Some Concern for Little Magenta ~
Magenta worries me. I think everyone has this issue when they bring home a new bird. First she made some funny poo, and then no poo, and then the poo seemed fine. So I'm OK with the poo, although now the pristine little butt is dirty.
S/He's a horrible flyer, no talent at all, unless as an airshow comedian. The wings are all fine, not clipped, but s/he flies like a tipsy butterfly. I'm hoping with practice this will fix up, so not horribly worried about that either.
It turns out, though, I think Magenta might be............ (shhh).......... Stupid. As in, too stupid to eat! Now, I know the bird eats, since we had that discussion about the poo. Poo starts with food. I'm offering the food s/he got at the pet store, the blend I use at home, the Canary's blend from home, AND a little dish of pellet and grain mush. You would think this bird could find something to eat, but s/he just kept trying to pick up words off the cage liner.
So I laid down plain, white paper towels and let her/him have a second try. The bird is now beak-down in a dish of the food I offer my birds here at home. I see picking; I see some sort of chewing, and s/he acts like s/he hasn't eaten in a year. It makes me wonder just how long s/he's been away from the breeder and how long s/he has been offered an unrecognizable food. I'm sure Petsmart keeps records, but will they tell me?
I see myself spending a quiet evening at home separating the seeds of my mix to offer in separate bowls tomorrow. It makes me wonder, in the back of my head, if I have enough bowls! Now that would be something, if *I* didn't have enough bowls. But I definitely want to use the clear plastic ones because, as I said, I think s/he might otherwise be too stupid to find the food!
In other regards, Magenta is thoroughly charming, stepping not too reluctantly to my finger, staying in my hand, and performing all sorts of very impressive acrobatics. (If a girl, I might have to rename her Claire....) I had thought to keep the bird for quarantine in my travel cage, which is as large as some people's Budgies get their whole entire lives. Buuuuuut, I guess you know I couldn't do that, so I've moved her/him to the Canary's old 30x18, with some natural hanging branches. What has it been, like a day and a half, and little Magenta (or Claire) has me setting up luxurious custom cages and picking apart bird food seed by seed!