beginning to train a budgie questions!

[Shelby]

Hey everybody! I'll warn you this is a little long...

3 days a week, I babysit a 10 year old boy, Hyrum, with a budgie named Jack. They've had him for about 2 years. They got him from a friend that was moving to an apartment that wouldn't take pets. Hyrum estimates that they only let him out maybe once every 6 months, and letting him out is the only time they handle him. The rest of the time he sits in his cage and sings to a mirror.

He lives in a pretty good sized cage. I guess it's at least the minimum required for a budgie. He gets fresh water every day and has a budgie seed mix available to him all day and the seed mix gets replaced every day. He has several perches and 3 toys - 2 of which are mirror toys.

We just tried to get Jack to do some basic target training before his usual food and water changing (and he usually eats this time of day) and failed terribly! I've been reading about training birds for a few months now and I went into this so confidently, but Jack has me stumped. Hyrum told me that Jack can step up. I was really encouraged by this. When you reach into the cage, he runs back and forth on his perch a few times, then he steps up. However, when you try to move him towards the cage door, he jumps off your finger onto another perch. I removed his favorite mirror toy and the perch he kept going onto, but he still would jump off our fingers just before we got him out.

So we tried getting him to target inside the cage. We put the end of the chopstick about an inch from his face and he just sits there. After waiting and waiting and even putting it SUPER close to his face, he finally opened his beak a little and touched it. When I tried to reward him with millet, he just sat there. I know he eats millet because they used to keep a spray of it clipped inside his cage and every day there's less and less millet on the spray. So the next time he touched the stick, I said "Good boy!" really excitedly. His eyes widened and his feathers got super tight and he sat up a little taller, so I thought maybe he was a praise-oriented bird. But the next time I tried to get him to target, he just sat there and REFUSED to touch the stick! I moved it further away, closer, to the side, and he did nothing. So Hyrum changed his food and we left him alone for half an hour and then tried again. He only touched the target stick once or twice more.

I don't want to grab him to get him out of the cage, and I don't know what rewards he likes. We took out his favorite mirror toy and now he's sitting on his perch preening a little but looking a little sad and is not nearly as chirpy as usual.
Any tips? Was taking the mirror out a good thing?

[GlassOnion]

Mirror out is good..but poor birdie Nothing to do or play with..

I have a Budgie and trust me, these guys are very playful, acrobatic spitballs that act like they're on a sugar rush!

I would actually take him to a small area like a bathroom, and let him out of the cage and get him used to being out and around you.

[Shelby]

He has a little nest-like hut made of dried grass that they bought at the pet store that he never goes inside but he likes to chew, as well as a cuttlebone and a really big toy with wood beads and small tufts of bright rope that he preens, so he does have some toys. When I go Christmas shopping in a few weeks I'll stop by the craft store and see if they have any paper finger-traps or foam blocks - I've heard birds go crazy for those.

The main problem is how to get him out of the cage? He steps up, but hops back off before we can get him out! And how can we reward him for good behavior if he won't eat millet and seems a little freaked out by excited praise?

I've told Hyrum to try eating breakfast in front of the cage and talking nicely to Jack for a few minutes before school each day, and on the 3 days I'm there I'll try to help him with target training. I think our main problem is Jack was bonded to the mirror and doesn't like coming out of the cage.
Any tips for getting him out aside from grabbing him?

[Shelby]

I have an UPDATE for you all!
Hyrum told me that Jack's previous owners had him for a few years and they kept him in the cage all the time, too. So that explains his reluctance to come out of the cage.

Anyway, I am very excited. I decided that since he clearly is uncomfortable with coming out or sitting on our fingers, that we could do some basic taming inside the cage. He still won't eat millet from the spray (which baffles me, millet is like budgie-crack) but we made some GREAT PROGRESS TODAY!

Yesterday, we wouldn't stay on your finger for more than 2 seconds and seemed really freaked out by hands coming into the cage. Today, he progressed to consistently stepping up almost every time we asked him to, and he got to the point where he would sit on our fingers for a few minutes at a time and play with one of his toys! (All inside the cage, for now.) Every time he would immediately step up, we would say "Good boy!" really happily. Whenever he wouldn't step up, we would remove our hands to show that we are asking nicely and he has a choice. After this, the next time we presented a finger, he almost always stepped up right away. I think this means he is beginning to understand that we respect him and won't hurt him. Hyrum and I are both really happy and encouraged by his progress.

Also, now that his mirror is gone, Jack is hopping/flying all over his cage and playing with his toys, which he never did before. He's even using perches that Hyrum says he's never used before. And he's starting to chirp and chatter again. A good taming session today!
<---- Jack (he's actually white, with patches of green-gray)

[MeanDonnaJean]

Jeez, even *I'M* excited readin' about Jack's progress! I myself have two budgies (Skye & Storm) who are really more bonded to each other than they ever will be to me, but I'm still workin' with 'em both. They really are funny lil' critters who will entertain ya for hours....and hours.....and hours.

So please, keep up the great work, and keep givin' us Jack's progress reports. I for one'll be watchin' out for 'em!

[Shelby]

Yes, Jack is soooo cute and funny. Hyrum says he played with him a little over the weekend and I'll be seeing them both later today. I will definitely keep you all updated on Jack's progress1

[Shelby]

Over the weekend, Hyrum's mom put the mirror toy back into the cage because he wasn't singing as much and he seemed sad without it. Today, we are back at square one again. Jack was skittish, would irregularly step up on our fingers, and when he did he would quickly hop back off again. Also, sometimes when we put our fingers up to him to ask him to step up, he would open his beak and the feathers on either side of his beak would fluff up. Sometimes he would lunge like he was going to bite, but he never actually bit. I know he can't really hurt me, but the first few times he did it, he spooked Hyrum. We started reaching to him and when he showed signs of aggression, we waited until he calmed down before removing our hand. I am trying to get him to understand that biting and aggression doesn't do anything, but being calm gets him what he wants.

I felt bad that the progress we'd made last week disappeared. It's discouraging for both Hyrum and me. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. I know these things take time, but Jack is so antisocial (and doesn't seem all that smart, either). I feel bad that I might be getting Hyrum's hopes up only for Jack to never become friendly.

[cml]

I hope you do well, but I would think that you need to tell Hyrums mother that she shouldnt interfere with your training. =)
Dont be discouraged, its always 2 steps forward, 1 step back! Good luck.

[MeanDonnaJean]

I feel bad that I might be getting Hyrum's hopes up only for Jack to never become friendly.

Awwww now, I kinda doubt that'll be the case.

It seems like ya already got the how's, why's, where's & when's of training pretty much down pat. It's the gosh darn "patience" part of it that tends to get us each 'n every time (and I reckon the mother's meddlin' doesn't help much, either).

I have full faith in you, in Hyrum AND in Jack. Just u wait 'n see!

[Shelby]

I hope you do well, but I would think that you need to tell Hyrums mother that she shouldnt interfere with your training. =)

Well, I'm just the babysitter. The mom is always the head honcho hahaha... I just feel bad for them both; Jack is stuck in his cage all day and they're not really getting any benefit from having him, no affection or anything. Jack does his best to ignore everybody all day. I thought a little training/taming would improve the relationship, but Jack is being very uncooperative. I'll be going to college next year, so I want to get a good start on Jack so Hyrum will be encouraged to keep working with him after I'm gone.

And thanks for your encouragement Donna Jean! It was so disappointing for him to have made great progress and then get worse than before in only 3 days. That's why these forums are great! There's always somebody to tell you why you should keep trying!