is it still early days

[appyarry]

hi all,
got charlie chalk last saturday, he has been hand reared, he will sit on my finger and has stopped running around the cage. he attempts to get back to his cage if its in site. he still seems nervous, does not move around alot in his cage, although is eating and drinking, he crunches seed in his mouth while sat on his perch. do you think he is ok?

cheers

[clifff123]

Hi appyarry, thats normal behavior. He has to get use to his new cage, environment, surrounding and you. To make it easier make sure the back of the cage is against a wall or covered up so he will feel safe and secure. In time he will bond with you without being scared of everything. They also don't like it being quiet, play radio or TV, especially when your not there with him. Talk quietly and move very slow while around him
Good luck and be patient

[Budgieloveee]

Yep! He is acting normally for a budgie that was just brought to your home a week ago. :) Like Cliff said, be sure to cover his cage at night and have him in a quiet, warm room to help him adjust to the new environment. :) In a couple of weeks, he should be comfortable and you can start properly training him to step-up and come out of the cage. :)

Hope this helps! It took my budgies a good month before I could start training and interacting with them. They were skittish at first, but with patience, love, and perseverance, you two will be bonded soon. ;)

[chibudge]

He sounds normal. If he is sitting on your finger it is a good start. Rather than taking him out of the cage a lot, I would work on just getting him comfortable on your hands in the cage. Let him crawl around on them, give him millet, try fingers, palms, knuckles, the back of the hand.

Move your hand around the cage while he is on it, and slowly work your way so that he is nearly out of the cage while perched. You should be able to get him to walk up your arm a little if you lure him with millet. He will probably jump off your hand dozens or hundreds of times when you try and move him out of the cage. Slowly he will get more comfortable with the idea of being out.

Out of cage time is a lot less stressful for both of you if you wait until he is ready. It took a month for my hand raised baby to sit in the open cage entrance, and another week before he consistently wandered out on his own. He still tends to only spend time in "safe" spaces: on his cage, under the coffee table, and in a fake tree.

Just be patient and spend lots of time with him and he will warm up.

[louara]

Great advice from everyone-patience patience patience.