nestlings becomes shy..

[Nes]

hi, I do have 4 nestlings and 6 adult not tame birds. I hope I post this in right forum. As they were a little younger they stayed in my hand, they let pet them. Now they have fledged and are playing and flying around with the others. I just have one room.

so how can I tame at least one? I cant hold them seperately. I could cut the edges of the wings but then I am very sad and feel guilty. How can I handle this?

and is it normal that the nestlings feed each other, soo cuteeee

thank you

 

[karen256]

What kind of birds are they?

What you did raising them - handling them in the nest - is sometimes called co-parenting and it's a good way to raise babies, especially with budgies. It's also normal that they lose some of the tameness once they can fly.
The idea is that these babies, once they go to their new homes and get individual attention away from their parents, become tame again quickly and bond well with their new family. I had a budgie who was co-parented and he didn't seem very tame when I got him, but he learned to step up almost immediately and soon became very friendly and affectionate.

When they are with other birds, their social needs are met and they don't really 'need' people. They're also at the age where they are learning what to be afraid of from their parents - if their parents aren't tame, then they may become afraid of you as well.

I would put the 4 babies in a separate cage from their parents as soon as you are sure they are weaned. Parents can sometimes become aggressive to babies that don't leave the nest when they should, anyway. And they won't pick up bad habits from their parents. They won't really need you for attention, but you can work to gain their trust and acceptance as a flock member anyway. A good way to work with them is just to start with spending time with them, near their cage, talking to them - offering them some treats like millet from your hand. Without their parents acting scared of you, you should be able to start to rebuild their trust fairly quickly.

 

[Monica]

Why not try taming them all at once? Without clipping?


An Experiment with Budgies | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Nes]

thank you so much. YEs I forgot to mention, they are budgies. I would love it if at least one comes to the table, running on it, coming to my shoulder or head. I dont have to pet them like a cat. So it is a very good idea to hold them separetly. I just have one room and a kitchen. Kitchen is a no no, because of boiling water for example.
the whole flock is not tamed.

i will read the link above but it is impossible, I cant imagine to tame ten budgies.

what happens if I really shorten ones tail and wing? If I would part the room into two by hanging a blanket into the ceiling or so..but they will call for each other if they dont see themselves..pffff

 

[Monica]

DO NOT clip their tail feathers! There really is no reason for this. Their tails are like the rudders on a boat - it helps in them to steer while flying.

If you have just *ONE* bird willing to accept treats from you, then you can work with all of them! And no clipping is required! I've done this with 5 adult, flighted budgies, all parent raised. I then did this with 5 adult cockatiels, tameness from previously tame and friendly to skittish ex-breeder. The ex-breeder tiel showed the most amazing progress out of all of them, and he never "forgot"! I could have done the same behavior with a wild caught ARN, but I chose not to, because she's wild caught. (would rather see her in an aviary with other RN's rather than being a pet... if I could find something like that)


Clipping and trying to work with just one bird will cause stress to that bird, especially when it can't fly with the rest of the flock and you separate it. Personally, I feel like you would have better luck working with the entire flock than just one bird.

 

[Garet]

Please don't clip either your budgie's wings or tail! Budgies have been known to die from the stress of having their wings cut. I had a budgie who couldn't fly very well due to either a bird or a person messing up her wings and tail, and it was absolutely awful for her. She couldn't avoid hitting anything.

Work with your birds. Don't chase them or force your attention on them. Offer them millet and treats, make it fun to be around you and spend time with you.

I'm sorry, but this is basic information you should have known before you got all these animals. Why are you breeding if you don't know how how to take care of them and that you shouldn't cut their tailfeathers?

 

[karen256]

I wouldn't start by trying to tame all 10 of them.
Start with the babies since they will be easier. I would separate them from the parents - you can still keep the 4 babies together. Babies are usually naturally curious and less afraid - without their untame parents telling them people are scary, they should be much easier to work with. Besides, they really should have their own cage after weaning anyway.
You can work with them together, or try to identify the tamest one and start with that one.

