My sons Budgie

[davewa]

Hi guys,

My son has a budgie which of course I look after cos he is a teenager and wanted one a few years ago cos I had a Galah, but I digress.
Any how I got a new much larger cage for it a few weeks ago probably 3 times a big as the last one so it could fly around much more which it loves and has a mirror too and loves itself to bits.
So I have been slowly getting it to go near my hand and 2 days ago stepped up on my finger and then flew off, then came back and did it again, SUCCESS.
Then yesterday it came onto my hand and then went nuts and climbed my arm and started fluffing around on my windcheater, it looked like a bird having a bath.
My question is, could this be excitment with new surfaces, nesting, or is it humping my arm!!!! We don't know the sex but it has blue dots either side of the beak so I think it is male is that right?
I moved my arm so it flew off but hovered and went straight back to it and then did it to my other son this morning as he was changing the water, very strange, my Galah does not do it but that means little.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks

[vankarhi]

Firstly.......you can tell the sex of a budgie by the colour of the cere.....that coloured piece of flesh above the beak. On a male it will be blue and on a hen it will be brownish.

Well done on the budgie flying back to you. I Think the budgie is wanting a bath when it saw the water being changed. They do like to have a bath or a mist shower and they do flap around when they have a bath/shower.

If it was humping your arm....even though he is small I am sure you would realise it ...... they sort of grind (well the bigger birds do.......I have not actually had a budgie "hump" my arm or hand lol). I am guessing your bird is enjoying his freedom and the human companionship ;D

[davewa]

Its a GIRL, lucky we called her Mel, that gave us Melanie if it was female and Mel as in Gibson if it was Male, mystery solved.
Now that I don't think its humping cos girls just don't go there, it must be just rubbing against us as a preening action of some sort?
Thanks for the info now I can try a few more things!