[StarlingWings]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Your new girl is beautiful.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but the place you got her from lied to you. She is an adult budgie, well over a year old. She has already had her first several moults, her irises are the adult color (clear white) and she also has come into condition, which is what the brown of her cere means.

She is an adult female budgie, and without knowing when she hatched there is no way to tell her age at this point except that she's over a year old. Her cere may turn back to blue or whitish if she comes out of condition or may stay brown; it depends on the budgie.

What have you named her?

Meanwhile, it's great to have you on the forums as you've come to a great place to learn even more about the best of budgie care practices! In order to stay updated on the best of budgie care, please sure to read through the forums' many budgie articles and "stickies".

If you have any questions after doing so, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help!

Best wishes 👋

 

[StarlingWings]

Though young budgies bond with humans more easily, it ultimately is down to the personality of the bird whether or not they decided to bond with humans or are outgoing. It seems that Sweet Pea has an outgoing and friendly personality so she will most likely bond with you given time and patience, as well as a lot of interaction.

On the other hand, most budgies do not like to be petted. My girl is very bonded to me and she will not stand for it; most budgies are this way starting in adulthood. Therefore it's important to watch their body language and determine if she's ok with that or not; from what you've said it seems like she's not!

For now since you just got her it's best not to try and touch her or put your hand in the cage. Many budgies are submissive initially because they are very scared in their new home. Even if this isn't the case for Pea, it's best to not touch her for two weeks and instead spend lots of time interacting with her with her in the cage, such as sitting next to her, talking to her, reading to her, talking out loud to her, even if it's nonsense, she will feel like you're including her in your flock. Additionally, if she's fine with it, resting your hand on the outside of the cage is good too.

Eventually I suspect she'll start moving over to the side of the cage where she can see you better

Please keep us updated on how she's doing!