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I just brought Alfie home on Friday night after he stole my heart at the pet store. I lost Gwen almost two weeks ago and hadn't planned on another bird so soon, but little untamed Alfie poofed up all happily when he saw me and came over to nibble on my finger.
He's roughly 6 months old and I'm excited to get some serious training in with him! I suspect that since he was such a brazen little fellow at the store that once he comes around, he'll be a really fast learner.
I had already tamed one budgie, Gwen, and the process was grueling, but we had such a tight bond afterwards that every bite and squabble was worth it. He taught me everything I know about budgies, and I will never be able to repay him for that wealth of knowledge. Thanks, Gwen <3
Anyway! I have to, of course, start with hand taming. Though Alfie came up to me in the store, taking him out of his environment made him a very scared bird!
Day 1 (2/1) -
I brought Alfie home and settled him into his cage. He flapped around until he found the manzanita perch and parked himself on it. And didn't move. (As expected.)
Day 2 (2/2) -
I changed food and water and put some music on for him. He hardly moved again, but that was to be expected. I stuck a millet spray through the bars, beside his perch.
Day 3 (2/3) -
Changed the food and water. Radio was put on in the morning and left on all day, except for when I was watching TV. He moved a little bit, but stayed on the same perch. He hasn't eaten at all since he'd been home: No hulls at the bottom of the cage, in the bowl, or on my floor.
Day 4 (today) -
I heard his voice! He has a slightly deeper voice than my Gwen so it confused me for a second, but he's also bigger than Gwen was. He didn't chirp very much. I tried playing some of that "Happy Budgies" soundtrack, and he chirped to that, and then flapped around the cage in search of the other birds. He seemed more distressed than calmed, so I won't be playing "Happy Budgies" again for a little while. Poor thing.
He also discovered the mirror today, despite having been sat in front of it for the past 3 days. I happened to have sprinkled some seed on the lip of the mirror, and he found that, too, but only after I accidentally startled him.
And then...He ate from my hand! Brave boy! I only meant to restock his little mirror shelf with some seed, but he turned his head and plucked a few seeds from my hand. He's been very good with my hand near him thus far, and I'm really proud of him!
He only ate a tiny bit of seed, and now he's taking a nap. He was grinding his beak before he dozed off, so I'm glad that my hand didn't actually traumatize him.
Also wondering if he knows what millet is. I didn't notice any in the cage at the store...
EDIT UPDATE: Sneaky little man started nibbling on millet after I covered his cage up a bit. I heard him munching and thought he was eating seeds, but then I saw millet hulls all over the bottom. Sneaky, sneaky.
He's roughly 6 months old and I'm excited to get some serious training in with him! I suspect that since he was such a brazen little fellow at the store that once he comes around, he'll be a really fast learner.
I had already tamed one budgie, Gwen, and the process was grueling, but we had such a tight bond afterwards that every bite and squabble was worth it. He taught me everything I know about budgies, and I will never be able to repay him for that wealth of knowledge. Thanks, Gwen <3
Anyway! I have to, of course, start with hand taming. Though Alfie came up to me in the store, taking him out of his environment made him a very scared bird!
Day 1 (2/1) -
I brought Alfie home and settled him into his cage. He flapped around until he found the manzanita perch and parked himself on it. And didn't move. (As expected.)
Day 2 (2/2) -
I changed food and water and put some music on for him. He hardly moved again, but that was to be expected. I stuck a millet spray through the bars, beside his perch.
Day 3 (2/3) -
Changed the food and water. Radio was put on in the morning and left on all day, except for when I was watching TV. He moved a little bit, but stayed on the same perch. He hasn't eaten at all since he'd been home: No hulls at the bottom of the cage, in the bowl, or on my floor.
Day 4 (today) -
I heard his voice! He has a slightly deeper voice than my Gwen so it confused me for a second, but he's also bigger than Gwen was. He didn't chirp very much. I tried playing some of that "Happy Budgies" soundtrack, and he chirped to that, and then flapped around the cage in search of the other birds. He seemed more distressed than calmed, so I won't be playing "Happy Budgies" again for a little while. Poor thing.
He also discovered the mirror today, despite having been sat in front of it for the past 3 days. I happened to have sprinkled some seed on the lip of the mirror, and he found that, too, but only after I accidentally startled him.
And then...He ate from my hand! Brave boy! I only meant to restock his little mirror shelf with some seed, but he turned his head and plucked a few seeds from my hand. He's been very good with my hand near him thus far, and I'm really proud of him!
He only ate a tiny bit of seed, and now he's taking a nap. He was grinding his beak before he dozed off, so I'm glad that my hand didn't actually traumatize him.
Also wondering if he knows what millet is. I didn't notice any in the cage at the store...
EDIT UPDATE: Sneaky little man started nibbling on millet after I covered his cage up a bit. I heard him munching and thought he was eating seeds, but then I saw millet hulls all over the bottom. Sneaky, sneaky.