Is this strange? Can I tame her out of it?

[Winifred]

I recently rescued a 3 yr old budgie named Winifred. She had not been handled much  in her previous home, but since i started working on taming her i was surprised how eager she was to please! It didn't take long for her to step-up. Unfortunatly, i had to clip her wings because once i started taking her out of the cage because she got so excited that she would fly into things and hurt herself. After that, she actually because a much nicer budgie (she started coming back to me when i let her explore) and started jumping to my shoulder. 

So that was my background, here's my Question: Winifred likes to bite me. Like, she has no problem getting on my finger or sitting on my shoulder, anything like that, but if i go to pet her she starts squawking & bites. Most of the time it isn't very hard. If i take it really slow and talk/ sing, SOMETIMES she lets me pet her head or belly. I just don't want her to be afraid of me. 

Is this behavior strange or normal for a budgie? Do you guys think this is just because she didn't have alot of handling in her last home? Is there a way to train her out of this?

[starlingqueen]

Budgies don't like to be petted. So perfectly normal behaviour. Welcome to the forum.

[Winifred]

Mar 24, 2014 14:14:01 GMT starlingqueen said:

Budgies don't like to be petted. So perfectly normal behaviour. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks!

Not to get of to a bad start on this forum, but I'm not sure I agree that Budgies don't like to be petted, as I've heard of lots of Budgies who love that sort of attention & actually had one who did as well.

[Deleted]

They all vary. Many like having their cheek feathers gently lifted up in a scratching motion, but a good proportion of them don't, especially if they were not touched in such a way when they were younger. Even when they do enjoy it, touching is up to the bird. My budgie likes having his cheeks scratched and beak rubbed, but not the top of his head. Even so, it's obvious when he doesn't want it and if I were to persist after his subtle movements which tell me 'no' then he would bite me.

[Winifred]

Ok, thanks I guess Winifred just isn't used to it, since she didn't get that kind of attention when she was young. I'll keep working with her though.

[Deleted]

She may never accept it, but then again she might. When they do, it's usually mostly around the head because that's where another bird would preen them. I tend to approach Munchy with the tip of my finger level with his beak and the rest of my hand lower, and gently rub his beak first. Generally he'll give me an indication of his mood then. By approaching the beak and keeping your hand from being above them should make your approach seem less threatening, too. Good luck with her!

[Winifred]

Mar 25, 2014 14:51:23 GMT Ira said:

She may never accept it, but then again she might. When they do, it's usually mostly around the head because that's where another bird would preen them. I tend to approach Munchy with the tip of my finger level with his beak and the rest of my hand lower, and gently rub his beak first. Generally he'll give me an indication of his mood then. By approaching the beak and keeping your hand from being above them should make your approach seem less threatening, too. Good luck with her!

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind I totally understand if she doesn't ever like petting, it's just the way she is. When she's in a good mood, she'll let me put my finger in her beak and she kinda goes to sleep. She's not very happy with me today though, because I had to pull a feather last night and that scared her alot. That's my main reason for wanting her comfortable with my hand, because I don't want her scared and stressed when I have to do stuff like that.

[Deleted]

May I ask why you needed to pull a feather?

I understand what you mean. I try to catch Munchy every day to get him used to handling, even though birds (at least most of them) never like being handled. It's too much like be caught by a predator. But if they get used to it then it makes it less stressful. Better to get her comfortable with you and your hand first, though. Munchy bites on the occasions I have to trim his nails, but once I've caught him he is fairly relaxed. I think as long as I have a good grip on him he knows he can't escape so he is more accepting of it, though he does give me a going chewing to let me know of his righteous displeasure.

I used to have to catch him up as a chick to staunch the bleeding of broken flight feathers, which he had a problem with. Fortunately that stopped.

Awww, she sounds like a sweetie They do have off days as well, especially during moults. Munchy had a nap on my hand after eating from the bowl of seed I was offering him at the time, once.

