# SOS Bonding Help



## akamichele (May 10, 2017)

I'm new to this forum and need some assistance. I got my first budgie in July, named Zeus (yellow). I ended up getting him a cage mate in September named Luna (white). They immediately connected and preened each other all the time, snuggled and whatnot. At the end of October, Zeus fell ill and passed away, leaving Luna alone. Seeing that she was depressed, I bought a new cage mate for her named Link (kiwi). She was constantly pecking at him, even if he was just standing there. I clipped her wings to eliminate her from hurting him while I'm not home during the day. This calmed down the pecking and they started to connect, so I bought a nesting box. No sign of mating unfortunately.

With this in mind, when I had Zeus and Luna they were finger trained and would sit on my shoulder. Zeus would preen my hair and sit with me while I ate or do homework. I often took naps with him. I feel that Luna only came onto me because Zeus was trained. Now that Zeus is no longer around, Luna is hesitant. She does go on my finger and shoulder, but she doesn't stay on. She flies away after a minute or so. Link is trained the same way, but I also have that same problem. I have been trying to months to get them to be calm around me but if I have one without the other, they fly to each other. If I have them both, they fly to the cage.

Please, if anyone has suggestions, let me know. Or if anyone has had a similar situation and has some advice for what I'm doing wrong, feel free to help. Zeus was the only one I was able to fully connect with, and I want the same with the two I have now.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

It would truly have been best for you to have done your research prior to getting budgies. 
However, that wasn't the case so we'll see if we can correct some of the problems now.

I'm going to list out the things that need to be addressed most promptly first.

1. PLEASE remove the nest box from the cage immediately! 
a. Your female has already shown she is aggressive toward the male which means she should never be bred.
b. You do not have the necessary knowledge and experience with budgies nor have you done any of the necessary research to even be thinking about considering breeding.

Before breeding any species, it is important to learn as much about the animals, their personalities and the best practices to follow for responsible and ethical breeding prior to making the commitment to take on the responsibility. This requires extensive research and an openness to continual learning.

http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/327881-heartfelt-plea-forum-members-new-old.html

When We Don't Want Eggs

2. You should always quarantine a new bird when you have a current bird in the home.

Quarantine means housing the new bird in a different cage in a different room than the current bird (as far away from the room the current bird is in as possible) for a period of 35-45 days.

Budgies mask symptoms when they are ill. Symptoms may not show up for over two weeks. 
Often you will not even realize your bird is not well. Many budgie illnesses are airborne which is why you need to quarantine your new bird in a completely different room.

It is also a good idea to always take a new budgie in to see an Avian Vet for a "well-birdie" check-up. This allows you to develop a good relationship with the vet and the vet can establish a baseline for your bird in case of any future illnesses or injuries.

Distinction between an Avian Vet and a Vet that "Will See Birds"

3. Any time a budgie is overly aggressive with another bird, the two birds should be separated into individual cages. Housing an aggressive bird with another is never a good idea.

4. You should never, never "nap" or sleep with your birds.
Birds are tiny and delicate creatures. 
One wrong move on your part while you are sleeping and your bird may be severely injured or killed.

5. With regard to taming and bonding - that is all about helping your birds learn to trust you.
Hopefully your female has now regrown all her flight feathers. I do not recommend ever clipping any bird's wings for the purpose of "taming".
You need to recognize that budgies are not going to want to spend their time sitting on your finger and/or shoulder. They want to play and explore which is as it should be.
I recommend you read the information in the following links if you wish to interact with your budgies on a regular basis.

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-budgie-training-bonding/315073-positive-reinforcement-training.html

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-budgie-training-bonding/315065-basics-clicker-training.html

Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, all of the How To Guides, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and 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.

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
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/333106-posting-forums.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/388145-lets-talk-budgies.html
How-To Guides
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
Budgie Articles
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295001-list-stickies.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295033-prepared-veterinary-care-expense.html
Avian First Aid
Why Quarantine?

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-general-budgie-info/227841-50-common-budgie-dangers-watch-out.html

http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/327881-heartfelt-plea-forum-members-new-old.html

http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html
http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/31719-essentials-great-cage.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/339826-resource-directory.html

When you upload pictures as thumbnail attachments directly from your computer, tablet or phone, the forum automatically defaults to landscape.

To upload full-sized pictures with the proper orientation, please use a photo-sharing service such as PhotoBucket and follow the steps in these instructions:
http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html

For gender and/or mutation help - Lighting and Angle DOES matter

By the way, all photos entered in any of our forum contests must be a full-size photo and not a thumbnail attachment so it's good to know how to upload them! 

If you have any questions after reading through everything, please be sure to ask!

Glad you decided to join us to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimum health and well being. 
Looking forward to seeing you around the forums.

:wave:*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

You've been given great advice above. I can't stress enough how important it is to carefully take into account everything FaeryBee has said for your little ones' well being!

Be sure to read through the links provided, which include the forum's many Budgie Articles and "stickies" (threads "stuck" to the top of each subform for easy reference) to stay up to date on all the best practices for caring for budgies. If you have any questions after reading through everything, be sure to ask as we'd love to help!  

We look forward to seeing you and your budgies around the forums!

Cheers! :wave:


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