How can I grab an untamed(ish) budgie?

[pickle]

My budgie has been recently infected with bumblefoot.

My vet said to get myself a spray, so I did, but the problem is that my bird is scared of... almost everything. She is used to my face and a bit of my hands, but she is scared of little stuff like toilet paper rolls, pencils etc.
I understand that grabbing a budgie is not recommended, but I have no other choice but to force it to me so I can give her the medication needed for her foot.

Is there any way I can grab my budgie while keeping her and me comfortable at the same time?

[Loz]

Poor budgie. You will no doubt get a more thorough and helpful reply but the quick advice I'd give is:
- Spread a dry face flannel or small towel on your left hand.
- Darken the room as much as you can whilst still being able to see. This will calm the bird and make it easier to get a gentle hold.
- Transfer the bird to your left hand. The flannel will tend to calm the bird whilst in your grasp.

Reverse hands if you're left-handed! Good luck!

This is based upon advice received from this forum snd it works well for me. I hate grabbing my birds.

[ladybird]

Excellent advice from Lozenge. I recently had to catch my budge regularly and it’s not nice but needs to be done. Try and stay calm and yes a cloth or flannel is a good idea as is keeping the room as dark as you are able to. Expect to get bitten. Hold budgie as gently as possible and try and talk soothingly to him. When you are done , don’t just let him go at the entrance of his cage…..try and pop him on his perch. Is nice to reward then with some millet when you are done…..
Good luck, stay calm and you will be fine…..it gets better I promise.…..

[tweetiepiesmom]

Another important point - don't squeeze or restrict his chest because he'll have difficulty breathing and may panic. Try to use your thumb and fore finger to hold him around his neck and use your other fingers and palm of your hand to hold him around his lower belly.

[ladybird]

Gently like this…..

[Hezz]

As TPM has stated, do not hold the bird across the chest. Not only can you restrict the breathing but there are delicate air sacs in this area that could be ruptured. The thumb and forefinger of the holding hand should be on either side of the bird’s head, or the other safe method called the ringers’ grip is to place forefinger and large finger either side of the head. Easy to do with something the size of a budgie as they are not too big or too strong. Both methods hold the bird still enough so as to not be bitten.

I don’t like using a cloth of any sort as you have no idea how the bird is positioned inside the cloth, particularly the wings which can become entangled and damaged, and I find the cloth just gets in the way. The best thing to do is to handle your birds regularly so they are used to being held and don’t panic when you do so. I presume you are spraying the underneath of the feet, and may I ask what is the spray that the vet has recommended? The best view of the bottoms of their feet is when they are climbing the sides of the cage so think about how you can use this to your advantage. Are you able to hold the budgie in place when he does so and give the feet a quick spray from the outside of the cage?