# Flighted baby on meds



## Katrina38 (10 mo ago)

I need help! I have a 14 week old handfed English budgie that we have had for about 3 weeks now. He came to us with a respiratory infection and clipped to the point that he couldn’t even flutter. With that said, bonding has been hard because I have had to give the poor babe medicine almost everyday since we’ve had him (he is on his second round of antibiotics from the vet). In the 3 weeks we have had him he has grown enough feathers that he can fly and he loves being out of his cage. Here are my concerns and questions:

-How can we tame Him/ bond with him if he is flighted? It’s an adventure just to get him back in his cage these last few days

-How can I possibly train him to step up etc when he is flighted and does what he wants? He was starting to do step up before his wings came in and now not at all (can you blame him? I have to hold him and give him meds daily)

-Is there a way to get him and administer meds without breaking his trust daily?

I should note that he isn’t treat motivated at all. He has never eaten out of my hand and rarely even touches the millet in his cage (he eats his pellets). I can tell he is starting to feel better as he is now starting to play a bit.

I just want to set him up for success with how young he is and how much we are probably scaring him now now.

Should I clip his wings again?

Thank you for all of your help!


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I would definitely NOT clip his wings. Birds should be fully flighted. Bonding is when a bird chooses to be with you.
I highly recommend you keep him in his cage during the time you need to administer medication to him.
This is much better than having him flying about the room when you need to get him into the cage and/or administer medicine.

You can still work on taming/bonding with him in the cage and that is actually preferable at this stage.
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 bond with your budgie, you need to build their trust in you.
They will have to learn over time that you will not hurt them, grab them and try to force them to allow you to hold them.

To build your birds’ trust, sit by their cage and read, talk or sing quietly to them 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 them so they will learn that your hand is safe and will not hurt them. 

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

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

Always work at your birds’ pace.
Move slowly and talk reassuringly and calmly to their whenever you interact with them.

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*

*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.
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*
*Quarantine IS Necessary!*
*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*

*
*


----------



## Katrina38 (10 mo ago)

FaeryBee said:


> *I would definitely NOT clip his wings. Birds should be fully flighted. Bonding is when a bird chooses to be with you.
> I highly recommend you keep him in his cage during the time you need to administer medication to him.
> This is much better than having him flying about the room when you need to get him into the cage and/or administer medicine.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your response. Everyone keeps saying don't grab your budgie; but to administer medicine I have to hold him everyday. That is where the conundrum really comes in. Not freaking him out daily, but still having to grab him for meds while he is flighted and takes off every chance he can. I feel so bad for the babe and that I have to hold him daily right now. 

You would suggest not letting him have free flighted time right now?


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*No, do not allow him to have free flighted time while he is ill. Put him into a smaller cage. You should always have a cage on hand for use as a quarantine/hospital/travel cage. Doing this will help you to catch him. Additionally, if he has a respiratory infection, keeping him quiet is going to help the medications to work better than if he if flying around because that makes birds breathe more heavily.

If you are concerned about catching him, use a small soft cloth in your hand when you do so. This will help to "disguise" your hand so he doesn't associate the hand as much as with the "grabbing" and being medicated. I just went through several weeks of medicating one of my budgies (before and after his surgery). 
You will find the budgie (name?) will still be able to be tamed after the medications have been completed.

Warm mist humidifiers will help with breathing issues in conjunction with the medication. You can put a drop or two of 100% pure essential eucalyptus oil in the water as well which helps to open the airways.*


----------



## Katrina38 (10 mo ago)

FaeryBee said:


> *No, do not allow him to have free flighted time while he is ill. Put him into a smaller cage. You should always have a cage on hand for use as a quarantine/hospital/travel cage. Doing this will help you to catch him. Additionally, if he has a respiratory infection, keeping him quiet is going to help the medications to work better than if he if flying around because that makes birds breathe more heavily.
> 
> If you are concerned about catching him, use a small soft cloth in your hand when you do so. This will help to "disguise" your hand so he doesn't associate the hand as much as with the "grabbing" and being medicated. I just went through several weeks of medicating one of my budgies (before and after his surgery).
> You will find the budgie (name?) will still be able to be tamed after the medications have been completed.
> ...


Thank you! His name is Roscoe.


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Please let us know how things progress. If you wish, you can begin an ongoing picture thread for Roscoe in the Budgie Pictures section of the forum to share pictures of him.

Best wishes!*


----------

