Yes, Your Bird IS Scared!

9301 Views 0 Replies 1 Participant Last post by atvchick95, Aug 5, 2008

atvchick95

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2008 (Edited by Moderator)

Yes, Your Budgie IS Scared!

What to expect when you bring home your new Budgie

When you bring home a new bird it will be very scared for a while (some times it may be only a day or two but some birds take longer than others to settle into a new environment).

Your budgie won't always eat as soon as you bring it home, so it's a good idea to have millet beside where it is perching most and is always best to offer the same food was eating at it's previous "home".

If you can't see in the food dishes or don't see food dishes, or you are not sure what brand of food it is eating just by looking at it, Ask.

If you see no food dishes at all, just millet - still Ask.
A lot of places feed the birds millet during operating hours, and give them their normal food after the store has closed.

Signs of a Scared/ Stressed bird (some of the more common signs)

Runny Poop
Daying in Place for hours (or even days)
Shaking/Trembling
Not Eating nor Drinking
Frantically Flying Around the Cage

It is best to put the food/water dishes by where the bird perches at the most.

Also you may think the bird you just got became tame in the few hours you have had it, because it steps up on your finger (sometimes it is - but if you got it from a pet shop that the people do not handle the birds - this is highly unlikely).
The bird is actually terrified.

Some birds fly off frantically and crash in to things, others will stand on your finger or hand but not move, and if you look closely you can see it is trembling (not always though) this is another sign of a scared bird.

Your new bird may fly around your home frantically when out of the cage (or when it escapes from the carrying box while you are trying to put it in the cage).

Do not throw yourself at the bird - give the bird time to settle into his/her new envrioment

Start out slowly, by speaking to him/her from a distance, then gradually work up to sitting beside the cage, talking to him/her, Reading a book out loud, and once he/she seems comfortable enough with this routine, slowly start putting your hand in the cage and just let it sit there, while you talk or read.

Let the bird explore your hand, climb all over it, nibble on it, Do not touch the bird or move your hand while it is investigating as this will scare it off.

Once your bird is completely comfortable with your hand in the cage and climbing on your hand, then you can slowly start to touch him/her while he's close to you, hold out one finger and see if he/she will hop on. If so just sit there like that for a few moments. Don't think "alright he's perching on my finger he's tame now" and go to yank your hand out of the cage as this will scare him,

You have to be very very very patient with new birds.
This is the key!

Another thing to do to get them used to your hands being in the cage and get used to you (keep in mind not all tips work because all birds are different what works for one may not work for another)

Talk to the bird before you put your hand in the cage to change the food/water/clean the cage, tell him/her what you are going to be doing, Also do this the entire time your hands are in the cage.

Try your best to do things at the same time every day.
Birds love routine.
If you feed your bird today at 9 A.M do it tomorrow at 9 A.M and the next day and so forth. I know there are times you won't be able to do it at the same time every day, but try your best.

If your schedule changes, make sure you slowly change the birds schedule to coincide with your daily activities.

DO NOT RUSH traning/ bonding/TAMING - this only makes the bird more scared of you and in the long run defeats the entire purpose.

Remember : Patience is the key to a happy, Tame, trained bird!

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