Help me understand my budgie

[Aramzzzz]

So i got my First budgie 2 weeks ago from a pet store...(i know you should avoid petstores.... there are no breeders here on the bigisland) I did lots of prep before my budgie came home with me. Since then, he is in pefect condition, very healthy, eats and drinks throughout the day. He is my only budgie, so i do plan on hand taming him. We started the taming process a few days ago and i do have a few questions.

I read that squinting, blinking often, and winking at your budgie will help them to see you as not as intimidating... some people refer to it as the blinking game? I read about it on some other budgie community and i tried it out.... I believe it actually works cause we both end up winking at each other for long periods of time and he had a good reaction to it... Can i bond with him with this "game"?

Also, if my budgie is doing something, and i stick my hand in (with warning) and he continues doing what he was doing is he comfortable?

Sometimes when my hand is in the cage, completely flat, moving slow but not too slow he will let it close to hime and he will sometimes fall asleep... but towards the end of the day he might bite or try to bite my hand. Does this mean anything. He doesn't make any sounds to signify that hes upset with my hand.. and if he bites, its super soft and quick. (Not as hard as when he used to be territorial) so i. Take this as "im not traing anymore" and i dont pull back when he bites, instead i leave my hand for a couple more minutes then withdraw it slowly and leave him be. What do his bites mean?

Then, ill have my hand resting open and flat in his cage , not touching anything, not trying to follow him, and he'll occasionally jump on and into my hand to use it as another perch to get elsewhere or sometimes just relax... is this good?

Lastly, he doesn't show interest in millet... I don't thibk he's eaten it before.. i left some in his cage to see if hed try it when im not near him, he hasn't touched it. Nor did he touch his cuttlebone. He only eats his regular seed and he loves to nibble on the mealworm flavored mineral block. What can i use to entice him to train next week? Any treat ideas?

Thank you for answering any of my questions. Also if you want can you drop training techniques and tips? Id find the very helpful!!

 

[camelotshadow]

Whats that dark stuff in the middle of his.her nares above the beak?

 

[Aramzzzz]

@camelotshadow its the snapchat puppy filter..

 

[camelotshadow]

Gosh could not see it as it was small but I was worried it was some sort of growth!!!

 

[Aramzzzz]

@camelotshadow would you be able to give me some insight on these behaviors?

 

[datlamb]

your eye game sounds very interesting! i'm very curious to know what other members here think of it, as i never heard of it.

if the budgie is not startled by your hand entering his cage, and indeed keeps doing his thing, i'll take that as a very positive thing! he's not afraid of it or lets it bother him it's very good you let him know before you put it in, it builds trust between you two.

sounds like he is handling your hand very well if he falls asleep next to it, just pay very close attention to it's body language as scared budgies will freeze in place and some pet owners see that as ' tame' behavior when in reality the budgie is very scared! pay attention and see, if his body posture is stiff, feathers are flat against the body, and there is slight shaking it means he is very afraid and that you should take a few steps back. if not, congratulations on your progress! if he is calm he will look relaxed, maybe even puff out a bit. beak grinding is the ultimate relaxation indicator.

i assume that he starts biting towards the end of the day because he is tired. when it starts to get late, try and pay attention to any signs of communication from him indicating he is done training, before the biting comes. you learning to read his body language better will increase the trust bond between you two and let him know he doesn't have to bite to make you ( eventually ) go away it can solve many future biting related problems.

the budgie touching your hand on his own is a huge step in his taming!!! he does not see it as scary , or as a 'predator'. congratulation!! you can now maybe try to feed him seeds to associate your hand with treats

maybe later, after he's learned food also comes from your hand, you could offer him millet. i guess he simply doesn't know it's food yet, haha!

regarding training, this is a very good resource:

FAQ - Ask Bird Bloggers

Part Of The Flock
Part Of The Flock

All About Birds - YouTube

Topics - YouTube


good luck with your new bird! it seems so sweet

 

[Lady Jane]

Welcome to AA. Seems you have some good advice from members here. In looking at the photo of your bird he appears to be overweight. Please don't be offended when I write this. Do you know what he weighs? Is he American or English? That would make a difference in his weight. Is he getting any flight exercise and what does his diet consist of?

