So you’ve decided to take a stab at taming wild budgies. Well, if you are looking for a challenge and have a fair deal of spare time on your hands, you’ve picked a rather interesting hobby. That’s not to say you can’t ever tame wild budgies, it just means you will need about as much patience as the time to dedicate to this project. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you along the way.
1 Let your Budgie adjust in the new environment
Budgies are quite timid birds and they don’t trust too easily. First thing you have to do is to eradicate shyness of your budgie. In this regard, you can place the cage of your budgie in a hustling room. It should be kept in mind that budgies get nervousness too easily. So, try to keep the cage in a stress-free environment.
2 Start Slow
Your budgie’s training sessions should not be very long in the beginning. Stick to no more than 10 to 15-minutes per day. This serves two purposes. First, it will help you to build a bond of trust between you and your fine feathered friend. Second, it won’t be so long that you’ll start to wonder what you got yourself into. Adding a few minutes after about a week will give both of you a chance to get used to the sessions.
3 Invest your time
Try to spend as much time as you can in front of the cage of your budgie. It’ll be helpful in taming because your budgie will be used to of your presence. To do this job, you can place the cage of your budgie in living place where most of the members spent most of their time.
4 Be Consistent
You could start each training session at different times of the day as well as making all kinds of noise and sudden movements in front of your budgie’s cage but, that’ll just compound things. Pick a time of day that works best for you and stick with it. Talk softly, hold your hand in front of the cage where it can be seen and stay still. Do this with each session and any wild budgies will get used to it as much as you will.
5 Go Slow
When you do get around to opening the cage, ensure all of your movements are slow as in slo-mo. This is particularly important when you place your hand inside the cage. Yes, your wild budgie is going to freak out, but by being consistent and patient it will eventually trust you enough to allow you to proceed.
6 Offer Treats
Okay, in reality, you are offering a bribe, but your budgie will only see it as you providing a food treat that could be more interesting than your hand being in the cage at the same time. Do this for a few days and soon your bird will hop over to your hand for the treat. You may have to slowly hold it closer and closer to your bird over a few days until it gets the hint. Find out how to maintain a healthy budgie diet.
7 Let your budgie play with your finger
Once your budgie gets used to taking treats from your hand, start to offer it your extended index finger. Place it near your bird’s abdomen while it is perched. Yes, it may freak out again, and that’s okay because you’ve committed to taking as long as it takes to tame your wild budgie. Once your bird is comfortable enough and trusts you enough, it’ll just hop onto your finger as use it as a perch. It won’t happen in a day or so, but it will happen if you don’t give up and if you keep working on achieving this goal consistently.
8 Teaching “Step Up” to your wild budgie
It’ll be very charming moment when your budgie will complete your order. To do this, you have to work hard with your budgie. Speak the word “Step Up” while pressing the chest of your budgie so that it may perch on your finger. Try to repeat this exercise several times a day. You can choose a neutral environment to do this job. You can also use multiple fingers so that it may perch from one to other.
In conclusion, training wild budgies it not difficult if you have the time and patience. Work at a slow pace, remain calm and don’t skimp on the treats or praise, even if a session is a total failure. Things will turn around as long as you follow the tips provided above.
