Those here with Budgies or have had them

[Mummieeva]

First off Linda i wish there was a Budgie board as good as this lovebird board is. I have found alot of people with them that never do anything short of clean cage and feed once a week. Ok here are my questions. Is there any hope my budgies could be tamed? So far they run away and if I get near they bite(let me tell you these 2 hurt as bad as Baggy bites..lol). I have no idea thier age or even gender. But these 2 are even less interested in me then my first lovie.They see very very bonded to each other though. Also did anyone here have them lay eggs? i was told that unlike Lovies Budgies do not mate without a box. Not sure I belive that but everything I read said other wise. Thank you for your help. I cna not belive I am asking to tame more birds..lol. If they will be better jsut getting to fly and me leave them be I will do that also.


Steph

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Before I was born my family had a little green parakeet (budgie) who was tame. My mom says that she would be standing at the sink washing dishes, and the parakeet would land on her head. Then he would grip her hair with his feet and slide down her bangs, hanging upside down, until he was looking her in the eye. :)

[Paulette]

Hi Steph, I have 2 pairs of budgies. The Yellow/Green pair are partially tame and the Blue pair are not but are perch tame. I've always had parakeets, but unfortunantly I didn't know they needed greens/veggies so mine never lived past about 4 years. I let them out of the cages just like the lovebirds and cockatiels. The yellow pair fly more and get picked up more and as a result they don't bite anymore. The blue pair are the ones that layed 10 eggs in the bottom of the cage in April and none hatched, but they are a very skiddish pair and are more afraid than the other pair (personalities I guess).....they've never been treated any different. I do trim their wings to limit flying. Use loose gloves because they bite and hang on kind of like a snapping turtle. They are fixing to lay eggs again (I've seen them swishy several times) and I can't find a next box to save my life, so I put an orange juice carton in with a bird size hole cut in it and the hen has been sitting in there for several days. If they are young enough you can teach them to talk, but I've never had time to do that before. And probably need to take the one you want to talk into another room away from other bird distractions. I had a very sweet parakeet (Buddy)that my son found outside when he was 14, he rode home on his shoulder while on a bicycle and was a sweet heart (that was 6 yrs ago) his mate killed him in the night a couple of years ago. He loved going to the kitchen sink...I would turn a glass(with fluted bottom) upside down and let the water hit the bottom, it would make an umbrella of water, he would stand in the spray....it was a lot of fun. They love the sound of running water, the vacuum, music and of course baths and swings. Just talk to them like you do Baggy and Wisper. Mine are beginning to eat veggies, I'm so excited! They won't eat the cherrios, they think they are to be thrown into the floor and it's a big game at my house. I put them in a food cup and one by one they toss them out. I absolutely love their chatter. Good Luck. Males have blue nose and hens have a white or tanish/crusty brown (this means they are ready to mate and lay eggs).

[Angelwing]

I have a nine year old English budgie, as well as a four month old regular budgie. Yes, they are tameable, but if they aren't young, it will be very time consuming. My older budgie can talk, and is very tame. I've had him since he was 44 days old. He sits on my finger, head, shoulder, arm etc. I can rub is head and even hold it gently. I used to pick him up all the time (hand around his back), turn him over and rub his tummy. Of course, he didn't like that a whole lot, but he still let me do it. :) He's a sweetheart, and I love him dearly. He's a lot more grumpy now, and likes to go to bed early. :( The other budgie I've only had for a little over a month, and he's very sweet. He isn't entirely tame yet, but hasn't bitten me once. In fact, my other budgie hadn't bitten until he was almost two years old. I can touch the new budgie and on certain ocassions (when I'm holding spray millet, mainly) he'll climb up onto my finger. Budgies are wonderful birds to own, and I hope you have the time to spend with yours so that they'll love you back.

EDIT: I'd suggest discovering their favourite food and hand feeding it to them a couple of time per day. When I learned that my budgie really loved spray millet, I'd cut a little piece off, hold it out with one hand, and stick my index finger (of the other hand) out by his tummy. Eventually, while holding the millet just out of reach, he'd come onto my finger. It may take many tries, but don't give up hope. It's certainly working for me.

Good luck.