Taming a budgie....?

Question

He/she is 4 months old and I just got it today. How do you tame a parakeet. I am planning on letting it get used to its environment for 3-7 days before I start any training, though.

Advice?

Answer 1

Attention, attention, attention.  If you have free time, talk to the budgie... pet him, love him, play with toys with him, give him treats (mine love millet).

First off, I don't know if you want a budgie that is more attached to humans or just happy altogether.  If you're wanting a budgie who is partial to people, I wouldn't recommend getting a cage mate.  If you just want a happy bird then you may want to invest in another budgie or even a parakeet to give the budgie company.  This, however, may make the bird prefer another bird's presence instead of a human's.

I have 1 budgie and two parakeets and have had them only a short time but I have learned this: once I had the budgie separated from the parakeets, he was much more loving to me.  I will occasionally let the budgies and parakeets play, but keeping the budgie separate makes him more appreciative of his human attention.

Answer 2

Absolutely the right thing to do. Let your budgie first get used to the environment.However, every day, at about the same time, put your hand inside the cage & replace the water & fill in the feeding bowls/plates. Do whatever cleaning is required at the same time. All this will make your bird realize that your hands are not a threat but in fact brings the good things in life. Whenever you are doing this or when you are next to he cage, do talk to it softly or whistle.All this will make your bird feel at home soon. And then, you can commence "step-up" training which is a must in the taming/training process.There are quite a few good websites which have very useful information on hand training techniques & you will benefit by going through these. All the best!