How long should a budgie be shut in the cage

[AndyTDI]

Hi All

We got a budgie from a large pet shop in Northampton, and brought him home along with a new cage and some toys. Now I expected him to be scared for a while but it's over a week now and he is still afraid.
OK I can put my hand in to the cage and he does not fly around like a loon, but if I put my hand any where near him he will do anything in his power to get away from it.

So far he has only eaten Millet and not touched his seed bowls, I have tried other things, apple, grape and green leaves but he does not touch them.


My main question is, after reading various instructions on how to tame your budgie they all seem to say you should not let your budgie out of the cage until he will sit on your hand:(

How long can you keep a budgie in it's cage without it being cruel. I have let him out twice this week but he just flies up on to the curtain rail then does not move, oh and it takes about an hour to get him back in his cage.


Should I really keep him locked up until he will sit on my hand? This could be weeks.


Any advice you can offer would be very much appreciated.

Thanks


Andy

[Budgie_Birthday]

What your doing is fantastic. Graduallly let him out more times a week. and when you put him back in his cage, don't do it instantly, Rest him on your finger, hand, or arm. He will fly off, but gradually he stays on longer and longer.

[Bea]

Have you considered getting his wings clipped for taming? I think it really speeds up the bonding process and you won't have the problem of not being able to let him out. :) You can let the flights grow back after taming. :D

[AndyTDI]

The problem I have with letting him out is he is still very scared of me, so will not come to me or land on my hand. If I go near him when he is out of the cage he just flies to the other side of the room.

The only way I can get him back in the cage is when he lands on some ornamental flowers on top of our book shelf, so I pick up the flowers and sometimes he will stay on so I can push him back into the cage:( .

Should I keep him locked in his cage until he will stand on my hand????

Even if this is weeks because he still won't come near me yet.


Thanks


Andy

[bluebird]

Andy is there any way you can attach a perch to the cage near the opening so he can land on it & find his own way in ? As for him not eating seed are you giving him millet everyday ? use the millet as a treat & a training aid, hold the millet on your hand with it inside the cage i guarantee he will hop onto youre hand within a few days when hes confident enough ( ive just done this with 2 budgies ) put the seed in a coupel of pots & in different places in the cage he will eat it im sure, have you tried Trill ? its not exspensive.
As for greens you could put a few leaves in a bowl with a little water,he may well peck at them & have a splash at the sametime.As for letting him out try for a few days with the millet on youre hand & see how it goes,let him gain some confidence,he may be getting stressed when youre trying to return him to his cage. A weeks not very long,be patient. Andy do you know how old the budgie is ? does he have stripes on his forehead ? this will help to determine how old he is ?

[rude-girl]

well wen i went the pet shop i ad 2 keep my bird covered up 4 2 days 2 keep him calm and den i was aloud 2 put my hand in his cage n stuff but i wernt aloud 2 get him out i ad 2 keep him n der 4 a month but my cuz just got a new bird and she got it out dat day so its really up 2 u but my bird was ok and soon as i put my hand in der it went straight on 2 my hand

[AndyTDI]

Thanks for the info.

Bluebird.

I have a perch near both the doors on his cage but he does not go any where near his cage, he just lands on the curtain rail and sits there for hours until I try to get him back into his cage.


I have just got a large seed bowl that hangs from the side of his cage and have now seen him eating from it. :D

All I have to do is walk past his cage and he goes all skinny.

[bluebird]

im glad hes eating,thats good :) have a go at the millet with it on youre hand inside hes cage,say about 10 mins at a time & just talk to him just repeat a few words like hello ? ( you didnt tell us his name ? ) or whos a good boy :) ( dont feel silly weve all done it ! ) id personally give it a few days to see if you can gain his confidence then let him out again,but if you feel hes ok & its not scarying him then by all means carry on letting him out.
Some other members will be on to give advice but were all over the world,usa canada etc so the time difference varies.Let us know how it goes Andy.

[AndyTDI]

Once again thanks for the info.

His name is "Billy"

Here is a couple of pics of the moody little sob.


Thanks


Andy

[Rosie]

He's beautiful! A lovely green. I'm sure he'll be tame in a while when he's settled down. Try this site: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35298.asp He should learn to trust you soone, Good Luck!

[bluebird]

Andy billys not a baby as he has lost the stripes on his forehead,his eye still looks black so he still could be young, taming a really younger budgie is easier , Billy may be a little harder but still follow all the advice :) Hes a handsome guy tho !