Wing clipping is controversial (tails should never be clipped). I remember reading in a bird magazine a few years back that it was "impossible" to tame a flighted budgie, but many people do tame them flighted. Clipping wings also does not make a bird tamer - it just removes its ability to escape. A clipped bird may feel more scared by a person picking it up, because it can't get away. On the other hand, clipping may allow you to have them out more with less risk of them panicking and flying into something and hurting themselves while taming. If you do clip - do not clip too much - many wing clipping diagrams show someone trimming 7, 8 or even more flight feathers, you don't want to clip more than 4 or 5. Clip more and you run a risk of a bird injuring itself falling.
Also, clipping is not something that should ever be done on a permanent basis with budgies. Think of it as a one-time thing that may help keep a bird safer while being tamed. Budgies are strong fliers, and prone to obesity and fatty tumors if they can't get enough exercise. Also, they are very agile fliers - once tame and in familiar surroundings, they are unlikely to fly into windows or otherwise hurt themselves flying.

 

[Nes]

emmm Garet

I'm sorry, but this is basic information you should have known before you got all these animals. Why are you breeding if you don't know how how to take care of them and that you shouldn't cut their tailfeathers?

I havent cut anything yet. What basic imformation do you mean? I do take care of them. They are not hungry or stuck in a cage. They are free to fly and do what they want on the selfmade playground.

I can remember my first budgie, the poor one he newer got veggies, and was hold alone. He was free to fly but had no partner. He was very very tame. Nowadays I know that this it not right. So I dont do this mistake again. Therefore none of them are tame now. clipping wings is discussed controversial. I do not prefer it but did this once, and this budgie become tame also after that. Nevertheless they are birds they have to fly, its like cutting our legs. Anyhow not really ok.


@Monica I read your thread about handfeeding, as far as I understood, and saw on your videos, the birds are very hungry, arent they? hunger is also used as a taming method. No wild animal will come to your hand or even near you, if its not so hungry. Pls excuse If I understood in a wrong way, english is not my mother tongue.

chicks are hold separetly in a big cage with mum and dad. The other birds are in another cage, but hey are all in one room. I was really sure they would be tame after handfeeding, and co-parenting.

they have no urge to be tame. you dont git on the knees of your parents or hug them the whole day, you hang out with friends. I am just a feeder :..(

 

[Garet]

emmm Garet

I havent cut anything yet. What basic imformation do you mean? I do take care of them. They are not hungry or stuck in a cage. They are free to fly and do what they want on the selfmade playground.

Basic info like not cutting their tailfeathers? This is something you should at least know before you go on to breed and have this many budgies...

 

[karen256]

chicks are hold separetly in a big cage with mum and dad. The other birds are in another cage, but hey are all in one room. I was really sure they would be tame after handfeeding, and co-parenting.

they have no urge to be tame. you dont git on the knees of your parents or hug them the whole day, you hang out with friends. I am just a feeder :..(

You will just have to work with them more, but no, they likely won't be as tame as a single pet budgie that is reliant on people for attention. They will be happier, though, with each other for companionship.

Coparenting is still a great way to raise budgies that are easy to tame, in general. My first budgie was a coparented baby I adopted from a rescue and he was the best little bird... my budgies since then have been handfed, since it's enough to find any alternative to pet store budgies. Handfed budgies are great but coparented one are the best.

 

[Monica]

@Monica I read your thread about handfeeding, as far as I understood, and saw on your videos, the birds are very hungry, arent they? hunger is also used as a taming method. No wild animal will come to your hand or even near you, if its not so hungry. Pls excuse If I understood in a wrong way, english is not my mother tongue.

Food can be used as a way to tame and train birds. You do not want to starve them, but you also don't want to work with them when they are full. If you had a big dinner and you are stuffed, why would you want to eat desert? However, if you've just woken up and you haven't eaten yet, would you do something for the food you are about to eat? Or maybe it's noon and it's been a while since you've had breakfast, maybe it's time to get some more food?


Check out this thread as well. In particular, pay attention to the second video. Faye was a new bird. She really had no reason to trust me or have any interest in me! However, she *wanted* to eat from my hands. If you look behind her, there is a cockatiel "down below" freely eating out of a dish. Faye didn't *have* to eat from my hand, she *chose* to.

"Self-Tamed" Cockatiels | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum


Yes, you want to work with them when they are hungry, but *NOT* when they are starving!