New Budgie

[NCBrown]

Hi everyone, I am a brand new bird owner, and I am trying to figure out what is the best way to bond with my budgie. He is around 4 months old and we have had him for almost 4 weeks. At the pet store, he was frequently hand held and easily came to my husband and me. Within days of being at home, he would let us hold him and come out of the cage. When we revisited the pet store, we were advised not to let him do this, but to close the cage door after we got him out so that he would be trained to obey us. We did this for around a week - and he did not like not getting back into the cage. We stopped doing this because he became more reluctant to come out. We started keeping the door open again. Then, he started becoming very loud and squawking while my husband tried to work, so we had to move his cage to the living room. He has been in the living room for 3 days. He won’t come out of his cage any more. He will barely sit on my finger and flies right back in if I try to take him out. I have been focusing on reading to him and gently petting him. I’m just not sure if I’m doing anything right at all. I’m so discouraged because I really wanted to be able to bond with my bird. Even when he was coming out, he was always wanting to go back in the cage after a very short while. He would not sit on my shoulder even if I put my finger on my shoulder to let him. He also has never taken treats from me. Everything you read online contradicts each other. I just want to know how best to have a good bond with my little bird.

 

[Sparkles99]

Welcome! Your budgie is handsome! I'd suggest bribery with millet + time.

 

[Lady Jane]

we were advised not to let him do this, but to close the cage door after we got him out so that he would be trained to obey us. We did this for around a week - and he did not like not getting back into the cage. We stopped doing this because he became more reluctant to come out.

Pet store employees are known for giving bad advice to new bird people. Of course he wants to go back in his cage for security. Best advice I can give you is to not rush the process of getting to know each other. You earn a bond with your budgie by helping him to feel secure in his new home. If he wants to stay in the cage that is ok if your bird room is safe for flight. Many people get a parrot stand and keep it near the cage with toys and treats on it to tempt him to explore out of cage. Do not force anything he does not want to do. Try playing budgie sounds from YouTube too. He will like that as budgies have a strong need to be with other budgies in a flock.

 

[Shezbug]

His cage is safety for him- please always leave it open while he’s out so he can go back in at anytime if he feels he needs to.
Don’t rush anything with him- it really sounds like you were going awesome and building trust with him right up until you took the bad advice of a pet store employee. I’m sorry that happened but you can put it behind you and get back to where you were before with some patience and time.
Birds won’t ever obey you! They are nothing like dogs so we need to be smart and learn what motivates and interests them so we can work with that to get a relationship that works for us and the bird.

 

[WikiWaz]

Hi @NCBrown. Welcome to the avenue. I think your budgie is frightened he will not be able to get back in his cage again. But with the cage being consistently opened while you spend time with him, hopefully he'll understand it is safe again and will warm up to you again.