My Budgie Won't become Tamed (Verge of Giving Up)

[Kokopan]

I bought a budgie about 2 months ago. He is about 6 months old and I have spent a lot of time trying to tame him. I searched everywhere online and followed the steps but he won't become tamed! I bought him from a petstore so I know it would be hard to tame. They told me it would take about a week to tame him. He takes food from my hand and can go on my finger, but he is always scared. He is timid and shy but he doesn't bite. My mom told me by now it would be impossible to tame him unless a miracle happens. I don't know what to do and I feel like giving up (selling him). Can anyone please help me or give advice?

 

[SilverSage]

It can take many months to tame a budgie. You need to be patient and keep working. The pet store worker lied or didn't know what they were talking about and your mother is also misinformed. It sounds like the bird is making huge steps. Think about it like this: how long would a shark have to be nice to you before you were not afraid of it? Or a grizzly bear? Keep this in mind and be patient with your bird. 2 months is a very short time.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Just my 2 cents, but 2 months is not a lot of time for taming any bird.

Think about the life he has had up to this point...probably came from a breeder who didn't handle the babies..then off to a pet store where he wasn't handled...then to your house where for the first time in his short life someone is wanting to handle him.

The person at the pet store should have never told you it would only take a week to tame any bird, even an already tame bird will take time to adjust to new people and surrounding. They say things like that to make the sale, and it's WRONG of them!

Years ago (like 30) when I got my first parakeet he had been raised by a birdstore owner who spent a lot of time with her birds and tried to have them at least a little tame before selling them. He still took months and months to get confident and build his trust with me.

He bit, drew blood, flew away every chance he got. I had to wait hours for him to go back in his cage on his own so I could shut the door because I couldn't catch him to put him in!

He eventually got his confidence and came to trust me...then watch out! He wouldn't leave me alone. If I was home he was on me, on my shoulder, in my hair, on my head, into everything I was trying to do.

He was a super awesome bird once he learned I wasn't going to bite his head off and I did "cool" stuff he could "help" with.

Look at it this way, would you get rid of a puppy if it wasn't trained in 2 months? Or a kitten?

Birds, in my experience, take so much more patients than any other animal I have had.

In my opinion your mother is wrong, the bird hasn't had enough time to get comfortable with you and he has not had the time to build up his confidence in you.

Maybe try having him out in the room with you, but not focusing your attention all on him. Have some of his favorite treats by you so he can see them, but don't approach him, let him come to you. Concentrate the majority of your attention on reading a book, or drawing/writing, something that keeps you focused, talk softly to him once in awhile and make sure he knows you have his treats. He may not come to you for the treats the first time, but eventually he will. As his confidence builds he will want to be with you more and more.

Good luck and I hope you don't give up on him too soon.

 

[Kokopan]

Thank you guys for the advice! So I plan on taking him to the bathroom to tame him, is it ok if I grab him with a towel to get him out? He doesn't come out when I try to use my finger. Or is it better for him to be out in the room he's used to?

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

If it was me I would keep him in a room he is used to being in, as long as it's safe for him...no cats/dogs, open windows, doors are closed, candles, etc...

Bathrooms have mirrors. Parakeets/budgies LOVE LOVE LOVE mirrors. If he has a mirror on one of his toys take it away!

If he has a mirror he will bond with/want to be with the "bird" in the mirror! Think of it this way...Why would he want to be with you (the giant scary person) if he has a "friend" of his own kind right there in the mirror?

It might also help if you take him in and have his wings clipped so he can't fly very far. It's usually a nominal fee from a vet or reputable bird store (NOT the pet store)

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Kokopan]

Oh yeah, he does have a mirror in his cage! He uses it to sleep on top of it, that's his comfortable spot. But lately he talks to it sometimes. His wings are clipped so he's good to go! I'll take out the mirror and give it a try!

