Budgie training help!

[shesaravenclaw]

I clean the cage with my guys inside all the time... That being said my cage is taller so when I'm scrubbing the grate, it doesn't bother them. Does your grate slide out? If so try cleaning the tray first, then slide out the grate and scrub that, then remove about half of the perches and clean them, put them back in and do the other half... I honestly would recommend spot cleaning only though until he's more used to your hands. Unless of course there's something really gross going on lol

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[Jeans]

Well I haven't been able to clean as often as I generally do so filth has built up a little :x I am a bad mommy. He gets very upset when people do stuff to his cage and when I pull the tray out, it shakes the cage this way and that.


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[BIRDIGIRL]

Currently it is a mess because he ripped apart his toys but they are being replaced tmr and the whole cage scrubbed.

I fixed the doors differently and he has not gotten out. If he doesn't get tomorrow, it means he is secure because he usually gets out within an hour. I think that problem is resolved! Yay!


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Hi I see him hes Adorable. I think that looks like the same cage that I have for Nellow and Primrose..
He has probably been escaping through one of the smaller doors as they slide up and down which of course is very dangerois as it could slide down on him and injure him I Have cable tied all doors except the larger one and I have a clip on that one securing it from the outside so only I can open it...and remember there is a smaller door in the middle of your big door which needs to be secured too I have the advantage of being able to take my guys out of the cage when I clean it but you want him to stay inside at least for the moment I would use the larger door for access and wipe round the floor grid and clean the bottom tray which pulls out, this is the first thing I would do...then a little later Id remove one perch or toy at a time and clean them...dont clean all of them in the one sitting do it over the course of a day or even two days doing the dirtiest ones first and when giving new toys change them one at a time over a period of dayd or even a week as you are trying yo tell him to trust your hands not tell him that your hands wreck his world if you know what I mean. Id wipe the floor grid daily it makes life easier and clean the bottom tray twice a week. Id continnue cleaning a perch or toy a day or maybe a perch snd a toy once he gets used of seeing you do it. Routine gives them security so if you do this cleaning at a certain time every day he will grow to accrpt it as part of the norm and that its not to be feared.
Your little Escape Artist is Adorable

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

Well I haven't been able to clean as often as I generally do so filth has built up a little :x I am a bad mommy. He gets very upset when people do stuff to his cage and when I pull the tray out, it shakes the cage this way and that.


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It shouldnt shake the cage that much...are you sre you have secured the floor grid...there is a little clip that hooks into the side of the cage holding the bottom grid in place and this firms up the cage (that is if it is the same cage as mine) check that the grid is securely in place...that could also be how hes escaping if he is pushing against a side of cage thats not secure snd that moves so check that the little clip is in place then check the three clips on each side like little rounded feet on the outside of the cage that they are holding the bottom of the side of the cage securely. Once they are in place it shouldnt prove too difficult to remove the tray unless its really full. Its best to empty it often. If you mske the emptying of the tray a daily routine he will get used of it and accept it as normal. It might be easier for him to have it emptied daily so the whole thing becomes a safe common place exercise

 

[Jeans]

I saw him try and lift the doors earlier and when he couldnt he was annoyed [emoji23] it was funny.

The grid is in place correctly it is just sort of out of shape so the tray bumps it when it is being pulled out. I will try and make it better.

I will definitely do what you said tomorrow. Thanks for your help!


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[MonicaMc]

I don't see any reason to clip his wings.... sure, it makes it easier to chase him down if he were to get out, but again, I don't see it any safer, because this means he'll end up on the floor where he could potentially get stepped on. There are also a lot of fun things on or near the floor to chew on...



I once had 5 adult, flighted budgies. Two came from a breeder (parent raised), the other three came from pet stores, and when the owners no longer wanted them, gave them to me. None were tame and friendly. I decided to try a little "experiment". I started out by feeding them first thing in the morning by hand. Now, mind you, I only feed my birds enough food to last one day, so they do not have food available to them 24/7. I'd try to wait at least 5-15 minutes and if they didn't eat, that was ok! I would replenish their food dishes for the day and try again the next day. Five budgies. All flighted. None tame. Monkey see, monkey do!


