Tempting budgie out of cage

[Deleted]

So... my current 'problem' with Indie is that he doesn't want to come out of the cage at all. This isn't horrendous (though not ideal) when I have an uncrowded perch layout as they have a flight cage, and he does tend to have a mad five minutes flying around every now and then, although less so now that Yuki is with him but then is also more active outside of those five minutes than when he was alone.

Yuki is fine with being out but won't come out because Indie won't. I end up opening all the cage doors and chasing them about with the taxi stick until they end up outside.

So my plan when I rearrange next week is to go for a less crowded build (which will also help with attempts at stick training) and to position the feeding bowls on the inside of the door. That way, when my partner or I are in the house (I'm due to start work after next week, which doesn't help), we can open the cage door and they'll have to leave the cage to reach their food. I'm hoping that will make Indie gradually more confident in coming and going.

It doesn't help that Indie has no interest in anything. Not toys, veggies or millet. As soon as he's out of the cage and gets over the initial moment of shock he just starts calling. He calls like mad from in the cage if I manage to get Yuki out, but just flies about in a panic inside the cage. And once out other than the odd fly about he'll sit on one specific corner of the top of the shelves.

Don't get me wrong, I love Indie and got a second budgie because of that, but I do think Yuki would eventually have made a good companion alone, which was what I was looking for originally. Indie just seems like he'd be more suited to an aviary where he'd be essentially in one giant cage that he wouldn't have to come out of but still have room for exercising.

Part of me is hoping their infatuation wears off a bit so that at least Yuki comes out to exercise.

Any tips or tricks for encouraging a reluctant budgie out to explore?

[tweetiepiesmom]

How long have Indie and Yuki been together? When I put Tweetie Pie and Buddy together they were inseparable for a little over a month. After that they started to show their individual personalities more. It doesn't help that you can't bribe Indie with food. I put a perch on the outside beside the cage door. My guys love wheat grass even more than millet. I clipped the wheat grass beside that perch outside their cage and it lured them out.

[Deleted]

I'll put perches inside and out, but nothing.

Hmm... only 2-3 weeks. They might grow apart more over time.

I can bribe him with seed in that he'll get hungry enough to go for the bowl eventually.

He did fly out today and immediately turned into panic screeching. Yuki then derped about how to get out for 5 minutes.
They're waaay better at putting themselves back in, unless one goes in, starts eating and the other starts climbing on the bars nearby instead.



I hope one day they might wander closer to me for a chat. They don't always move away, but moving away is the only moving they do if they do move. That makes me feel a bit sad when I'm having a bad day, even though my logical brain knows it's just a natural response and not personal.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Yes, give them more time to get used to each other. Then they'll start exploring more and checking out their toys. I'm still waiting for my guys to get more curious about me. Buddy is starting to show some signs. When he is on the perch beside the cage door, I'll put my face near him. Most of the time he'll chew on my reading glasses and eyebrows. Once he climbed to the side of the cage beside where I was sitting and perched there checking me out.

[Deleted]

That's adorable!

Yuki is really into all the toys and vegetables. Indie just watches him. But at least that's a bit of mental stimulation for Indie. Hopefully he'll start trying the veg once he realises Yuki's eating it and not just playing, because a lot of it is playing.

[tweetiepiesmom]

That's exactly what happened with Tweetie Pie and Buddy. Tweetie Pie is afraid of everything and he would only eat seeds. He watched Buddy eating the grass and then he tried it. Now he loves it. It took him longer to try the chop in the food dish. He watched Buddy for a while and then he tried it. Now he eats it just fine.

[Deleted]

Indie has dared to touch a strawberry with his beak at one point.
But then, to be fair to him, he doesn't touch anything.

And yet, he's the one more comfortable with jumping onto my palm for food.

[Deleted]

I've left the cage door open the past two days and they've eventually made it out, although I suspect completely by accident.

Yuki nibbled some millet I was holding and gradually moved closer to my hand, so hopefully I'll be able to somewhat tame him at least even if he won't be a companion bird.

And then hopefully over time Indie will become less skittish.

[Deleted]

So today they both drank out of a bowl I was holding. Indie kept hopping on and off of it afterwards, watching me put it in the hoop and was then scrutinising my hand. I figured he was waiting for breakfast, and lo and behold as soon as their was seed in my palm he was on. I'm now able to get Yuki up at the same time when he's on the thumb side of my hand by positioning so he has to put a foot on my thumb to reach the seed and then moving slowly towards him and up to lift him off the perch.

[Deleted]

I have rearranged the cage today and put the food bowls on the inside of the doors to get Indie used to moving through the doorway.

Yuki has shed a few proper feathers today. His moult begins! My baby is growing up! I'm currently looking at spare cages just in case he becomes too much of a bother to Indie whilst hormonal, because Yuki doesn't seem to get the message when Indie moves away from him and will chase him about.

A lot of the time Indie will happily preen Yuki though, and even let Yuki preen him earlier.