Taming New Budgie

[Ziekenzie]

Hi! I’m new to the forum and bird owning. My only experience is a family pet when younger. My new little bird is named Sunshine and is from PetSmart. When I saw her, I instantly fell in love. She was sitting on a perch with her buddy being pretty silent. I probably should have gotten a more active budgie, but I fell for her. I did get her when it was night so maybe that was the reason. Her wings are unclipped ad she just kind of sits there. She is also very quiet. I haven’t heard her chirp at all yet. I’ve had her since Monday, so I know that she is settling in, but still. So, a few questions:

1. Will she get more active?
2. Can I tame her without her wings clipped?
3. When should I start trying to tame her?
4. When will I know if she settles in?
5. When should I start letting her out of her cage?


Thank you in advance!

 

[Mybluebird]

Hi! I saw her picture, she's a beauty! I brought Tweetie home from Pet Smart on Sept 29 - about 10 weeks ago. Everyone here will tell you that how long it takes to tame a bird varies because each has its own personality. My baby sat frozen on her perch for almost 3 days which really scared me. I then moved her cage in front of a window and she started chirping some. She's got a very skittish personality so I know she will tame slowly. Now, she's chirping happily, she watches me and doesn't go flying around when I put my hand in her cage. She'll put one foot on my finger when I give her millet to eat. Other people here have birds that sat on their finger after only two weeks. So, have fun with Sunshine and I'll leave it to the experts here to answer your questions.

 

[Lori D Pert]

1. Will she get more active?
2. Can I tame her without her wings clipped?
3. When should I start trying to tame her?
4. When will I know if she settles in?
5. When should I start letting her out of her cage?

1. yes
2. Absolutely!
3. you can start talking softly to her and playing some budgie sounds from you tube right now to help her settle in
4. once she starts checking out her cage and eating and drinking without hesitation, then she is settling in
5. once she has gotten used to not only your face and soft voice, try offering her millet from your hand. Once she is no longer afraid of your hand and will step up easily then you can test a flight outside the cage in a small room that is budgie proof.

The key is to not rush it. Go at her pace. @Mybluebird is correct in that each bird has their own distinct personality and some tame easy and some take longer. Patience is the key. By the way, she is beautiful! A true ray of sunshine! Welcome to the Avenue

 

[Ziekenzie]

Thank you for your advice! One more question: Should I wait until she is settled to start taming? here is a picture of Sunshine

 

[Lori D Pert]

Talking to her softly from outside the cage is the start of taming and yes you can start that now. Just no sudden moves. The budgie sounds should calm her a bit as well. Oh and don't stare directly at her. Predators do that. Avert your eyes and blink.

 

[Ziekenzie]

Ok, thank you for the help! I will play some budgie sounds for her and work on talking to her.

 

[Dorcas George]

Hi! Welcome. Just saying hello, but no advice to add. They covered it. I have one budgie who has been with me for seven months (Packer) and is still skittish. I also have a baby (Frost) who has been here a month. They are at about the same level of tame. One is clipped and one is not. I wish the one that came clipped was not. Just my two cents. So working on patience. People here have been very helpful. One thing not talked about yet is food, but we can talk about that later. Best wishes!

 

[Lori D Pert]

One thing not talked about yet is food, but we can talk about that later.

Yes, we have just given you the very basics. Please don't be afraid to ask any other questions as they arise. Right now you just need to win the trust of this little angel and that doesn't happen overnight.

 

[Ziekenzie]

Update: Sunshine will let me put my hand in the cage (to go about the maintenance), but doesn’t like me getting to close. She will not eat any millet spray from my fingers, but she has eaten some before.

 

[Fergus Mom]

Sunshine is a beauty, for sure! I was just at our Petsmart on Monday, and I fell in love with every budgie there!
Walked away with 100 pound weights on my legs, if you get my drift. MAN those little budgies are cute.
Made the mistake afterward of going to Petco (what the heck was I thinking?) NEARLY lost my stoic reserve there, but the budgie I would have taken home had a leg band on, which was a deal breaker for me. I asked at the store if they could remove it before it left the store, and the guy called another employee who said 'it would be against the law for them to do that'. Hmmmm.... I doubt that is true, but I can't prove otherwise. I just think they didn't feel comfortable doing that.

