| Re: My budgies won't stop biting me! - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Just Molly |
"Jim Leonard" <trixter@despammed.com> wrote in message
news:f93aad69.0407020845.78108faa@posting.google.com...
> I apologize in advance for asking a question that has seemingly been
> asked and answered many times before, but I was hoping some
> parakeet/budgie owners could *definitively* answer this one for me:
> How in the heck do you hold a budgie?
>
> We just got two lovely 6-month-old birds a few days ago, and it was
> highly recommended that we tame them by holding them up to ten minutes
> a day. But I have two major problems:
>
> - I can't catch the darn things. They may have their wings clipped,
> but they're fast! I essentially have to herd them into a corner of
> the cage, and then almost *snap* my hand around them because otherwise
> they get away from me.
>
> - They bite the crap out of my hand! It's not enough to pierce the
> skin, but it sure hurts, and I can only withstand about 15 seconds of
> this before I have to let them go.
>
> I fear that I'm not taming them, but teaching them to fear me and bite
> my hand when they want to be let go! Help!! What *EXACTLY* is the
> proper way to hold a budgie?
It may be too late. You have already demonstrated to them that you are a
scarey predatore by chasing and grabbing them. Short answer is you do *not*
hold a budgie, you tame them and get them to sit on your finger, but I think
that now you have thoroughly terrified them, you will never be able to
regain their confidence.
Who "highly recommended" that you hold them? This is not the way to tame
scared birds. Holding a bird is not natural to them. Being grasped about the
body is what a predator would do.
I suggest you back off and leave them alone. *If* you are lucky, given
about a year or two, they may learn to trust you a little but I doubt it.
Had you bought a hand reared bird, or got yourself some good info *before*
you started chasing and grabbing, you might have stood a chance, but not now
:0(
Poor little sods.
|
|
|
| AlanWilliams |
"Just Molly" <oldmollyREMOVETHIS@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:q5iFc.80$UF4.16@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
>
> "Jim Leonard" <trixter@despammed.com> wrote in message
> news:f93aad69.0407020845.78108faa@posting.google.com...
> > I apologize in advance for asking a question that has seemingly been
> > asked and answered many times before, but I was hoping some
> > parakeet/budgie owners could *definitively* answer this one for me:
> > How in the heck do you hold a budgie?
> >
> > We just got two lovely 6-month-old birds a few days ago, and it was
> > highly recommended that we tame them by holding them up to ten minutes
> > a day. But I have two major problems:
> >
> > - I can't catch the darn things. They may have their wings clipped,
> > but they're fast! I essentially have to herd them into a corner of
> > the cage, and then almost *snap* my hand around them because otherwise
> > they get away from me.
> >
> > - They bite the crap out of my hand! It's not enough to pierce the
> > skin, but it sure hurts, and I can only withstand about 15 seconds of
> > this before I have to let them go.
> >
> > I fear that I'm not taming them, but teaching them to fear me and bite
> > my hand when they want to be let go! Help!! What *EXACTLY* is the
> > proper way to hold a budgie?
>
> It may be too late. You have already demonstrated to them that you are a
> scarey predatore by chasing and grabbing them. Short answer is you do
*not*
> hold a budgie, you tame them and get them to sit on your finger, but I
think
> that now you have thoroughly terrified them, you will never be able to
> regain their confidence.
I've seen it recommended by other people as a way of taming lovebirds. I
got my birds used to hands by offering them kale so they learnt that hands
were wonderful things. Is there an equivalent of kale for budgies? That
reads wrong: Is there a food that budgies are almost guaranteed to adore
just like lovebirds adore kale?
Perhaps Jim could start off with some wonder food on the back of a clenched
fist and work from there.
> Who "highly recommended" that you hold them? This is not the way to tame
> scared birds. Holding a bird is not natural to them. Being grasped about
the
> body is what a predator would do.
One of my birds likes snuggling up under a hand but I guess that's more like
a warm dark tunnel than a grasp.
> I suggest you back off and leave them alone. *If* you are lucky, given
> about a year or two, they may learn to trust you a little but I doubt it.
> Had you bought a hand reared bird, or got yourself some good info
*before*
> you started chasing and grabbing, you might have stood a chance, but not
now
> :0(
> Poor little sods.
It's not Jim's fault, people really do recommend that technique.
Alan
|
|
|
| Jim Leonard |
"Just Molly" <oldmollyREMOVETHIS@tesco.net> wrote in message news:<q5iFc.80$UF4.16@newsfe3-win.ntli.net>...
