Doesn't love me out of NOWHERE!

[shazz]

I got my first and only parakeet 2 weeks ago and she was obsessed with being with me. I kept her out of the cage and on my shoulder every minute i was home. i try to be home as much as possible but like everyone, i'm gone all day working. i take her out while i get ready for work and i have her out the rest of the night when i am home. 2 weeks into it, she became a completly different bird. she doesn't want to come out and when i take her out, she just fly back to her cage. just tonight, i took her out with little problems (and by the way, i NEVER grab). she flew back to the cage so i kept her there for an hour to let her cool off. now i take her out and she is bitting and flying away from me. i couldn't believe how tamed she was within a day of getting her but now we are becoming strangers within minutes. what happened?!?! i don't have another bird, so she's not getting attention from there. i'm wondering, if she became comfortable with her cage since i'm gone all day? were these 2 weeks just a dream and now i have to spend 6 months training her, little by little? help!

[jonathanH]

she might be moulting usually when they molt this is what happens. When i found my first budgie he always liked being with me then i baught a female and things changed he didnt even want me to touch him anymore. Just give her time and thing will get better Good Luck!!! keep us posted

[Donna]

Welcome Shazz, to the Talk Budgies Forum. It is so good to have you join us.

Congratulations on being a first time Budgie owner. I'm glad you started out by having a lot of good days with your Budgie. That is a great sign that things will probably improve for you. I can relate to your frustration because I have a new Budgie (and have had her for a couple of months) and she seemed very tame when I first brought her home from the store. I think she was so young that she didn't know what it was to be scared of anyone. Scooter has always come to me pretty easily, but now she has her moments where I have to corner her in the cage so that I can pick her up. She was so quiet and sweet the first month or so, and she would let me do anything with her. Now, in the past couple of weeks, she has started biting me (almost every time I reach for her) and she also squawks every time I move my hand towards her or by her. It breaks my heart because she has been so perfect, and now she's getting very moody.

I think the key to success, is to just do what you are doing now. If you continue to work with her on a daily basis, she will probably come out of this. My Budgie was in her cage a lot and I think she got used to it and felt safe there. She loves to be out with me, but she also loves to be in her comfortable cage where she feels safe and secure.

I am quickly finding out that Budgies have their moods. Niblet, (another Budgie of mine) has always been a talker, but now he squawks and goes nuts most of the time. I have no idea why things have changed, but they have. It doesn't matter if Niblet is in the cage or out, he has become very loud and goes nuts, squawking, most of the time!!!! :S :S :S I keep hoping that he's just having a bad day, but I doubt it. It has gone on too long. Today was almost unbearable because Niblet would not quiet down. :eek: I am wondering if he can't handle the fact that I've bought 2 more Budgies, and he can hear them in the other room. I think it makes him crazy because he wants them to know that he's in charge and he doesn't want intruders? :rolleyes:

I agree with jonathanH, in that perhaps it is moulting season for your Budgie. If so, things will improve for you, soon. My Budgie Scooter, ( the one that bites) is a female (I think) and maybe she is about to go through moulting, also. Let's hope that's all this is . . .

Just keep trying to work with your Budgie each day, and I'm sure you'll see a break-through.

Donna

[tootsie]

hey shazz... dont worry. im new too. ive had my tootsie for 4 days now and i'm still grabbing her (softly though :) there are times when she would just step up to my finger and there are time when i have to stroke her belly to hint to her to step up. i heard that the oldest trick in the book is to just keep putting your hand in and out first to change water or replace food ... dont touch her too much ... then when she's used to that... start stoking once a while... then hopfully she will gain trust and understand that your hand is friendly and harmless. good luck .. lets be patient together! :)

[redgirl]

Hell oand welcome sweetie, my Skyla did this one night and it was because she wasn't getting enough sleep, after that she has been fine so maybe this could be the cause. Just keep trying all the time sweetie and dont give up, she will soon go back to normal, she may even be playing with you. xxx

[Donna]

Redgirl, I think you are right about the sleep situation. My Budgie that keeps biting me is being housed in the restroom of our house. (Don't laugh! I know that's an odd place to keep my Budgie.) That's the only place I could keep her (up till now) because my newest Budgie was in quarantine in my bedroom, and my other 3 Budgies were in the remaining room. Anway, my husband and I are in and out of the restroom throughout the evening and middle of the night (and I have music playing very softly for Scooter) but I don't think she is sleeping enough because every time I go in the room, she is walking around in the cage. Lately she hasn't liked having her cage covered and there is a night light on all of the time. So I bet she isn't sleeping enough. I thought about that a couple of days ago and now that you've mentioned it, I think that may be the problem. Now I need to get her where it's quiet and dark, and see if that makes the difference.

Donna

[shazz]

hey thanks for everyones help...and mostly support. i actually got her out today and walked her into a different room, away from her cage. i pet her a whole bunch and talked to her. she loves it. so i hope this is a good sign. she sings to me a lot too. she actually likes me, just hates being out of her cage. thanks again for your replies.

[redgirl]

Your welcome sweetie, also my Skyla sometimes bites if I put her back in her cage, she gets annoyed with me because she loves been out of her cage lol x