Everyone has GREAT socialization tips above, so you are doing great.
Budgies hull their seed, so many times the dishes will look full, but it's empty hulls, so add food daily, just in case you didn't know.

 

[Zara]

You are very lucky to have bought an unclipped bird from a chain pet store I hear too often that they get no say and the birds are all clipped.

@Lori D Pert gave great tips

Although I will disagree on;

Once she is no longer afraid of your hand and will step up easily then you can test a flight outside the cage in a small room that is budgie proof.

Once your little budgie takes tome millet from you (a sign that she is settled and confortable), then you can start letting her out (in a bird proofed room, as Lori said). Sometimes it might take longer for the bird to step up, and so I don´t agree with withholding flight time, especially for a flighted bird.
That´s just my take on it
I would also like to add, when letting your bird out, be sure you have extra time available should you take a while to get her back in her cage (it can get stressful very quickly when we need to dash off out and the bird is giving us the run around)

 

[Ziekenzie]

You are very lucky to have bought an unclipped bird from a chain pet store I hear too often that they get no say and the birds are all clipped.

@Lori D Pert gave great tips

Although I will disagree on;

Once your little budgie takes tome millet from you (a sign that she is settled and confortable), then you can start letting her out (in a bird proofed room, as Lori said). Sometimes it might take longer for the bird to step up, and so I don´t agree with withholding flight time, especially for a flighted bird.
That´s just my take on it
I would also like to add, when letting your bird out, be sure you have extra time available should you take a while to get her back in her cage (it can get stressful very quickly when we need to dash off out and the bird is giving us the run around)

The pet store said she was clipped about a month ago, so I’m assuming her flight wings would grow back by this time. When should I start letting her out for flight time, if I shouldn’t wait for her to step up?

 

[Ziekenzie]

Sorry I meant HOW should I get her out for flight time.

 

[Lori D Pert]

Sometimes it might take longer for the bird to step up, and so I don´t agree with withholding flight time, especially for a flighted bird.

Yes I will agree on this as long as she has lost some fear of you. A flighted bird's first flight may be clumsy so make sure tht she has a place to land. However (it's hard to tell in the photo) if she has been clipped a month ago her flight feathers would not be grown back yet. You can see if she wants to come out now but if she's been clipped she may not be able to fly and only flutter to the ground. Still let her try. It is important for her to excercise those wings so once they grow back she can fly. You must be careful she doesn't hurt herself. If you could post another pic closer up to her side I may be able to tell better.

 

[Ziekenzie]

Ok, as soon as I get home I will. I’ll let her out to fly once she starts eating from my hand. Thanks for the help!

 

[Ziekenzie]

Picture as requested. I was able to catch her eating today! She flew away once she spotted me though. She also seems a lot more curious. She is looking around instead of just sitting still.

 

[Lori D Pert]

As near as I can tell her flight feathers are growing back. It's hard to tell when they are all one color..lol. It's great that she is curious. Now she still may not have full flight but if she wants to try then great. I would start just opening the cage in a small room. Windows covered and mirrors covered. Give her some places to land. Open the cage and see. Make sure there is a perch of some kind on the outside of the cage to make it easier for her to get in and out of her cage. Don't worry if she won't come out. Just try again tomorrow.

 

[Ziekenzie]

If I’m hearing you correct, you mean try this once she eats from my hand, or now?

 

[Lori D Pert]

To be honest I would give her a few more days to fully explore her cage and become less skittish around you. Some prefer to wait until they will step up on a ladder and take them out of the cage that way but personally I think that if they are curious enough to try coming out of the cage on their own then they are confident enough around you to be out. I never forced any of my birds out I just opened the cage and when they were ready they came out on their own. That may be 2 weeks after you get them or 2 months. It really does come down to each individual bird.

 

[Ziekenzie]

Ok, I think I will wait until she is a little more comfortable because I doubt that if she doesn’t move around the cage when I am near, that she will exit the cage.