My bird hates me now?

[brianbh1378]

Hello guys, i have been able to pet my budgie Squirtle on his chest. He seems to enjoy it as he closes his eyes when i pet his chest. But 2 days ago, i bought a new ladder for Squirtle and when i attepmed to put it into his cage. He freaked out and started to fly around. So i waited for an hour or so and i decided to try again, he freaked out again. So i gave up and put the ladder away. Than after an hour or so, i decided to pet him again, he bit me super hard on my index finger. I decided to try to pet him again an hour later, he bit me again. So i convered his cage and we both went to sleep. Yesterday, i just talked to him and told him i am sorry for freaking him out but i dont think he cares. I told my dad to try to pet him and he bit my dad too. I didnt try to pet him yesterday because i didnt want to get bitten again. I dont know what to do now, i want to pet him but i am scared. Please help guys =[

 

[LoryLover]

He may need more time to get over his fright. Will he let you hold him? Use his favorite toy or food to encourage him to trust you again... for instance if he loves millet spray, hold a piece and let him nibble it while you are holding it. Be patient and loving with him, and he'll soon be your best buddy again.

Some birds really freak out if a new toy is immediately put into their cage... sometimes you have to just put the toy where they can see it for a few days, but far enough away from their cage so they don't feel fearful about it. Then when some days have passed, bring it closer and see if the bird shows fear. When they don't seem to be bothered by it, then place it in the cage.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Your budgie is probably scared of hand. With smaller bird, always let them check out new toys before putting it their cage. Make sure he can't see that ladder for this few days, and just sit beside his cage and talk to him. Trying feeding him millet, give him treats and let him know that hands are not scary.

Watch his body language carefully, avoid get bitten. budige are not bad, it just hurt. Not like a macaw that can rip your finger off!

Try clicker training, it would really help. Give him a bit time, after he is better, put the ladder very far away from his cage. And move it closer and closer, but do this slow. And until you can put it in his cage.

Hope this helped

 

[weco]

Sometime birds think things that they've never seen before are monsters & are afraid of them.....he's upset with you because you brought the monster to his cage & because it was hands...doesn't matter whose hands...that brought the ladder in, he went after your dad's hands too.

Give him a couple of days to get over it & he should be his old self again.....

If you leave the ladder laying somewhere he can see it, he will get used to it & probably accept it later on, but you may have to just let it lie somewhere for a while so he can see it's not going to come get him...then, let him watch you stand it up somewhere away from the cage, for say a week or two, then stand it next to the cage for a while & he'll eventually accept it....but it could be a long process.....

 

[ct92404]

Brian, don't get too frustrated or disappointed. I've found that some toys can freak a bird out...it could be the size, the color, or just something about it that they don't like. Chipper freaked out with me before, when I tried to put a big toy in his cage. So now what I do is take him out of the cage first and hold him and pet him, or just let him perch somewhere else in the room for a few minutes while I put the toy in his cage. Then I put him back in his cage. If you try to put the new toy in there while the bird is still in the cage, he might think some kind of monster is attacking him and he'll panic. But if you put the bird in the cage with the toy already there, he'll just see it as some kind of weird new thing that he has to get used to. And after a little while, he'll accept it.

Birds do hold a grudge, but not for that long. When I tried to give Chipper medicine when he was sick, back in December, he got REALLY mad at me. For a while, he wouldn't even let me pet him. He would make noises and then bite me hard. I was afraid that he was never going to trust me again and he wasn't going to be friendly anymore. But I got his trust back. I bribed him with spray millet, and got him to eat it from my hand and talked to him softly. Then he let me pet him. It took a little while, but eventually Chipper got over it and we were friends again.

Don't worry, and don't give up. Just be patient and gentle, and try to bribe him with treats. Try to get him to eat millet from your hand (but don't pet him yet). He's just nervous and a little upset with you right now. But he'll get over it. Just keep thinking that. He's just nervous right now, but he will be your friend again. Be patient and stay positive. Animals can sense your mood, especially birds, so you want to stay calm and positive. If you're nervous or afraid, he'll be nervous too. So just stay calm. He'll be friendly again, it just might take a little while.

 

[brianbh1378]

I am really fustrated and scared at the same time. He would still eat off my hands but he is really aggressive. When he is stand on his favorite spot, i decided to approach the cage softly with my hands, immediately, he attked the cage. He doesnt seem to be scared of me but i really regard trying to make him feel better by getting him new toys...

 

[Featheredsamurai]

He'll recover over time and let you pet him again.

I once read a fantastic example of parrot trust. Trust is like a savings account, you can add trust and also withdraw trust. One large withdraw will effect your trust(aka the ladder, bringing in a new monster on accident) and small withdraws can build up over time and also effect trust. The same with deposits, you can make big a small deposits. So, just start making trust deposits again

 

[brianbh1378]

Its very weird! He is not afrid of my hands or anything because when i had spray millets, he would jump on my hand to eat it. He is just very aggresive without millets tho..

 

[SandyBee]

That's not strange, they are that way. He's not scared of your hands per say. He's scared of what your hands will do. If they are holding food then they are doing something he likes. If they aren't holding food than they can do something he might not like.
Just keep doing what your doing, bring your hands close as he will let you without creating a negative reaction. Back off if he starts getting scared or nippy.
Soon he will forget the ladder and associate your hands with a good thing again.

 

[Birdlover11]

Happens with my budgies all the time. It just matters how big or how colorful. I once bought a really pretty swing with neon beads and everything and they flipped out. They always fly around the cage when I bring stuff in. You just have to do it VERY slowly . I just putted in a toy about 5 mins ago and did the transition SLOWLY and know there they are, doing flips and turns with it

 

[Skarila]

Whenever I have a new toy for my budgie, I make sure she is outside first, Then i put in the toy, otherwise she FLIPS. I do it around noon when she is most active and usulay within an hour or two she becomes acceptable of the toy and comes in the cage. On day two she starts destroying the toy. Day 3, the toy is nearly destroyed