Mary Allen
A hand-tamed budgie is not just a cute roommate. If the bird is trusting and used to people, necessary care measures are also easier. So you can quickly put a well-behaved budgie into its accommodation without stress and wild hunting or call it to you when it is hidden in the room.
Small grooming and health checks are also easier if the parakeet can be touched. For you as the owner, it is also a real vote of confidence when the bird climbs around on you, bills, and tries to “clean” you. Until then, you have to be patient. But don’t worry: engaging with the lively birds pays off.
Can Only a Single Budgie Be Tamed?
The opinion that a budgie only gets so used to humans when kept alone that it becomes tame is remarkably persistent. Fortunately, this assumption has long since been refuted. In addition, keeping budgies individually is against animal welfare. If you bring a couple into the house straight away or integrate new birds into a flock, this is even an advantage for them to get used to. The presence of conspecifics gives the parakeets an increased feeling of security. In addition, one of the animals will turn out to be the more curious and courageous. When you make friends with the birds, the brisker will take the first step and encourage the hesitant colleague to do the same. If more animals come across already hand-tamed, the newcomers will observe the familiar handling of the long-time residents with the strange two-legged swarm member and also quickly lose their shyness.
The First Steps: Gain Trust
Let’s assume that a new pair of parakeets will move into your household. Then the first step to taming is to take away the fear of the new home and the big people from the animals. In the first few days, leave the birds alone and restrict activities at the accommodation (food, water, cleaning) to the bare minimum. Talk to the birds very calmly and passively spend time in the room, for example by sitting nearby with a book.
Tame the Budgie: Don’t Be Afraid of “Human Claws”
Once the birds stop frightened when you approach, you can continue taming. The “miracle weapon” millet will help you with this. No budgie can resist this delicacy in the long run.
Here are instructions to tame the budgie:
- First clamp a small portion to the outside of the railing for a few days, within reach for the birds.
- After a few days, hold the millet in your hand so that the budgies, protected by the grille, have to peck out of your hand.
- Once this step is done, it gets exciting: Put the millet between your fingers and pass it with your hand – back of the hand upwards – through the open door of the accommodation. The birds will be frightened at first. Keep calm and take your time. Sooner or later the animals will discover millet.
- Important: If the birds are obviously overwhelmed with the hand, go back to the previous step and feed them through the grate for a few days before you start again.
- After some hesitation, the more courageous budgie will no longer be able to resist the millet and then shimmy. Gradually increase the distance so that the parakeet has to climb up the hand to get to the millet.
- If this step is successful, the second bird has moved in and the feeding on the hand has been successful several times, the big day has come: Carefully take the birds out of their accommodation in your hand: the first free flight can start and the giant hand has everything as an attractive food dispenser lost their horror.
“Raising” the Budgie: Rules of Conduct for Crooks
Talk to the bird a lot and keep using its name. If the budgie obviously feels addressed, reward him with a tuft of millet from your hand. Praise him profusely: parrots enjoy being noticed. Similarly, if you catch the bird preparing for an undesirable act.
Address him with an emphatic “No!” Or a similar short prohibition. Praise him when he abandons his plan.
Toys for the Bird: Keep Budgie Busy
Budgies that feel safe will use whatever toys they can find or convert into toys. If you work at your desk, the budgies will soon arrive and start sorting paper clips and “sharpening” pens. When the little friend joins in, toys become particularly interesting. Lattice balls are great human-animal toys: the budgie can roll them around, throw them and throw them off the table so that you can patiently pick them up again and again.
Fascinating: Budgies seem to prefer different toys according to their gender. Females like things on which they can live out their gnawing instinct: natural branches, empty cardboard tubes, wooden blocks. The roosters love action toys for climbing and swinging. Noise toys like bells and rattles are a hit for both of them.
When choosing toys, make sure that they are made of natural material or break-proof plastic and that they do not contain any small parts that could be swallowed. If the parts are permanently attached to the accommodation or to the bird playground, make sure that they are not completely maneuvered. You will also need to regularly clean and disinfect the toy. Completely unsuitable toys are mirrors, plastic birds, and bundles of twine.
Clicker Training for Budgies? Please Do Not!
Basically, you can keep budgies busy with clicker training. However, birds are generally more of an observation animal. In addition, the birds can only concentrate for a short time. Teaching a budgie to perform tricks or even to speak is absolutely not animal-friendly.