[Joey]

Is he English, English/Amerian or Ameriacn?

[Rosie]

How old is Billy?

[AndyTDI]

I don't know how old he is.

But I'll keep working on him; it is a little infuriating when you see no progress at all though.



Andy

[Mistyoriline]

Just don't give up maybe take a break for a day or so:)

[AndyTDI]

Well last night I sat with my hand in his cage for about 30 mins holding a small piece of millet, and to start with Billy did his usual of just standing as far away from my hand as possible.
After about 20 mins I can feel something so take a look and he is actually eating the millet from my fingers :D OK if I moved my hand at all he would back off but if I could keep it still he would come back and eat some more.
I tried moving my hand so he would have to stand on it to get to the millet but this was a no go.
I will try this again tonight and see how he goes.

One quick question. Is this progress or just his need for millet?


Andy

[bluebird]

:) progress Andy,well done, id do it maybe a coupel of times a day if you have the time ! and do each session for about 15 minutes max. Try & tempt him on youre hand by keeping it away from his perch,he will get confident to hop on they cant resist millet . keep us updated.
See if this helps,, hold the millet between your thumb & finger & spread youre other fingers out this forms a perch for him to land on.;)

[Amy]

Well done! I hope it goes well tonight!

[benny-blue]

Keep going with the taming.

We are still having fun and games with Benny - this evening we let him out and he actually landed 3 times on my daughters hand and once on her head!

When we got him he was exactly the same as Billy sounds.

[AndyTDI]

Keep going with the taming.

We are still having fun and games with Benny - this evening we let him out and he actually landed 3 times on my daughters hand and once on her head!

When we got him he was exactly the same as Billy sounds.


Out of interest how long has this taken??

[benny-blue]

Hi Andy

We have had him a week yesterday. He is only about 7ish weeks old. This evening though when we let him out he was whizzing round the room like a loony and wasnt at all interested in coming near us!

He doesnt seem to be frightened of us at all, and will land on his cage and *puff* his feathers up.

When we put a hand inside his cage he is quite happy to sit on your finger - and to get him out we put him on a finger and bring him out that way.

It seems to be such slow progress!

How has Billy been today? Does he seem to be a bit tamer?

[Amy]

He's young so he's easier to tame, good job!

[shawna]

He looks like an older budgie. I have a pair that were older when I got them and not clipped and they are skiddish. All of my budgies that came clipped aren't as afraid of me. Because I have so many they aren't what you call tame, but they are manageable in that I can get them on a finger or perch without too much effort. I would recommend a clip and then let the flights grow back in.

[AndyTDI]

Well he will happily eat millet from my fingers and has once stood on my finger, but only by accident and he got off pretty quickly (about 10 seconds) when he realised what he was stood on :rolleyes: .

So he is getting better but I think it will be quite a while before he will happily stand on your finger because even with the millet if you move your finger too close to him he will do anything to get away from it :( .

Is it possible to truly tame a budgie of this age.


Andy

[Amy]

It is possible, and it takes time! The older the budgie, the longer the training.

You are doing really well! Keep going!

[benny-blue]

How did you get on with Billy today?

I think I am going backwards with Benny! He wouldnt come near me today, went to the far side of his cage so he didnt have to sit on my finger!!

[AndyTDI]

Just tried him now for about 10 mins and he will stay sat on the perch near the door even as I put my hand in, he even stays a bit fluffy ( :) ) as apposed to going real skinny. He will then eat millet till the cows come home but if I move the food just out of reach so he would have to get on my finger to eat it, he just backs off.

One other thing I have noticed is he now sits more on the perch at the front of his cage as apposed to the one at the back under the cover.

I feel bad about not letting him out but I'm not sure I could get him back in his cage without having to chase him round the house and making him hate me again.

I will try again tomorrow :rolleyes:

I think the day he jumps on my finger I will fall of my chair :D

Andy

Edit/ One more question. he makes no noise. Well OK 3 or 4 times a day he will give a loud chirp but that’s it, I presume this is because he is still not content yet?

[Amy]

I think he's just a quiet bird! You're lucky!

[Budgiekin]

Is it possible that your he is a she? My budgie Skyla was so quiet when we first got her (we didn't know if she was male or female). She only chirped these single chirps. We called her the "one note wonder". Girl budgies aren't as "singy" or vocal as boy budgies, so maybe your he is in fact a she? Hmmmm....:p

[Amy]

Could you post a picture of him/her Andy?

