introducing a younger budgie to an older, hand tam

[rach1936]

Hi there,

I recently took on a second budgie, and as I have never owned more than one at a time before, I was hoping you guys might be able to offer some guidance on my current situation.

I have a 3 year old, hand tamed budgie named Pippin. He is a very small budgie, probably a runt and he also has a deformed foot from an accident when he was first hatched.

Recently, a baby budgie was found in the bushes outside of my work, and as an owner couldn't be tracked down, I offered to take him home. He was about 2 months old when I brought him home and not very used to being handled. His name is Merry.

We kept them in seperate cages for a month before putting them together in a large cage. They have now been living together for about a month and a half. They are exercised together every day and seem to be getting on well. No fights, just a couple of little squeaking matches over tail pulling.

There are 3 things I am a looking for advice on.

First off, Pippin still seems very wary of Merry. Merry is very friendly with Pippin, but also boistrous. Sometimes they sit together and chat and kiss, but other times Pippin actually runs away from Merry in the cage, even though it seems like all Merry wants to do is sit next to him.
Is this just because Pippin is more mature and can't be bothered with the baby boistrousness? Or is he still just not used to Merry being around?

The second thing is sometimes when Pippin is playing with a toy or eating a piece of food Merry will come over and take it from him.
Is this just asserting dominance? Do I need to stop it from happening?

The last thing is that hand training Merry is proving very difficult. He is still very scared of hands in the cage, even though I am in and out of the cage every day. He won't land on a hand or arm or even head yet and food doesnt seem to tempt him. He only comes close to me when he is soaring past to join Pippin.
Are there any techniques anyone could reccomend?

Thanks guys! Sorry about the post length!

[Hezz]

Hi Rach. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

quote author=rach1936 board=budgietaming thread=4166 post=56117 time=1347568730]Hi there,


There are 3 things I am a looking for advice on.

First off, Pippin still seems very wary of Merry. Merry is very friendly with Pippin, but also boistrous. Sometimes they sit together and chat and kiss, but other times Pippin actually runs away from Merry in the cage, even though it seems like all Merry wants to do is sit next to him.
Is this just because Pippin is more mature and can't be bothered with the baby boistrousness? Or is he still just not used to Merry being around?

A bit of both, I feel. Plus with Pippin being an only budgie for some time he could well appreciate some time to himself when this happens. I have been in a similar situation with a very tame, almost human, boy and added a uncoordinated hen to the cage and poor boy wasn't terribly happy. In fact for the rest of his time he vacated if the hen looked like sitting on the perch he was on. Hopefully your two won't be like this, and Pippin will gradually become used to having a cage companion. In the meantime, give him some space out on his own if you notice him getting antsy.

The second thing is sometimes when Pippin is playing with a toy or eating a piece of food Merry will come over and take it from him.
Is this just asserting dominance? Do I need to stop it from happening?

Is Merry asserting his dominance? Yes. Do you need to interfere? No. Even if you do try to stop this from happening, it most likely won't work. In fact could just make things worse. I know it is hard seeing your beloved first (and we think therefore should be boss) being bossed around by a newcomer, but that is life unfortunately. Pippin will adjust - just give him plenty of love and attention so he doesn't feel rejected.

The last thing is that hand training Merry is proving very difficult. He is still very scared of hands in the cage, even though I am in and out of the cage every day. He won't land on a hand or arm or even head yet and food doesnt seem to tempt him. He only comes close to me when he is soaring past to join Pippin.
Are there any techniques anyone could reccomend?

The best you can do here is be patient and keep trying. Merry may not have been subjected to humans much in the past - possibly an aviary born and bred bird. Again I have one of these too. But my little "feral" as we call him, is a laid back little guy and while he will never be like the others who were handled from in the nest, he will allow contact, but never for too long. With Pippin being tame, your best approach may to allow Pippin to show Merry that all humans aren't a danger, by getting Pippin out and spending time with him and trying to include Merry as well. My little feral was great mates with my older very quiet male and I think he saw that the older fella was okay with me, so maybe then I wasn't a threat.

Thanks guys! Sorry about the post length!
[/quote]

Hope this is of some help to you. Mine's a bit lengthy too! ;D

[rach1936]

Thank you very much for the reply Hezz, this is all really helpful
It's always good to hear other peolple have experienced the same sort of things and I'm not just upsetting the birds and making lots of mistakes.
I will definitely keep trying to include Merry in the time outside of the cage with us, hopefully he will become a bit more trusting.
Thanks again!

[Hezz]

You're welcome.

[Bird Junky]

Hi Enclose a short piece from my bonding program. Hope it will be of some use to you for your 3rd problem. I agree with Hezz on
the other two...

It is just as easy to bond with several birds at the same time, as it is a single bird. The slow birds soon learn to follow the lead of their more forward flock companions. If your problem bird or birds
share cage space with other birds. It is preferable that all the birds should be treated in the same way & at the same time. Removing problem birds only unsettles them & makes things more difficult. As for the none problem birds in the cage. They will help you with the re-education of your problem birds...

BIRDS WITH A FEAR OF HANDS

These birds panic & flutter frantically about in the cage at the mere sight of a hand entering their cage. Threatening to if not actually biting . The way I have tackled this little problem for the past 50yrs or so is to set up the cage with the basic seed mix or pellets, water, iodine block & cuttlebone. Both the water & seed containers are better if they are the tube type which can be refilled without opening the cage door. This will prevent further upset to already fearful bird. The remaining foods such as, fruit/veg, hard boiled egg, millet spray etc. are to be provided in small portions as treat foods. These should be fed in small portions by you through the bars of the cage, with a pair of tweezers or chopsticks to protect your fingers.
As the bird gets used to this, very gradually over the next few days, move your fingers up & closer to the treat food as you slowly build up a bond of trust between you & the bird. If your bird shies away remove the treat food until he settle down & move your fingers further back up tweezers away from the food before you re-offer it. If a bird shows by his body language he's even thinking of biting you. Remove the treat food count to ten then & re-offer it. Do this as many times as it takes. Biting at the tweezers or sticks usually means, he doesn't like the treat or he's full up. Give him a chance to regain his appetite. You don't want a fat bird, do you? Feed only one type of treat per visit. The smaller the treat food the more often the visits. This will show the bird that your arrival, means nice things to eat. Hard boiled egg should be sliced & fed one slice per visit. Expect a few set backs. Birds like people, have good & bad days. Don't be in a hurry, only when your bird is 100% happy to eat from your fingertips through the bars for several days, is he ready to move on to the next step in your training & taming program......B.J.