# I failed to tame my budgie when he was younger and now I'm not sure how to fix that



## milk_a (6 mo ago)

Hi,

I've had my pet budgie (Bart) for around 4 months now. When he was younger, I did my best to try and tame him by slowly introducing myself to him and managed to get him onto my hand a couple of times, and even onto my friend's hand (he did so willingly, climbing from finger to finger). But at around 2 months (ish), he stopped liking me as much. I'm not entirely sure if I did anything wrong or if he may just not be very sociable, but he'll never go on my hand anymore. Because of this, a few weeks ago I was worried he may have been sick (some of the feathers around his ceres were discoloured and I wanted to have a second look) but couldn't get him to come to me and so I ended up taking him and holding him in my hand. I was very gentle with him and made sure he was as comfortable as possible while I checked him over to make sure he was healthy, but I think that may have broken any residual trust he had in me.

It would be better if he was more tame, not just for my benefit but for his too. I don't want him to feel on edge around me or be stressed out when I'm cleaning his cage/changing his food and water because that's not fair to him.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could start over/regain his trust?

(He was removed from his parents about a week or so earlier than he should have been since his dad had actually been killing the other young birds  I didn't breed him and he wasn't handled at a young age at all. Also, I'm out for most of the day on weekdays and mornings are rushed so I can only really try anything in the afternoon. He's healthy, active, eating well and enjoys his birdbath. I'm not sure if any of this information is relevant but I thought I'd put it here in case it is.)

Thank you for reading!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being*
*Locating an Avian Veterinarian*

*What is your budgie's name?
Do you have a picture of him you would like to share with us?

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

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

After 2 weeks, begin moving your hand slowly toward your bird. If he becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until he calms down. When he is comfortable with your hand near him, you can offer them a bit of millet or a few seeds.

Always work at your bird’s pace.
Move slowly and talk reassuringly and calmly to him whenever you interact with him.

Bonding means allowing your budgie to choose to be with you.*

*A Healthy Diet for your Budgie*
*Quality Seed Mix*
*CuttleBones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses*
*Safe Foods for Budgies*
*The Truth about GRIT*

*Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and all of the Stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.
Additionally, please be sure to read the thread "Posting on the Forums" which is linked below.

Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.
(Stickies are threads “stuck” at the top of each forum sub-section)
These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*

*SITE GUIDELINES*
*Posting on the Forums*
*Let's Talk Budgies!*
*FAQ*
*Articles*
*Be Prepared for Veterinary Care Expense*
*Avian First Aid*
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*A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*
*Cage sizes.*
*Essentials to a Great Cage*
*Dangers to Pet Birds*
*Resource Directory*


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## milk_a (6 mo ago)

His name is Bart, unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him right now on my computer but thank you for the response  I will try this method


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