Hi,

 

Any tips what to do when you can't catch your budgie in your hands, and he begins flying off the perch you normally take him out with?

 

With many tries, I was able to get him out finally, but his clipped feathers have grown back & he's realized it. He kept flying back to his cage (on the counter by my sink) from where I was sitting w/ him on the floor. Only when he'd sufficiently worn himself out did he finally "surrender" and agree to tolerate sitting on my finger to eat a few nibbles of millet.

 

This follows about 6 wks. of very gradual progress, so I'm feeling a little frustrated!

 

Thanks,

~~~ Kali

Edited January 5, 200718 yr by KaLiMaZu

I think you are doing fine. Just continue to be patient with him and keep working at it. I've found that the key is patience and persistence. I've had my budgie for almost 5 months now, and he still has his days where he doesn't want to come to me when I want him too. He can be stubborn too :(Laughing out loud): But then other days, he's very willing to get on my hand and talk to me. They definitely have a mind of their own, so some days you may have to be more persistant and patient than others. Does he have a favorite toy? Maybe you can try using toys to get him to come to you. If it looks like you are having fun, then he might want to join in!

 

He is probably gaining a new sense of independence since his wings are growing out, and since he doesn't feel like he has to rely on you so much for transport, he'll learn that he can now fly away if he wants to. My bird has never been clipped. He's always been able to fly, but I've had no problems handtaming him. He'll stay with me if he wants to, and if he doesn't, then he'll fly off. I'm letting him learn to trust me in his own time, and so far, it has been very successful.

 

Every budgie has a different personality, and some will take longer than others to learn to trust and become tame. Just keep working at it. :hap:

Jessica,

 

Thank you for your encouragement! This must be a tiring topic for folks who've been here/done this!

 

I'm glad to hear that Scooter (who's a cutie, by the way!) "has his moments" as well! It just caught me off-guard, because up to this point, if we we weren't making a millimeter or two of progress, we were at least holding our ground. Then, boom! He realizes he's got full use (almost) of his wings again, and wants nothing to do with me!

 

I like the toy idea...but it'd work better if he wasn't so shy w/ them! He preens his rope toy once in awhile, and might tug on his bell a bit when he's feeling especially rambunctious (maybe 1-2x/day), but that's seriously about it. Not a big toy fiend, at this stage.

 

What's funny is when I went & put his cage back where it normally sits, he was all cheery, perky & chirpy the rest of the afternoon! Like he just had to advertise how pleased he was to have me out of his face!

 

Then, to top it off, I come back from errands tonight, and my daughter nonchalantly mentions that "at least he'll step up on your finger now, if you go slow". I said, HUH?! (Apparently, they've been socializing w/ him behind my back.) He'd hopped up on her finger while still in his cage, which (though she didn't realize it @ the time) he'd never even done for me, yet! Go figure!

 

~~~ Kali

Edited January 6, 200718 yr by KaLiMaZu

Yeah, 5 weeks is just the beginning. 5 months is more about right

VippiN,

 

In other words, "Have Patience"?!