budgie advice trying to tame him/her

crystal9

hello all,

yesterday we brought a gorgeous blue budgie for our boys, i have never had a budgie so i would be greatful for any advice please.

i have yesterday and today put my hand into the cage to start to tame him/her yesterday he didn't really move much at all (i expected that as new home etc) but today kept my hand still in there for around 15 mins and it was getting very close and moving around a lot and chirped a bit so i think i'm getting there and it's not going to bite me.

we can't tell what sex it is yet as the pet shop said it was around 12 weeks old and so we got to wait until he has his first malt, anyone know when this normally is please? his head is mainly white and cere is a off white biege colour could this be female?

sorry would put piture up but not sure how to add pictures on here.

thanks in advance

Raksha

I find a long handled soft artist type paint brush really handy for 'gentling' a new animal. Hold it steadily at the end of the handle and slowly brush the birds feathers with it very very lightly. Slowly increase the pressure, you might even find the bird moving towards you if it likes it. Each animal is individual, so allow it to move away if it wants to.

Buttonmoons

I remember we had a lot of budgies as a kid.

If I remember correctly, above their beak, like their nose bit? If it's blue it's a boy, if it's a scabby brown colour it's a girl....

crystal9

Buttonmoons wrote: »

I remember we had a lot of budgies as a kid.

If I remember correctly, above their beak, like their nose bit? If it's blue it's a boy, if it's a scabby brown colour it's a girl....

thanks for your reply, i have read the same that blue for a boy and brownish for female but just wanted to know if the colour hes got now is the colour or will it change as i dont know when they have there first malt.

Buttonmoons

Gosh Im not sure, I always remember us getting young budgies and can't recall the colour above changing.
If it's pale right now I'd hazard a guess at probably be being a female but then you get male budgies that have an off colour blue, more like a really light purple lol.

It's weird they didnt know the sex though, I thought they had to sex them and keep male/female seperate?

crystal9

yeah they told me they didn't know as to young, well he/she seems very tame anyway. i read females are more prone to biting and louder but its very quiet come 5 pm and dont hear nothing from it till next day

Buttonmoons

We had an awesome tame budgie when I was little, called Smokey as he was grey, thing is though he had a taste for whiskey and used to fly out his cage perch on my dads glass and have scoosh......you'd see him on the bottom of the cage next day, with a hangover or something as he couldn't climb up and I'd be screaming he was dying!

They are lovely things, my friend had one that could talk, and was so tame when she was a little girl it used to perch on her shoulder as she did her paper round, outside too!

crystal9

Buttonmoons wrote: »

We had an awesome tame budgie when I was little, called Smokey as he was grey, thing is though he had a taste for whiskey and used to fly out his cage perch on my dads glass and have scoosh......you'd see him on the bottom of the cage next day, with a hangover or something as he couldn't climb up and I'd be screaming he was dying!

They are lovely things, my friend had one that could talk, and was so tame when she was a little girl it used to perch on her shoulder as she did her paper round, outside too!

wow i do hope this 1 is as tame as that i am trying had my hand right next to his perch tonight again and he never moved thing is if he did flap i know i would flap to and prob scare him :rotfl:

Spudette

It is very difficult to sex a baby budgie but if the cere is very light chances are that it is a female. However, you can't be 100% yet.

As for taming it I know that you shouldn't put mirrors in the cage if you are trying to tame it as it will tame up to it's imaginary friend in the mirror and not you.

Give it a little while it will still be scared now. You need to give him/her some time to settle in to its new environment. Then just start with some simple softly spoken words and when you sense the bird is more confident you can put your hand in the cage.

The key is patience

Good Luck

devils_vixen

I used to have one when I was younger. She would go everywhwere with me including the bath! She used yo help peel potatoes, eat bolognase and liked a bath in the sink with the tap on!:rotfl:She also flew out the patio doors and came back 3 days later! Sadly, one day she followed me upstairs, I went to the toilet and didn't realise she was there, put the seat down and broke her neck:eek: I was only 3 at the time

I have since had 2 budgies one male and female - they lived together for years and never mated. She was a bully though! He was more tame than her don't know why. I used to leave the cage open for them during the day so they could fly about the house. I didn't use the paintbrush method, I just put my hand straight in the cage let the bird perch on my hand then bring him out give him a wee stroke then put him back in. Did the same with the female but there was no taming her - didn't matter how many times I tried.
Had them for about 10 years but the male died and the a few weeks later, the female died too. Must have missed her mate.

Buttonmoons

I remember we had a cockateil that used to lay phantom eggs, you'd see her down the bottom of the cage sitting on them, I was gutted when my mum threw them out, I was adament there was baby birds inside!!