Have I screwed up?

[Laughing Cheese]

Ok, so, like I've said, I've had my budgies for about 3 years; and I've never really taken the time to train them I guess....

I just read in the FAQ that you're not suppose to grab them....well, I do :D

I guess I should stop grabbing them :p


Mom doesn't want us to trim their wings (forgot what it's called now) because she doesn't like to see them plopping all over the place :p


Is it too late to start over or what?


We got them at the same time and never quarentined, but they turned out okay luckily :D


And I guess they're both male since their cere is blue.



So, can I start over or what?:S

[BUUZBEE]

what do you mean GRAB THEM??? :eek:

[Joey]

I'm not that good about training but maybe some other members could help,lots of members have budgies That are tame.If thier Ceres are both blue than they are male.Well clipping their wings makes training easier and they dint get into accidents like flying away hitting windows and walls all sorts of objects...Im not against it but lots of people are I was until my budgie flew away now I clip every birds wings.

[Alfie]

do the birds mind being 'grabbed' cause my Alfie dont seem to mind it. I have to grab him sometimes to get him back in the cage. As for training, its never to late. I helped my mate tame his budgie which was over a year old. Just try hand taming with millet first to get him used to your hand. If they hate being grabbed i would stop doing that as you need them to gain trust in your hand.

[jayjay]

this will be hard for you i'll admit. but its do-able. it all depends on how much you want it to happen. so here goes.

well the first thing you should do is get them to trust your hand and grabbing is not going to help that one bit. if they are scared of your hand grabbing them, it may take a while to tame that, but rest assured that you can still tame them, it will just take longer.

first off, i would go ahead and consider clipping the wings; it doesn't have to be right away, but soon. what is more important now is getting them calm in the face of your hand coming close to them. do this by hand feeding them. feed them with your hand from as close as they will let you. a piece of millet spray works well because you can start off by letting them eat from the tip and as they are busy eating, slowly moving closer and closer with your hand until they are eating almost at your fingertips where you are holding the millet.

do this for a while and when you feel they dont flee from your hand, slowly hold a small piece of millet in one hand just out of reach of them and slowly bring your other hand in front of their body. with a little luck and encouragement, they might just step onto your finger and eat. if this is the case, continue this until they do it without much trouble or effort. then you can try without the food at all. if they really dont like your hand, a dowel will work better to start with. just get a clean piece of stick or a pen even if you dont have a dowel. i trained jay with a dowel prior to my finger.

ok, now once you feel you can get them to step up on command, either on a dowel or your finger , you can feel free to try to train them outside of the cage. but you really need to get their wings clipped to make this process go easier. i say this for one reason only - budgies like high places and will fly where ever they can that is high. this makes them feel safe so if they can do it already, they dont need you for anything really. but if they have their wings clipped, they will feel uneasy about running around on the floor and will look for you to help them get to high places.

dont ever chase your budgie. grabbing and chasing are ways to really freak them out and lose their trust. get them to come to you by playing with their favorite toy or something. jay runs to me whenever i spin his wooden top (great investment at only 1.50$). be vocal and show that you arent trying to sneak up on them and always use the step up command. the moment they do step up, slowly raise them higher and higher. try to get them onto your shoulder and just sit down for a while. you'll find that once they are on your shoulder, the hard thing will be to get them down. once jay gets on, he doesnt come off my shoulder until he wants to or i really make him hahah. its cute how he runs back and forth behind my neck when i try to get him to step up on my hand.

if your bird jumps down (don't worry, he wont hurt himself no matter how high if the wings are properly clipped as he will glide down) then repeat the step up and slowly raise him again. eventually, he'll learn you get him to his comfort zone and from there, you have to find ways to bond. play games, read, watch movies (my favorite activity with my budgies as it requires little effort from me when im tired haha) or whatever.

again this all takes time, and it could take months. i dont believe any bird is untameable. i believe people simply give up too early. it may take 2 months to a year, but if you persist, they will come around. its all up to you really. conisdering that you have two birds who have bonded, it will be hard to push in between them to be accepted in their flock, but it will be worth it. the small progress you see will just encourage you to continue to try to train them. and never let those days when they seem to regress. sometimes , they will simply not seem tameable, but come a few hours or the next day, they are eager for you again. just keep at it. good luck.