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx81WHTUwk"]1 Bird in hand Leads to Many - YouTube[/ame]


Did that for about a month. Well, two weeks in, instead of feeding them inside the cage, I was feeding them just outside the cage door. Two weeks of that, I then tried feeding them from about 4 feet away from the cage. After they were done eating, I could get them back in their cage by replenishing the food dishes.



[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSm4uFZzVU"]More Budgies!!!! - YouTube[/ame]



Experiment complete. I was able to get 5 budgies to trust me, to an extent. That's all I wanted to do. I could have done more, but I didn't feel the need to.




But............. I apparently wasn't done just yet!



I had a female cockatiel that was hand raised and a pet at one point in time in her life, but her human, a kid, grew up and discovered sports and girls. (he could have been the one who hand fed her, too! he had her parents as well) Well, she (and her family - more on that later...) ended up getting ignored as no one had time for her. I ended up getting her and her family. When I got her, she didn't show any interest in human interaction, and I was ok with that. If my birds want human interaction, I'll oblige! But I don't need every single bird of mine to be tame, friendly and demanding attention! As long as they are happy and content, I'm ok with that!

Remember when I said monkey see, monkey do? Well, Sunshine ended up following me around the room in the morning when I was feeding everyone. She even landed on me a couple of times. At first, I thought she was a different bird! Until she flew off. Sunshine had landed on me, behind my head, so I thought she was Casey, but Casey isn't as heavy as Sunshine is. When Sunshine took off a moment later and I turned and look to see "Casey" fly off, I realized it was Sunshine!

It took two freakin weeks! Two freakin weeks for this dumb human to realize that Sunshine had decided she wanted human interaction, too! But not just *any* interaction! It had to be the same as what the budgies were getting!!! So I started feeding her by hand!


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88bN30qOjo"]Sunshine in the Morning - YouTube[/ame]



Insert Faye. Another rehomed cockatiel. She had at least 3 homes prior to mine, and probably all 3 were crappy. The previous one fed her a horrible diet, when the food dish was "empty", instead of throwing the waste away, they'd dump it on the bottom of the cage and refill the dish. With wild bird seed. Bar spacing on the cage was large enough that mice, in broad daylight, were climbing through the bars and rummaging through the bottom. The tray had a nice big rusted out hole in it, too. Sickening thought that these people actually tried to breed her! Thankfully, it was not a success! Home before that? Well, I know she spent a lot of time living inside a screened in porch during the warmer months, no doubt on a poor diet.

When Faye came to me, she was very scared and didn't really want to have any interactions with me... but she was watching me feed Sunshine. Well, if Sunshine can have food from me, she wants it, too! Please take note of her behavior. Also, look at the cockatiel behind her! She's eating food! So Faye doesn't *HAVE* to eat from my hand, but she's choosing to!


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9w9w8nMRmw"]Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]




And now compare it to this video.... see just how much that behavior has changed.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH9ZWxhCSAE"]Not So Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]



Faye got to the point that she was *demanding* being fed by hand rather than eating out of a dish! Even if I stopped feeding them for several weeks, or even months, occasionally she'd still demand it!


Anyway...... since my "experiment" had apparently not ended with the budgies, but moved on to the cockatiels as well, I decided to see if I could get the other tiels more comfortable with me! Which includes Tomi Girl, a cockatiel that was nearly starved to death when I took her in (over 40% underweight! possibly even around 50%) and had been in at least two homes, and Sunshine's parents, Pistachio and Kiwi. Tomi Girl was kind of stand-offish with humans, Kiwi didn't really mind humans much as long as you left her alone and Pistachio was terrified of humans. If he thought you meant any ill will towards him, even if you were walking past him, he would take off flying! He would do whatever he could to avoid humans!

Through feeding the cockatiels by hand every day, I was able to get them comfortable eating from my hands, then touching my hands, then eventually standing and even hopping onto my hands for food. At first, they didn't like the idea, and if they were brave enough, would grab a piece of food, then take off running or flying! They were not comfortable with the idea at all!