[Rosie]

I think he already has, on the 1st page of posts.

[AndyTDI]

Here is a couple more.

Ok so I felt sorry for him and let him out of his cage at about 3pm today.

Now my question is how the heck do I get him back into his cage. He won't come near me and if I go near him he fly’s away, he does not go near his cage, in fact he has been sat on the light for the last two hours:(
Even if I go to get him on a perch he still fly’s away making a very cross sound.
I have got to say that today he has been getting on my pecks:mad:

[AndyTDI]

Well I finally got him back in his cage. I think it was probably hunger that made him do it but after standing for about 15 mins with my hand on top of the light he was sat on he went to eat some of the millet I had in my fingers, so I opened my hand so that if he wanted any he would have to stand on my fingers and he did :eek: :D :eek:
See the photographic proof.

He stayed on my hand right up to his cage door (although he was pre occupied eating) then hopped in.


Still think it was just hunger though.

Andy

[Rosie]

He's such a beautiful budgie! You're definately making progress!

[AndyTDI]

Right I’ve just spent the last hour trying to get him back into his cage. He's been on my hand three times (with millet of course) but when I get near his cage he fly's off:mad: this last time he landed on top of his cage and is happily sat there but will not get on my hand again. So I am going to cook a curry and leave him to it.

I am thinking about getting his wings clipped but I don't think I should try my self:eek:

My main concern is I will have to catch him put him in a box and take him to a vet, then put him back in a box and bring him home. If anything is going to make him hate me I recon that will do it.

I do think it would make him easier to handle though

[bluebird]

:D Andy youre doing great stick at it, i do have to say he looks a little bugger his photos did make me laugh to myself :) you,ve come on so well & you probably dont relize it yourself ! If you do get his wings clipped, which i personally think will help you out you can always take him in his cage ? or is it to big ? If not a box will be fine with some airholes in it. would you have to go far to youre vet ?

well done again youve done great :cool:

[snowy]

I think u should clip his wings and make him step up while he's in the cage....and when he does that without like.......trying to get away u should start getting him out..and go on from there.:budgie:

[Kelly27]

Like Bluebird says stick at it, your doing great! :)
Kelly
xXx :budgie:

[Budgie_Birthday]

You're making great progress! Stick to it!

[AndyTDI]

OK I have had his wings clipped, I do feel a bit guilty but they will grow back so it's not so bad.
Anyway I let him out of his cage and out he fly’s down to the floor (with a puzzled expression on his face) so I put the new play gym I got down on the floor and he jumps straight up onto it. I presume he feels more secure up off the ground even if it is only about 6". So I sit near him for about 10 mins then move my hand up too him and stone me if he doesn’t jump up onto my finger and sit there for about 15 seconds :D he then jumps back to the pearch. After doing this a few more times I eventually get him to sit on my finger for about 30 mins, he even started preening :eek: .

OK he still wont get on my hand in his cage but it's the best result yet.

To say I am pleased is an understatement.

Andy

:party2:

[Rosie]

Well done!! I would have had his wings clipped as well if I were you, so good job! Before you know it, he'll be preening you!

[AndyTDI]

Just got back home from work and opened his cage, after putting my hand in he comes out and goes to his gym. I sit with him for a while then get him on my finger but he fly's and just makes it to the chair then from there back to his cage :rolleyes:

Will try again a bit later.

[Budgiekin]

It sounds like you are being very perceptive to your budgies needs, which is great! It's better not to force training on them if they don't seem to be in the mood. Keep up the great work; I'm glad to hear that you had a successful training session. It does wonders for your confidence in knowing that your sweetie is taking an attachment to you. :p

[bluebird]

;) Well done Andy, you have made such great progress, pat youself on the back.:p

[AndyTDI]

Tried again last night and was quite surprised.

I put my hand in his cage got my finger close to him but not touching him and said "UP" and he jumped straight up on to my finger :eek: OK he jumped straight back off again but he has never done that before. Did it 6 or 7 more times and he jumps up every time :D again he only stays on for about 2 or 3 seconds but its a good start.

So I rewarded him with some millet.

Oh and just before I went to bed he was sat on his perch all content and fluffy and he even made a few cute budgie type noises. You know the ones, not a chirp but more of a quiet chatter. He only did a bit but it was well cool :cool:



Andy

[Rosie]

It looks like Billy is getting more comfortable being around you!