is my taming plan good?

I have a budgie that I got few months ago and I've been trying to tame her but it's been pretty tough. I've been reading tons of guides online and it seems that I have been going too fast with her and it makes her scared. So I've been doing a lot of thinking and came up with this training regiment, and was wondering what you guys think of it. I can get her to eat millet from my hand without any issue, so using that as a starting point. Also I am cutting down to only 1 training session a day ~10 minutes; before I was doing about 3 and I think it was too much for her. Going to do a training session around 9:30 am everyday. I have been able to get her to step up many times, but she is still scared and when I tried to bring her out of the cage when she was on my finger I think that made her more scared and now she is scared to even step up.

Day 1 - (of the new regimen) - hand feed her some millet morning, afternoon, and in the evening.

Phase 1 - try to get a step up, if she acts scared then stop training for the day and just give her some millet in the late afternoon and try again the next day.

Phase 2 (whenever I get a clean confident step up) - try to slowly bring her out of the cage, if she fly's back to her perch scared, stop training for the day and hand feed some millet in the evening and try again the next day.

And of course, even though I'm gonna stop training for the day, I still have her cage in my living room and I will talk to her throughout the day.

What do you guys think of this plan? I have done a ton of research and even kept detailed notes from my own experience, and I feel like this is the best route to take.

Thanks

That is a pretty clear plan, but you say you have had her for a few months? Have you been trying to tame her from the start? An important tip for training in my experience is not to end training on a negative note. If she gets scared and you leave her alone, training will be remembered as a bad experience. Also, speak gently and stay near her cage before a session. Keep training sessions short and be precise about what you want her to do. If she understands that she should step up, then you don't need to get her out of the cage yet. Just step her up and put her down, then a treat. Do this for a few days before trying to step her up and take her out of the cage.

Kae said:

That is a pretty clear plan, but you say you have had her for a few months? Have you been trying to tame her from the start? An important tip for training in my experience is not to end training on a negative note. If she gets scared and you leave her alone, training will be remembered as a bad experience. Also, speak gently and stay near her cage before a session. Keep training sessions short and be precise about what you want her to do. If she understands that she should step up, then you don't need to get her out of the cage yet. Just step her up and put her down, then a treat. Do this for a few days before trying to step her up and take her out of the cage.

Click to expand...

no i never stopped training. its just been losing progress....i keep her cage next to my computer so she sees me and i talk to her all day. do u think my plan is good? today i just fed her millet 3 times throughout the day so tomorrow will try to step up. she seems scared of my finger when i try to get her to step up... i got her from a petstore and i hear they are really hard to tame.

so if she gets scared, what should i do?? keep trying to train or should i just stop and hang out with her for 1 minute then leave?

Your taming plan is good, but don't push her too hard. She's still getting to know you and needs to be comfortable with your presence. If she looks like she needs a break, make sure you give her some time to herself.

A thought, you aren't trying to tame her, you are trying to earn her trust!

Kae said:

Your taming plan is good, but don't push her too hard. She's still getting to know you and needs to be comfortable with your presence. If she looks like she needs a break, make sure you give her some time to herself.

Click to expand...

Right on, you said i should not end sessions on a bad note, so if she gets scared what should i do?

Flboy said:

A thought, you aren't trying to tame her, you are trying to earn her trust!

Click to expand...

You know exactly what i meant. arguing semantics is stupid as hell.

mwhitex said:

Kae said:

Your taming plan is good, but don't push her too hard. She's still getting to know you and needs to be comfortable with your presence. If she looks like she needs a break, make sure you give her some time to herself.

Click to expand...

Right on, you said i should not end sessions on a bad note, so if she gets scared what should i do?

Flboy said:

A thought, you aren't trying to tame her, you are trying to earn her trust!

Click to expand...

You know exactly what i meant. arguing semantics is stupid as hell.

Click to expand...

That attitude is not helpful. Flboy is right. It IS about earning their trust. Everything else falls into place once they trust you.

Think of it as earning the birds trust, so that means everything happens on the bird time line and when the bird is comfortable. Having a plan is great, but it really depends on how the bird feels about the situation rather than putting a deadline on it.

Ann333 said:

Think of it as earning the birds trust, so that means everything happens on the bird time line and when the bird is comfortable. Having a plan is great, but it really depends on how the bird feels about the situation rather than putting a deadline on it.

