I get dozens of emails a week from people having problems with their pet birds. Surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of the “problem” birds are budgies/parakeets. People get a budgie/parakeet thinking that the bird is going to be docile. Well, I have breaking news — the budgie/parakeet has the same fight or flight instinct as any other animal and, when a scared budgie is cornered, it’s going to fight … or in this case, bite. Though its beak may be small, a budgie’s bite packs a wallop that can break the skin.
Biting is indeed an issue, but budgie/parakeet owners are also concerned with the bird being afraid of them. This is more confusing for most people than biting. A scared budgie and/or parakeet is often insulting and makes people feel sad — the person knows that he or she means well and only wants to love the bird, so why doesn’t the budgie/parakeet know that? Instead, the budgie and/or parakeet flaps around the bird cage when the human approaches, terrified for its life and unable to do much more than bang into cage bars.
Biting and fear in an otherwise healthy budgie and/or parakeet can only mean one thing: the budgie and/or parakeet is not tame. Most budgies and/or parakeets seem docile the first few days at home. The bird is in an unfamiliar place, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. When someone approaches, it’s likely to freeze in place, as if it’s posing. What a sweet, docile creature!
Not really. The budgie and/or parakeet is just using its instincts. Most predators can’t see their prey very well when the prey isn’t moving, so staying perfectly still makes sense to the budgie. Maybe you won’t see it if it plays statue. But once the budgie gets a little more comfortable in its new surroundings, it will probably fly wildly against the cage bars in an attempt to flee when you approach. The budgie and/or parakeet is relatively certain you’re not going to eat it — you haven’t as of yet — but it still doesn’t want anything to do with you.
Budgies “gentle” down pretty easily, even older budgies and/or parakeets, especially when you take the time to instill a sense of trust and love into your taming sessions. Using a quicker method, “breaking” the bird, isn’t pleasant, and doesn’t work as well as the method I’ve described here. A relationship is about trust, and that’s the proper philosophy when it comes to taming any animal. So, budgie and/or parakeet pals, fear your budgie no more! In a couple of weeks you’ll have a fine pet bird on your shoulder — who can ask for more than that?
Posted by: Chewy Editorial
Feature Image: Gina Cioli/Lumina Media
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