Welcome! I am a new budgie owner, but other members who are a lot more knowledgeable than I am will chime in as well. My guy, for various reasons not exactly like yours but similar, became afraid of being outside of his cage also. He was very young when it started, so he went a really long time before he was comfy to fly around the room or get on top of the cage. He also didn't tolerate my hands at all so I could not even give him treats or seeds by hand. Once in awhile he would accept some millet from my hand but it was not something he wanted to do.
But on the other hand, he really did love me and want to bond with me, so we found ways to bond with him inside and me outside. He learned to absolutely love his "safe space" cage and became super confident and outgoing in there. He loved all the entertainment and companionship I provided him from the outside world. I was a bit afraid of him becoming too cage bound as well, but I just kept working with him and his trust in me.
Slowly over time I found ways to help him feel safe getting outside his cage, and then eventually flying around the room. It was a process and even now, he does not choose to fly a lot, even though his door is open a lot. He may now fly once per day a few laps around the room, whereas recently it would be maybe once a week. And before that once every several weeks.
What I did that worked - I never insisted he come out. I just made sure he knows if he does come out I will not chase him, try to capture him, or obstruct him in anyway. He is about 8 months old now and I think I can say he is still in love with his safe space, but he also feels safe outside with me. He just has so much fun in his cage that its not his first choice to go for a flyabout.
So because he is happy, not depressed, and has a full life, I don't worry about his cage status anymore. I let him let me know how he's feeling and if he fell into a depression or something I would quickly learn what I need to do to help. Not all birds who choose to hang in their cage most of the time are unhappy. Mine certainly isn't!
The other thing is my guy literally taught himself to fly expertly from inside the cage. He did this over many months, and he loves flying in his cage he does it multiple times a day. So when he did finally venture outside the cage, he could already fly very well. Landings were a learning process, but he picked it up quickly. He did not bap the walls by then, because he had so much time to learn about flying inside his safe space before he went out into the scary outside world to fly.
But on the other hand, he really did love me and want to bond with me, so we found ways to bond with him inside and me outside. He learned to absolutely love his "safe space" cage and became super confident and outgoing in there. He loved all the entertainment and companionship I provided him from the outside world. I was a bit afraid of him becoming too cage bound as well, but I just kept working with him and his trust in me.
Slowly over time I found ways to help him feel safe getting outside his cage, and then eventually flying around the room. It was a process and even now, he does not choose to fly a lot, even though his door is open a lot. He may now fly once per day a few laps around the room, whereas recently it would be maybe once a week. And before that once every several weeks.
What I did that worked - I never insisted he come out. I just made sure he knows if he does come out I will not chase him, try to capture him, or obstruct him in anyway. He is about 8 months old now and I think I can say he is still in love with his safe space, but he also feels safe outside with me. He just has so much fun in his cage that its not his first choice to go for a flyabout.
So because he is happy, not depressed, and has a full life, I don't worry about his cage status anymore. I let him let me know how he's feeling and if he fell into a depression or something I would quickly learn what I need to do to help. Not all birds who choose to hang in their cage most of the time are unhappy. Mine certainly isn't!
The other thing is my guy literally taught himself to fly expertly from inside the cage. He did this over many months, and he loves flying in his cage he does it multiple times a day. So when he did finally venture outside the cage, he could already fly very well. Landings were a learning process, but he picked it up quickly. He did not bap the walls by then, because he had so much time to learn about flying inside his safe space before he went out into the scary outside world to fly.
