Hey everyone!

Okay, this is an issue I've been dealing with for the last couple of months. During this summer, I've had to leave Peekaboo & Skylar quite a bit while I was on vacation (with a caregiver, of course). During that time, they recieved little to no human interaction, besides being fed and watered daily. Also, every other week I don't see them, because I go to my mom's house, and she never holds them or anything either.

The result? Peeks has become a little terror! She won't step up onto my fingers anymore unless she's far away from her cage, whenever she's in the cage, she runs away from my hand! (She's NEVER done that before, even when I first got her). I've resorted to gently taking her out of the cage myself, or waiting for her to come out on her own(she usually won't anymore) and she squaks at me in protest when I do this. Out of the cage, she runs away a bit, but will eventually step onto my finger. Once on my finger, she's fine, it's just GETTING her there that's the problem. So, basically, she's becoming less and less tame.

Skylar, on the other hand, is still very friendly and will willingly step up onto my finger no matter what (in cage, or not).

How can I tame her again? The methods on all the websites and books I've read simply aren't working for her, and even if I do make any progress, then I have to leave her for a week and the whole process re-starts!

I miss my tame baby!

The problem is that no matter what method you use, you have to be consistent. Most parrots will lose tameness unless they're handled on a regular basis, especially if you have to go a week at a time without interacting with them. Is there anyway you could get a travel cage and take them with you during that time?

I do sympathise with you as Sherbet is going through the exact same thing. I put it down to two things,hormones/age and the fact that they are not lone budgies anymore and prefer to be with their own kind.

It's not nice though is it?

Julie

Is there anyway you could get a travel cage and take them with you during that time?

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Well, I suppose I could do that (the cage they have now doesn't fit in my mom's explorer or my dad's cars unless it's laid down on it's side). Wouldn't it be a bad idea to keep moving them back and forth, though? More stressful? Also, that means they'd be in a small cage for half of their lives! Well, for the next two years, anyways. I'm bringing them with me when I go to college, and I'm not staying in a dorm.

I already knew the part about parrots becoming un-tame without regular handling. and there's probably nothing I can do about it. It's just sad to see my babies run away from me! My dad talks to them when he feeds and waters them, but they won't go on his hand because they don't know them (even back when they were really, really tame). So, I don't know what to do. He was going to let them out for a few hours every day while I'm not there, but they won't go to him, and he doesn't have the patience to chase them all over the cage.

I think that after a while they would get used to traveling and might even enjoy it. Just get them a really small travel cage for the trip and larger cage to keep at your mom's house. That way when they're at your mom's they won't have to stay in the tiny travel cage. Maybe you could even get the same model of cage that you have now so it will be more familiar to them? They're both very young and I have a feeling that they'd adjust well to this.

Mkay, I'll talk to my mom and see what she thinks about that. (I'm not too sure if she'll go for it, (Laughing out loud).) That sounds like a good solution to me, though. For the traveling cage (the one for the car trip) I could just get one of those tinnnny "parakeet" cages, and get a large one for my mom's house. It'll look funny to visitors though, if they happen to come over and see an empty bird cage :(Laughing out loud):

hope your mum agrees jess! maybe get her something she really likes before you ask her

I would promise to clean out the cage at your mom's before you leave each time and perhaps get/make a nice cover for the cage. : ) (Just tossing in a mother's point of view.)

Hope your mum agrees Jess!!

"Budge" looooved travelling in the car She'd sit up high and shriek the whole hour trip :(Laughing out loud): She wasn't stressed at all going back and forth Merly also enjoys it, but we cover her up to make sure she doesn't stress so much at the moment.

Peeks & Skylar seem to enjoy car trips too Much to my mom's annoyance, they peep their little hearts out the whole way, and if my mom turns up the stereo, they just get LOUDER, (Laughing out loud)! :(Laughing out loud):

Hehehe. Merly has similar behaviour to Peeks. Doesn't help I go away every second weekend. But she's tame enough for me :glare: Luckily mum works with her a little.

It'll look funny to visitors though, if they happen to come over and see an empty bird cage  :(Laughing out loud):

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Buy a couple of ceramic/toy budgies & put them in the cage when the birds are not in it. :glare:

so is your mum for it?? I hope you manage to retaim her!

My mom hasn't exactly disagreed, but she hasn't agreed yet either. When they were at my house, I had their cage on top of my dresser, and the big mirror behind it got covered in stuff, as well as the carpeting... and that was the first thing she brought up when I mentioned taking them back and forth. She's a very house-proud and tidy person, which is one of the main reasons why she disliked having them at her house.

Her questionable answer: "Jess, I just don't know. YOU'RE not the one who has to vaccuum up after them, and then when I went to use windex on the mirror, you nearly had a heart attack! Well, how am I supposed to keep things clean around their cage???"

(Laughing out loud) :(Laughing out loud): (She wasn't aware of the fact that windex is harmful to budgies, same with fabreze. I quickly straightened her out