Budgies are social and enjoy being in flocks. They make good companions and are very intelligent birds. It can be challenging to teach them new tricks and learn their body language.
Fortunately, there are several ways to hand-tame a budgie. You can fully tame your budgie using the following tips:
1. Get Your Budgie Comfortable
This can be achieved by giving your budgie enough time to get used to its new home. Put their cage at head height, as budgies are scared of things moving above them.
Placing the cage in a corner or against the wall can also make the bird comfortable, as it feels safe.
2. Familiarize Yourself With the Bird
Place your budgie’s cage close to you during normal day activities for the bird to get used to having you around.
3. Communicate With Your Budgie
Speak to your bird in a soft, calm voice without touching it. For the bird to get used to you and bond with you, place your hand outside the cage as you speak to your budgie.
4. Exercise Patience
Not all birds have the same personality, and the majority can be scared the first time you approach them.
5. Offer Your Budgie Treats
Treats reinforce the bonding process, and budgies love them. If you regularly reward your bird, it will associate you with sweet treats and look forward to seeing you even more.
6. Handling The Budgie
The above steps can take a few days. However, handling your bird might take quite some time. Encourage the bird to take food from your hand, as this will help it get used to your hands.
7. Touching The Budgie
Once your budgie accepts food from your hand, try to stroke him with your other hand. Once comfortable, you can move on to finger training.
How to Train Budgies to Sit on Your Finger
1. Familiarize the bird with your hand by placing it in the cage until the bird is comfortable with it.
2. Offer your hand to the bird to step onto and hold a treat behind the hand where the bird has to step on the finger to reach it.
3. Encourage the bird to step up by praising and speaking softly to it.
4. Repeat the process until the bird gets onto your finger without a treat.
As the finger resembles a perch, your bird will eventually learn to step onto it.
Things to Avoid When Taming a Budgie
For your training sessions to be successful:
1. Avoid making sudden loud noises.
2. Never make sudden moves while near your budgie.
3. Don’t try to tame a bird when it’s molting due to irritation.
4. Don’t make training sessions too long, as the bird might become bored.
5. Avoid staring directly at your bird, as it can be threatening to your budgie.
How Hard Is It to Hand Tame a Budgie?
Hand taming can be hard, especially for a bird that is not used to human contact. It can take a week or more to gain their trust and for the bird to feel comfortable around you.
The taming process also takes a lot of time and effort since it requires constant training and repetition for your bird to be fully trained.
Is It Easier to Tame 1 Budgie or 2?
Budgies are easier to tame when kept alone than when they are in pairs. Two budgies easily bond with one another due to their flock instincts and will enjoy companionship from one of their kind more than interacting with the owner.
Therefore, this makes it hard to tame more than one budgie at any given time.
How Long Does It Take to Tame a Budgie?
Budgies have different personalities and past experiences. Birds that are used to human interaction are easier to tame as compared to those with no exposure. Thus, taming may take a few weeks or months, depending on the individual budgie.
The taming process should consist of short sessions of 10-15 minutes several times a day. Hence, it may be difficult to fully tame your bird in 30 minutes or just a single day.
How to Hold a Budgie For the First Time
Budgies are sensitive, and their experience of your first encounter can either build or destroy your relationship completely.
If you want to hold your budgie, you should be mindful of its size and be gentle with your pet friend to prevent injury.
Here is how to hold your budgie for the first time:
1. Ensure that there is a strong bond between you and your bird.
2. Feed your bird regularly, as it will bite when hungry.
3. Approach the cage while calling your bird softly to avoid startling it.
4. Open the cage door slowly.
5. Place your hand inside the cage and wait for the bird to perch
6. Handle your bird with a towel to avoid bites.
7. Handle your bird gently.
How to Tame a Scared Budgie
A scared budgie can be tamed by:
1. Providing it with a safe environment, a healthy diet, and removing any threats.
2. Pay attention to your bird’s body language.
3. Staying gentle and calm as you speak to your bird
How to Tame a Budgie That Bites to Avoid Being Bitten
Budgies are likely to bite if there is a change in their environment or diet, if they lack enough sleep, or if they are bored. Hence;
1. Allow the bird to get used to the environment before taming it.
2. Avoid holding its wings or legs, as it can hurt the budgie.
3. Avoid holding it in an inverted position.
4. Avoid holding your bird when it’s sleeping time.
5. Avoid holding it when it is not properly fed.
Is It Ever Too Late to Train a Budgie?
The best time to tame a budgie is when they are between six weeks and six months old. This is because the young birds are easier to tame than the older ones, as they are not acclimated to a given habit and have no bad memories.
Older birds can take months or even years to be tamed. They are a bit hard to train as they are used to a given routine, and a change in their environment greatly affects them.
How Do You Bond With Budgies?
You can bond with your budgies by:
1. Playing with your budgies
2. Offering them their favorite foods and treats
3. Making your budgies feel safe.
4. Gaining their trust.
How Do You Get a Budgie to Trust You?
1. Spend Time With Your Budgie
This will help it relax and encourage your bird to trust you. You can pass the time reading a book, speaking quietly and gently to your bird, and playing with your bird.
2. Learn Your Bird’s Body Language
Budgies communicate through body language. By learning its language, you will be able to tell when your bird is comfortable or nervous.
3. Give Your Budgie Treat
Reward your budgie’s good behavior. This will go a long way toward building trust.
4. Let Your Bird Out of The Cage
As your budgie explores, it will feel comfortable with the new home and you, thus building trust.
5. Don’t Hit or Yell at Your Bird
Hitting your bird will make it afraid of you, which also breaks trust.
How Do I Train My Budgie Not to Fly Away?
1. Use a Harness
A harness helps you pull your bird back to you when it tries to fly away. Your budgie will eventually learn that it can’t fly away with a harness.
2. Keep It Close to You
Put him where you hang out most to allow him to get used to you. Your bird will feel safe when near you and will not fly away.
3. Desensitize Your Bird to Fly
Limit the space the bird flies in until it gets used to only flying around you.
4. Provide It With Positive Reinforcement
Treat your bird when he doesn’t fly away.
5. Clip the Wings
Clipping the budgie’s wings makes it unable to fly away.
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