[Alfie]

Yo JayJay are your birds wings clipped its just that one of my other mates owns a budgie. Its quite young (bout 3 months) and will sit on your finger and shoulder but always flys off after a minute or so and is scared of everything. It wont even go on his gym. I suggested to my mate to clip his budgies wings. Do you think this will sort out the problems as he wont be able to fly so well?

[Joey]

You should never clip that young problems could happen later in life like not being able to fly permanently I dint know if this is true but this is what I heard...:rolleyes:

[jayjay]

i believe that its really all a myth. way back when (my first two budgies may they RIP) had their wings clipped when they were very young and could fly just fine when i did finally let them grow back after many years being clipped.

in response to alfie, wing clipping MIGHT help, but theres no telling for sure. all budgies are different after all. what is your friend trying when he puts his budgie on his shoulders? does he move around a lot or does he try to stay perfectly still? is he on the floor sitting or on a chair?

i would say that the best thing to do is to not simply put his budgie on the shoulder but to sit up on a chair as well. this will help make the budgie feel more comfortable being so high off the ground. its best not to move around too much either when first training to stay on the shoulder. get the budgie to feel at ease with the shoulder. when i first got jay up there, he would stay for a few seconds and jump down to my desk when i moved around too much. so i just sat somewhat still as i browsed the net and watched a bit of a movie. i would turn to him on occasion or move my head so that it would come into contact with him; usually he would react to this by cuddling more closely to my neck and face or lick my face or ears (whatever happened to get close to him). after about 30 mins, i would try to get up. if he wasnt started by this, i would try to take a few steps. if he seemed un easy, i would simply sit back down for a bit. i didnt try to do too much the first day.

by day two, i was able to walk around the house with jay quite comfortable on my shoulder. i even walked outside (his wings are clipped so i wasnt worried about bringing him to the backyard, but i wouldnt recommend doing that for an unclipped bird). what is important is to sense how your budgie is feeling. if he seems ok, then try to do more, if he begins to get nervous, slow it back down until he's more comfortable.

you also mentoin that he is scared of everything, what exactly does that mean? is he comfortable with being on the finger and just perching there for extended periods? if not, then that is the first thing your friend should do. jay will stay on my finger for extended amounts of time and will preen himself sometimes until i put him down. if your friends budgie wont stay on his finger, get to that level of hand tameness before going for the shoulder.

good luck

[Alfie]

Yea he will sit on your hand and shoulder quite comfortably now. He likes it when you whistle at him while he's on your shoulder. The main thing is that he wont go on his gym. Tried sitting there for a long time with it in front of him but he gets scared when you go to close and flies off. Ive even had Alfie round and he's sat on it but Kio (friends bird) will just sit on the top of his cage lokking at him.

Thanks for replying JayJay

[Lace]

well, taming is always doable.... but it depends how much you are willing to work for it. if your not willing to be patient and do alot, then most likly no. But if you are, then yes, they are tamable.
Clipping wings are best for taming. I know your mom doesn't like it, but like Joey, i too never clipped my first budgies wings cus i thought it as cruel, till she flew away.... Plus, flying around can cause them to hurt themselves more then just walking. If you clip them right, they can glide, so if they do try to fly, they wont just fall.
start out slow with training, get them used to your hand and such. but DO NOT grab them. Its critical not ot do this till after they are tamed, that will only scare them. I can grab Akita, but only cus she is tame. She doesnt bite more or anything, cus she trusts me and such. Starts out slow, get them used to you. Then, try to get them to sit on your finger and such. Millet training helps alot too. Dont give them any millet, only offer it by making it so that they have to get on your hand or arm to get to it. This will help them trust you better. Slowly and gradually and in time, they should become tamer. Though, its very hard to tame several brids at once, so you will have alot of work to do. Good luck dear.