How To Tame Traumatized Budgies?

[ellyzie]

Hello everyone. This is going to be difficult explaining without a backstory, so here it is:
I have four different colored budgies: Varuna, Isla, Jade, and Angel (They're all boys but initially I thought they were girls XD). Anyways, my mother bought them for me from someone who didn't want them anymore. I have wanted birds for some time, so I was elated. Mind you I'm 21 years old, so I've done my fair share of research. Once they got to my home, I noticed that they were biting away the coconut at the back of their cage. I thought nothing of it. After a week or so of settling in, I put my hand on the outside of their cage so they can get used to it. There seemed to be some progress since they touched my hand with ease while passing through the area. I did this for a week. While doing this, I spoke to them in a soothing tone. Now, onto the step we've been stuck on: taming. I searched different ways to do this, and stuck with 2. First off, I put my hand on the bottom perch with a piece of millet to see if they would get close. No luck. Secondly, I grabbed a long piece of millet and gently urged the birds to eat some. Still no luck. That night, while having my weekly call with my mom, she remembered an important detail she forgot to share about the birds: Their previous owner had traumatized them. Originally, there were 5 birds. The 5th one was a lutino. The owner bought a coconut so they could climb in, yet none of them did. He decided it would be a good idea to grab the lutino and forcefully put him in the coconut. He died the next morning from fright and stress. I was shocked when I heard this. I thought it was just me. It also explains why they were biting away the coconut. My mom had attempted to grab a bird (she completely forgot about the trauma at this time) so I feel like this has worsened their fear. I live with two other people, so it can get a little loud. However, it seems like the birds have gotten used to it, even the sound of the TV. Sometimes I yell and cry from my own problems, and I fear this may further put back the training. This weekend, I'm going to buy them some fresh, new toys to make them happier. But.. I'm completely lost. I do not know what to do. If any of you could help, I would be forever grateful. Thank you for reading!

[Hezz]

Get rid of the coconut anyway. It is not necessary. First things first - how long have you had the birds? How long ago did the bird's death occur? How large is the cage that these four birds are in?

Regardless of the trauma that you feel they were subjected to, having four birds together is going to make taming/training much more difficult as they will have different degrees of calmness or flightiness just as humans have differing degrees calmness and anxiety. The other big factor to consider is that none of these birds are youngsters, I'd presume. Older birds are not as malleable as young ones and earning their trust is going to take more effort on your part.

Have realistic expectations with regard to time frames - no one can predict how long it may take any one bird to become comfortable with any human, nor how tame any particular bird may become. Some budgies are always going to be a bird's bird and others are quite happy to consider humans, or some humans, as part of their flock. Your birds are already a flock in themselves, so in reality have no need to seek out your company. Having said that, the more time you spend with them, the more accepting of you they will become. Your relationship with them will evolve over time; it is not a static thing, but the changes are often so subtle that you don't notice until you look back in time.

There are quite a lot of members who don't have tame budgies, but get great pleasure from watching their birds activities and interaction with each other. Having them trained enough for you to be able to get them back into their cage easily when having out-of-cage time is probably the single most important thing to teach.

[ellyzie]

I've had the birds for about a month now, and the bird's death occurred a few days prior to my mother getting them. The cage they're in is a self-standing cage that's 5 feet tall.

[Shirls]

Hi ellyzie and welcome to the forum. You will find that time and patience with your birds will pay off in the end. You can't rush these things and as Hezz has said, training, or getting four budgies to warm to you is going to be more difficult than training one. Patience here is the key. Agree with throwing away the coconut too!

You have obviously researched this yourself and talking to them gently, as well as blinking to show you are no threat, putting your hand/finger in the cage as MANY times as you are able, every day, they will get used to you. Good luck and do come back to us to let us know how you all get on.

Oh and btw, introducing new toys - they will think that the new toy is going to kill them!!! So, introduce one at a time, gradually. Please don't get toys with metal that rusts, or with tassles on either.

[Hezz]

Budgies, like most birds, prefer to be around noise. Silence means danger to them. Just make sure that they have a good 10-12hrs of dark and quiet every night. Also the birds will pick up on your anger and anxiety, so try not to interact with them when you are not in the best frame of mind. If you are feeling negative, the birds will be more anxious.

Remember that they are not dogs or cats, animals that have been domesticated for thousands of years, they are essentially still a wild creature, so slowly, slowly is the only way to earn their trust. It may take months; it may take years. Patience is your best friend.