> Had you bought a hand reared bird, or got yourself some good info *before*
> you started chasing and grabbing, you might have stood a chance, but not now
> :0(
> Poor little sods.
Thank you for the kind, thoughtful, and not at all condescending or
pretentious advice. :-/
The "tame by hand" technique was recommended to me by the owner of the
shop, who has been in business over 20 years. He spoke to us
personally for half an hour before AND after the purchase so we could
be fully prepared. At no point did I feel he was trying to mislead
us.
Since the general consensus is that I have irrepairably damaged my
budgies psychologically, I suppose my only recourse is to take them
back to the shop where they will undoubtedly be better handled than
the sadistic brute I must be.
|
|
|
| Starlight |
On 3 Jul 2004 00:56:48 -0700, trixter@despammed.com (Jim Leonard)
wrote:
>
>Since the general consensus is that I have irrepairably damaged my
>budgies psychologically, I suppose my only recourse is to take them
>back to the shop where they will undoubtedly be better handled than
>the sadistic brute I must be.
Please don't be a martyr. Those budgies are yours now, and it's up
to you to give them a good life.
First rule of thumb in my house (we've had 5 budgies over the past 10
years), keep your hands out of their cage. You have to change water,
fill seed cups and clean, but that is all you should be doing in that
cage. The cage is their haven, where they need to feel safe and
secure. They don't need a big human sticking a hand in and
tormenting them. My budgies know when they're in the cage, it's off
limits to everyone else.
Let them get used to you. Stand with your face very close to their
cage, preferably near a perch so they can get close to you if they
want, and talk to them often. Tell them the story of your life, how
your day went, all your troubles and successes. Sing songs to
them....the minute I begin singing Happy Birthday, my budgies start
the old beak grinding contentment thing; we sing it every night at
bedtime. :)
The budgie I found on our front lawn a year ago is still a jumpy
little thing. But he's gotten up the nerve to get in my face and
give me kisses through the bars of the cage...a major victory for the
both of us.
Be patient!!!! Open the door of the cage and let them come to you.
Put a piece of millet in your hand and hold it just outside the cage,
near a perch so they can reach you. Budgies can hardly resist
millet, and once they're comfortable with your presence, will be happy
to eat it out of your hand. Once they're doing that, put your hand
just out of reach, so they have to sit on your fingers or palm to get
to the millet. All my birds have eaten out of my hand, even the most
timid one. Stand right outside their cage and eat. Every one of my
budgies has joined in a snack with me at some point. They're flock
birds, and would love to be a part of your flock, as long as they can
trust you.
Your budgies are petrified of you at this point. Be patient and
spend time gaining their trust. Give them a couple months to see
that you are their friend and provider. Help them be happy and
excited to see you when you get up in the morning and when you get
home after work. Once they know you aren't the enemy/predator, then
you can be more assertive in handling them. Offer your finger or the
top of your hand to them often over these next few weeks, but don't
force them to comply with your wishes. They have rights too, ya know!
Don't be discouraged. Start over by breaking that cycle of fear and
becoming a trusted member of their family. Be the bearer of good
news, happy encounters and yummy treats. Good luck!
Becky
|
|
|
| Joanne |
"Starlight" <homehealth_rnDELETE@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:vbide093mloihd1lstvlsp7lpckr2c2kje@4ax.com...
> On 3 Jul 2004 00:56:48 -0700, trixter@despammed.com (Jim Leonard)
> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >Since the general consensus is that I have irrepairably damaged my
> >budgies psychologically, I suppose my only recourse is to take them
> >back to the shop where they will undoubtedly be better handled than
> >the sadistic brute I must be.
>
> Please don't be a martyr. Those budgies are yours now, and it's up
> to you to give them a good life.
>
> First rule of thumb in my house (we've had 5 budgies over the past 10
> years), keep your hands out of their cage. You have to change water,
> fill seed cups and clean, but that is all you should be doing in that
> cage. The cage is their haven, where they need to feel safe and
> secure. They don't need a big human sticking a hand in and
> tormenting them. My budgies know when they're in the cage, it's off
> limits to everyone else.
