# Taming and Bonding with Luna



## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Hello all,

I bought a 8 week old budgie 1 week ago. Since then I have been respecting her space and just "interfering" with her to change food water etc.

Anyway I came home and she had what I call poo bum. 3 droppings stuck under her tail. I couldn't leave her like that so I reached towards her and she got up high in the cage to escape me. Then she didn't seem too bothered by me briefly touching her bum to clean.

I think she was just initially worried about being grabbed. At the pet shop the employees grabbed the budgies frequently to show them to customers.

My question is did my need to address the poo bum situation set us back in forming trust with one another? Or did she prolly not care cos I didn't grab her and only touched her briefly?


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Hello,

I have developed a strategy for introducing my new baby budgie to my home and wanted to ask if it was a healthy approach!

Basically I thought I would go about my daily life as usual and observe my budgie to see if my behaviour was disturbing her. 

So if I usually make a bit of noise closing cabinets I continue doing that while watching my budgie to see if she displays fear. If she doesn't I continue living my life. If I do something that causes her alarm I try to adjust for now.

For example I like to watch tv in the dark but that caused her great anxiety so I have lowered the volume gradually as it gets darker and slowly lowering the lights. Only creating darkness when I am ready to turn off the telly.

I often find though while she is alert about noises she doesn't react in fear and sometimes seems to display curiousity putting her head to one side. Although this is contingent upon her being able to see the sources of the noise.

I have adopted this approach because she has to get used to me and my personality just as I have to get used to her and her personality. We have to find a way to live together that makes us both content.

Sorry for the long explanation but my question I guess is this a good approach, is it healthy and will it aid or hinder bonding?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

What you did was fine, it is normal for a new bird to move away from you, just don't grab her or try to pet her, talk quietly to her and let her get used to being in a new home.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi, Welcome to Talk Budgies!

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

The approach you are taking for allowing Luna to become accustomed to the normal activity in your home is fine.
What you did with regard to removing the sticky poo from her vent was fine as well.

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, 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 2 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.*

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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Thanks for your responses so far.

I had another question! Do you think it is advisable to take her to the vet for a check up because she's a new addition? Or is it best not to disturb her in that way?

I also wanted to ask about medications I purchased alongside her last week.

I purchased mite spray and worming drops. I have not used either yet as I have read they might harm Luna's growth as she is only 2 months old atm.

Do these products have any benefit for the health of my budgie or should I toss them?


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## ChickWas (May 6, 2021)

I love how considerate you are with regards to noise levels for your little friend. When it comes to living together and noise, you only really have to make minimal adjustments. If I'm watching TV, I have it on low, or I just listen with headphones in, because if what I'm watching has gunshots or explosions or anything like that, it can terrify my birds. Other than that, I just did the same slow process you're doing, where I slowly introduced my birds to my regular noise levels. At first, I was creeping about and barely making any noise, but now I'm able to do pretty much whatever I normally do and they're used to it. It just takes time for them to start treating your regular day to day noises as background ambience lol

If you're able to, you could always put the cage in your bedroom come nighttime, so when they're in bed and asleep they're separated by a wall, which means you can watch TV comfortably and not worry about frightening them. That's what I plan on doing when I get my own apartment. Keep them in the office during the day, since it's where I spend most of my time, and then put the cage in my bedroom for nighttime and tuck them in to sleep. Means I can walk around everywhere else and not disturb them.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

Cassie and luna said:


> I also wanted to ask about medications I purchased alongside her last week.
> 
> I purchased mite spray and worming drops. I have not used either yet as I have read they might harm Luna's growth as she is only 2 months old atm.
> 
> Do these products have any benefit for the health of my budgie or should I toss them?


*Many budgies have a bit of "pasting of the vent" when they are first moved into a new environment. *
*This generally stops as they become acclimated and begin eating and drinking normally.

Please do NOT use mite spray or woming drops on Luna. 
Mite spray is never recommended. 
Spray can get into a budgie's eyes and nares. It is also ingested when the budgie preens and can be detrimental to the bird's digestive tract.
Worming medication (or any other medication) should not be used unless it is recommended by your Avian Veterinarian. 
Overly medicating a bird can be very detrimental to its health.

Having your budgie examined by an Avian Vet allows you to develop a good relationship with the vet in case your bird needs care for an injury or illness in the future.
Additionally, it is always helpful for the vet to have a baseline for your bird to refer to should it need future treatment.*

*Avian Association of Veterinarians*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and welcome to the forums!

