# How long?



## leahmh (Aug 6, 2016)

I've only had my Yuuto an extremely short time and I was wondering how long I should give him before trying to tame him. Today I managed to get my hand to the back of his cage to move something that looked dangerous and he didn't freak out like before. He just sat there watching and listening as I told him what I was doing. I'd love to hear how long people left their birds before trying to tame them.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Generally speaking, when bringing in a new pet bird, it's best to give them time to settle in their new cage/environment for at least a couple of weeks.
During this time, you can cover the cage on 3 sides (leaving the front part uncovered) and having some soothing music on. When changing food/water, in order to minimize stress, it would be best to avoid sudden movements with your hands/arms and act as if you are in slow motion. Same thing goes when cleaning the cage.
Depending on the budgie's personality, some can settle in fairly soon and show signs of being receptive to us sooner as well. The amount of time taken to earn a pet bird's trust and to tame will also depend on the individual bird.

In order to get your budgie more used to you, to make the first connection with Yuuto and establish the foundations of trust, you can sit by the cage and talk to him in a calm, positive, encouraging and reassuring way.
Depending on Yuuto's response, you can then take the next step in training when he shows signs of increased curiosity towards you (if he moves close to you when you interact with him). You can slowly place your hand inside the cage and try to offer him a little tasty treat in order to encourage him to step onto your hand/finger.
While going about this, it's important to pay attention your budgie's body language and to react according to it by respecting the safe boundaries set by your budgie.

The information found at the top of the Taming and Bonding section will surely be very useful during your training journey.

Best of luck!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The advice aluz has given you is 100% perfect! :2thumbs:*


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## annarose (Jul 19, 2016)

I slowly started taming Apollo in the first week that I had him. On the first day I sat by his cage almost the entire day working on my computer, talking to him often and watching some tv (he loves the noise). On day two I put my hand in the cage to rearrange his stuff a little bit better and to clean up his poop. I moved slowly and spoke to him calmly and he just clung to the bars of the cage as far away from me as he could. Over the next couple days I would put my hand in the cage occasionally, never trying to touch him or get too close, so he could see it wasn't a threat. Then I started putting some seed in the palm of my hand and offered it to him by putting my hand close enough for him to reach, but not right up in his face. I kept doing this until he came to me to check it out. Within less than a week he starting hopping right into my hand when I put it in the cage holding food.

I followed the approach that I found in this vet reviewed wiki. It gives you a step-by-step guide to accomplishing exactly what Aluz is talking about. The key is to pay attention to how your bird reacts and let him decide how fast he is willing to take things. The first steps are all about trust building so show Yuuto that he is safe when you are near, and get him to associate you with happy things, like food


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## sonnydukes (Jul 31, 2013)

Everyone is going to have a slightly different method. All are probably ok if the person consistently has tame budgies.
I wait and watch for the bird to settle in. Once I see them eating well & moving around & chirping & playing with toys, than I slowly & patiently start getting them used to my hand mostly with treats.
You read all these articles here that all birds & personalities are different & this applies in this case also. Some birds make take weeks. I started with my newest budgie on the 3rd day because she settled in quick. And she is still doing well after 10 days or so.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Leah, I agree completely with Aluz's advice. It's important to read your budgie's body language to know when they are comfortable with what you're doing--such as taking a cute fluffy nap when you're reading to him, or chirping quietly along to music. Be sure to always go at his pace and he will surely begin to trust you more and more 

If you want, you can start a taming journal for your little one in the "Taming and Bonding" section of the forums to track your progress :thumbsup: 

Best of luck! :fingerx:


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