What Next With Taming?

[shanook79]

Soooooo, currently my little fella Bertie is happy with my hand in the cage, he lets me stroke his belly and happerly sits on my finger. Where do I go from here? He seems pleased to see me when I walk into the room and comes over to the front of the cage. He tweets back when I talk to him and generally I feel things are go I g in the right direction. I would like him to come out of the cage at some point , and I'd love for him to one day sit on my shoulder happerly too. I know that will take some time yet, but that's my aim.

[rio13]

The most important thing is keeping at it. Sounds like you're headed in the right direction. Getting him comfortable with being outside the cage is probably the first step to have him hanging out with you outside. Make sure all mirrors/windows are covered and that the room is clear from potential hazards. Open the door and try to have him hop on your finger and bring him out! Move slow and let him feel around with what he's comfortable with. It'll surprise you, how quick they learn

[shanook79]

That doesn't sound too scary. He escaped on Friday while I was trying to remove a large food dish, which had vegetables in from the day before. I got him back in by offering one of his perches to hop onto which he did and I slowly carried him back to his cage and popped him inside. I tried offering him my finger and although he didn't fly away , he wouldn't hop on. I've seen some lovely videos on You Tube of budgies with their owners and I'd love to be able to have that kind of relationship with Bertie. I've said in a previous post that I'm surprised at how much I have taken to him. After being a dog owner all my life I never thought a bird would be as much fun and as interesting, but I've been proven very wrong. I adore him, he's such a little character, and I spend most of my free time sitting and chatting to him.

[jellybean]

shanook79, try not to leave fruit/veg in the cage any longer than 2 to 3 hours.
Better to be safe than sorry.

[shanook79]

Oops ! Ok 👍

[rio13]

Rio and I used to practice step-ups inside his cage so that he'd get used to my finger. Put your finger in front of him and gently!! press against his lower tummy.Reward him with millet. You can also start this with a perch since it seems Bertie is already used to it. Rio didn't like the perch so we went straight to the hands.

[Hezz]

Move him and yourself to a smaller room for first times out of the cage, such as a small bedroom, or bathroom, so that you can practise with him stepping up and down and getting him back into his cage without too much difficulty. It gives him the opportunity to fly about without getting up too much speed, and getting used to going back home when you want him to.