Parakeets, also called budgies, are unique birds with outstanding personalities. They are beautiful and make the best companions since they love attention. A parakeet is the best choice if you would love a pet to relax and enjoy their company. They also beautify your home and make it feel and look vibrant.
To tame your parakeet fast, start by gaining its trust. After a parakeet feels safe with you, taming them becomes very easy and quick. However, building trust with your budgie is a process with several steps.
The following are the five best ways to help you tame your parakeet fast:
1. Give Your New Parakeet Time to Familiarize
If you have just brought a new parakeet home, there should be enough time to understand and study their environment. To help fasten this process, place your parakeet in a corner of a moderately busy room.
The furthest corner near a wall is the best place, so the parakeet does not feel insecure. A relatively busy room is best to allow the parakeet to adapt to identifying people as friends and not enemies.
2. Place Your Parakeet Closer to You
After two days of your parakeet watching you from the wall, it’s time to bring them closer. You can place the cage on a table where you will sit as you watch television, read a book, or play a game.
Be careful while transporting the cage to the table, as you may startle the bird. However, If the parakeet feels scared and starts to fly in the cage, remain calm and gentle. Now sit with your bird without talking to them or bothering them.
3. Talk to Your Parakeet
After a day of having your budgie close to you, it’s time to interact. Talk to them in a soothing, slow tone to help them familiarize themselves with your voice. As you talk to your parakeet, use your hands as well. For example, place your hand on the cage.
You could start by just touching the cage with two fingers as you check their behavior. Avoid looking directly into the eyes of your parakeet, as they would feel threatened. Remember, you want to be as gentle as possible to ensure they gain complete trust in you.
4. Give Your Parakeet a Treat
After your parakeet becomes familiar with you and your voice, which could take a few days, it’s time to treat your budgie. You can use some seeds, fruits, or vegetables. Place them on your hand and open the cage very slowly.
Allow the parakeet to reach your treat. If they reject or get scared the first time, close the cage and return later. Give the treats several times a day. It will make the budgie grow fond of you and look forward to having you around.
5. Hand Tame Your Budgie
After your parakeet can freely land on your hand to reach out for treats, it’s time to train them to stand on your hand. After a treat, let out your finger where it can stand. You can squeeze a little into their legs to help them step up on your finger.
At this point, your parakeet completely trusts you and will not fly away. If they do, give them time and repeat the whole process. Gaining your trust is the most crucial aspect of taming a parakeet.
How Long Can It Take to Tame a Parakeet?
It takes one week as the standard time to train a parakeet to the point where it can stand on your finger and eat from your hand. However, it could take longer if your parakeet has not interacted with humans for a long time.
If they have been out in the wild and are used to looking out for predators, you need around two weeks to a month. Additionally, it is good to understand the behavior of your parakeet, as each one has its own personality.
Respect their response to your advances by watching how they react. If your parakeet flies around the cage when you get closer, give them time and keep coming back. Take your time. It could even take up to one month, depending on the nature of the parakeet.
How Do You Tame a Scared Parakeet?
To tame a scared parakeet, ensure that you exercise gentleness of the highest order. Creating a bond with a parakeet requires more time and the ability to stay calm. Here are three ways to help build trust and train a scared parakeet.
1. Understand Their Body Language
When you get closer, a scared parakeet will want to fly away or move away from you. They may start breathing heavily or suck in their wings to indicate they feel threatened. When this happens, stop moving any closer and stand for a while, then move away.
By not moving closer, you are helping the budgie gain your trust. The next time, do the same, and now wait for the parakeet to relax while you are at a distance.
2. Engage Them While You Are Snacking
After a parakeet has allowed you to be closer without being afraid, take your snacks at the same time as them. Offer them snacks from a distance; you do not have to give them from your hand. Please place them in a bowl and enjoy snacking together.
Remember to avoid eye contact at all costs during this time. Do this several times daily, as it will help the parakeet associate you with something pleasing and tasty.
3. Sing to Your Parakeet
Singing softly to your parakeet will help calm them and let them know your voice. You can start by humming, then, over time, utter words softly. If you realize that your parakeet feels comfortable while you hymn or sing, do it more often.
Singing and humming could also be helpful if you think your budgie experiences panic attacks. Parakeets are sensitive, and a soothing voice could be what they need to connect and bond with you. Humming could also be fun for you and your parakeet.
How Long Does It Take to Gain a Parakeets Trust?
It takes five to seven days to bond with your parakeets. It would take longer if you scared them or failed to understand their body language. Like a baby, a parakeet needs time to feel safe around you.
In these seven days, you must create a good environment for the parakeet to get used to the new habitat and to get to know you. In the first two days, it is preferred to only bother the parakeet if you need to add food or water to its bowl. In the next three to four days, you can start making physical commitments with the utmost care and gentleness.
What to Do If Your Parakeet Hates You
Most people think their parakeet hates them, which is often not true. A parakeet may have had bad experiences around people before or have an introverted personality, making it challenging to bond with them.
If your parakeet hates you, follow these three concepts;
1. Be Patient
Time is all you need to bond with your parakeet. Make sure you both spend a lot of time together by allowing the parakeet to watch you and be around you for a long time. When the parakeet becomes familiar with you, this is the beginning of a friendship.
2. Utilize Positive Reinforcements
Giving treats often to your parakeet will help them feel less scared of you and associate you with feeling good from the treats they enjoy. Other positive reinforcements include applauding them in a soothing voice, speaking happily, singing, or humming around your parakeet.
3. Handle Your Parakeet with Care
If your parakeet is distant from you, make sure you respect them and give them space. For example, do not grab them forcefully, as it will show you, as a predator, a perception that is hard to change. Wait until the parakeet comes to you comfortably.
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