Budgie Taming Help

[vshblvck]

So, I have recently acquired 5 budgies. I bought 1 from petco. The other 4 were received from a previous owner who decided they "just don't like birds".
We'll start with the petco budgie (Angel). I'm not fully sure of her situation. petco hasn't provided much info for her and I'm trying to assess what is up with her. I'm half and half on whether or not she is sick (i will be calling a vet this week to ask and get an appt set up). She doesn't show many signs of being sick other than certain behaviors.
1. She rarely eats. At least from what I've seen. I will admit, i had received info to remove seed from the cage to help with millet training. But, to reassure you, i realize how that is NOT okay so i have been leaving their bowls of seed mix with them. When I DO see her eat, sometimes i get a nibble from the millet. she seems very indifferent to it tbh. doesn't seem to want anything. sometimes, though, I'll hear her chewing on seeds that i guess she has stored (just found out today that they store seeds so they are able to run from predators). I'll never see her pick up these seeds. I'll just hear the chewing sound from her beak and that's the only thing that tells me she is eating.
2. She hardly moves. Which is another part of me never seeing her eat. She will move if I put my hand anywhere near even just the door of the cage. That's normally about it. Today she did have a bout of activity but I had other budgies out for a bit trying to train them. (we'll get to them in a bit).
3. She seems to always look sad and close her eyes. I don't have a better way to describe it. I have a feeling her problems might actually be trauma from petco (i hear that's super common, plus they did clip her wings)
things i do not see; she does not "bob" her tail. her beak and nostrils are clean and look healthy. she preens like normal. even though she often closes her eyes, she does not sleep as often. i've personally never seen her sleep so i can only assume she does it when i go to sleep. And lastly, she doesn't constantly sit with her feathers fluffed. she will occasionally fluff them up, but it doesn't stay that way. she always returns to normal with her feathers.
Again, I am going to be calling a vet regardless to see if she is actually sick or not because if she IS sick I don't want to be putting it off until I find out.

Now, about the other 4 budgies (Hedwig, Azul, Ray, and Sunny). All 4 came from the same owner. They are not tamed at all. I figured that would reset with a new owner anyways. They are not clipped. I believe I've made progress with Hedwig, Azul, and Ray tonight as I managed to get them out by putting my finger in front of the stick of millet. They still aren't fond of me and it's clear that they're, for now, only in it for the millet. they would fly to my finger and, sometimes, would try to just grab the millet with their foot so I couldn't take it (i still could). Millet is definitely crack for the four, but i just want to make sure i'm doing it right. also, I believe all 4 are at least 1 year old. I was told Azul was at least 1 year, so I can only assume the others are the same (idk Angel's age).
Lastly, I am keeping the 4 budgies separate from Angel for about a month (that's what i've read to do). Angel spends her time beside my desk, and the other 4 are in my bedroom (so, weirdly enough, I don't really use my bedroom. I more often than not just sleep on my couch in my appt because i don't have a tv in my bedroom so i watch movies in my living room and fall asleep). If I handle Angel, I am careful to wash my hands before and after (same with the other 4) as to not spread anything if Angel IS sick. I'm not so worried about the other 4 because they chirp plenty and move around plenty and eat plenty. They just seem to need training.

So, now that I've typed a whole essay on my budgies, if anyone could help give me tips for training (especially with Angel) I would greatly appreciate it. Again, I will be calling a vet regardless to see if she is sick (i had an argument with someone on reddit about them lacking the ability to read that I TOLD them i was going to call the vet regardless. so that's why i'm saying it so many times in this post). Again, any advice will be appreciated very much If pictures are needed, i can provide those. I'd have to take new pictures of them so it's current but lmk if that would help

[blueelephant]

Hi, taming can take a long time and vary from bird to bird in how far you ultimately get, but if you are still in the quarantine month then it is very early days still. I've suggested a few things below a lot of which you probably know and are doing already.

With Angel I'd try sitting by the cage and talking softly as much as you can. Don't look directly at Angel, turn your head to the side and blink slowly. This makes you look less like a scary predator and more like a friend. Angel may start to blink back at you which is a good sign. Then introduce holding millet up to the side of the cage and see if the courage is summoned to take it from you. The millet can then go on a hand inside the cage working up to being just out of reach so there is a need to step onto you to reach it. Always move nice and slowly with your hand in the cage so as to try and cause minimum alarm. Ultimately as Angel has clipped wings this is going to make a bird feel much more vulnerable as their only escape mechanism is taken away. Hopefully once flight feathers grow back in that my help confidence too.

