Perch Problem?

Your new bird will be somewhat excitable and ill at ease about her new surroundings for some little bit at this beginning stage of being in her new home---- But, she will adapt very quickly and become very comfortable with it all in a little while---- There is nothing that you can do to speed up this process---

You will get some overt reactions out of her here in the beginning when you do anything within her envoirnment that gives her pause to wonder what the dickens is happening now ---- but it is going to take some of this anyway in order to care for her (water and food and cage cleaning etc)

SO --- my suggestion here would be for you to go ahead and introduce the perches one at a time over the next several days---- she will learn quickly after the first one that it is an improvement to things within her world and she will accept the others in succession from there

Good Luck to You---and congratulations on your new friend !!

I suggest you leave the perches out. 2 perches are enough for one budgie. Birds like the feeling of plenty of space around them, more than they like extra perches.

But if you want to put them back in, wait a few days until the bird is calmer.

It's actually good that you aren't taking her out of the cage yet. She needs this time to adjust to her new surroundings. However, hand tame or not, it'll have to be dealt with eventually. If you don't take her out, she'll never be hand tame, and she should be let out sometime soon for appropriate exercise without the boundaries of the cage bars in a bird safe room (no wires, no plants, no crevices to fall in, no human drinks or foods, no other animals, etc.). If you're a bit wary on hand taming, know that all new bird owners, and even many not-so-new bird owners feel anxious or afraid of starting because of a fear of being bitten. Approach the issue of taming with confidence and that'll reflect onto your bird and she'll show the same confidence in learning.

Sit by her cage on a daily basis, and have it in a highly socialized area so she learns that the humans walking around them are safe because they're always around, but are never harmed when people go by. You'll begin to see progress when people walk by and she no longer cower to the other side of the cage. The best thing to do is sit by her cage and talk to her, or try and make some sort of communication while you're near her. It's great if she's willing to answer your vocalizations with her own because that's the beginning of her flock mentality with you.

When this is accomplished, you may want to try putting your hand in her cage very slowly. If she cowers back, flies to the other side of the cage, or has a freakout, wait until she's calmed down and slowly withdraw your hand. By withdrawing your hand right away while she's still freaking out, she'll learn that by making a scene like that, it makes you go away. If she lunges, do the same. Even if she bites (because in bird ownership, you WILL get bitten no matter what), stay there and DON'T move until she lets go. If she does bite, DON'T give any reaction. By making any sort of noise or movement, you show her that by biting, she creates drama and birds love drama, so it actually reinforces her biting. Never scold a bird physically, verbally, or psychologically because they wouldn't bite unless they've been given a reason to. They also don't understand, and I find, don't learn anything from being punished. (For example, when birds bite, they shouldn't be put back in the cage for a time out. It only teaches them that their home is a prison and they'll refuse to return to their cage.)

Around 6 to 8 months is the usual age of sexual maturity for small birds, don't be surprised if she's more territorial within the next little while, if you bought her young. Territorial means she may be aggressive over her cage and it's best to avoid situations that would cause her to bite you because she saw you invading her territory. Try leaving the cage door open and letting her out of her own accord in a bird safe room when you see that she's relaxed with her surroundings. You can try to lure her out with some treats, such as millet or safflower seed (I find sunflower seed is too fatty, but it works well as a rarely fed treat) and at some point, you can hold it just out of her reach so she willingly steps up onto you to retrieve the food. She may take it and run off, but that's good progress! She can then begin to understand that perching on you and being so close to you won't put her in any danger and will eventually learn to trust you. I started off with having my lovebirds come to my arm because there was less bite-able skin to grab, and then they graduated to coming to my hand when I held food there. Eventually, you won't even need the food to have her come to you!

It's a long process. First and foremost, let her get comfortable with where she is, then try again. Don't give up, don't push things, don't force things.

As for the perch, while you're doing a little training/exercise session and she's out of the cage, you can return the perches. She may be a little wary when she first sees them as she's going back into her cage, but she'll easily adjust. I find birds need this mental stimulation of a changing environment because 1) it discourages them from breeding and laying eggs, and 2) it gives them something new and fun to see and do. If everything's always the same, birds get bored faster and more easily and resort to destructive behaviour. I change my bird cages around a minimum of once a week, and it's made my birds very happy and very comfortable with change, so if I want to do something like put them in a travel cage and take them outside for some fresh air or on an outing with me, they don't freak out as badly.

Good luck with Pipi.

take her out and clip her wings or have someone do it for you. she will not be able to fly away and it will help with the hand taming process.