Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 5, 2021 10:37:01 GMT
Hi! So I've owned budgies for years when I was young, and I never had any problems getting them tame. I've moved away for college recently, and my mom back home got two budgies from a friend. They are about two years old and not handalable at all.
Anyway, I've moved back home and will stay for about a month because of the pandemic, and I thought I would try to get these budgies hand-tame at the very least. It has been three days, and even though I have spend countless of hours sitting outside the budgies cage talking and singing to them and have tried putting my hand (with food as a bait) in their cage they just sit in a corner and look completely terrified, one of them is even breathing extremely heavy whenever anyone gets close and her beak will shake. I have spent more time than I've ever had before to get a budgie hand tame, but it seems like I have made no progress whatsoever.
From my understanding the budgies have been caught with hands before, so I understand that they're weary, which brings me to my questions: Is it even possible to get these budgies tame, and if so, does anyone have any tips for taming that I might have not thought about? I'm really trying to be patient, but it's difficult when I've spent almost 10 hours without any results whatsoever.
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Post by ladybird on Mar 5, 2021 18:13:22 GMT
First let me say I am not an expert at training budgies, and I hope someone will be along to help you soon......but three days is no time at all especially with budgies that are two years old...plus you are trying to tame two at once. I would say it’s definitely possible but is going to take a lot of time and patience. Sitting by their cage and just talking to them quietly is definitely a good start, and never look at them directly. Only when they seem happy with you being there ....and you will know by their body language , should you slowly try to introduce your hand near their cage.. .....This can be weeks not days in my opinion with love and patience. Can someone be of more help please?
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Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 5, 2021 18:20:04 GMT
First let me say I am not an expert at training budgies, and I hope someone will be along to help you soon......but three days is no time at all especially with budgies that are two years old...plus you are trying to tame two at once. I would say it’s definitely possible but is going to take a lot of time and patience. Sitting by their cage and just talking to them quietly is definitely a good start, and never look at them directly. Only when they seem happy with you being there ....and you will know by their body language , should you slowly try to introduce your hand near their cage.. .....This can be weeks not days in my opinion with love and patience. Can someone be of more help please? You're right, it's just that I'm not used to budgies taking this long to just accept my presence. I'll definitely put a lot more time into trying to get them tame though. I also suspect that these budgies have had a few traumatic experiences since they're so scared of everything. I know how to get budgies tame generally, but these are definitely going to be a challenge. So far I just try to sit in the same room as them, but sometimes I leave them alone because I don't want to keep them from eating (which they won't do at all when I'm close enough for them to see me). One of them is braver than the other and he will sometimes ruffle his feathers, but the female is completely terrified.
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Post by ladybird on Mar 5, 2021 19:52:15 GMT
Have you tried leaving a radio on when you are not in the room? Also is there cage against a wall, or covered at the back so they feel safer. I think it sounds like it will be some time before they trust you, but it’s wonderful that you want to gain their trust. Poor little buds sound like they have been really frightened at some time.....Keep trying and slowly you will be their friend..
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Post by blueelephant on Mar 5, 2021 20:49:57 GMT
Poor things. Try sitting sideways on to the cage so they can only see one of your eyes and then blink slowly at them. It sounds ridiculous but it makes you look less like a predator. I have only ever tried to tame young birds so can't comment on timescales or likely hood of success but young timid birds have liked this when I have tried it. Good luck with them.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 6, 2021 0:58:12 GMT
Taming these two in a month? I’d say your chances are Buckley’s and none. Sorry, but there is no point in dressing it up. You may definitely make some progress in that time but that will be of little value if someone doesn’t continue on where you leave off in a month’s time.
The truth is that these two don’t need you for anything other than food and water. I can’t imagine that they are let out for free flight, so really hoping that they have a very large cage to get some exercise in. Also there isn’t much point in sitting in the same room as them if they can’t see you. Sit close by but don’t look at them; don’t even face them, ignore them for the time being. Once they start to begin to relax with you there, you will hear them moving around, chirping quietly to each other, etc, then take short glances at them with only one eye - you are a predator to them, so don’t look directly at them - to see how they are progressing. Yes, having a radio on quietly in the background is helpful to them in knowing that there is no immediate danger around. Noise means safety; quietness is danger, and will keep them on tenterhooks.
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Post by mona on Mar 6, 2021 5:52:37 GMT
Working with rescue birds is always a different experience. You don't know what they have gone through. Younger birds and happy birdies are easier to tame. I have known people who have rescued parrots and other breeds and it took them years to tame them.
I have mine for over year and they have just started stepping up on my finger just a few months back. They took almost a year to trust me, after hours of talking daily, giving them treats, singing with them and so on.. I just carried out the daily stuff - cleaning, giving them food, changing water, adding toys etc. When they see you everyday doing things for them, they know you are not going to harm them. Somehow, I feel your mum would be able to slowly work with them, if she is one taking care of them otherwise. If you are gonna leave in a month, it might be difficult for them too, in case if they are attached to you.
We had to travel a lot, so mine are careful of everything, including me.. Many times when they are scared of anything, they'll also avoid me for sometime..and that's okay to give them their space. I had to give them another 2 weeks to be okay eating from my hand again.. Till then, I just did the cleaning, food and water stuff for them.
