Sky's Training Journal

[bask234]

Working on retaming a 7 year old male budgie :)

Day 1-3: First few days I just kept my hand in the cage trying not to move it and spoke to him quite often.

Day 4: I moved my hand closer to him and he would peck me like crazy and then stop and relax a bit. I kept trying this and he acually stopped pecking. In the evening I had the top of his cage open and he was in my bedroom with the door closed and draps closed. I was talking on the phone and leaning back in my chair and fell backwards off my chair. :o I think he was startaled and flu out of the cage into my drape and landed inbetween my bed and the drape. I totally forgot about that having a space and being a hazard. :( He was down there in the dark and I paniced scared he'd be hurt so grabed a stick and lowered it down there and felt him hop on to it. I brought him up and sat him on my lap. He pecked at my pants a bit and walked around. I put my flat palm near his belly and he hopped onto my hand while pecking me. I was glad he was on my hand and wasnt harmed. I wasnt sure if he was scared. I put him back on his perch in his cage and spoke to him softly to calm him down.

Day 5: In the morning I visited him and spoke to him. placed my hand in his cage and he didnt peck at me. I went out to the store and picked up some millet. I put some millet into his cage holding on to it on the other end and he came and was eating it. I slowly put my hand closer to him untell I was pretty close. I took my hand out and later tryed again putting my hand even closer tell it was beside his head. He pecked at my fingers a little bit but still ate the millet. I did this threw out the day and he was getting more use to my hand. Then I tryed having an open palm a few times and he seemed ok. Ate the millet and nibbled on my fingers every now and then. Then I started pulling the mllet out so he would have to come closer for it. The highlight of the entire day was him stepping on the millet that was on my hand just to get more. :D I was so happy and excited how far he's come in such a short amount of time. At night I tryed giving him a little more but he wasnt hungary and didnt go for it at all. I think he's tired so I'm done for the night and going to let him sleep.

I really hope I'm doing ok and hope I havnt shocked him >.< from day 4. Advise would be awsome! thanks :budgie:

[alita]

You seem to be doing great! I am gonna read your diary , because i want to get a budgie next month! im so excited! keep telling us!

[bask234]

Day 6: So this morning I started with more millet training. I had the success of getting him to step onto the millet to reach farther to get some more. later on I took him into the bathroom opened the top of his cage and read some Harry Potter to him (I've done this previously as well) He comes up to the closest part of the cage and just sits on his perch to listen the entire time haha. Then later on in the afternoon I tried feeding him some more millet and He actually put one foot on my finger to get it. Once in a while he nibbles my finger to see if its safe. Later around 5 pm I tried some more and really made him come close for the millet. At first he pecked furiously at my fingers and then jumped on and jumped off to run away rofl. He did the same thing again before eventually coming onto my fingers with both feet and eating millet out of my hand. :D

Really good progress but by around 9 pm I cant do anything with him because he's tired. :p

[helloyo53]

Sounds like you are really getting far with him. Good job! Which Harry Potter book were you reading to him? :p

[bask234]

Sounds like you are really getting far with him. Good job! Which Harry Potter book were you reading to him? :p

The 7th one, haha. I just started reading it and now i cant stop :p

[bask234]

Day 7: I hope I'm not over feeding him millet. Today he didn't seem all that interested in the millet however he still kept putting one foot on my hand to reach to get more millet until I pulled it a little farther from him and He went on my hand once with both feet for some. other times I tried he wasn't very interested. Around 3pm instead of putting millet in I placed my hand in to see if he would let me pet him. He didn't seem to want to sit still haha. He jumped on to my hand and pecked/nibbled at my fingers to see if it was safe. I want him to learn the commands up and down. So I told him that when I wanted him down and when I wanted him up. If I keep trying that hopefully he'll start understanding. So the success of today was that he jumped onto my hand a few times but still pecked/nibbled at me while he was on my hand :S Shows that he isn't very afraid of me anymore!

[bask234]

Day 8: So today was a slightly more busy day for me, however I still did my regular things with Sky. I fed him millet and today he was a whole lot more interested. He started with one foot on my hand and i pulled it back from him and he went and jumped on my hand for it. He did this again several times in the day =]. I tryed to pet him and he still doesn't seem to want me too, he rather go on my hand and nibble at me. I had a lot less pecking today which was nice for my hands sake haha. I still got a few pets on him though :) . So, he seems amused to go on my hand and see what its all about and he isn't sacred from it but I'm still aiming for him to stop the pecking all together. I attempted opening his cage and held the millet to have him fly to my hand but he really didn't care for it. until tomorrow cya~

[i love Budgie]

making good progress. He sounds beautiful and hope he stops pecking at you :D

[bask234]

Day 9-10: Had Sky jump onto my hand no problem while using millet. Placed my hand in the cage several times and he would hop on to my hand by himself when I brought it close. He doesn't seem to like my thumb or the top skin of my hand =/ He really liked to peck it and now I have scabs lol :(

Day 11: Today I brought Sky into the bathroom again and opened the cage I tried a little more advanced millet training. He loved the millet but didn't seem to like my hand in the new position. I tried to have him hop on to my hand to get millet that was up high instead of right on my hand. (Tried to have him come farther into my hand; in the middle of my palm.) So, he didn't really go for any of that, I don't know if I was approaching him wrong or something. After that I put out my hand to have him go onto my fingers and he flew out of the cage and went onto the floor. I sat on the floor and let him relax as I watched him and gave attempts to pet him. (He still doesn't like that. I put my finger really close beside him and if he doesn't move I get one pet but usually he lightly pecks my finger and puts a foot on it and doesn't let my finger go haha. I cant tell if he's just trying to keep my finger down and away from him though.) Also something i was very curious about was that when he was out of his cage it seemed as if he was breathing heavily. When he breathed he would sorta open his mouth. I'm sacred He's hurt or maybe it was normal? I heard if budgies are sick or hurt they hold up and tell they cant anymore. I continually watched him and he stretched and cleaned him self as if there was northing wrong. Again he's seven yrs old. I was in the bathroom with him for about 40 minutes.

Suggestions and help would be great. I don't know if I should be doing something else, trying a new tactic or just continue with what I'm doing. Thanks