Hi all,

 

I have 1 budgie named George. He is hand raised and is 4 months old and I have had him for about 3 weeks. In the first week when I got him he was very scared and was getting used to his new home. He would sit on my hand for a short period of time and would then try to fly back to his cage straight away and while doing so would crash into the wall or fly into the curtains. He now knows his way back to his cage and gets there easily. He also spends more time sitting on my hand and enjoys getting his head scratched and is more relaxed than before. If he has been sitting on my hand for a while and is bored,wants to eat or go back to his cage for any reason he always gets off my hand and makes his way to his cage. He knows his way out of the cage but never gets out of the cage by himself without me having to take him out. Could anyone tell me how I can get him to leave the cage by himself. I sometimes think that he prefers sitting in his cage as he feels more safe there.

 

Thanks, Vicky

:ygbudgie: Hi there and welcome to the forum!!! Have you checked out our FAQ section yet? Lot of good advice on training and other topics there. Lovely that you have him sitting on your finger and can scratch his neck, well done!

Believe it or not I think that is a good thing. Pretty was self sufficient and he was in and out of his cage and got so independent that he was hard to put back in. Merlin has always felt safer in his cage, I take him in and out and it is much better to control him and he is flighted. So I personally would encourage a level of dependency and you don't have to chase the bird around to get them back in their cage. This is my personal opinion thought having 2 different experiences.

Hi Vicky,

 

I agree with Elly. I think it is a good thing that he only comes out of his cage on your hand. That way you will always be the top 'flock member' and if you need to put him back quickly due to an emergency you can.

 

 

Feathers.

Thank you Elly and Feathers for your advice. I never really thought about it that way. Now that I think of it, it is better having more control and being able to place your budgie back in the cage or having it go back by itself rather than stuggling to get it back in. I was a little concerned at the time that maybe he liked being in his cage more than me. But I don't think that is the case as I have noticed now that when I do take him out he does spend more time on my hand than he used to and likes having his head scratched.

 

Vicky

:ygbudgie: Sounds great to me! Again, lucky you to have a budgie that likes head scritches, only my cockatiels like that, not any budgie I have ever had. :bluebudgie:

I agree with the others that it doesn't have to be a bad thing that he won't come out on his own. :bluebudgie: My brothers little demon budgie is a horror to put back in his cage because he likes to do things himself. He's marginally better though when i keep him clipped and he has to rely on me to move him around.

My babies are still learning.....all about being my budgies (Laughing out loud). They wont step up on my hand for a while, we are practising, but I like to let them out for a fly at least once a day. Usually, when they have had their little adventure, they come back and land on their cage, or one will go in and I shut the door and the other one will eventually hang around the cage to be with her friend and they arent too hard to catch at that point. We all have a lot of time yet to get used to each other tho :bluebudgie: