Classroom pet

[Atbird]

What a cute bird. The kids will love him. I have seen a couple of budgies in my kids' schools ( none in their actual classes )

[Harley2013]

Where did they have them in the school if not in classroom? Just curious.

[Atbird]

Lol, not in MY kids' classroom, they were in OTHER classrooms. Sorry if that was unclear.

[Harley2013]

Ohhhh! Lol! I was thinking the May have had a large cage or indoor avairy in the entry of the school. I was thinking that would be a nice idea.

[Harley2013]

I will be bringing him home on weekends, and our school doesn't dismiss until 3:15, by the time children are picked up and busses come, it is 3:40, teachers usually stay until 4:30 or so maybe later depending on what they still need to prepare for. And some arrive at school in the mornings at 7:30. Today the budgie went in with me, of course rules were made, and no touching or poking at the bird was allowed. Only looking with our eyes and it went okay in the morning, come lunchtime, he was sitting at the floor of the cage, breathing a little heavy.....I thought uh oh! But I covered the front of his cage, to give him some rest time and privacy. Later I checked on him, he was back on his lower perch, and I did see evidence of his eating. Empty hulls..... I think he was stressed and will take some time to adjust. We placed his cage in a not so busy part of the room, and there is very few passer bys. It starts to get dusk at 5:00 pm, so it is time to rest anyway, even if he were at home with me. So I am hoping he will get a restful night and be okay.
As far as warmth in the building, the heat is on all night. I checked with the janitor and he is aware of the bird and knows precautions to take regarding chemicals and such. I hope the scarey introductory is over with and " Olaf" will be fine.
As far as a friend for him, that could come in time. I have heard by many that a budgie alone " could" get lonely if not given enough attention, and will look to you" human" as a flock friend. That is kinda the whole point here. With a true budgie friend, it will be more difficult to tame and train if he has a distraction. The goal is to have the children give him the proper attention needed with supervision, outside the cage as well as talking to him through the cage, watering, feeding, cleaning etc.

[Atbird]

Is his cage covered? Usually, for new birds, I cover the back and sides, so only the front is open, so they can feel more secure. I think, with some time budgies will enjoy people watching, unless you have the misfortune of getting a very timid bird, but I've even seen budgies at a children's museum and they seemed calm despite the people.

[MiaCarter]

A nice alternative to covering the back/sides of the cage to create a feel of security is to use fake foliage. I use the 6-foot lengths of ivy or leaves.

It does sound like he was a bit stressed, but that's all par for the course, I think. New place, new sounds, new people. I'd be stressed too, I think.
Hopefully he's okay. The stress can tax the immune system, leaving them more prone to opportunistic infections.

I'd be very careful to ensure his first experiences with kids are really super, super positive ones, as a negative experience early on could result in an aversion that can be hard to eliminate.

[Harley2013]

Yes, I have his cage covered partially, and I do think he will be okay, but he is 2 months old and that is young to take all in. I feel bad for him, but I did try to do what I though best for him throughout the day. I will think it will just take time. And if he were in a home, he would be stressed as well, as Mia said, new place, sights, sounds. I Pray it will get easier for him. As Far as postive experience, I plan to have the children NOT touch him. We teachers will hold him and they can look with their eyes. We have explained to the kids that he is a baby, and we need to be gentle, move slowly, speak softly, but we all know children forget sometimes. so with a few prayers, maybe we will be okay. If we can get through the first couple days, we should be okay.