Can i clicker train my budgie?

Question

I've watched videos for clicker training on parrots, and cockatoos. But I have a budgie I've had for about 6 months, maybe? Anyways, she lives with another budgie I got from a friend, who is already trained. But when I try to take her out of the cage, of course, she runs and flies away. She bites anyone very hard, so hard that you bleed, if you touch her. She normally wouldn't stay in the same spot and would fly away if I'm trying to clicker train her. My question is, can I do it? What can I do so that she'll stay on the perch so I can clicker train her? Thank you. <3 =]

Answer 1

Yahoo answers isn&#039;t always the best place for behavior-related advice.  That said....

You can train budgies using a clicker trainer.  That said, I would suggest using something other than a clicker as your &quot;bridge&quot;.  In my experience, the sharp noise of the clicker can be frightening to some birds, making it difficult to use for training.  You can use simpler devices, such as a soft cooing noise, for the same purposes.

If you&#039;re interested in training her, I&#039;d suggest reading Karen Pryor&#039;s book &quot;Don&#039;t shoot the dog!&quot;.  It&#039;s primary focus is on dogs, but the techniques can be applied across species (from parakeets to iguanas to elephants!).  There&#039;s a section in the book on dealing with animals that are physically avoidant, while using clicker training.  It&#039;s very doable, provided you&#039;ve got a little patience.

Strangely enough, you might get more responses if you put this in the psychology section!