 

[Aramzzzz]

@Lady Jane he is american, and yes he does get exercise. Around 6-7 time throughout the day he'll vigorously flap his wings while on his perch then he also likes to play alot with his toys in his cage. He eats the same seed as he was fed by the pet store 3-4 time throughout the day. I don't have a scale to measure his weight.... But thank you for letting me know... how do i fix the overweight issue?

 

[datlamb]

To help him lose weight and be healthy you should start getting him used to eating pellets and vegetables in addition to seeds. (budgie don't like fruit and they are high in sugar anyway). A seed only diet is very fatty and not nutritionaly complete.
As for exercise, you should let him have free flight in a bird safe room. If that's not possible, try in hide treats around his cage so that he'll get exercise from looking around the cage foraging.

links! :

http://talkbudgies.com/314-diet-nutrition/ the stickies here are a very good source of information regarding a budgie's diet. all the stickies in this forum, honestly.

Part Of The Flock parrot diet related questions

Part Of The Flock feeding asks

Part Of The Flock nutrition asks

Part Of The Flock pellet conversion asks

Part Of The Flock household hazards.
Home Safety / Common Household Hazards
make sure the rooms are bird safe before bringing the bird to them, or letting it fly in it

Ask Bird Bloggers asks regarding picky eaters

Ask Bird Bloggers flight training asks

videos:

Flight Training - YouTube flight training

sprouting

foraging toys

good luck !!! keep us updated

 

[Lady Jane]

Very good info datlamb. In my experience with a budgies diet and getting them to eat fresh foods one needs to think out of the box. Best way is to have more than one budgie- monkey see, monkey did. Serving veggies in a bowl can be boring. I put broccoli and kale on a skewer and hang in cage like a tree. I hand wet greens from top of cage with a bag clip. Birds need to eat the Orange and yellow veggies. You can grate carrots or sweet potato and top with sprinkles of millet seed. I wasted lots of food for a few weeks while my boys got used to seeing green and orange veggies but persistence paid off. If birds are eating only seed they can get fatty liver disease and die.

If your birds flight feathers are cut he will not get much exercise. Takes anywhere from 6 to 9 months for them to grow back. We are here for you if you have any ?

 

[Aramzzzz]

Thank you @datlamb and @Lady Jane ! You guys are so helpful!!

 

[Lady Jane]

@Aramzzzz How is it going with your budgie?

 

[Aramzzzz]

AWESOME!!! He loves carrots and took to them after a day or two. He still is kinda distant to leafy greens. I do think that my budgie may be a girl.
Also some exciting news! Budgie let me pet around the cheeks and back of the head!!! Is that bonding?

 

[Lady Jane]

Your budgie enjoying your touching is great news. He is trusting you!

 

[karen256]

It sounds like you are doing everything right. You are being slow and patient and it sounds like he's really starting to trust you.

The blinking game is a good idea - its purpose is just to make sure you don't look like a predator staring at him, and I don't know if it's really an effective way to interact or bond with him. With my budgies, when they were around that level of tameness (not scared but not bonded either), I had good luck interacting with them by playing with their toys. I would ring the bell on a toy, then move back a little, wasn't long before they would become interested and ring the bell too, and we could take turns. Also, most budgies LOVE being talked to. It can be anything, but I like to add in 'pretty bird' a lot - it sounds silly, but it's actually one of the easiest things for them to learn to say and sounds a little like a normal budgie vocalization, so they like it.

Don't worry too much about the millet. Sooner or later, he will probably taste it and decide he likes it. You don't need to get him to eat from your hand to tame him, it sounds like you are doing well already. But if you do want to get him more interested in eating from your hand, you can combine it with getting him to eat other foods. Take away his seeds for a few hours, but leave him with some pellets or veggies with a pinch of seeds on top. At first, he will probably eat the seeds on top and not really try the pellets or veggies much, so he will be hungry when you come back with his seed dish, and more likely to sit with you. Just never leave him for more than a few hours without food you know he will eat. Budgies have been known to starve themselves rather than eat pellets, since they don't always recognize them as food at first. Once you see him definitely eating pellets or veggies, you can cut back on seeds a bit - but budgies still need some seeds in their diet.

 

[Jolene Rice]

That's awesome! I live on maui and I'm getting my budgie tomorrow! I haven't found any body from the Hawaiian islands that has a budgie This thread is great, I have the same situation going or soon to be going on and it answers a lot of my questions!
Aloha