[Yusuf Islam]

Greetings everyone!
I know this is a very commonly asked question, but how do I get my budgie to step up on my hand?
I've tried slowly moving my hand away when I'm handfeeding him many times, but he just stops and waits for my hand to come, although he does stretch greatly to reach the food.
I also tried gently applying pressure onto his lower stomach, but that does not seem to work either.
I don't want to push him off his perch so he steps up, I want him to feel comfortable.
He seems extremely bored in his cage, and I want to let him fly around, but I need him to step up so I can put him back in, and so he starts trusting me more.
Thanks very much.

 

[karenblodgett3261]

Even my budgie who will almost always step up and frequently flies to the top of my head or onto my shoulder, doesn't always want to step up on my finger. Unless it's for something important, I respect her decision. It's her little body and she has a right to decide where she sits. Budgies are a prey animal and will be very cautious about who gets close to them and I try to keep that in mind. The admin and moderators on this group are very knowledgeable about budgies and will be more helpful than I could ever be. I just wanted to share my experience with my baby to ease your concerns until they can give you better help 😊.

 

[Sweety's mom]

My little guy only stepped up when he was extremely young, which I have now understood was probably just because he was terrified and submissive. But even when he did step up he would hop right off if I moved my hand away from his perch. In other words, it was clear there would be no way for me to move him in and out of the cage reliably on my hand or finger.

So I finally just respected his choice and I no longer try to touch him at all. He will hop on my hand sometimes to eat millet but it's clear that's all he is doing, he is not on my hand in order to be close to me, he's on there because it's easier to eat his treat that way. He gets close to me emotionally and mentally in many other ways, he is playful, he wuvs me, and he trusts me a lot more now that I never try to touch him.

I was also afraid this would mean it wouldn't be safe for him to fly if I couldn't get him back into his cage by hand, but that's not the case at all. He doesn't fly a lot, but when he does, he goes right back to his cage all by himself. He knows that is where his safety, food and water are. So if you have a room where he is safe and cannot escape or get onto dangerous household items, just let him out and see what happens! He will most likely check things out and then head right back to his cage, or even if he explores and tries to hide under the couch or something, he won't stay there all day and night. Eventually he knows his cage is home and will head back.

If he is not a good flyer yet you may have to be prepared to gently pick up up with a small towel over him and put him back in, but only after he has worn himself out a bit.

I am a new birb mom so if this advice doesn't come across as correct to the moderators hopefully they will edit it or clarify it.

Good luck!

 

[Yusuf Islam]

Thanks a lot, this was very helpful!
I will try understanding a little more about my budgie's behavior, as I'm not sure if he wants to step up or not, but he didn't step up on his old perch, so maybe he doesn't want to step up at all.
I just want to be able to handle him if I'm going to change his cage or give him sometime outside his cage without grabbing him.

 

[Sweety's mom]

I just want to be able to handle him if I'm going to change his cage or give him sometime outside his cage without grabbing him.

I understand. It is possible he will never allow you to "handle" him in the way you are thinking. So in order to give him time outside of his cage, you are going to have to trust the process a little bit and trust that he can find his way back to the cage. A small towel on hand is just in case he gets into trouble and you have no choice but to gently pick him up under the towel. You most likely will not need to do this though.

One thing I did for my Sweety before I had a safe room for him to fly in, was to get a pop up pod tent thingy that his whole cage could fit into and then had plenty of room for him to also fly around inside of. So you might explore that as an option if you feel it would be too risky to let him out into a room.

 

[Yusuf Islam]

Thanks a lot, I might consider getting a pod tent.
I'll try trusting the process a little too.

 

[Sweety's mom]

Thanks a lot, I might consider getting a pod tent.
I'll try trusting the process a little too.

 

[Sweety's mom]

That isn’t a great pic but that’s my guy inside his POD tent. It is big enough that I can get in there with him too if I’m down on the floor. It’s about the size of a phone booth but only about 5 feet tall.

mine is similar to this one but there are some different sizes and dimensions.

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[FaeryBee]

Try using the back of your hand rather than your finger when you want your budgie to step-up.
I find that my budgies prefer to step up on my hand when I offer it to them palm down.

 

[Yusuf Islam]

That isn’t a great pic but that’s my guy inside his POD tent. It is big enough that I can get in there with him too if I’m down on the floor. It’s about the size of a phone booth but only about 5 feet tall.

mine is similar to this one but there are some different sizes and dimensions.

Thanks a lot, I'll check it out.

Try using the back of your hand rather than your finger when you want your budgie to step-up.
I find that my budgies prefer to step up on my hand when I offer it to them palm down.

I might try that too.
Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[DoubleBudgieTrouble]

Firstly, don't use the good, it distracts them since they focus on it, for the first bit of time I found out my female liked a plastic measuring spoon that I use to fill the mirror dishes up with seeds. So when she was in an ideal spot, I would place the spoon in between the bars and push a bit ( mind you it was hard to get to her lower belly bc of the height of the mirror was placed so it was more the middle of her belly ) and say the voice cue ‘step up if she would put one paw on id say ‘hop on and repeat that until she stepped up since we didn't have small treats she only got vocal praise and now when my hand is in the cage I say step up and she steps up and if she only puts one paw its hop on and she puts the other paw on.

Hope this helps

In the first sentence I mean food, not good. Dang autocorrect

 

[Yusuf Islam]

Thanks a lot! That's very helpful. I noticed that my budgie really likes a cup I used to feed him with, and he once stood in it, so I'll try that.

 

[FaeryBee]

Firstly, don't use the good, it distracts them since they focus on it, for the first bit of time I found out my female liked a plastic measuring spoon that I use to fill the mirror dishes up with seeds. So when she was in an ideal spot, I would place the spoon in between the bars and push a bit ( mind you it was hard to get to her lower belly bc of the height of the mirror was placed so it was more the middle of her belly ) and say the voice cue ‘step up if she would put one paw on id say ‘hop on and repeat that until she stepped up since we didn't have small treats she only got vocal praise and now when my hand is in the cage I say step up and she steps up and if she only puts one paw its hop on and she puts the other paw on.

Hope this helps

In the first sentence I mean food, not good. Dang autocorrect

Using food to help a budgie learn to step up is perfectly acceptable practice.

It is not recommended to have mirrors in your bird's cage as interacting with the mirror can contribute to your budgie becoming aggressive and/or territorial.
Additionally, some budgies will begin regurgitating to the mirror to the point where they actually become malnourished.