Hi /an/, I need some minor pet help (no not take it to the vet kind of help).
So I have a budgie. He's very active but rarely interacts with me, he mostly prefers to play with "toys" like drawstrings for shades or chew on bird-safe plants and wood. Other than that he mostly spends time in his cage with normal toys.
Should I just accept that he isn't interactive? I can't even take him more than 6 feet away from his cage before he takes off. He steps up just fine and will eat food with me, and that's about as far as interaction goes. He doesn't like handling in any way. I get this feeling that he is simply very independent.
My last budgie was very personable and cuddly. It's kind of a sharp change of pace for me.
>>2008674
flush him. they're all little satans and must be destroyed. with extreme prejudice.
>>2008681
May I present to you, Col. Kurtz in feathers
I mean, I've held more friendly budgies at zoo exhibits. It's actually kind of shocking.
>>2008684
i used to own two of these fucks and this pic looks pretty much like one of them. the other one was blue and retarded and her eyes were two different sizes it was fucking weird. they died like 14 years ago and seeing budgies still triggers me.
>>2008674
just keep trying and interacting... some budgies take more time than others to warm up, especially if they weren't handraised...
and all birds have their own personalities...
Some birds are more independent than others. It sounds like you should leave him out of the cage more. If you're watching tv or using the computer bring him and some toys with you. Try to play with the toys with him.
I always used the same technique to teach my cockatiels to enjoy being scratched. I would wait until some pin feathers grew in. I would take him in the shower and get him wet(be careful water doesn't get in to the nose). When he dried out the pin feathers would be ready to have the sheath broken up. When the cockatiel figured out I had rid him of those painful feathers he realized how awesome it was to have his own preening machine for those feathers he couldn't reach.
Just go slow and try to spend time with him. Make it enjoyable time by bring stuff he likes to do with you.
>>2008716
He was handraised, but by a breeder in a very loud and condensed room filled with other birds and cages. Looking back he was kind of skittish even then as he jumped and fluttered away when they were putting that little band on his leg which I didn't like, I had to go catch him before he hurt himself in their own house. He was probably just a bad choice as mean as that sounds.
I've had him for 2 years now.
>>2008717
>It sounds like you should leave him out of the cage more.
I leave his cage open as long as I'm around.
>If you're watching tv or using the computer bring him and some toys with you. Try to play with the toys with him.
Like I said, I can't take him more than a few steps from his cage before he flies somewhere. And he is far too hyperactive to play toys. He simply has no interest in me unless I have food.
>Make it enjoyable time by bring stuff he likes to do with you.
I've tried that. He usually flies to his favorite house toys and plays with them instead.
>>2008726
maybe try getting him a friend (bond with them separately at first) who's more friendly and interactive than him to encourage him... i've had luck getting a budgie to be friendlier by introducing a new one who was less shy...
worst case scenario is you'll get to watch them bond and be cute as fuck together...
>>2008726
Treat him like you would treat a bratty child.
Take away his toys.
>>2008674
I have a macaw, have had him for about 10 years now, I adopted him when he was 15.
He was extremely antisocial at the beginning, but I have found that forced physical contact, such as picking gun up, with both hands over his wings so he can't flap, hand feeding him even if he bites, and eventually mouth feeding him has made him much more docile, and now he has come to love and respect me. He will instantly climb on my shoulder, or come find me in whatever room I am in if he is lonely.
Basically, assert yourself, have physical contact, and mouth feed treats. Your bird is 1/10 the size of mine. The bites won't hurt as bad.
>>2008727
That might be a good way to go. I thought about getting a Cockatiel but I don't know if he would like such a comparatively big bird in his house.
The last time I bird sat for someone he was super aggressive and would chase the other bird everywhere. He wasn't mean and didn't try to bite, but he would make a whole lot of commotion with flying and touching that the other much calmer bird did not enjoy.
>>2008728
I did that when he was compulsively masturbating every 5 minutes to a bell.
>>2008731
I would do that if I could get him to sit still for 3 seconds. It's like he has cocaine in his blood.
>>2008726
Yeah definitely sounds like a happy bird who likes to explore. The only thing I can suggest is hanging around him when he plays with his "house toys".
Have you tried having him sit on your shoulder? That seems like the first thing a parrot learns to do with me.
>>2008736
>Have you tried having him sit on your shoulder?
He would rather sit on my head. If I try to get him to step up off my head he either moves away or flies away.
>>2008733
i used another budgie to do it, since i figured if it didn't work they could be mates... and they were, but they were also pretty decent with me...
i eventually got a green cheek to be more of a companion bird for me (and she's perfect... exactly what i wanted for a companion pet), but i also really like having budgies just to watch them interact with each other and to play with them a little every day...
idk anything about cockatiels, but i've heard they're pretty laid back so it might work out even if he's aggressive at first... he'll eventually get used to it i imagine even if it takes a bit of time...
>>2008738
let him chill on your head whenever possible and take it from there maybe?
>>2008738
Aww. Some of my cockatiels would climb from my shoulder to my head using my eyeglasses as a ladder. They didn't like to stay there because it was less stable than my shoulder.
If he likes to stand on your head its a start. For me I teach a cockatiel to not fly away when asked to step up by rewarding him when he does. Since every cockatiel I've had liked my shoulder I would almost always put it on my shoulder and take it where I wanted to bring it on my shoulder. You can try millet. Praise might help. Talking to your bird even when you think it isn't paying attention might help. None of my cockatiels talked but they seemed to understand some of what I said.
>>2008741
I dunno. If all else fails I'll get him a buddy that I've tamed.
>>2008742
Yea I guess. I'll probably go buy millet sprays next time I'm at the pet shop and try some more positive reinforcement.
I talk to him all the time. He never really seems interested or trying to listen and repeat, which my old budgie used to do all the time.
Btw, I know the typical seed only diet is shitty but what else should I feed him? He loves eating eggs in the morning, often right from my fork or mouth, and he likes nibbling on fruits that I handfeed him. But it's obviously not a typical meal.
Why did you get a budgie and not a keet? There's like no difference accept keets are friendlier
>>2008759
Isn't parakeet just a catch-all term for a number of small parrots?
>>2008760
just the ones with long tails...
post more qt keets
>>2008785
okay
I might have a pic or two of the little bugger on my phone, I'll see if I can dig them up
>>2008787
Found one
>>2008788
Found another. This was one of the few times he would let me give him a good scratch. He was nuts about this toy.