I must admit, I'm not the best example of how not to aggravate your budgie. I leave him well alone when he doesn't want to be touched or blatently isn't interested in interacting, but I do tease him sometimes. He likes to sit on the door handle of the living room, so I like to peer around the door and say 'Boo!' although quite quietly. But the other week I said it quite loudly and he flew off. He wouldn't give me a kiss goodbye and when I went up to the window from the outside he moved away from the window because he was sulking

My boyfriend will sometimes tease him when Munchy has had enough scritches. He'll waggle his finger around near Munchy's face and effectively start having a bit of a fight with him, finger waggling vs biting. Eventually, Munchy gets bored of this when his biting doesn't succeed in the finger being removed and just jumps onto my boyfriend's hand instead.

They are lovely though, no matter their personality. There's always something to keep you entertained in some way

[Winifred]

Mar 25, 2014 17:22:48 GMT Ira said:

May I ask why you needed to pull a feather?

I understand what you mean. I try to catch Munchy every day to get him used to handling, even though birds (at least most of them) never like being handled. It's too much like be caught by a predator. But if they get used to it then it makes it less stressful. Better to get her comfortable with you and your hand first, though. Munchy bites on the occasions I have to trim his nails, but once I've caught him he is fairly relaxed. I think as long as I have a good grip on him he knows he can't escape so he is more accepting of it, though he does give me a going chewing to let me know of his righteous displeasure.

I used to have to catch him up as a chick to staunch the bleeding of broken flight feathers, which he had a problem with. Fortunately that stopped.

Awww, she sounds like a sweetie They do have off days as well, especially during moults. Munchy had a nap on my hand after eating from the bowl of seed I was offering him at the time, once.

I must admit, I'm not the best example of how not to aggravate your budgie. I leave him well alone when he doesn't want to be touched or blatently isn't interested in interacting, but I do tease him sometimes. He likes to sit on the door handle of the living room, so I like to peer around the door and say 'Boo!' although quite quietly. But the other week I said it quite loudly and he flew off. He wouldn't give me a kiss goodbye and when I went up to the window from the outside he moved away from the window because he was sulking

My boyfriend will sometimes tease him when Munchy has had enough scritches. He'll waggle his finger around near Munchy's face and effectively start having a bit of a fight with him, finger waggling vs biting. Eventually, Munchy gets bored of this when his biting doesn't succeed in the finger being removed and just jumps onto my boyfriend's hand instead.

They are lovely though, no matter their personality. There's always something to keep you entertained in some way

I had to pull the feather because it got loose and was bleeding alittle bit. She was running around with her wing up, so i figured it was hurting her. The bleeding stopped once i pulled the feather though.

What your boyfriend does sounds like what Winifred does with me, except all I have to do is put my finger up to her and she just starts biting. I try not to tease her though


Arn't they just full of personality! They're very fun to interact with and watch. Your budgie seems like a fun little guy & very sweet.

[Hezz]

Mar 24, 2014 17:45:38 GMT Winifred said:

Mar 24, 2014 14:14:01 GMT starlingqueen said:

Budgies don't like to be petted. So perfectly normal behaviour. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks!

Not to get of to a bad start on this forum, but I'm not sure I agree that Budgies don't like to be petted, as I've heard of lots of Budgies who love that sort of attention & actually had one who did as well.

To reinforce what Ira has mentioned about all budgies being individuals, (and SQ's comment), and not all being fond of the human touch, out of the budgies I have had and still have, seven in total, only one of these is really fond of a good head scratch, another will allow it on occasions when she has a head full of pinnies, and these are not the quietest birds I have had. Of the three very tame, only one has ever allowed me to give them a rub and that was about half a dozen times in his life-time. And these are birds who are with me all day every day; they aren't aviary birds. You are much more likely to be allowed this privilege if the budgie is an only bird (there is no-one else of their own kind to help them out and will often be the one person the bird has bonded with, but it certainly shouldn't be expected.

I will add also that my tamest, quietest hen will try to take your hand off if you try touching her.
She may not succeed but not for want of trying.

[Winifred]

I'm so proud of Winnie today she's sitting on my knee, sleeping and letting me pet her cheeks! It's like all the sudden she decided to trust me. I'm so happy!