# Taking birds out of the cage for bonding?



## beep (Jan 6, 2016)

Hello everyone, I'm another new guy and I'm a first-time budgie owner. I got Spoon and Pudding a few weeks ago and I've been studying bonding and tameness for a while to ensure I have a good relationship with them. I've been having a little trouble getting them to trust me since they were bought from a pet store and still fear hands. They will eat millet that I hold up to them, but won't let my actual hand touch them. They also move away from my hands when I clean their cage, change the food, etc.

It was suggested to me that I let them out of the cage for bonding, since it will be easier for me to interact with them. And since they seem really restless and jump around their perches a lot, it seems like they're getting bored with being in the cage all day. I figured I should let them out to fly around. 

My question is basically, is this a good idea? If I make sure the room is safe and everything, would it still be okay to let an untamed couple of birds fly around? Should I just be patient and wait for them to come around? Any advice would be great. Thanks!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi Manda and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

It's great that you've been doing research regarding training and bonding and have been working at your budgies' pace. :thumbsup:
If you've read through the stickies at the top of our Taming and Bonding Section of the forum, you've noticed there are several different methods suggested for working with your birds.

The key thing to remember is that taming and bonding is all about helping your budgies learn to trust you. This takes time and patience. 

If you have a bird-safe room you can let the budgies out prior to them learning to step-up. Remember though you won't want to chase them around and "grab" them when it is time to put them back in their cage as that will break any trust you manage to build.

I'd suggest taking a look at his thread:
http://talkbudgies.com/training-bonding/237105-using-positive-reinforcement-training.html

Working with your budgies first thing in the morning before they have their breakfast is helpful because they are hungry then and more willing to respond for the rewards. 

Most of all, enjoy the journey with your new friends!!

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## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

Welcome to talk budgies Manda. It may be easier to bird proof a small bedroom or bathroom to try giving out of cage time in. We have a lot of good tips in our training and bonding sub forum. It is great that they trust you enough already to eat millet from your hand, that sound's promising for future taming progress. With your patience, and the info available here, you will make friends with them. Would love to see pics...


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

Welcome to TB and congratulations on joining the wonderful world of budgie parenting  we would love to see pictures of your new friends 

I can't add much more to the advice you have already been given, just be patient - it can take ages but they (the birds) will teach you along the way


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Hello and welcome, bonding is going to be harder as you have two budgies, they will naturally want to be together and be with each other over a human flock member. Keep offering the millet to them let them eat from your hand after they will eat without being nervous move the millet so your finger is next to the chest of the budgie gently resting your finger against him. Budgies do not like being touched as a rule. Patience is your best weapon, also if you do let them out for free time remember it might take you a long time to get them back in, do not chase them, or try to grab them this will only make bonding harder. :budgie:


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there, welcome to the forums! :welcome:

Congratulations on getting your budgies! They sound like little darlings and what adorable names! 

You've already been given great advice and I can't add much more  Patience is really the key, after a few weeks my girl (also from a pet store) was still very skittish. Move slowly around them, like when you're cleaning their cage, and talk to them softly. 

Also, budgies love music, so be sure to leave the radio or something else on while you're gone. In fact, silence means danger to budgies, because when the flock fell silent in the wild, it meant a predator was near. 

I'm glad you're doing such thorough research and the relationship you have with your budgies will really reflect that.  

I hope to see you around the forums and we'd love to meet Pudding and Spoon sometime! 

If you have any questions after reading though the links Deborah has provided, feel free to ask! 
:wave:


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## Wiki (Feb 25, 2012)

I'm a huge fan of reinforcing Behaviour that they already present. What I mean by this is if you let them out, choose the timing such that if they don't want to go home in a hurry it won't be a problem. If you let them out in the morning before they've eaten, then you can put their empty food dishes in the cage. Then when they go home to eat as they will want to, you can reinforce returning to the cage with food. They learn that eating happens in the cage and will be eager to go home by themselves once they learn so they can have their morning feed and flock together. You can do the same with an evening outing, where dimming the lights encourages them to return to their roosts.

Reinforcing and conditioning the behaviour they present which is desirable makes these things much easier to do over time. You will need to be in a position where you're not rushed though.

I would even go so far as to consider giving them each their own coloured dish. That way they reinforce going to their dish for their treat when they do a cage return. They see in colour, and will learn that food goes in their colour dish when they do something, in case one wants to return when the other doesn't.


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