Complete Pet Birds Care Tips

Tips for taming your bird

Start by placing the cage in a place where the birds quickly arrive. Make sure it is close to a wall so that they do not feel "surrounded" by possible dangers, and have a secure corner to hide in. Set the cage at eye level to prevent arms and head from being stretched across the cage at all times. The budgies are very stressed by things moving over their heads.

Start by sitting or standing with your face near the cage, and talk gently with the birds. After the first day, raise your hand so they can see it inside the cage. After a while, ranging from two to seven days, the hand will be associated with your soft, confident voice.

When replenishing food and water, always talk to your birds. If you want to teach your birds to speak, try using some words or phrases.

Fingertrain a bud

To make sure the bird thinks your finger is the best perch in the world, you may need to bribe it with millet. Undulates love it, but make sure to only use it as candy, as it has high fat content. In small quantities, it is like the birds' equivalent of chocolate!

Place a twig between the thumb and base of your index finger. Extend your hand into the cage, making sure your finger is close to where the bird is sitting, but that they can only access the millet through your finger. If they can squat while sitting on a perch or on the grill in the cage, the exercise will take longer. When you extend your hand for the first time, the bird will probably just sit in a corner and watch. Undulates need time to get used to new things, and your hand is an intrusion. But with a little time and patience, things will go well!

Hold your hand in the cage for five minutes, with your finger slightly away from where the buds are. Repeat this several times during a day, with at least half an hour between times. In the end, your bird will not be able to resist the millet, and will move closer. Once again, make sure they can't access without using your finger. Don't chase around the buds in the cage to get them to jump on your finger, they'll just scare them, and the training will take longer.

When your bird is used to your hand in the cage, you can speed up the process slightly by moving your finger at the very top of the leg of buds. Then they will jump on without thinking about it. After a week, you can use the same technique to get them to sit on your finger, though without the millet. At some point (and when there is a change from bird to bird) they will not be able to resist putting on your finger.

This is what you are aiming for. The budger now thinks of your finger as his favorite sitting stick, and will happily return to it, even outside the cage.

Release the buds

After you have gone through the steps above, you will be able to release your loot. Just make sure you have arranged the following things and prepared the room for the conifer exploration:

• Cover windows with curtains so that they do not fly into the glass and injure themselves
• Cover fireplaces and chimneys
• Close all doors and windows
• Put away delicate trinkets as there is a risk that they are dangerous
• Make sure there are no dogs, cats or children in the room. If the budgets are scared, you will need to practice again
• Make sure there are some places the birds can sit on, preferably high up in the room. Curtain rods and bookshelves are good places. Your bird will probably be stressed during the first flights, and will probably be sitting somewhere out of reach
• All because they will sit on chairs, furniture, on the floor and on you. Make sure it's okay for them to sit pretty much anywhere because flapping arms to get them away from anything will be creepy
• Show some toys in the room, eg a ping pong ball on the floor or a climbing stand on a table
• Remove all plants and flowers you do not want to be eaten
• Turn off possible fans
• Cover or remove mirrors. Not everything happens, but some birds can fly into them

Get out a bird out the cage

The first time outside the cage, your bird will probably jump off your hand as you try to take it out of the cage. If they seem stressed when you extend your hand again, it's best to leave them. Continue training inside the cage and try again later.

Many birds head straight to the cage when taken out for the first time. Let them sit there while exploring their surroundings, and give them a few pieces of candy to make them feel safe and encouraged. Talk calmly, and offer them to jump on your finger again after a while. Try to move them further away from the cage, and let them flaunt at any time.


If they fly straight back into the cage, try to get them on your finger again, or close the cage door. It is best not to let them move in and out of the cage at this stage. If they do, they may begin to see your hand as a threat rather than a way to get out into the world.

Get the buds back in the cage

When your bird is finger-trained you will be able to control them outside the cage. When it's time to go back into the cage, stretch out your finger. When you start, you may need to pat your stomach or use the millet. And, as I said, it's best not to let them go in or out of the cage without sitting on your finger.

An untamed lullaby who manages to escape from the cage is a more difficult situation. The best thing you can do is put the bird's favorite food inside the cage and leave the door open. Eventually they will come back. If you have more than one bird, it can be even more difficult, because by leaving the door open, the other birds can be accommodated. If you are unable to attract the budgies to your finger, you may need to use a net (read more in the escaped budgies section ).

Tame a new bud

A new bird will take a few days to get used to the new surroundings, and some adapt more quickly than others. During the first few days it is best to leave them alone as much as possible. Eventually you will start to replace the toys in the cage regularly, but do not do it the first week.

