Taming and bonding question

[windward]

Hello, I just bought my first budgie about a week ago. She's younger than 3-4 months as she has yet to have her first molt. Let me give you a brief synopsis of her behavior at this point. She seems to be settling in to her new environment -- she's eating, drinking, moving around, chirping, and as just started showing some interest in the various things I've put in her cage (cuttlebone, calcium toy, a wood chewy thing, and some millet spray) I've been putting some fresh millet seed heads grown in my garden in her cage, as well as fresh basil and melon, but she hasn't ventured to try them yet. I'm guessing these treats weren't offered to her before so she doesn't know what to do with them. I also put a bowl of water in her cage as a bath but she didn't seem to have any interest. Otherwise, she seems fairly relaxed and comfortable most of the time.

As far as finger training, I have gotten to the point where I can touch her belly for a few moments with my forefinger, but she has not stepped onto it to where she'll allow me to lift her up. She'll move away, not in an overly panicked way, but just a slightly nervous "okay, that's enough." She seems to enjoy my presence though, and she doesn't freak out if I put something in her cage or change her food/water.

So I guess I have two questions:
1) how should I proceed with the finger taming? Is there anything different I should be doing to make her realize that it's safe to perch on my finger? Or will what I'm doing currently eventually work? I've read the sticky on taming, but I'm still stuck at this point of actually getting her to trust my finger.

2) I'm going for a week-long trip next week, and my mom, who has kept birds before, will be house and pet sitting for me. She will continue to care for and interact with my budgie, and I'm sure she'd be willing to work on the finger taming. My worry is that, since she has only been here for a week, will my mom's interaction with her any way affect my bonding with her? Or is it safe to say that any progress that my mom makes over the week will transfer to me with no problem?

Thanks!

[Bird Junky]

Hello Any progress Mom makes with your bird should
transfer to you on your return.
I suggest you read through the Bonding/Taming
Posts & select one to follow before you go, Then
you'll all be singing from the same hymn sheet,
as they say.....B.J.

[Hezz]

Bonesy's tread on taming and training is really good and easy to follow.

If she is allowing you to stroke her belly, the next move is to lay your finger across her belly, low down, give her a gentle push up with your finger and say "step-up" or whatever command you decide to use. She will resist to start with, ease off and try again. If the push is enough against her belly she will have two choices. One is to lean backwards and lose balance; the other is to step onto your finger and keep balance. But read through Bonesy's thread, is my advice.

[sweetie]

also, i found with mine that she preferred to get on my flat hand rather than step up to my finger, i now take her in and out of her cage like that and she has just started responding to step up whilst working with her out of the cage, like it says on the forum somewhere, as long as they get on your hand it doesnt matter how they do it to begin with, you can straighten out the kinks once the trust is there x

[Deleted]

Same. Mine prefers my wrist/arm to my hand, and prefers my thumb to my finger. Because he's a bit nippy at times I've taken to asking him to step up from a distance rather than trying to force the matter unless it's really necessary for him to step onto me, which it rarely is.

Follow one of the taming threads and see what works for your bird. They're all different and you might have to rethink a few things depending on how things go, but you'll get there in the end