some are good and others are awful. I got my bird at a great PetsMart near my university, but I would never by a bird from the PetsMart in my hometown. Is the PetCo in your city a good PetCo or a bad PetCo? Are there other stores you can look into for a bird purchase? It can be tricky to find breeders close by. Anyway, I'd get another bird when you're ready Just double check for any dange things like Febreeze, teflon coated products, or other things that could have stressed the bird to the point of death.

I had a rescue bird die and I'm still not completely sure why. Keep us posted!

Yeah, I had bought my little Kamin from Petco and she was a very fidgety bird. She usually chirped when she heard other birds and interacting with me seemed to really stress her out. I don't know about the Petco here, I will never buy from them again. I ended up taking her to more experienced people and they told me she was capable of being tamed, but was never going to be like interacting with me too much. She was older, which Petco had not been able to tell me, and she probably needed the company of other birds. I ended up leaving her in their care so she could be around the countless other budgies and birds there and she was chirping happily when I left. I was lucky enough to be able to leave her with people who are good with birds, and I hope the quality of her life will be alot better than it was at Petco. She definitely seemed happier than when i had her here. I'm convinced this Petco does not know how to treat the birds and they end up scared and fidgety. The Magnolia Bird Farm where I left her will probably help her regain some trust in a human caretaker and hopefully she will be sold in a pair so she'll be happier. I bought another budgie at the Magnolia Bird Farm. He is a baby male and very sweet. The birds there are well taken care of and handled by a parakeet trainer so they are not fidgety and do not mind being handled fairly quickly.
I'm sorry about Sunny Sunshine, I feel bad for the birds at Petco, but don't go back there. Find a local place where they specialize in birds and find a baby that will warm up to you faster. You suffered a terrible loss, and you cannot replace Sunny Sunshine, but there are still a lot of keets out there who still need love, and you can give it!

I'm so sorry about the loss of your bird. There had to be something wrong with the bird if it died so quickly. I would use your instincts whether to get a bird from the same place again. If you do decide to go back they should give you a free bird if it had a 15 day guarantee. How sad.

Thank you so much for the kind words. It hurts us so much to lose her. But the people couldn't understand why I was so heartbroken by it.

I am going to find a breeder. No more Petco for me. They gave 7 days gurantee instead of 15. Even free, I can't take a bird from there again.

Again, Thank you so much.