My budgie is very quiet

[Mr_Barry]

I bought a budgie on Friday (today being Monday) I have kept him in his cage since then . He has a had a few bursts of tweeting & some nice singing Saturday evening but on the whole has been very quiet. I sit beside him & talk quietly several times a day & yesterday introduced my hand into his cage slowly . Sometimes he's fine & just sits on his perch & sometimes he gets scared.
What do people think I should do in order to get him to sing more? Should I just leave him be for a few days? or should I try to hand feed him millet seed? What about some toys in the cage?
Any advice welcome. Thanks

[divegirl]

Hi, just Google 'taming by budgie' ................

http://www.google.co....cial&client=firefox-a

Lisa x

[atod]

Has it occurred to you that it might take him a little while to get used to a new place? Give him time and try letting the poor thing out a bit.

[Meg888]

My sister had a budgie from young. She hand fed him to get him to come to her and trust her. He turned out to be the most noisiest bird ever, he also ruled the roost, but he was great fun to be around! The trouble with letting them out the cage is getting them back in again. I'm sure he's probably sizing up the environment that he's in.

[wildwood]

He more than likely had a 'mate' to chat with where he came from, either a nestmate or another budgie. It will take a few days more for him to fully become familiar with the new surroundings. When you put your hand in the cage always let him make the decision to step on your hand. Don't go beyond gently tapping his toes with your finger to see if he will step up. Patience is the key to training him. In the days we had birds inside, ours (even canaries) have always found their way back to the cage, enticed with a bit of chickweed.

[Andyvon]

Hi Mr. Barry,

We've got 10 budgies which live in an indoor aviary. Budgies are very sociable birds that need the company of their own kind as they live in flocks, the larger the better. If a budgie is kept by itself it will generally develop behavioral abnormalities such as sitting silently, plucking it's feathers and repeating actions. The social instinct is so strong that a single bird will be so desperate for company that it will even mimic telephones, dogs, people etc. Many owners think that it twee, but it's a sign of how desperately lonely the bird is.

You should get at least one more bird - but never two females together! We started with two and ended up with ten. The more birds we got the noisier and happier they were. If you get another bird then the two will be much happier and will talk and interact with each other. They will never talk to you, but at least they will be happier. The more birds you have the more active and cheery they will be.

Good luck.

[welshlibranr]

So agree with Andy!.....neve have one budgie!...........very cruel!.......they need company!....and lots of space in an aviary to fly too!........Please, never keep them in a small cage!.......

[Mr_Barry]

Thanks all , am a bit worried as he still won't go anywhere near my hand. My friend has a lone budgie which is perfectly happy & will come to him easily. I intend to let him loose in the room but would like him to be tame so need him to settle on my hand first

[flicrat]

A friend's budgie likes a CD on when he is on his own. After a while, he chirps along with the music. Try one of the relaxation ones with birdsong on them, maybe.