The trick, the solution, and the question

[Deleted]

Indie and Yuki's short holiday in the book nook seems to have helped them with their confidence. Indie was far less skinny down there today. I've found the best way to work with them is to take Munchy and Indie downstairs, then by the time I've worked with them Yuki has calmed from the initial separation and singing happily on a perch, meaning I can work with him alone in an environment he's comfortable in.

Munchy has taught himself to spin around for a reward because he turned around on my arm and I gave him millet, he repeated it, got rewarded, I added 'spin' as a command when he started turning, and now he'll do it when asked. All three give kisses when asked.

One quick question to Hezz even though I feel I know the answer anyway. If I catch the budgies everyday and return them to a perch, and then try to spend time during the rest of the day trying to do nice things with them, they should eventually realise that they don't get harmed, yes? Yuki tends to get a bit more skittish after I've been catching them and I'd rather not ruin my relationship with him, but in theory they should learn.
I had to wash him today and he was pretty chilled out once I was holding him, other than a few wriggles when he got a bit fed up of having his rump and feet held in the warm water and fussed with. He even accepted millet shortly after I returned him to the cage.

[ladybird]

Ira, am I missing something? What are your buds being trained for? I don’t understand why they need to be bathed.

[Deleted]

ladybird When I say training, I just mean handtaming stuff, like stepping up and coming when called, in case I need to move them, like if they slip out of the room or something. It's just a safety thing, so I want them to feel more confident with me. Plus it's something that I can do to interact with them, as they don't need me for company when they have each other.

As for bathing, I occasionally have to give Yuki a bit of a wash because he has a funny tummy and will do weird sticky poops that stick to his feathers and to each other, forming a large ball of dried droppings that would stop him from passing more properly and he struggles to remove it himself. I run some warm water to bathe him rather than just running the tap because it lets me get an appropriate temperature and the soaking softens the droppings to remove them so that I don't accidentally pull feathers. It's not a regular activity.

[ladybird]

Thank you Ira for explaining, it sounds like they are having fun with you..

[Deleted]

I hope so. We tend to do stuff first thing so they're a bit peckish for something to eat, but that does make them very eager to join in.

Then later we'll sometimes call them for the odd nibble of millet, which results in utter carnage as all three of them attempt to descend. It's very funny and lively.

I can also report that Munchy has been more interested in playing with a ball today. The old Munchy is gradually returning.

[Hezz]

Of course they will gradually get used to being handled and realise that they can be caught up but not harmed and will be let go in a very short time. How long that takes will depend on the individual bird, and where it happens is also to be taken into consideration. If you do it in the same place every day, they will end up being okay with being held in that room but in another room it might be a totally different reaction. For instance I hold little guys in their cage to be put into their carry cage at least three days a week, when they spend time in the aviary. At the end of their aviary time I catch them up again to be Brough back inside. No problem. But if I want to catch them inside the house but out of their cage, they will generally fly off back to their cage, as that is not part of our routine.

[Morgan]

@sillycat84 - I have been training my linnie to be able to wear a harness so I can take her with me places and socialize her more. One thing she does not like is being picked up, (and I will eventually have to be able to get her wings through the harness safely without traumatizing her in the process), although she accepts it. Her breeder would just pick her up to handle her when she was a baby, so she knows what it’s all about, but she always gets tense so I try not to pick her up unless necessary. She has always stepped onto my hand willingly though and likes to be there or on my shoulder and doesn’t fly off so I don’t often need to pick her up anyway.

I am using positive reinforcement and desensitization and conditioning training and a lot of patience to slowly get her used to my hand coming down over her and associating that with a reward instead of discomfort. She likes head scritches for example, but only when she is in the mood, so I’ve been using food - millet specifically - for this, because she always wants millet!

So I give her a bobble of millet spray as I hover my hand at a distance that does not make her tense, then remove my hand, and slowly decrease that distance over time. It has been about a week now and I can rest my hand gently on her back with my thumb curled underneath as she eats and she does not get tense at all!! Her comfort level before was at about an inch away. So the idea is that eventually she will actually like being picked up because she will associate it with good things rather than with something she just has to put up with for a short moment but that she doesn’t actually like.

It does take a lot longer perhaps to do it this way, but I don’t have much to compare it to because I don’t try to catch the buds very often either. Goat is the only one who doesn’t mind being picked up, so I am going to try this method with him too and see if it makes a difference, then move on to Pig perhaps. If I can get Pig to enjoy being picked up I will consider it successful because I’ve had to catch her the most and it has only made her hate hands, even though she has never been injured and I always let her go after she calmed down, etc. 😭

Just wanted to share my personal experience. But all my buds are wild type and I have heard that English budgies are more calm generally with being picked up. I don’t know if that’s true, just what I’ve heard.

[Deleted]

Morgan I can sometimes pass my hand slowly above them as they eat millet, so will try that too.

Munchy and Indie are content to eat millet whilst I'm holding them and immediately after. Indie will often stay sat on me if I just release my grip rather than return him to a perch and munch away. Munchy is rather hilarious because he turns to fight me, making him the easiest to catch, and will chomp at my fingers, but then immediately attack a millet bobble instead when offered.

Yuki's the most nervous about accepting a reward during or after the experience, though the time after has decreased slightly. He's probably the best one to try to desensitise, though it would work well for all of them as then there would be less chasing about to get a hold of them in the first place.

Well done on your progress with your linnie.

[Morgan]

@sillycat84 - That’s great! You’re already well on your way then. My buds will land on me for millet, but if I go over top of them they’ll absolutely fly away xD

And thank you! She’s so easy to work with though because she was hand raised, so I donMt know if I should be congratulated yet!

I am hoping to get the whole lot comfortable at least with basic handling, but trying not to get ahead of myself here. One baby step at a time

All the luck to you with Yuki! We all need an extra challenge after all, don’t we? 😄