Mary Allen
Budgies are initially very shy of humans, but with a lot of patience, they can become tame. But there are also dangers lurking. Here you can find out what you should pay attention to if you want to tame your budgie.
Feathered Friends
Like all birds, budgies are shy animals and not naturally tame. Some of them have even had less than positive experiences with people. Because at the breeder or in zoology, they are often caught and held with the hands when moving. Your trust in us is often disturbed as a result and must first be rebuilt. With a little patience, however, the parakeets belonging to the family of real parrots can become hand-tamed. Then they literally eat out of the hand of their owners, walk around on the arm, or land trustingly on the shoulder. Some can even be caressed gently and visibly enjoy the affection. You can find out how your Wellis can be tame in this article.
Those who keep budgies and don’t want to limit themselves to mere observation have to be very patient. Becoming friends with the feathered housemates is a long-term task that cannot be done in a few days or weeks. The taming of budgies always depends on the animal in question. Some become trusting more quickly than others. You may have to accept, despite intensive efforts, if a Welli doesn’t want to know anything about you and prefers to stay with his own kind.
Budgies Can Also Become Tame When Kept in Groups
By the way, this is very important. Budgerigars are swarm animals and always need the company of at least one conspecific for a species-appropriate life. By the way, group or pair keeping does not stand in the way of taming. On the contrary, because once a conspecific has gained confidence in humans, the other birds usually also become much more trusting. The ice breaks faster when you start.
And at the beginning, there is the correct positioning of the cage or the aviary. The budgies should be able to meet you at eye level. A cage that is too low has the disadvantage that the already huge person appears even bigger to the small fliers. It is not uncommon for them to be shy and irritated when an adult approaches the aviary. Very loud music, conversations, or TV program can also unsettle them. It is therefore advisable to either look for a quiet place in the apartment for the aviary or at least to avoid an environment that is too noisy at the beginning. However, light background noises often give birds a little security. Complete silence, on the other hand, unsettles them.
The Way to a Man’s Heart Goes Through His Stomach
If you want to get in contact with your parakeets, this should only be done from outside the cage at first. Because it should be your home, your safe haven. Speak to them in a calm, soft voice so they can slowly get used to you. Find out what they like to eat so that you can lure them to the bars with a treat. Basically, you can’t go wrong with millet, because most budgies love it as a delicacy. Initially clamped in the grille, you can usually hold the millet stalks with your hand after a few days. Perhaps it will take a while and the Wellis may not nibble on the hand-held millet on the first day, but it certainly won’t take long.
The chirping friends soon realized that there was no danger from the human hand out there at the bars and you can go a step further. Open the cage door and slowly and carefully put your hand with the millet inside. Jerky movements should be avoided. If the Wellis react very anxiously or even in panic, you should immediately take your hand out of the cage and postpone the action for a few days. But if they are curious and after the food cob, they will slowly approach the hand and eat the delicious grains off. If things go well, after a few successful tries, you can start changing the position of your hand. Usually, the gourmets follow the tempting dish.
Wellis Get Used to the Voice and the Lure at an Early Stage
The voice is also an important part of this phase of taming. Budgies are able to memorize repetitive sounds. They associate certain words with a certain action. Therefore, it is advisable to repeat a word to attract people when hand-feeding. This creates the basis for a later call that also works when there is nothing to feed.
Once the budgies have accepted the hand in the cage, the first major hurdle has already been overcome. Especially when they climb around on their fingers and nibble them tenderly. Now you can try to get the Wellis outside while sitting on your finger. Don’t be discouraged if they jump right back into the cage or leave for a while outside. At some point, they have got the hang of it and combine delicious food and additional space to explore by hand.
If the budgies are allowed to move outside the aviary, the call training pays off. Because now you can also call them when they are sitting on the curtain rod or have settled down for a lively chat on the palm tree. With a little practice, they will fly onto your finger, which you hold out to them when you call. So you can put her back in the cage or let her walk on your shoulder. If you then also receive a treat for coming, the action remains positively in your memory and continues to work reliably.
Do All Budgies Learn to Speak?
Whether a budgie can be petted depends very much on the bird in question. Some like it very much and some don’t like it at all. You should never apply pressure, it just makes them shy. Whatever they do voluntarily, they also like. This also applies to learning to speak. Some Wellis are true language talents who parrot everything that is spoken to them. Others are reluctant or difficult to understand in this regard. Here, too, it is important to be patient and understanding.
Three Tips for Dealing with Budgies
Do Not Catch with Your Bare Hands
If you want to keep budgies hand-tamed, you should never catch them with your bare hands. That would permanently destroy the relationship of trust. For example, if one of your feathered friends needs to go to the vet, you should place a light tea towel over them and carefully lift them into the transport box. The use of gloves can be a good alternative. The Wellis do not recognize in it the hand that otherwise feeds.
The Danger with Great Trust
Some budgies are so clingy that they will jump on your shoulder at every opportunity. Even if you’re on your way out onto the balcony or terrace. Therefore, doors or windows that lead outside should only be opened when the Wellis are in a cage or aviary. Incidentally, this also applies when hot food is being prepared on the stove or other dangers threaten.
Wellis Shouldn’t Nibble off the Plate
A particularly trusting journeyman also tries the human meal that is on the table. In all likelihood, however, this is not appropriate to the species and can make the Welli sick. For a healthy and carefree life for your budgies, you should better not allow this to happen – no matter how cute it is.