Hey everyone,

I have done a search for this but i cannot find anything.

 

My girlfriend bought a a baby budgie about 2 or 3 weeks ago. The lady in the store said it was a baby but my girlfriend didn't ask how old it was. Anyway, she read on the net that a way to tame your bird is to talk to it nicely everyday with your hand in the cage. Gradually moving your hand closer to the bird everyday until you can touch it. She started doing this and was making good progress, then the other day the bird started flying away whenever she put her hand in the cage and has continued to do this everyday since.

 

Nothing that we can think of has happened to the bird that would make it do this. My girlfriend has become really upset and is on the verge of giving in. I told her I would look for a budgie forum on the net where I could do some research... this is what I found :bluebudgie:

 

So my question is, what is the best way to tame the bird? Should she continue the way she has been going and hope that the bird starts to let her near it again? Or should we catch the bird in the cage and remove it? If we do this do we let it fly around the room or do we just hold it gently for a while and place it back in the cage until it learns that we are not going to hurt it? If we let it fly, how do we get it back in the cage? It's wing is not clipped and I am sure we would not be able to catch it without scaring it.

 

Your advice and info is greatly appreaciated as I fear this bird is becoming close to being a cage bird rather then a tamed bird.

 

Thanks,

Scott

well if the wings are not clipped, DONT let it loose (one of mine escaped - that was VERY interesting!) i would go back to talking to it without any hands in the cage, then just put your hand on the door or something. basically, i would start from the beginning.

Thanks for your reply. How long do you have to train them? How long before they stop reacting to your attempts to train them?

Food. :bluebudgie:

 

If he knows what millet spray is, I would cut off a smallish piece - about 3 or 4 inches so it doesn't scare him - and put it in the cage. Once you see he is eating it, only give it to him from your hand. It may take some time before he will eat it, but one day he just may hop right on your hand and start eating. From there on out, you can use the millet spray as a reward. Taming is an ongoing process - it never ends. But it is very definitely worth it. Some birds are just more skittish than others.

Edited September 12, 200420 yr by Rainbow

Yes I would agree with all of the above. I have two birds and one is totally bonded to us(because we got him almost straight from the nest). Our other one is much more skittish but will readily fly onto my hand if I have millet there.

The key words are patience,time,and gentleness.

At first I just used to leave my hand in the cage without moving it but if you watch carefully you can inch your hand nearer when the bird for instance is preening or scratching and when he stops he doesn't seem to realize that the hand is even nearer!

 

Keep persevering,it's something everyones had to do but I know it can be VERY frustrating in the beginning and 3 weeks isn't very long.

 

Julie

before i knew any better, i landed with a hen (i already had a male) and i put her straight in the cage. needless to say, she bonded with him, and it took months for her to be really tame (like beyond being able to pick her up off the ground when she'd miss the cage)

Thanks everyone for your replies. I just have one more question. How many times a day should she be putting her hand in the cage and how long should each session last for?

Thanks

I'd go for 3 or 4 times a day at least. As far as the length of time to leave her hand in, it will depend on the bird. At first it will probably stress the bird out quite a bit and you might only have your hand in for a minute or two, if it doesn't bother her much then as long as you can hold your hand still!!! (That is not as long as you think it is, trust me... ) Gradually work your way up. I used to hang my hand over the highest perch on one end and let the bird stay on the other side. If you hold millet in your hand it may only take a few days to a few weeks before she will eat it while you hold it.