# About baby budgies' trust



## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

Hi, I'm new here and just wanted to ask about a few things.

About a month ago, my 2 budgies (who we haven't really tamed or bonded with) had 3 babies. The parents didn't really take care of them and seemed to neglect them and play, not feeding them even when they were chirping for food. So we decided to hand feed them and separate them with a new cage, food, etc. We fed them properly with the right food and now they fully trust us and have grown up as young, healthy budgies.

The problem is that the parents and the new budgies aren't very far from each other and unfortunately we're unable to bring them any further. They're constantly chirping at each other and one of the baby budgies have tried looking for the parents a few times. My family believes that if the budgies meet each other, they won't trust us anymore and will follow their parents instead, but I feel that wouldn't be the case. 

What would actually happen if they met, and will they still trust us? And if so, how can we introduce them to each other? Thanks!


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Are the babies now just a month old?


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

Cody said:


> Are the babies now just a month old?


Just checked and they're all a bit over a month and a half old


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

They are still quite young, are they eating on their own or are you still having to hand feed them? Do you know the gender of the babies?


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

Cody said:


> They are still quite young, are they eating on their own or are you still having to hand feed them? Do you know the gender of the babies?


They are just beginning to eat on their own, and we've fed them seeds and millet so far. Not sure about gender yet but the noses of one of them have begun turning blue-ish.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

If you post pictures we may be able to tell you the gender. How old are the parents of these babies and how long have you had them?


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

Cody said:


> If you post pictures we may be able to tell you the gender. How old are the parents of these babies and how long have you had them?


Sorry for the late reply, here's some pictures. The father is 4 years old and the mother just turned 3.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

They are adorable, the one with the beak open is just too cute. There appears to be something wrong with the right foot of the bird on the left, is that the case or was it just curling the foot at the time the picture was taken?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It's hard to tell for sure because of the lighting in the picture, but you may have three little females.
To tell definitively, it would be necessary to have pictures of the ceres taken in natural light with no flash and no direct sunlight.

The babies are not going to lose their trust in you when they meet the adult birds. 
However, I would give it another few weeks before introducing them in NEUTRAL territory.
Is there a reason why you can not put the two cages side-by-side?

Do you give the untamed adult budgies out-of-cage time in a bird safe room?
It is possible to "train" untamed budgies to go back into their cage but it does take some time and patience.

I have untamed budgies that go back in their cage because I've used positive reinforcement training to teach them they will get a reward when they do so.
Initially, when I was ready for them to go back in the cage I would first dim the lights and pull down the shades in the room. If the radio or TV was on, I turned it off.
Then I would stand by their cage and ringing the bell on one of their toys while telling them, "It's time to go in your cage now!"
Once they went back into the cage, they were given a small bit of millet. 
This method worked well and they now go in the cage when asked to do so without the lights being dimmed or the blinds lowered and the TV or radio can stay on. 
Getting the millet reward is the best part of "going back home"*


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

Cody said:


> They are adorable, the one with the beak open is just too cute. There appears to be something wrong with the right foot of the bird on the left, is that the case or was it just curling the foot at the time the picture was taken?


I believe the foot happened to be curled right when the picture was taken, as their feet are all fine now. They all tend to trip sometimes when their on top of the cage as well, so they're all okay.


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *It's hard to tell for sure because of the lighting in the picture, but you may have three little females.
> To tell definitively, it would be necessary to have pictures of the ceres taken in natural light with no flash and no direct sunlight.
> 
> The babies are not going to lose their trust in you when they meet the adult birds.
> ...


There isn't much space to put the birds in, so the only ideal spot was not so close to their parents. The adult budgies do go outside and we have a few perches for them to go on, but they usually return to the cage by the time its time to go to bed. Would you mind elaborating on neutral territory? Thanks!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Neutral territory would be in a bird safe room where you can easily supervise the interactions. 
Not in either cage nor an area that one or more of the adults consider "their place". 
Meaning, if there are particular outside perches they sit on regularly, putting the babies in that area would not be a good choice.

You will need to supervise the meeting between the adults and the babies to ensure that they are not aggressive toward the chicks AND that no one trying mating with another.
Speaking of which -- are you now actively doing everything necessary to discourage the two adults from breeding?*
*A heartfelt plea to forum members new and old*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*
*Rearranging their cage frequently will help tremendously. Please be sure you never put a nest box or anything that could be used as a nesting site in their cage.
Limit the light they get to 8 hours a day. When they come into condition, limit the amount of protein in their diet at that time.

Are you planning to keep all of the chicks?*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forums! 

Cody and FaeryBee have given you great advice. Your budgies are adorable, and I agree that more photos would be best to tell their gender. 

Meanwhile, you’ve come to a great place to learn even more about the best of budgie care practices! Please be sure to have a look around the forums’ many budgie articles and “stickies”, some of which are included above, to ensure you’re up to date on everything! If you have questions after doing so, please be sure to ask as we’d love to help. 

Please keep us posted! 

Cheers! 👋


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## piko (Sep 18, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *Neutral territory would be in a bird safe room where you can easily supervise the interactions.
> Not in either cage nor an area that one or more of the adults consider "their place".
> Meaning, if there are particular outside perches they sit on regularly, putting the babies in that area would not be a good choice.
> 
> ...


Yes, we're planning on keeping all 3 of the chicks, and we rearrange the cage frequently so that no more eggs will be laid. I will discuss putting them in a neutral territory with everyone else in the household. Thanks very much!


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