>
> Let them get used to you. Stand with your face very close to their
> cage, preferably near a perch so they can get close to you if they
> want, and talk to them often. Tell them the story of your life, how
> your day went, all your troubles and successes. Sing songs to
> them....the minute I begin singing Happy Birthday, my budgies start
> the old beak grinding contentment thing; we sing it every night at
> bedtime. :)
> The budgie I found on our front lawn a year ago is still a jumpy
> little thing. But he's gotten up the nerve to get in my face and
> give me kisses through the bars of the cage...a major victory for the
> both of us.
>
> Be patient!!!! Open the door of the cage and let them come to you.
> Put a piece of millet in your hand and hold it just outside the cage,
> near a perch so they can reach you. Budgies can hardly resist
> millet, and once they're comfortable with your presence, will be happy
> to eat it out of your hand. Once they're doing that, put your hand
> just out of reach, so they have to sit on your fingers or palm to get
> to the millet. All my birds have eaten out of my hand, even the most
> timid one. Stand right outside their cage and eat. Every one of my
> budgies has joined in a snack with me at some point. They're flock
> birds, and would love to be a part of your flock, as long as they can
> trust you.
>
> Your budgies are petrified of you at this point. Be patient and
> spend time gaining their trust. Give them a couple months to see
> that you are their friend and provider. Help them be happy and
> excited to see you when you get up in the morning and when you get
> home after work. Once they know you aren't the enemy/predator, then
> you can be more assertive in handling them. Offer your finger or the
> top of your hand to them often over these next few weeks, but don't
> force them to comply with your wishes. They have rights too, ya know!
>
> Don't be discouraged. Start over by breaking that cycle of fear and
> becoming a trusted member of their family. Be the bearer of good
> news, happy encounters and yummy treats. Good luck!
> Becky
Nice post, Becky.
--
Sincerely,
Joanne
If it's right for you, then it's right, . . . . . for you!!!
Play - http://www.jobird.com
Pay for Play - http://www.jobird.com/refund.htm
Looking for Love? - http://www.jobird.com/hearts.htm
|
|
|
| gamin |
Jim Leonard wrote:
> I apologize in advance for asking a question that has seemingly been
> asked and answered many times before, but I was hoping some
> parakeet/budgie owners could *definitively* answer this one for me:
> How in the heck do you hold a budgie?
>
As others have said, they are now terrified of your hands.
When I have to catch an untamed budgie, I always use
a handtowel over my hand so they don't associate being
caught with hands. Once a bird develops a fear of hands,
it takes a while to get them to trust hands - sometimes
they never do.
With these budgies, I would recommend backing off from
the hand taming for a while. Sit by the cage and talk
to them until they seem calm in your presence. Get
them used to eating spray millet if they don't know
about this yet. Then slowly teach them to eat the millet
from your hand - eventually taking pieces off your palm.
At this point, make sure their wings are still clipped.
Take a budgie from the cage (catching it with a hand
towel) and go into a small room like the bathroom away
from the cage. Be sure the toilet lid is down. Sit on
the floor and put the bird in your lap. If it runs away,
catch it up again with the towel and try again. In
a few sessions, you should be able to get the bird
to perch on your hand.
If this doesn't work, the budgies may never be hand
tamed. Some just don't like it.
Janet Levy
|
|
|
| Just Molly |
"Jim Leonard" <trixter@despammed.com> wrote in message
news:f93aad69.0407042305.480c20e0@posting.google.com...
> "Just Molly" <oldmollyREMOVETHIS@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:<TrwFc.50$s21.38@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net>...
> > So if his advice was so valid and useful how come you are having
problems
> > and having to seek elsewhere??
>
> Because, as evidenced by the hand-biting, it was not valid advice for
> a novice budgie owner.
>
> > Had
> > you done a little research or bought birds for dummies *before* you got
> > them, you might have saved these two from being mishandled.
>
> Well, I thought talking to the shop owner for 30 minutes was
> sufficient research.
>
> > Sorry you didn't like what I posted or the way it was the posted but I
call
> > a spade a shovel.
>
> What you posted was fine -- the way you posted it was condescending
> and not very nice to an admitted novice budgie owner. Haven't you
> ever taken up a new hobby and asked anyone for advice? How would you
> have felt if that person had answered your questions as you did mine?
>
> In any case, the argument is moot: They are back at the shop in the
> company of other birds. Which is probably just as well, since my wife
> was never quite comfortable with the idea of taking an animal meant to
> have full access through the world, cutting its wings so that it can
> never have that freedom, and then keeping it inside a cage that
> literally adds insult to injury.
Ahh you are a troll. Why didn't you say so right at the start?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