The most amazing change though was Pistachio. One day he just kind of got over his fear (not to say he's tame and friendly, just his extreme fear of humans). He was trying to forage around on the ground and couldn't find much food, while I was standing near with food in my hand. He decided to fly straight up from the floor and onto my hand. There wasn't much food left, so he stayed on my hand as I went and got more food for him. Another time, he landed on my shoulder, and yet again, I had to painfully slowly walk over to the food buckets (so as not to freak him out) and get more food for him.


The following video shows Tomi Girl, then Pistachio (who is now 18+ years old, been with me for nearly 11 years), then Casey climbing up my arm. (Tomi Girl also makes a reappearance!)


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjKmHswgiHs"]Cockatiel Feeding - April 24th - YouTube[/ame]




Although I hardly ever feed the cockatiels by hand now-a-days, Pistachio is always the second cockatiel to come over and start eating from my hand when I do offer food by hand! (Casey, my first cockatiel, tame and sweet, being the first!)

 

[Jeans]

I have done that with him but always felt bad because I did feel like he felt forced. Though technically he wasn't. With that he would hop on my hand for food but it never actually made him like humans more. Maybe I will try again! Thank you!


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[shesaravenclaw]

I would also feel like I was forcing him... Like I haha you either like me or you starve! But doing the same thing with a treat is the best way to tame... That way he still has access to his food weather he comes to you or not... I would think that would build more trust...

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[MonicaMc]

As you can see in one of the videos, a bird is choosing to eat from my hand rather than getting it from a dish. Think it may fall under the category of "contrafreeloading".


You are free to use the bird's treats, but here's something to keep in mind... if the bird is already full of food, they'll have very little interest in working for a treat.

Much like eating dinner at a buffet, but getting so stuffed on food that you have no room for desert, or if you do, very little. Would you put much effort into having desert? Probably not.


I am by far *NOT* recommending you starve your bird, just saying that it helps to work with the bird when they are hungry! Hence doing so first thing in the morning before they've had a chance to eat.


You can also try throughout the day as well! Short but frequent training sessions are better than long but infrequent training sessions! And what I showed you was from *only* feeding the birds by hand in the morning! So that was working with them once a day!




Now imagine if you were patient enough to work with the bird for a few minutes several times throughout the day? If you were willing to take it further than I did? And on the bird's terms? Taming a bird doesn't take a lot of effort, if you do it right, IMO.

 

[Jeans]

Well what I used to do (for two days before I realized it was dangerous) was that he was not allowed to eat unless it was from my hand. That is pretty ridiculous and I now wonder where I got that training method from

I will do a combination of both and put any updates on this thread. Thank you for your help guys


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[shesaravenclaw]

Something that I do that's kind of a compromise between the two styles is that my birds have a training treat. It's whatever their favorite treat is that they will eat no matter what and they only get it when I'm training them. That way they're engaged because they really want the treat, but I also don't feel like I'm forcing them to do anything

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[BIRDIGIRL]

Well what I used to do (for two days before I realized it was dangerous) was that he was not allowed to eat unless it was from my hand. That is pretty ridiculous and I now wonder where I got that training method from

I will do a combination of both and put any updates on this thread. Thank you for your help guys


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Dont leave your budgie without food that is not the way forward and could make your budgie very ill...if he comes and takes something from your hand while at the same time there is food in his bowl then that is good but not all budgies eat from the hand...infact its more common for a budgie not to take a treat from the hand but some do. I have 4 very tame budgies and none of them will take a treat from my hand...some budgies will take a treat and some wont...budgies are different that way to other parrots...Norman Barrett who trains the budgies for his act in Zippos circus never gives his budgies treats they are rewarded with head scratches and praise. I do the same when I work with mine and Elsa the one I have longest is doing her tricks for praise Houdini who is just starting has mastered a couple of tricks for praise and a head scratch and the babies havent started learning tricks yet but they are already responding to praise and head scratches and dont accept treats from my hand...in fact they have pushed the millet away to get a head scratch.
But Most Important...DONT EVER LEAVE YOUR BUDGIE WITHOUT FOOD...there was a post here suggesting you offer your budgie food in your hand first thing in the morning before you top up and fill the food bowl and it is okay to do that and if your budgie comes and eats then great but if not dont worry as budgies often dont but make sure you leave him with a good bowl of food and a fresh bowl of water. Never Ever leave your Budgie without food .

