budgie problems

[Enow]

i recently got apollo about 10 days ago its gotten to the point where he is comfortable perching on my finger but after a minute he jumps back to his perch and he also will take millet from my hand. the problem is he wont let pet him. well thats a lie he lets me pet him when he is tired like right before i go to bed. he runs away when i try to pet normally. is there anything i can do to further his taming?

extra details:
i assume he is less then 4 months old because he still has his head stripes
i assume he is a he because of a light blue tint in his cere
first time budgie owner i just want to make sure im not doing anything wrong

[Michael]

Not your fault. Budgies aren't really petable. Think of someone running their entire fist through your hair... even your littlest finger is quite big to a budgie. They are just unlikely to enjoy it so they have little reward in letting you do it.

[Enow]

wow thanks also is there any other trust building methods for budgies?

[Michael]

http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

[Enow]

thanks again

[Red Moppet]

Hi! How are you petting him? You can't really pet them like you would a cat or dog, with long strokes down their backs, but little scratches around the beak and cheeks that go the opposite way their feathers grow.

My budgie is almost 4 months old and I brought him home at 6 weeks. He didn't enjoy scratches for a few weeks (he'd put up with them in the beginning but eventually fluffed up for them & asked for them) and now doesn't like them at all once again, even though he's molting and must be terribly itchy. At most he'll let me rub my nose on his head! But yeah, doesn't seem like budgies are very pettable.

Enjoy your new buddy!

[Enow]

the way i was trying to pet him was using my index or pinky fingers on the back of his head or on the sides of his face

[Azure Hanyo]

the way i was trying to pet him was using my index or pinky fingers on the back of his head or on the sides of his face

I used to have budgies, and my friendly one named Budgie wasn't very pettable either. He was a happy guy, though. Now Stevie on the other hand was the only budgie I know of to this day that could draw blood... I would say if he takes millet from you and perches on your finger, you are well on your way to a happy budgie buddy! They are great shoulder-perchers and like to just hang out, generally speaking.