The bottom line I have learnt is not to expect anything from them. Even if untame, the birdies can be let out of the cage (if not) inside a bird safe room to begin with. Mine are trained to come out of the cage and go back inside. Every time things change, they take less time to adapt now, when everything else remains same and that must include me.
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Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 6, 2021 8:38:55 GMT
Thanks for all the advice and responses!
I'm obviously not the only one working with these birds, they are my mom's and she will continue to spend time with them. I'm just trying to help out as she's currently working (and for this month she will work extra, which is part of the reason I'm here) and I'm on zoom/doing schoolwork from home. I initially thought that a month to at least get them to step up on my hand was not too unrealistic, but I realize that it might be impossible. I don't want to give up though, and I want these birds to be more comfortable with people. I'm definitely aware of the fact that they will probably never be tame enough to actually bond with us, but we're fine with just being able to offer them treats to get them onto the hand if needed and for them to be okay with humans being near without touching them.
We have made some progress however! I moved my desk into their room to beside their cage, and now they're somewhat okay with me working if I don't pay any close attention to them and the male started chirping, which is a good sign.
The birds have a decently large cage, and we do open the cage door for about 2-3 hours every day so that they can go out and fly (which they do, although they are not very good at it yet) and we wait for them to go back into their cage on their own before we come into the room. It's a good square room with lots of places for them to sit, so we hope that they'll be able to get some exercise. We did place a baby monitor in there just to see if they're doing okay when we are not there which has honestly been great.
The reason we want to get them hand tame in the first place is so that we can offer bigger parts of the house for them to fly, like our previous birds, and being able to have them step into our hands would definitely make that easier. We used to let our previous budgies' cage door stay open basically all day, which is what we strive for with these birds too.
I would really like some more advice, and I do have another question. The birds seem to bicker quite a lot, and they don't seem to be too fond of each other even though they have lived together for two years according to the person my mom got them from. They sit close to each other sometimes, but they will constantly bite at each other and fight for the "best" perch, and not allow the other to get to the food bowl et cetera. Is this normal? I've had a total of 7 budgies in my life, and they have all gotten along fine, fed each other and been able to share their space.
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Post by ladybird on Mar 6, 2021 9:19:53 GMT
Hello Wilma, do you know what sex the birds are? Because this could explain the bickering. Could you put a picture of them and maybe their cage set up. Try and get a picture without flash of their cere,s it helps .
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Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 6, 2021 9:34:54 GMT
Hello Wilma, do you know what sex the birds are? Because this could explain the bickering. Could you put a picture of them and maybe their cage set up. Try and get a picture without flash of their cere,s it helps . I currently don't have a picture, but I might be able to post one later. I'm pretty sure that it's a female and a male though, as what would be the female has a brownish pink cere and the male has a blue one.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 7, 2021 1:51:18 GMT
Not unusual for a hen to give the male a hard time. The term “hen-pecked” came about for a reason. I’d lay bets on it being the hen who does the chasing, claiming the highest perch and chooses where to sleep at night. That is all very normal. If you tried to cage them separately they’d likely scream blue murder for each other. The easiest way to keep them happy is to have two of everything - swing for sleeping and especially food bowls. Water not so much as budgies are not big drinkers.
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Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 7, 2021 8:51:41 GMT
Not unusual for a hen to give the male a hard time. The term “hen-pecked” came about for a reason. I’d lay bets on it being the hen who does the chasing, claiming the highest perch and chooses where to sleep at night. That is all very normal. If you tried to cage them separately they’d likely scream blue murder for each other. The easiest way to keep them happy is to have two of everything - swing for sleeping and especially food bowls. Water not so much as budgies are not big drinkers. That's what I think is kind of strange, it's the male giving the female a hard time. He's definitely bossing her around a lot and he has a lot of attitude. They do have two of everything but they have the same favorite swing, favorite food bowl and pretty much everything else. I will definitely get ahold of another one of their favorite swing though! I have noticed that they don't want to be separated like you said, the hen will scream until he comes back if he leaves the cage without her, but when he does they are being pretty mean to each other (well, mostly him to her). This at least shows that they don't completely hate each other haha!
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Post by ladybird on Mar 7, 2021 11:44:16 GMT
Hi Wilma, try and put a picture of your buds and cage, it might help... You say the male is leaving the cage, does he go back in on his own or are you having to catch him?
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Mar 5, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
wilma
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 6
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Post by wilma on Mar 7, 2021 12:14:56 GMT
Hi Wilma, try and put a picture of your buds and cage, it might help... You say the male is leaving the cage, does he go back in on his own or are you having to catch him? Hi! This may be a stupid question, but how do you post photos here? I'm on my phone, so maybe that's why I can't find the alternative? Both of the birds leave the cage every day to fly. We just close the doors to the room that they're in, open the cage door for a few hours and let them go back to their cage on their own
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Post by Morgan on Mar 7, 2021 13:42:23 GMT
On your phone, at the bottom of the page click on “Desktop”. From desktop mode there will be an add image link at the top left.
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