 

[Jeans]

Yes I understand the difference. I only did this for a day or two before realizing how ridiculous it was.

What was recommended on here is a very different option and I will try it. I was not saying I would ever starve my bird. Clearly I got information from some very bad place because they also said to just hold the budgie in your hand until it stops fighting to tame it.

Never doing those things!

He loves spray millet so as soon as I can, I will go out and buy some. But yeah he is definitely not as treat motivated as some animals that is for sure!


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[Flboy]

As Birdgirl said, I am sure the little bugger is lifting the slide doors!
Two easy fixes, use a zip tye above the door to act as a drag, or better, just use a bunch of clothespins on the doors. Remember to make sure they are positioned where there is no chance of your baby reaching the metal spring. Heavy metal poisoning and toe,beak danger!

 

[IndySE]

Aww poor little guy =(

The last budgie Jack I had came to me pretty wild but I managed to get him to a point where he'd willingly come out of his cage and perch on my hand for a few minutes. He'd even permit a head-scratch on occasion I feel compelled to share some of what I learned from him. I'm sure you already know a lot of it already, but just in case there's something helpful I'd like to walk you through the process I went through with Jacki

So first thing is first, you have to establish the cage as a safe place. You've already gotten some good advice on that. I might even suggest getting a larger cage or a flight cage. Not only will this allow him to flutter around a bit more and get some exercize, but it will also give him more escape routes when you must put your hands in to change food and water. When Jack was in his tiny cage he was more fearful. When he moved up to to his flight cage (the second link shesaravenclaw shared, actually), he could evade my hands and had a happier outlook to it. I will say, though, the particular cage I used might be difficult to escape-proof x)

Budgies are very sensitive and don't forgive being grabbed easily. I do not recommend grabbing unless completely neccessary. If you can establish the cage as safe, he probably won't want to escape as much. Or if he does, he'll most likely come back to his cage. A cage is where the food is, so a secure and happy budgie shouldn't want to stray far from the cage Maybe even look to birdproofing the room he's in so in case he escapes, you can leave him alone for a bit and allow him to come back to it on his own.

Next you will want to get him used to your presence. Just get to the point where he doesn't panic if you are in the room with him. Move slowly and talk softly to him. When he's okay with you being near his cage, start reading to him. I read Jack 'Where the Sidewalk ends" and part of a chapter of Harry Potter. He will be confused but just getting them used to the sound of your voice is important. Once he is okay with all this (gets puffy and closing his eyes are the signs to look for !) you move on to getting him used to hands. Move your hands around outside the cage and show him they are okay. This will spook him but just get him used to the range of motions you can do with them. Once he's sitting calmly in his cage, you can start inching your cage inside. Don't approach near him, but just try to move your hands slowly enough that he doesn't jump wildly around and stays in the same spot. This is the hardest part and must be done slowly.

Now once he is at the point where he is okay with hands and is not in panic, you can start moving into the bribery stage of taming Every budgie I've met adores spray millet. It is like a drug to them and is a powerful tool. Make sure you hang some up in the cage for your little guy and get him hooked on the stuff. Don't give to him too often (maybe once a week) since it's not the healthiest stuff, but also because you're going to want him to crave it when he hasn't had any in a while. Once he's craving some of that millet, hold some at the end of the stalk and try to get him to eat from near your hands. This may take time. Wait 10 minutes or so if you have to. And if he's still not taking it (but is calmly allowing the presence of your hands -- if he's not, go back a step), just keep at it with persistence. Eventually he will try some. Get him more and more confident from taking food from you. And once he feels good about taking it, you can start using the spray millet to get him to come to you. Start making him move around the cage to get at the spray millet. Give him the idea that he has to work for his yummy snack. Then start luring him closer and closer to either your hand or outside the cage. With time and patience you will be able to get him on your hand and out of the cage.

