My situation

[Emil]

Okey, I want to describe my situation. Right now I am an exchange student in America, from Germany. Many of you told me I should volunteer somewhere, to see if birds are the right pets for me. Here in my American host family I have 2 budgies which are about 6 years old and shy. Nobody tried to tame them. Now I get the opportunity to see how it is with a bird and how to care for a bird.

 

[itzjbean]

Hello Emil and welcome!

You sure are a ways from home! What a great opportunity you have in front of you. There are lots of ways to go about earning a bird's trust and taming it. It will take patience and lots of time. How long are you staying in the US? If you're committed and are staying here for a while (a few months?), I don't see why you couldn't tame these budgies in your host family.

You can use positive reinforcement to train the budgies. All that means is, rewarding them when they do something you want them to do. As in, offering a treat on the side of the cage and waiting for them to approach and take it from you. The idea is to show them that good things happen when you are around.

Be sure to check out the different sub-forums here, there's tons of information here and many experienced parrot lovers from all around the world.

 

[Emil]

Hello Emil and welcome!

You sure are a ways from home! What a great opportunity you have in front of you. There are lots of ways to go about earning a bird's trust and taming it. It will take patience and lots of time. How long are you staying in the US? If you're committed and are staying here for a while (a few months?), I don't see why you couldn't tame these budgies in your host family.

You can use positive reinforcement to train the budgies. All that means is, rewarding them when they do something you want them to do. As in, offering a treat on the side of the cage and waiting for them to approach and take it from you. The idea is to show them that good things happen when you are around.

Be sure to check out the different sub-forums here, there's tons of information here and many experienced parrot lovers from all around the world.

First of all thank you for the fast replay [emoji4]. I am gonna stay here untill end of June, so a couple months. I started trying to tame the about one week ago everyday after school. I have some treats which I hold in the cage and wait for them to eat it. One of them comes after a while and starts eating but the other doesn't. Is that the right way to start taming them? Holding a treat in the cage?

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

 

[itzjbean]

[ Is that the right way to start taming them? Holding a treat in the cage?

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

If one bird is still not too keen on approaching your hand in the cage, consider closing the cage and offering a treat through the bars. The one bird may be more comfortable this way. The idea is to work your way up to having them approach you when you put your hand in with a treat, then have them step up onto you, etc.

 

[Emil]

[ Is that the right way to start taming them? Holding a treat in the cage?

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

If one bird is still not too keen on approaching your hand in the cage, consider closing the cage and offering a treat through the bars. The one bird may be more comfortable this way. The idea is to work your way up to having them approach you when you put your hand in with a treat, then have them step up onto you, etc.

Okay thank you I will try to do it that way


Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, Emil. Very kind of you to work with the host family budgies to help tame them.

There are many techniques to help tame a bird, and they all begin with creating trust and bonding. I'd recommend reading this thread; while it was written for parrots, it will help you with budgies: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Let us know how things are going and if you have questions. Enjoy your stay in America!!

 

[SailBoat]

Thank-you for becoming a foreign exchange student. I sincerely hope that you are enjoying your host family and the school you are attending. It is not easy for German students to come to the USA since, you will have to repeat this year at your school in Germany.

As you know, EU nations will not allow you to return with a pet, but at least while you are here, you can learn important tools on working with Birds and Hook Bill Parrots.

Parrot Forums is a great source for knowledge on near all aspects of having a Parrot as part of your life. Remember that Parrot Forums is a World Wide organization and once you return to Germany, this resource will always be here to be part of your life!

Enjoy the warmth of having a Bird learn to trust you. May it inspire you all of your life!

 

[GaleriaGila]

I'm glad you're reaching out.
You definitely found a great budgie-community.
Thank you for helping these little guys have a more interesting and rewarding life!