# How to tame a budgie that is still afraid of me after 8 months?



## Mamedic11 (Jul 18, 2021)

I have 2 budgies (a boy and a girl.) the boy is tamed good enough and he is so fun to play with. However, the girl is still sooo creeped out of me.. she can eat a millet stick from my hand, but as soon as my fingers cover part of the millet or she senses any movement in my fingers, she would fly all over the cage to escape 🤦‍♂️ I didn’t do anything that would cause that behavior.. although eating a millet stick from my hand is a great step but isn’t enough since I have her for 8 months now. Any advice is appreciated


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Not all budgies like to interact with humans.
Your female budgie obviously does not trust you (for whatever reason).
If you wish to gain her trust, you are going to need to start over with her from the beginning.

Taming and Bonding is all about helping your budgie learn to trust you and it takes a great deal of time and patience on your part.
You should never grab your budgie or force her to be touched. 
To bond with your budgie, you need to build her trust in you.
She will have to learn over time that you will not hurt her, grab her and try to force her to allow you to hold her. 

To build your budgie’s trust, sit by her cage and read, talk or sing quietly to her for a period of at least 10-15 minutes, 3 or 4 times day. After the 2nd or 3rd day, rest your hand on the outside of the cage when you talk to her so she'll learn that your hand is safe and will not hurt her. 

After a week or more, rest your hand inside the cage when you talk. 
Don’t make sudden moves, don’t try to touch her. 
Let her get used to the idea that the hand is now in her safe place and not harming her. 

After 4 weeks, begin moving your hand slowly toward your budgie. If she becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until she calms down. When she's comfortable with your hand near her, you can offer her a bit of millet or a few seeds. In a few more days, you can begin your taming and bonding sessions.

Always work at your budgie's pace. 
Move slowly and talk reassuringly and calmly to her whenever you interact with her.

As you have a mixed gender pair, please ensure you are doing everything necessary to prevent 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.*


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