I hope this helps ! Good luck with this clever cutie.

 

[Jeans]

Thank you so much! His cage is his safe place already and he never leaves it if I just open his door to let him out. I think it's the thrill of escaping. I ordered $80 worth of toys for him and Starry so I can switch them out often and keep him entertained. I plan on investing in bigger cages for both him and Starry although probably him first because Starry is out a minimum of 7 hours a day. Today it was 12 hours and she is still upset that I put her away.

I hated having to grab him but it was a safety issue and I was desperate. He never went back to his cage either. He did not care if he starved. Another reason I had to catch him in that way.

The room he is in is bird proof, but I have three rats who also have play time in this room and I do not like having them out at the same time. And like I said, he would stay out for two nights without going back and I had to bring his food out to him.

He panics when I get to his cage. Today I picked up the trash and bits of paper off the bottom of his cage and he was actually relatively calm!

I read to all my animals on an almost weekly basis. When I am reading my book I generally read it out loud so my animals can hear it. Today he was chirping along with me as I read. It was darn cute.

Yeah it is pretty ridiculous how long it took me to pick up 5 pieces of paper off the cage floor because I was moving so slowly. I will continue to do this.

HE IS OBSESSED WITH MILLET! Unfortunately he does not eat pellets and the best food I could find for him is mostly millet but he still prefers the spray millet.

Thank you again for all this helpful information! I am very excited about finally having him trust me a bit!


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[Jeans]

So I came home to find he had escaped again... But this time Starry was out of her cage. I put her away quickly but she was obviously terrified of him! Now I need to put him away, how can I go about doing that without ruining what we have built?

Every morning I offer him food from my hand for a few minutes. He is slowly relaxing a little bit more. I don't want to ruin this...

As to how he escaped, the doors were all tied shut, so not there. I believe it was through a hole I noticed in the back. It seems on of his perches pushed the back of the cage away from the rest. Only about an inch. Probably enough for him to get out! It has been tied shut now as well.


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[RavensGryf]

I have successfully taught hand motions along with verbal commands to my late budgie Twigs, as well as my Ruppell's parrot Griffin who I cannot touch.

When I had Twigs, he was a parent raised individual who never showed an interest in befriending humans. Funny thing is, he did learn to step up to get "out" of his cage, but not in. At first, I would let Twigs out only at a time when I knew I had a plenty of time. Then when I saw him going back to his cage for the night and landing in his roof, I taught him the word "in" with my hand sweeping in a gesture pointing in his cage standing far away enough that he felt comfortable. I kept repeating the word as he made his way inside his cage. It didn't take him long at all to learn. After a while it was easy. All I would have to do was say "Twigs, in" and he knew it was time to go home. Sometimes he'd be a bad boy and pretend to go in but turn back around fast lol. With Will, during the time you're training him, why not save his favorite spray millet only for an 'in' reward? Until he 'gets it' make sure you do this at a time you have plenty of time.

Griffin knows verbal commands well. He goes in immediately when I say "in", and he can even pick the cue words out of a sentence when I talk to him like a human.. "Griffin, it's time to start going home now" or "it's almost time for bed, time to go home" when I want him to leave Raven's cage and go to his own. After saying it a couple times, he's on his way home . He no longer needs a treat to reinforce it since he knows it, but I give it anyway.

The key to get them to learn the concept is to use the same word everytime and say it when they are in the act of doing the desired action. Either treat and/or praise. Parrots of all sizes including budgies, will learn quickly if you're consistent. Good luck!

 

[Jeans]

That is an awesome idea Raven! Thank you!

He went back in on his own, not sure why. I'm not complaining!


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[Astorch]

http://www.parrotforums.com/members...s-picture17045-messy-after-cage-cleaning.jpeg

My bird Messy won't step up, she associates my hand with the clipping I used to do years ago, I don't clip in six years but she never forgets. I'm going to try millet in the palm of my hand and wait.