New Bird! Read!

[ParakeetLover92]

Hi everyoen as u may know i'm the owner of the bird (parakeet) Jamie the one thats scared of me and is just a very hateful bird can never touch it no matter how much i trired to help her. o i went out to get hr wings clipped and the lady was being bit by her she my bird was sreamign she is jsut a very wierd bird so my dad said lets trade her in and get a hand feed parakeet so i did it stands on my hand and doesn't bite Jamie si in a cage at the Basicly Bird store in New Jersey and i hope is having a fun time with the others in the cage! I really miss her but its for the best so do u think i did the wroudn thign she was just a really jsut a bird who was like dosen't liek people! And i tried and tried to help her like me but it was no use if u have any coments please write thanks aND SCINCE THIS IS A NICE bird and i need to train it will anyone give me trainging tips THANKS!!

Alicia

[svolk]

It is very stressful for a bird who moves to a new home, and especially one that is not tame and used to humans. It takes TIME. Taming a bird and building up trust takes time. Budgies are known to be very cautious birds who sometimes do not like change, even rearranging furniture in the room may upset them at first. You can imagine how nervous and frightening a new home with new people are.

You will find lots of training tips and advice in the Budgerigar section of this board.

[Samm]

You did what was best for you, but I would never refer to any of my birds as "just a bird".

Thats just me, though.

[bekfreak]

I never considered my birds even when budgies to be 'just a bird' and it breaks my heart that people consider budgies, tiels, and lovebirds to be 'throwaway' pets..And after reading your other recent post this seems like it's going to lead down the same path. Give the bird time to get used to you, and she's either scared or tired. She's only a baby after all. I'd rather take a bite from an angry budgie over an angry amazon or macaw anyday.

[svolk]

Originally Posted by bekfreak

I never considered my birds even when budgies to be 'just a bird' and it breaks my heart that people consider budgies, tiels, and lovebirds to be 'throwaway' pets..And after reading your other recent post this seems like it's going to lead down the same path. Give the bird time to get used to you, and she's either scared or tired. She's only a baby after all. I'd rather take a bite from an angry budgie over an angry amazon or macaw anyday.

I completely agree. A budgie is extremely intelligent and even though they are mass produced and come with a much lower price tag, that does not mean that their value is any less. Any bird, no matter what species, needs time and love to adjust in a new home.

[ParakeetLover92]

Yes and i9 undderstand what your all sayign but u all don't know what i had to go through wwith Jamie she wasn't happy and i wasn't either it was BEST FOR HER to go to a nice place with birds. I knoew thats would make her happer. And of course i miss her but I did it moustly for her Jamie didn't like people at all no matter how hard i tried and i wanted to make life a klittle easyer for her i bet she is very happy with her new bird friends and just mite get a new family.... ( which i hope not becuase i want her to say with other other birds .) But maybe she'll be happer with a new family or other birds. When the lady put her in thir she was just climing i=on the walls and birds where like acctaing her beak and she was doign the same but the lady said, at Basicly Birds, thats they are just meetign if they were fiting that would be atacing thier feet. Now i know that you all must think i'm EVIL but i'm not i did this for my bird i loved Jamie but iot was for her own good.! I'm not happy that she left but i'm releaved thats shes out of my hands and in a better place with what she always wanted. thanks

[Machelle]

How long did you have her? Birds can take a very long time to trust people. They are not like dogs and cats that trust you right away. You have to earn it. And even then, some just dont like people. It takes alot of work and alot of time. If you were stressed out every time you went to work with her, she probably picked up on it. I have a cockatiel that still doesn't like me near him and I've had him 8 months. However, I haven't worked with him as much as I should either. I"m sure if I worked with him more, he would be better. He's definitely better than what he was when I first got him. My point is this...you cant expect too much too soon. Birds are very special in the way that it really does take a while for them to trust you. You cant give up too soon. I know you think you did what was best for her and I applaud you for feeling that way. However, I dont agree with you. I'm not putting you down or anything, Sweetie, I'm just saying I think you gave up too soon. My daughter wants a parakeet and I wont get her one because I know she'll get too upset if the bird doens't take to her right away and she wont want to put the work into getting the bird to trust her. When I brought my other birds home, the very first day they wouldn't go to her and she instantly thought they didn't like her. She doesn't quite understand that it takes awhile with birds. Do you have a book on budgies? There should be a part in there about training them. You have to take your time, honey. If you aren't willing to put the time into trying to get the bird to trust you and get upset about it not trusting you right away, at the same time, then maybe a bird isn't the right animal for you. I"m sorry, sweetie, but you have to change the way you think with a bird. Sorry. I am speaking like a mom here because you seem quite young and I know the problems my youngest daughter has with this and you sound alot like her. She has no patience at all and birds require patience. I hope I didn't offend you because thats not what i meant to do. Like I said, I'm talking like a mom here. Good luck and if we are always here for you.

[ParakeetLover92]

Thanks and i had her for almost 2 years and tired to train with her evryday and like the pet shop owner said some birds like mine set thier ways some just like to be with other birds then humans. she was just somthing i don't think any one could train the hand feed one i have now is THE BEST he gets right on my hand when i ask and i just got him yesterday

[tielfan]

What's done is done, and maybe Jamie really will be happier now. Some birds can be handled by just about anyone, and others need someone with a lot of training knowledge and/or experience.

To help you provide the best life for your new keet and help with any problems that might develop later, I encourage you to go to the library and read a lot of bird-related books, not only about keets but about parrots in general. Different authors say different things, so by reading several keet books you'll get some extra ideas, and you'll also be able to see which things everybody agrees on and which are just that one person's idea. Look in the front of the book to find out when it was published too. We're learning more about birds all the time, so the information in an older book may not be as reliable as the information in a newer book. Books about one particular species tend to be mostly about things like how to feed it properly and stuff like that, and not so much about the birds instinctive behavior. They'll give some training tips but these won't work for every single bird.

Reading books about parrots in general has been really useful to me. Since these books cover many species, they spend more time talking about why birds behave the way they do. Understanding why a bird does something is the first step in knowing how to encourage it to do things you like and discourage it from doing things you don't like. There are even books now that are just about training birds. You can find this sort of information on the internet too but sometimes it's easier to locate it in a book.

[CraftQueen]

Hi Alicia,
I think you did the right thing. Every bird has it's own personality just like people. Some of them are, as you said, just weird or just don't like people.
And you need a pet that you like and want to spend time with. Unless you are rehabilitating a bird that has some real baggage issues caused by mistreatment, there is no need for someone as young as yourself to put up with a problem bird. You did the kind and responsible thing by returning it to the pet store. So, what have you named your new bird?