We have two 5 month old male budgies. We have had them for a month. They will eat food straight from our hands, and do not fly around wildly or hide in the corner of the cage when we put our hand inside the cage. We take them out pretty frequently and sometimes they will fly to us, but mostly they seem to be more interested in each other. I have read sometimes it is beneficial when you have 2 or more to take them out individually to another room for taming sessions. The problem is neither of them know how to step up yet. They will do it every once and awhile on their own accord, but its somewhat infrequent. When I put out my index finger like a perch I move it up towards them and they will usually just sit there, if I press my finger against their stomach to try and get them to step up they walk away typically in a calm and collected manner, not frenzied or panicked.

 

Should I be trying to teach them to step up at the same time, or just focus on one at a time? Should they master stepping up BEFORE I take them out individually for one on one taming sessions?

 

Thank you in advance

Edited December 7, 201113 yr by cmf0106

We have two 5 month old male budgies. We have had them for a month. They will eat food straight from our hands, and do not fly around wildly or hide in the corner of the cage when we put our hand inside the cage. We take them out pretty frequently and sometimes they will fly to us, but mostly they seem to be more interested in each other. I have read sometimes it is beneficial when you have 2 or more to take them out individually to another room for taming sessions. The problem is neither of them know how to step up yet. They will do it every once and awhile on their own accord, but its somewhat infrequent. When I put out my index finger like a perch I move it up towards them and they will usually just sit there, if I press my finger against their stomach to try and get them to step up they walk away typically in a calm and collected manner, not frenzied or panicked.

 

Should I be trying to teach them to step up at the same time, or just focus on one at a time? Should they master stepping up BEFORE I take them out individually for one on one taming sessions?

 

Thank you in advance

 

It sounds like you have already made some good progress. To go further, I have a couple of suggestions.

 

The first one: You can improve their stepping up skills inside the cage by using spray millet as a reward. I'm not sure what foods they already eat from your hand, but it is a start. With the spray millet, first of all, keep it aside for only during training. Not kept in the cage all the time, where they will get bored of it. Then hold it just out of their reach, so that they are forced to step off the perch and onto your hand to get any. Obviously, your finger won't be near their belly for that step, But once they are hopping to your hand to get the millet, then use two hands, one for holding their reward slightly out of the way, and the other for putting your finger near their belly. That's to associate that Finger Near Belly means Step Up and then, Get Reward. You want to practice that a lot, until they just react to a finger by stepping on it.

 

 

My second suggestion: You might want to condsider clipping their wings. Of course, a lot of people wouldn't want to do that. It's up to you, but remember that they will grow back once they molt out the clipped feathers.

 

I've never really had much luck working with a fully flighted bird that's not already tame. The combination of not-yet-tame and full-flight feathers seems to be hard for me to overcome. They just take off, and there's nothing I can do about it, and they know it! Especially when they prefer each other over me. I make a lot better progress when they are clipped, and their flight is limited. Then when they take off, I can get them back with very little stress to them, and I teach them that staying with me is 1) inevitable and 2) not so bad after all. And yes, this does work better when they are in a room away from their cage and their buddy. Mine learn when they take off like that, that my finger means "Back to Safety". (The fully flighted ones learn that "Top of Curtains Means Safety".)

 

 

I'm sure other people will have more and different advice for you. I'm not saying my way is best. Just what seems to work for me. There are some good taming articles around here on the forum. Look in the FAQs section, and also, search for a thread by Birdluv called Hobbes and Claire Taming Journal. That one really helped me when I was new to budgies.

 

 

 

Good luck!

There are some good taming articles around here on the forum. Look in the FAQs section, and also, search for a thread by Birdluv called Hobbes and Claire Taming Journal. That one really helped me !

 

Yes I actually PM'ed birdluv as thats where the questions in this post originated from. However, she has not replied to my PM.

 

Thank you for the in depth reply and suggestion, I will certainly employ some of the methods you suggested. At the moment they are not *fully* flighted. When we purchased them they were both clipped, one more so than the other. Sammy can only hover a bit, while Scooter can go 4ft up if he wants to. I may consider keeping their wings clipped until they are more bonded with us, but I am afraid having to lure one in my hand, and flip them over to cut their wings will make them lose trust in us.We took the birds to an avian vet several weeks back and actually had the opportunity to have them clip their wings again. We declined, but perhaps that was not the best decision. Had we gone through with it we would have been able to observer the correct way to clip their wings for future use.

Edited December 7, 201113 yr by cmf0106

When I want to clip mine, or really, do anything to them, I get a washcloth, and loosely fold it around them, so that their head is covered. This really seems to calm them down so they don't struggle or panic. Then I just expose the wing I want to work on. When I'm done, I hold them back in their cage and gently peel back the rag so they can crawl out (or fly) by themselves. I don't think any of this sets back their taming.

 

Of course, you have to catch them first, and depending on how you do it, that could be where the set back lies.

 

 

If you try to do it without the rag, then yeah, you'll have a struggling, unhappy bird. And you won't be happy, either, trying to trim safely.

 

 

Yours don't sound like they'd be too hard to catch. Good luck. I'm sure you'll hear from Birdluv soon.

There are some good taming articles around here on the forum. Look in the FAQs section, and also, search for a thread by Birdluv called Hobbes and Claire Taming Journal. That one really helped me !

 

Yes I actually PM'ed birdluv as thats where the questions in this post originated from. However, she has not replied to my PM.

 

Thank you for the in depth reply and suggestion, I will certainly employ some of the methods you suggested. At the moment they are not *fully* flighted. When we purchased them they were both clipped, one more so than the other. Sammy can only hover a bit, while Scooter can go 4ft up if he wants to. I may consider keeping their wings clipped until they are more bonded with us, but I am afraid having to lure one in my hand, and flip them over to cut their wings will make them lose trust in us.We took the birds to an avian vet several weeks back and actually had the opportunity to have them clip their wings again. We declined, but perhaps that was not the best decision. Had we gone through with it we would have been able to observer the correct way to clip their wings for future use.

I got the pm and I sent you one too

 

I asked the avian vet to show me how to clip my birds wings, so when l clipped them to tame them l would cover them with a towel to help calm them down and not be terrified of my hand or me.

Edited December 8, 201113 yr by birdluv

I hope you are having fun taming just as i am taming mine. It's really best to tame them one at a time. I only have one so he's really relying on me for company. Kaz is right about clipping the wings. You can train them more easily with wings clipped. And another tip i have learnt is to repeat everything everytime you do it. Everytime i offer my budgie food i say "food" and now he really gets it. He know i have food. Still won't eat from my hand but will eat from a bowl if i am holding it.

 

I think i might have spoilt mine a bit too much though. He does not stay in his cage at all. Only goes in to sleep. And i can say this budgie is very smart. I have seen him get of the perch close to 8pm 8.30 pm and head towards the cage room for sleeping time. His whole day is spent on the play gym or just roaming around the house. I have to be careful not treading on him cos he will walk close to your feet at times like a dog. I'll say come and he WILL. I am suprised he's shown so much improvment. I got him a 14 weeks and he's a pet type.

 

Anyhow keep on repeating food, come, up, kiss, don't and they'll pickup in no time.