Is My Budgies Behaviour Normal?

BuddhaTheBudgie · Apr 21, 2017

Hello, I have had my budgie for about 2 weeks now and after I'd say the 6th or 7th day he seems to have become more distanced and not really aggressive, but defensive of when I put my hand into his cage. Before this he was letting me pet him on the stomach and wasn't that worried when I was near his cage. I have read that this may be due to the fact he was possibly too scared to move until now. (I'll have to check and see if I can find the source for that.) Anyone have any thoughts on it? I'm just trying to make sure I didn't do anything wrong and that I can still work with him on becoming tame.

I should also add that he is about 1 month old, wasn't hand-raised, and as far as I know, nothing would have caused him to do this.

Lacewing · Apr 22, 2017

Two weeks is a very short period of time for a bird to get used to a new home and new person. Of course this bird is scared of you. Try sitting near the cage just talking and singing to this bird. OK to put you hands on the outside of the cage once in a while. It literally may take you several months to tame the budgie. There are some good videos on YouTube for you to watch. Is the budgie eating and what is it eating? Do you understand their needs? They primarily need to feel safe so no quick movements or loud sounds would be good thing. Millet is you friend and I would hold it in your hand whenever you enter the cage for cleaning. That way your budgie will know good things can be in hands.

So please do not worry because it is natural for a new budgie to be afraid of just about everything at this point in time. FYI budgies do much better when they have a budgie cage mate.

SailBoat · Apr 22, 2017

My experiences are with the larger Parrots - Amazons and handling them. What I have found that regardless the size of the Parrot. The process of developing a Bond is much the same.

Taget:

Only good things happen when Humans are around.
It is NEVER the fault of the Parrot! It is ALWAYS the fault of the Human! From this vantage point you can more quickly determine what your are doing wrong and correct it.
Parrot naturally have a fear being around Humans, you need to provide a reason for the Parrot to Trust You!

Try those for a starter and with luck a expert with your species will be long shorty!

FYI: Well its seem to have happened - good luck!

GaleriaGila · Apr 22, 2017

For such a young, new, un-hand-raised bird, he's doing wonderfully, and so are you!
Great advice above.
Good for you for reaching out for advice.

RavensGryf · Apr 22, 2017

Your bird is still so new. He is likely still "settling in" to a new home and environment. If you have enough patience and realize taming doesn't happen right away, and you put enough consistent time into it, you might find you have a wonderful companion who is bonded to you and will thrive as a single budgie.

Not all budgies 'need' another budgie companion. In some cases, a budgie can even resent a new addition.

Or, as an individual, you might indeed find that your budgie does prefer bird company over human. They're all different. Give the situation some more time, and you should start to see in some months which direction is best to go. Good luck.

Lacewing · Apr 23, 2017

One way you can tell if your bird will thrive with another budgie is to watch his actions and behavior. I could tell my Murphy was unhappy as a single bird because he did not play with toys and had little interest in eating. When I played the sounds of other budgies he came alive with joy. This behavior lasted for about one month. As soon as he saw his new friend he was a different bird.

BuddhaTheBudgie · Apr 23, 2017

Thank you all for your answers. I apologize if my post came across as ignorant I was just really concerned about his quick change in behavior. I will definitely keep all of what you guys said in mind going forward and if it turns out that he would prefer another bird over me I can totally respect that. He is a living, breathing, creature after all.

Edit:

I also do want to add that he shows little interest in his toys, but does eat a lot and seems to perk up and get excited when I sit next to his cage and read to him. I just at least want to try to get him comfortable enough with my hand so I can let him out of his cage most of the day without worry of getting him back in in case of an emergency.

Lacewing · Apr 24, 2017

Thanks Buddha for your follow up. I was wondering if you were influenced by this thread.

Is My Budgies Behaviour Normal?

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