 

[SilverSage]

Yes remove the mirror he can sleep on a perch no problem. I do not suggest grabbing him for any reason other than imminant doom. Unless his life is in danger do not grab him for any reason, that only breaks his trust in you. Again, you have to be patient. Let him out of his cage in the room he lives in. If he doesn't want to come out don't force him. Have you begun target training him at all? I am in no way endorsing birdtricks.com, but they have some decent videos of taming through target training that you could look up. Do your best to avoid anything that scares your bird, resist the temptation to grab him. If you feel it is super important to take him in the bathroom for some reason (why?) then take his whole cage in there and remove the top rather than scaring him by grabbing. Think about it, a wild budgie who gets grabbed gets eaten. If a bear carried you off somewhere you would not get tamer, would you? I keep going back to bears and sharks becuSe they are things that can eat us. To wild birds, that is all you are until you prove otherwise and gain trust. Don't ruin the trust by grabbing

 

[kalypso123]

I have noticed that budgies tame very well. Though it does take lots of time. I suggest leaving his cage door and/or top open and see if he will come out on his own. You did say he will take treats from you so target training would do him good. You can target train in his cage if he wont come out.

 

[Kokopan]

Ok, thank you. So I just started target training and will continue it for a while. So target training first, then get the bird out of the cage? I always thought it would be easier to get the bird out and let it get used to you. After it gets better at it, do you lure it out using the target trick?

 

[reboot]

You just need to be patient your bird would first take time to gain full trust and then he will do things the way you want him to do... First time i did a lot of big mistakes due to which i lost my ringneck... Its not you who chooses the bird its the bird who chooses you to trust you or not and gaining the complete trust can take time.. budd.. best of luck..

 

[kalypso123]

Once your bird is very comfortable with target training you can use the target it to get your budgie(or any bird) out of the cage. Target training is a must with any bird and recall training.

 

[HeyHey]

It does take time. Just like you my bird was also from pet store and just like you I was frustrated because he did not like me in the beginning. It took me about 4 months (everyone is different). If he is eating from your hand that is a good sign. From the beginning I did let him out of his cage and he would climb up his cage and stare at me. Orginally I trained his to step up using a pen but know I bring my finger next to him and he will step up. So if he is still scared try using a pen.

 

[RavensGryf]

Also, on the flipside - sometimes you will find a rare budgie that just PREFERS to be more of a "bird's bird" rather than a handleable pet. There was also a post not long ago between Timothy and I, and he mentioned he hand fed budgies, and nonetheless, one just always preferred to not be handled. Just like my Twigs.

Twigs and his late friend Pix were purchased at the same time. With consistent handling, Pix became hand tame over a period of months. Twigs remained wildish despite the same "upbringing" and environment. Even after they were in separate cages. The two personalities we're markedly different from the beginning.

Now, Pix has passed on, and Twigs lives in the room with the parrots. He had been persistent with the parrots for weeks - asking them to please be his friend and accept him into the "guys club" lol. They're not his best friend, but they have for the most part accepted the little guy being on the cage and toys and siting with them. I can tell that Twigs really enjoys his time out at Raven's cage and at the playground and just being around the bigger birds pretending he's one of them.

Anyway, my point - Twigs is TAME. He will hop on my finger to come out of his cage. He knows the command "in" to fly back into his cage. He looks and listens to me when I talk with him with his expressions and body language just like any bird does when it's tame. It's just that he CHOOSES not to bond to a human. He clearly prefers the company of other birds.

I still love Twigs, and he's a wonderful little pet regardless of whether he and I are bonded. I believe he's a happy bird, and I respect HIS decision about it and don't force myself upon him. He's happy and that's what matters. He's adorable, entertaining, and he's funny to watch. Just a viewpoint to remember

Also, as others have said, if he will eventually tame, it does take a considerable amount of time even for a Budgie which is a species known to tame rather quickly.

 

[Kokopan]

I'm in the process of teaching him target training although he does move much unless its right in front of him! Thank you everyone for the advice and tips!!!

 

[SoCalWendy]

Using a towel will not tame him. He will only see you as a predator. You need to go at his pace and 2 months is not long enough. Look at it from the birds point of view. If you approach and force yourself on him he will never learn to trust you. You need to respect your bird, and his personal space. Don't chase him or grab him. Sit quietly, and speak softly to him. If you approach and he moves away, that is a clear indication he wants to be left alone. Try again later. Look for clues as to his favorite foods, seeds, veggies, fruit etc. withhold these and use them to for training only. If you respect him and take it very slow, eventually he will come around. Meanwhile, sing to him, whistle, teach him what you can and don't worry about what you can not do at the moment.

 

[Taw5106]

Lots of patience, persistence and no mirrors otherwise he'll want to talk to the sexy bird in the mirror, lol.