Re-training Bob - with pics - (7-8 year old budgie)

[LouLou]

I got Bob, my female budgie about 6 months after getting my male, who is now being watched over by the gnome in the garden.

Sky was easily trained as a baby, but when i got Bob, she didn't want to know because she already had a friend. Of course she was quarantined in my room upstairs when Sky was already in a bigger cage downstairs. It was supposed to be for a month, but then someone left doors open and i found her in his cage with him :o (the hussy, lol!)

Anyhoo, fast forward about 7-8 years and now i have an untame budgie in a big cage all by herself. Here's how our session went today. I missed getting a picture at the beginning, where for the first 3/4 of an hour she clung to the opposite side of the cage, glaring at me with mistrust. The point of today was to get her used to my hands and to know that Lou = Tasty millet. The cage looks a bit bare because i took most of the toys out before i started (They're now back in)

Pics will be coming shortly, currently making them a decent size on photobucket =/

[LouLou]

(Captions below pic)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010336.jpg
Is that a hand i see, in MY cage?! :eek:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010338.jpg
Oh my, it's coming closer... Wait... is that millet?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010351.jpg
I like millet...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010339.jpg
Wait, are you moving it away?! (At this point i had had my hand in the cage for nearly half an hour and was getting serious cramp, so moved to more comfortable position at opposite side of cage, and she followed.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010347.jpg
Ok, I know it's there.... yummy... but there's a big scary hand there too. (She was thinking about it, and inching towards me, very slowly.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010343.jpg
Ok, i'm gonna go for it...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010346.jpg
If i just stretch a LITTLE bit more...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/cndleseller/Pets/11112010345.jpg
NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM (It had taken about an hour to get this far, and she has NEVER eaten from my hand before)

After these pics were taken, i moved the millet fully onto my hand so that she would have to step on me to get to it. She didn't fall for it, because her distrust outweighed the fact that there was more millet. The next step, when she's completely comfortable with me being in her cage, is to learn her to "step up".

[Cheeno]

Cool pictures. Nice bird! Stick with it and you'll get the results you deserve. Don't forget to keep us up to date.:)

[Spike&Fluffy]

Nice keep going like that and she will start chirping on your shoulder. :budgie: :budgie2: ..

[LouLou]

Here's hoping! I just hope it's not too late. She's a pretty intelligent and curious bird really, it's just that she's never really spent any time around me other than being in the room and seeing Sky sitting on my shoulder and stuff. She was never really brave enough to do that.

She only ever flew directly to me once, and that was when my idiotic brother thought it would be fun to let my birds out the back door. Luckily they were more scared of the outside than happy about it and flew straight back to me when i ran out after them. (Ooh i nearly had a heart attack!)

Gonna let her out for a fly around now before bed, and see what she does. She still looks round to see if Sky is following her, bless her :P

[LouLou]

Day 2 - Tried again for while today. We had much the same result, just a bit faster than yesterday. She didn't seem to mind my hand being in the cage quite as much, but was still a bit skittery. Took about 20 mins today for her to take a nibble.

Mind you, it's much later today as i've been working, so it's possible she's tired.

[ronsig]

That sounds good already.
She is scared because her partner disappeared.
My budgies are older rescues. Snoopy was so traumatized, it took me 3 years to convince her I wasn't going to eat her.

It is never too late. Birds have to learn in the wild as long as they live, and they can do it in captivity too.:)

Sigrid

[i♥mybudgies]

Sounds like your doing a great job! :D

[LouLou]

Some small progress today!

Instead of standing as far away as possible and stretching towards the millet, she stood right next to my hand. (My hand was next to the perch). I gradually moved the millet away from her and she followed to a certain point, stopping short of getting onto my hand to get it.

I took some pics, but going to have another little session later and see what happens, and then i'll post them.

She's currently running around the cage and playing with her toys, stopping to have a little dance every now and then <3