The response of the birds to your presence depends on where they come from. A young bird you bought from a breeder may not have had much human contact, except when they were put in a box to be transported to your home. A bird that has spent a few weeks in a pet store will be more comfortable with human sounds and movements. In any case, it's best to take it easy the first few days. Always assume that you start from nothing.

Tame a young bird

A bird cannot be tamed until after leaving her mother, at about six weeks of age. Before that, they will be completely dependent on their parents, and will not appreciate your presence. When the bird eats itself you can start taming them.


In addition to these first weeks, a young budger is much easier to tame than an older one. They will not have created their own habits and do not know what is normal, so they will be open most of the time. Unlike older birds, they will not remember a time before the big, friendly face and the big hand that sticks into the cage sometimes.

Tame an older bird

Older birds can be more difficult. A budger who has been sitting in the back of a cage in a pet store for six months can be difficult to win over. Being transported to a quieter cage with a very different world outside the grid, and a person constantly talking and moving near the cage can be traumatic.

There is no way to speed up the tampering process. Just keep talking quietly with your bird, and approach slowly and without posing any threat, then the birds will probably accept you in time.

Tame a female

If you start taming a female at an early age, there should be no major differences from taming a male. It is true that older undulates are more difficult to tame, but this applies to both genders. Females often bite more than males, so it can be a problem if you are a little nervous. They also tend to bite harder, sometimes so that it actually hurts really.

Females can be difficult to handle during mating season, and even a tight bird can be difficult to approach. She can become fidget-focused, which makes your hand in the cage an intrusion. Keep biting yourself as usual, the hormones will soon disappear. If your bird is unusually nervous or in the fight, you can try training with a sheathed stick rather than a finger. Also check what she eats, too much protein can stimulate mating will.

Males also become hormone depleted during mating periods, but it is uncommon for them to become "untamed" during this time.

Tame a wild lullaby

In Australia, occasional undulates are obtained from the wilderness. They are not genetically different from pet owls, but they will be more difficult to tame. If you do not live in Australia, you are unlikely to come across a wild bird.

All birds that are older than six months and have had no contact with humans will behave like a wild bird. Winning their trust will take time and patience, but if you are willing to give it a few months, or even a year, you will end up being friends.

Tame a couple of birds

To tame two birds at the same time is no more difficult than taming one. The moral support they give each other can even speed up the process. When the braver of the two has jumped on your finger for the first time, it is likely that the other will do the same. If you are unlucky and have a very panicked bird in your couple, they may take longer. But as I said, there is no good way to speed up the process, but keep calm and careful, and it will work.

Teach the birds not to bite

A cutting bird can be a problem. You will not want to hold them, which limits the chances of taming them. Undulates are usually very kind by nature, but some individuals are difficult to win over for some reason.

You don't have to give up though. The following things can help you on your way to a non-biting bird.

• Is your bird finger-trained? If not they will feel uncomfortable if your hand gets too close, and will therefore bite.
• Has your bird been recently moved to a new cage, new room or new house? It will worry them for a while, so get them in place a few days before you put your hand in the cage.
• Bite them at certain times? Write down when your bird usually attacks, and see if you can see a pattern. It may be that they are afraid of something (other pets, noisy children, sounds from outside), they may be tired or hungry, or it may be something else that triggers the attack.
• Do you make a big deal of them biting? Try to ignore it. Remove the hand or put it back in the cage. Too much sound and movement will make them think that the bite is paying attention, and it can cause them to continue. Screaming can also make them stressful, which in turn can make them bite again.
• Has anyone said, or have you read somewhere, that you should punish a bird who bites? It's a worthless piece of advice, ignore it! All it does is that you are seen as a threat, and you will have a lot of trouble getting their trust back.
• Have you distracted the birds with toys and goodies when they bite? It can go wrong because they think they are rewarded for biting. So guess what they will do next time you stick your hand in?
• 
  
• Do the birds receive a varied diet, and food regularly? A bird tired of its diet can get angry.
• Can they sleep at night, without lights, barking dogs and other disturbing moments? Like all other animals, a budger who has not been able to sleep will not be in a good mood. A cover over the cage can help.
• Do you keep them in the right way? A budger must always jump on your finger yourself. Never grab them by any means.
• Do they have enough space to fly freely? A room filled with people who duck, wave their arms or follow birds will make them anxious and panicked.
• Do they have enough toys, and are they replaced regularly? They need stimulation and can easily get bored. It will make them annoyed, which in turn will probably cause more biting.
• Do they have a friend in the cage, or get them all the attention they need? A bored and lonely bird can start biting for you to see them.