It’s great to have you on the forums, and you’ve come to a great place to learn even more about the best of budgie care practices. 

You’ve been given great advice and resources above by FaeryBee! Feel free to ask if you have any questions after reading through everything. It sounds like you’re doing all you can to make your little one comfortable!

Let us know things go~ 

Cheers! 👋


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Thanks for all the advice so far. 

I have another question now that I have had her for just over a week I was wondering if I should let her out for a fly.

She is still quite shy but displays some curiousity about the outside world, climbing on the bars and such.

Sundays are a good time for me to do this as I have nowhere to be and can afford to be patient and wait for her to get hungry and go "home". Negating any need for scary interactions like chasing and grabbing.

I can just leave the gate open and play some fun nature sounds and see what she decides.

Watcha think?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I think it is too soon to let her out but if you do be prepared for a potential problem of getting her back in her cage, and have a plan on what you will do ,you may end up having to somehow grab her which would not be good at this point. She may also fly into the wall or ceiling because she is not yet well accustomed to the space. No open windows, and all windows and mirrors need to be covered as she could easily fly into them and injure herself and no open doors or anyone coming in and out.


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## ChickWas (May 6, 2021)

Making sure the room is a safe flight space is definitely important. It will be her first time free flying, so she will be the most ungraceful little budgie there ever was. The room needs plenty of light and nothing she can become tangled in. There's a high chance she'll bump into the wall and slide down it to the floor, and she may become panicked when she can't turn fast enough which causes a snowball effect of bad decisions. I would have to stand guard and follow my two around the room when they were gaining their wings, as they would sometimes bump into the walls and I'd be there to give them a soft landing with a blanket.


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

I decided to let Luna decide what to do and after 3 hours with the gate open she flew out.

Unfortunately I have discovered they must have clipped her wings quite significantly as she cannot fly. She can glide when up high or flutter to gain some height when on the ground. Fly horizontally a few cm above the ground. But not fly properly.


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Hi! 

Just wanted to give an update on Lunas first outing.

She didn't display any fear responses such as negative screeches or desperate flapping around.

She hid behind some furniture where I didn't want her cos I couldn't see what she was doing. I put some budgie sounds on YouTube and she soon poked her head out. I put her cage on the floor nearby and she went back inside after about ten minutes.

There was no chasing or grabbing necessary so I view this as a positive experience where I allowed her to choose when to leave her cage and when to go back in.

Does anyone have any input about whether this would have been an experience I can repeat for her to build her confidence or if I should hold off a bit?

Thanks


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You can repeat the experience as long as you have the time to allow her to get back into her cage without being rushed.
If you put the cage on the floor near her and she goes back in, Say things like, "Good Girl, Luna - Go back in your cage now."
Repeat the "go back in your cage now" every time so she quickly gets used to hearing that and associates the words "go back in your cage now" with the action of actually doing so. 
Then you can give her a tiny ball of millet as a treat when she is safely back in her cage as additional positive reinforcement.*


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

I wish I could use positive reinforcement but so far she has no interest in anything except her seed mix.

I noticed she loves going to the floor of her cage to peck around so I chucked a handful of seed and some fresh corn kernels on the bottom to tempt her.

I have seen her down there all day foraging but no idea if she's interested in the corn haha

Shrug


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It can take several weeks (or even months) for budgies to decide to try a new food.
Fruit is high in sugar content so vegetables are actually healthier for your budgies with fruits given only occasionally (once or twice a week)

Positive reinforcement can also be praise. Luna will probably decide she is interested in millet as an occasional treat later on.*


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

I got a little impatient tonight and tried to get Luna to step up and she got upset so I thought it was going to be a set back. However! I left her be then about an hour later attempted to hand feed her. She willing approached my hand and started licking and pecking millet seeds from my fingers.

Haha it seems like a small success but it felt so good to me, that I was allowed close to her and I could feel her little tongue grabbing seeds, and could feel her nice soft head feathers brushing against my hand.

I dunno it just felt like the first true bonding moment and a reassurance that I am mostly doing well to provide her with a nice happy life.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Congratulations! Well done.*


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## Cassie and luna (Jul 30, 2021)

Introduced my girls together today. Both claim they are still TERRIFIED of me. This is how it went with each other and me...


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Looks like everything went very well. Good job!*


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