Click to expand...

right on, what should i do if she acts scared? should i stop training? cus kae said not to end it on a bad note. or should i just sit with her for 1 minute then feed her some millet and then walk away?

ive pretty much done everything every guide online suggested...left her alone first 3 days....read a whole harry potter book infront of her out loud over the course of a week...put my hand in her cage for 20 mins a day for a week...hand fed her milelt for a week...did step ups...i cant take this anymore its so frustrating!!

mwhitex said:

Kae said:

Your taming plan is good, but don't push her too hard. She's still getting to know you and needs to be comfortable with your presence. If she looks like she needs a break, make sure you give her some time to herself.

Click to expand...

Right on, you said i should not end sessions on a bad note, so if she gets scared what should i do?

Flboy said:

A thought, you aren't trying to tame her, you are trying to earn her trust!

Click to expand...

You know exactly what i meant. arguing semantics is stupid as hell.

Click to expand...

is my taming plan good?

mwhitex, this is your title? You used the word 'tame' and you asked for advice.

I'm pretty sure Flboy wasn't arguing semantics at all. Taming a bird is far different from earning a bird's trust.

Have you had a chance to read through the forum Rules and Guidelines? The links were included in your welcome message!

Yes if she gets scared then just go back to doing the last thing she was comfortable with so that you end on a happy note. Also try to keep the sessions short, like 10 minutes. Try to keep things upbeat, so if you find your self getting frustrated then stop immediately. Is she an only bird? If so then that's a good thing. Pairs of birds are less motivated to make the effort to bond to you but it can still be done. And try to also give her her space. I know it may sound counter productive to leave her alone, but if she starts to view you as a source of happiness and treats then you want that time to be special. If she is allowed to play alone she may realize that playing with you is even better... I hope that makes sense...

mwhitex said:

ive pretty much done everything every guide online suggested...left her alone first 3 days....read a whole harry potter book infront of her out loud over the course of a week...put my hand in her cage for 20 mins a day for a week...hand fed her milelt for a week...did step ups...i cant take this anymore its so frustrating!!

Click to expand...

You just have to be patient. Just because a guide on the Internet said that you need to do "phase 1" for one week and " phase 2" for one week doesn't mean that is the time line that your bird is comfortable with. Your specific bird may need more or less time to be ready to move on to the next step. Be patient. And try not to scare your bird, that sets everything back. You will have to go back and fix the damage it is like starting g all over again.

That is a nice cage she is a very lucky budgie!! It may take more time than you would like to become friends, but be patient and I promise it will eventually pay off. It could take 6 months or even longer, but it will work if you are committed to the process.

Also just a tip, so you don't get in trouble, this is a family friendly forum. You need to be careful not to use inappropriate language, okay? We are all more than happy to help you but you have to be open to opinions and critisism. Critisism is how we learn. No one is trying to put you down, we are just trying to give you different ideas to consider. No need to get so frustrated.

Ann333 said:

That is a nice cage she is a very lucky budgie!! It may take more time than you would like to become friends, but be patient and I promise it will eventually pay off. It could take 6 months or even longer, but it will work if you are committed to the process.

Click to expand...

thanks, i just feel like i had her so long and she sees me every single day and i live alone and stay home all day with her and im doing everything i can... however she IS a petstore budgie (from petsmart) and i hear petstore budgies very rarely get tamed because they are inbred and raised in terrible conditions and their brains never fully develop so they are always in a constant state of fear near humans, is that true? any of u guys have tamed petstore budgies?

My mom got a budgie from petco and I had it stepping up and eating out of my hand in two months. I stopped working with it once I got Pumpkin home. But it can be done. Some people say horrible things about pets tore birds and sometimes even breeder birds trying to convince people to adopt. Adopting is a great option, but it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your bird. The only thing wrong with you bird is that you haven't earned her trust... YET. Keep trying. Keep working with her and you will have a very smart and loving friend in a few months. Have you tried youtube? Lots of great videos where people show the process of earning their budgies trust, maybe it will inspire you!

Budgies are very smart, coming from a pets tore doesn't make your bird dumb. She may however have had a bad experience with people. Petstores are not usually very sensitive to the feelings of their $20 birds. If she did have a negative experience, then it is your responsibility to prove to her that she won't have the same experience with you. It really is about earning her trust.

Flboy said:

A thought, you aren't trying to tame her, you are trying to earn her trust!

Click to expand...

Wow, all of you, Thank you for defending my point! Well thought out responses!
As 99% of us here know, with any animal, you have to earn their trust and respect. Once there, the relationship builds!
Even with the animals I worked around while in the circus, they are never 'tame', but you were relatively safe around them. But you sure better respect their boundaries!
Circus, past life, I was an aerialist, traveled all of Canada, most of the U.S. That is why on many new welcomes, I have worked in their area-------40 plus years ago