# What to do about this scenario?



## Kairos (Mar 5, 2016)

Hey y'all, so fortunately my budgie :green pied: who I got a few months ago finally eats millet out of my hand, and seems quite comfortable with my hand in her cage & near her. 
Occasionally I can coax and take her out of her cage to a little play gym area; in this area she does 'step-up' quite well, however, once I bring her back to her main cage, when I try to push her belly to 'step up' she clings to her perch. Am I doing something wrong? Does she not really trust me yet? 
:yellow pied:


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## shanebudgie (Feb 5, 2016)

Greetings.I think she may just be alittle scared or nervous.but you're on the right track.it will take some more cozing.1 of my budgie from long ago was the same way.he would sometimes hope on my finger and then suddenly get back in the cage.after about a week or so I earned his trust finally.I also used millet sprays and gentle talking.good luck and hopefully soon she'll be eager to spend more time with you.blessings and keep us posted.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Kairos! :wave:

Your budgie is behaving quite normally 

She feels comfortable with your hand, but simply doesn't see the need to step up when she's inside her nice, cosy cage  

My girl is fully tame as well, but she doesn't like me in her cage unless I have a treat, so I give her space and only ask her to step up when she's outside her cage, which she does quite well. 

I would just watch her body language and know when she just doesn't want to step at the time so you give her some space. You can leave her cage door open when you're in the room and even put a perch outside her door so she comes out on her own, she likely will enjoy stepping up more there. :fingerx:


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

Shane and Star have offered excellent advice. 

Your budgie is beginning to gain a trusting bond with you. Keep working with her and as Star said, pay attention to her body language and I'm sure she'll develop her bond with you even stronger than it is now.


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## Wiki (Feb 25, 2012)

I always think about these "problem interactions" as equations. Your bird is weighing up the pros and cons of the interaction you're offering and it has to be worth it from the bird's perspective or they won't have a bar of it.

Consider what the bird gains by staying in the cage. Food? Water? Familiar space? No danger? Now consider what the bird gains by interacting with you. You understand what you're up against each time you interact. So the interaction has to be incredibly positive consistently for the bird to willingly choose to interact with you, as opposed to staying where it is and keeping what it already has.

Your Secret Weapon: Being Interesting

The good news is that we have an incredibly bright and naturally curious species of bird in our budgies. So making yourself incredibly interesting is what's needed to pique your bird's curiosity. While soothing sounds are great for helping a settled bird, your bird knows who you are - so it's time for the animated, high-pitched, exciting sounds of an active flock. You can get your bird interested in you by making lots of budgie-like sounds. Anyone watching will think you're mad, but it's helpful.

Start on one side of the cage opposite to the bird. Start making your budgie chatter noises, and see if you can coax the bird to get interested in you. Won't be long and they'll be coming to you in order to see what the fuss is about. The more you can do this - fire their curiosity, get them interested in what's going on where you are, the more likely they are to want to step up because they know going with you is going to be more interesting than staying at home.

I've been known to play the "lure with sound" game with Wiki where I stand at one end of the cage and just say, "budgiebudgiebudgiewikikikikikikibirrrrrrrrd" and he will SPRINT across the cage to get to me. I then switch to the other end and repeat. This even works with birds I haven't even spent time taming - I stay at the opposite side of the cage to them and just make all sorts of budgie chirps and budgie-friendly noises, and they _can't help it_. They have to investigate! Do try it - it's an easy game that doesn't require them to come out of the cage in order to play, and it can really help in your bonding.

PS. If anyone else reading this decides to try the "lure with sound" game with their bird, please post below.  I'd love to hear your experiences.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I've done that many times, Ann Marie, and can also report the success :thumbsup:

Mallorn is fascinated by new noises and very much enjoys running over to where I am to see what's going on. 

Sometimes, if she's feeling particularly saucy, she decides to ignore me on purpose as part of a game she invented called "Who gets tired first" where she tries to be the one who wins by not falling prey to curiosity  At that point, I usually win by thinking of a new noise she's never heard before and she gives in and comes to check it out :evil:

Either way, she always loves investigating what's up when I come up with a new noise! It's definitely a great way to get your budgie interested in you


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## shanebudgie (Feb 5, 2016)

hehehe omg that's so cool.now I'm gonna try it on Gracie.absolutely brilliant idea wiki .blessings crossing my fingers.:green pied:


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## Littoface (Apr 17, 2011)

Aha!! My husband has been doing this with Nana since we got her and I could not figure out if she was angry or excited hahaha he makes this chattering sound and she ALWAYS joins in. I will try the silly chattering game one of these days and report back. 

Update: Well, that didn't work, she crouched down and stared at me like wth are you doing?? Got my finches' attention though haha


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