He loves his cage....

[aaugman]

Hi everyone,

i've had my Bird for 3 weeks now, his name is Ike and hes almost 1 (has a few black spots on his head still)

Hes been very good form the day i brought him home, he wasn't hand fed but for some reason was okay with being held( for the most part) when i first try to pick him up hes squarks abit but will climb on my finger, hes sitting on my shoulder right now and seems content, but he often randomly jumps of of my finder or shoulder or where ever hes sitting and tries to get back to his cage, he obvisiouly likes being in his cage more than being out of it, i understand that he feels its a safer place but what can i do to make him want to be with me more than in his cage, am i just being impatient ? and if so what is a normal time frame for him to want to be with me. i'm also worried about him jumping off, his wings are clipped and i dont want him to hurt himself when he falls.

thanks for any help.

Mike

[Budgiekin]

I'm glad you're able to start bonding with your little guy. The key is patience. I would give you a timeframe, but depending on your budgie's disposition, it could be a matter of weeks to a matter of months. My recommendation is that you keep working with him as you are doing, but just make sure you do it for short periods of time. More frequent sessions multiple times during the day are better than fewer longer ones. Perhaps 10 minutes of training at a time 3-4 times a day would work well for your little guy.

Also, if you find that your little guy Ike just wants to go back to his cage all the time when you have him out, consider hiding his cage in another room where he can't see it. Only do this for short times in the beginning as that is one of the places he feels most secure. Read Ike's body language. If he seems agitated without his cage, then bring it back into the room and let him go back in.

As far as the wing clipping goes, a proper wing clip will allow your budgie to fly from just about any height and land safely. Budgies should not flop to the ground because of a wing clip. That is unsafe. They should be able to glide. If it is the case that he IS flopping to the ground, too many of the flight feathers were clipped and that should be noted for the next time if you decide to get him clipped again. Different budgies require a different number of flight feathers to be clipped, depending on how strong a flier he is.

Good luck and let us know how he is doing!! :D

[aaugman]

Thanks for your quick response, I think you are right about the time, it has only been 3 weeks and i guess hes getting better and better. its funny he has no desire to be out of the cage, when i'm in the room i leave his cage open and hes never tried to come out, i figure by leaving it open he'll become more confortable outside the cage.

as far as his wings go what you said makes alot of sense, hopefully as they grow out it'll be a little safer for him. Do you feel i should get his winged clipped even when he is tame? and if i should get them clipped should i learn to do it myself or have a pro do it ? if a pro does it and he doesn't like having it done is it better for someone else to do it ?

[Bea]

I clip once for taming and then not again (unless i could see they were in danger being able to fly - then i would). If you plan to continue re-clipping find someone to show you how to do it. It's very easy to do once you've been shown how and you'll be needing to clip quite often to keep his flight feathers away. Clipping at home would be less stressful than having to drive to a vet/breeder/store to get it done by a complete stranger.

[aaugman]

dont u think if he get scared of me if i do it, it loose the trust and bond i've spent so much time getting ? and i would like him to travel with me, at least to work and home, would he have the desire to fly away if we go outside ?

[redgirl]

No idea, bea will know xx