I would avoid handling (by which I mean catching/holding) the birds unless there is a need to do so as this won't help to build trust in the early stages of taming.

You sound like the other four are getting on ok if they are already accepting millet bribes from you. They may be a bit more used to people than angel plus they have the confidence of their little flock. Angel may grow in confidence too one she is introduced and quarantine is over.

Do you know the gender of all the birds? Others will no doubt have some more tips on taming and also may be able to suggest ways to go about introductions when angel joins the others.

I hope the vet trip goes well. Do keep us posted.

[vshblvck]

Thank you for your response, Blue. I have been attempting to talk to the budgies more often. I am a naturally quiet person so sometimes I do forget to talk but I have ways of reminding myself so they get comfortable with me. and as far as the rest that i read, yeah I agree. I know I need to take it slow. At first I did have a bit of a bad habbit of chasing them a bit w the millet. quickly figured out that doesn't help. so it's very obvious to me rn they get tamed on their own time. I guess I'm just trying to get validation that i'm doing this right i guess. as far as gender, Angel is female. Hedwig I think is male. I was told he was, but the nose is pretty colorless like angels is. Azul is male. Ray is Male. and Sunny is male. basically i was told all the other 4 are male. but i'm kindof questioning that. ray's and sunny's noses are different. both of them have one bright side and one dark side of their noses. and on the same sides. i went to check for sure before typing this out so that is a new thing i've noticed. so ig is that okay/normal that their noses are like that? none of the other birds noses look like that. and as far as the vet, yeah i'll have to go tommorrow because everywhere here is closed on sundays. will keep the thread updated on Angel.

[Hezz]

Covering all but one side of her cage can help a newcomer relax a bit as they aren’t trying to watch for trouble from all sides. For the same reasons a corner can work well, as well. Keep your interaction times with Angel short and frequent. Having her close by all the time should help her get used to your presence, and if talking isn’t your strong point you might think about having talk back radio playing in the background.

I’d start by hanging a piece of millet spray in her cage until you notice her feeding on it. Once she recognises it as food you can them remove it and use as your bribery tool. Hold a small piece up to the cage for her to come and explore. Once she is approaching you/millet to eat, then try putting your hand inside the cage with the millet for her to nibble on. Once she will readily feed while you hold it, move it slightly so that she has to get closer to you to feed, as in step onto your hand.

[vshblvck]

Thank you, Hez. I have been slowly doing this with the other 4 as Angel is still being shy. It seems she is slowly warming up. Also, Blue, I did contact a vet. Ironically, Angel started acting better the day i decided to call them lol. I took her up there yesterday and they said she is fine, just going through a lot (because of pet store life). They said she'll just need to acclimate and for me to just give her plenty of time to adjust. So, I'm glad to know Angel is okay. She's been a lot more mobile in her cage lately and i've actually been WITNESSING her eat her seeds i leave in there. it makes me rly happy to see her active.

[vshblvck]

oh, also weirdly enough before i read this post i did already start covering sides of her cage lol. i own reptiles as well and usually yoou want them to have sides covered too to avoid stress so i figured i'd try to apply it to my budgie. she seems more comfortable when i cover her cage a bit and all she can see is me. last night i'm not sure if she was actually trying to but it seemed she was chirping at me. i wasn't sure what to do other than to talk to her because i don't want to assume she likes me yet right? so. and they were calm chirps too btw. not that screeching they do sometimes. so i assume she wanted just a bit of conversation lol.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Happy little chirps does mean she's settling in. Good job! Keep it up, before you know it she'll be your happy little pal.

[Hezz]

Most likely she can hear the others in the other room, or has heard them and is trying to contact them. Quiet chirps will often happen around settling down time.

[vshblvck]

hey there. just  following up with updates on my budgies. so, i still have Angel quarantined and am working on training still. we have made progress, though. I started leaving her cage door open when i came home. I figured if i gave her the total option to come out whenever she wanted that it might help. so far it seems it has. she will sit on the entrance of the gate and wait for my finger to come up in front of her. though, i got this behavior started also thru giving her millet. which so far seems to be her only motive for wanting out. i can hold her on my finger now. but no petting or she gets upset and wants to go back to the cage. she just seems interested in the millet for now. i'm sure that'll change over time if i keep it up.