New member here...

[IsraelG]

Hello there :-)

My name is Israel and I am a new bird owner. My fiance (Brie) and I live together is a tiny apartment in central Texas. She has chronic fatigue syndrom and is often left alone so I decided to by her a budgie (she owned 2 when she was much younger) to keep her company.

Of course, I had no idea what to look for but the lady at Petsmart was friendly and helped me pick out a young, male budgie. I have to admit though, I was a little taken aback at the method the girl used to retrieve the bird from his cage and couldn't help but wonder if he was a little traumatized in the process.

I placed the bird in his new cage once we arrived home and I was a little concerned because the budgie (which we named Oscar) bit my hand repeatedly when I removed him from his box and then cowered in a corner immediately and looked as though he was shaking in fear. I left him alone at that point and hoped he would liven up a bit before Brie saw him. Unfortunately, he continued to do this for several hours and of course, I fully understand why. It must be terrifying to suddenly be thrust into such new surroundings.

Brie is very sweet natured and took an automatic liking to Oscar. She left him alone for most of the first day and only approached the cage this morning to give him fresh food and water. He was then calmed down some and sits on a perch in the cage instead of the corner. Eating and drinking just fine. This afternoon, she spent several hours just sitting at eye level with his cage and talking to him. By the time 7pm rolled around, he was perching on one of her fingers and eating out of her hand.

Oscar seems to be quite taken with Brie and I'm delighted. When she turns away from him, he chirps and nudges the cage bars to get her attention. It's incredibly endearing.

However, the bird is absolutely terrified of me. I have not tried to touch him or place my hand in his cage but he cowers ever time I even go near him. What can I do to make Oscar less frightened of me? Brie suggests simply holding my hand in the cage so he can learn it's not a threat. This sounds reasonable to me, but I wanted to ask for a second opinion and other possible suggestions.

Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Monica]

Sounds as if Oscar views you as 'the evil one' who removed him from his home, and you are getting that effect from him still being scared! You can either do as she says, or try letting Brie getting him out and handling him over to you and letting you handle Oscar for a while with some food in your hands. Either way may work, though it may take a bit longer for Oscar to understand that you really aren't as evil as you first appear!

[Soda Pop]

What a sweet thing you did for your girl. Im sorry Oscar isnt warming up to you just yet. Im sure he is probabley just shaken from the whole experiance.Maybe if you just sit next to his cage with the door open and share something really yummy to eat with him??? A really tasty treat he only will get from you?? I really dont know anything about budgies, Dont laugh at me but Im terrified of the lil guys. Im very new to birds myself, while I was pregnate I wasnt aloud to do much of anything and my mom gave me a cockatoo and he was GREAT company for me while my husband was working out of town. {laughing to myself, yes I have a cockatoo and yes Im afraid of budgies} That must sound rediculas!! My mom works with birds ALOT, and this may not be the best thing in the world to sugest... but she has won the hearts over MANY birds thought to be mean by sharing a corn dog with them. Just a little bite. She has gone from having a bird completley trying to eat her alive to snuggling under her chin. Not the best advice to be given, but it worked for my mom with some really big birds. I hope you and Oscar can make friends. And welcome.
Angel and Soda Pop

[DocT]

Aww that was nice of you to get her a budgie, they are sure cute little birds. I think maybe he does associate you to fear a bit when you brought him home. But I think he will get over that. Try having the girlfriend hand him to you while she has him out to play with her. Birds are starnge little creatures at times and can love one person and want nothing to do with anyone else. But anyhoooo that was nice of you to do for your girlfriend and welcome.

Bonnie

[tdoll]

That is so sweet that you got your girlfriend this budgie,And i would have to say that right now he see's you as the one who caused his trauma,you just need to take it slow with him sit at his cage and talk softly to him,give him some special treat's and do this alone when your girlfriend isn't in the room,so he can see you are a good guy.just give him time to adjust to all the new things around him.one thing i have found is budgie's dont tend to hold a grudge!!

[IsraelG]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I got up before Brie this morning and spent some quality time with Oscar and he seems less frightened of me. He still won't come out of the cage with either of us, but I'm hoping that once he makes that step he'll be even more comfortable.

Brie's been leaving the cage door open, but he still won't venture out. Any good methods for doing this?

[tdoll]

The best advice on getting him to come out of the cage is to let him come out on his own term's.Dont force the issue he will gain trust and come out on his own.

[dyeman]

First, welcome to Birdboard!

It appears from your post that you have only had Oscar for a day? When we had our store, I used to recommend that new birds be left alone to adjust to the new surroundings for a day before any interaction was attempted. It's pretty stressful for young budgies to change their environment so abruptly.

I would give him some time, and then leave the cage door open and sit beside the cage reading a book or something but ignoring the bird. Usually their curiosity is all it takes. Sometimes they will even climb onto your arm to see what you are doing.

Once you get him out of the cage, budgies are pretty easy to train with up and down commands. I would work with him away from the cage, preferably in another room entirely. I would invest in a good book on budgies that will go over these training techniques.

[Regina U.]

Welcome!

Be patient and give it time. Your new baby fid needs time to adjust and learn to trust. Do not rush it. You will get great advice here from some very knowledgable people. Hope to hear more from you.

Regina