I've had my pet parakeet Ralphy for a week now. How long does it take for your bird to get used to you? He's still running away and hates to get out of his cage. When you pet him he bites you. Is something wrong with him?
2007-01-01 05:45:50 · 16 answers · asked by Taylor 3 in Pets ➔ Birds
No, birds take a long time to get used to a new environment. Never just reach your hand in his cage. His cage is his house, and he will be very scared if you try to grab him. Try leaving the cage door open while you do something else in the room for awhile. He may decide to explore, he may not. Give him time, and do this every day. You can also offer him treats like millet sprays in the palm of your open hand. Be very still and patient. He probably won't come to you for a long while, but your patience will pay off in the long run.
Don't give up. You promised to give this little guy a good home when you brought him home, so don't give him away just because he won't do what you want him to right away.
2007-01-01 06:02:35 · answer #1 · answered by Mary 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There might not be nothing wrong with him. Give him about a week or more to fully adjust to his living conditions. I recommend getting hand raised birds so they're more used to being petted and handled, although you can still get Ralphy to trust you. Once you can pet him and handle him safely and easily, you should praise him and give him a fresh piece of lettuce or a piece of fruit, some kind of treat to make him feel good about his success.
2007-01-01 15:21:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely, there is nothing wrong with his health. But he's definately stressed. Don't be too forceful with him, don't force him to come out from his cage. It'll take him time to get used to his new environment, and to you. When I got my first bird, a cockatiel, she sat on the bottom of her cage for the whole first night. And it took a month or 2 to even get her trusting in me, to get her out of the cage. So give your little budgie a chance! It sounds like he's already tamed and pretty friendly. Just make sure that his environment is as stress free as possible.
2007-01-01 16:27:27 · answer #3 · answered by Bree_zy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I went through the same thing with my parakeet. Don't worry about it too much because this is extremely common. Usually after the second week, the bird will settle down.Also, there may be other factors to why he acts like that such as other pets and frightening objects.
2007-01-01 17:41:31 · answer #4 · answered by Lily L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
is he a young bird? the older he is the harder it will be. it takes alot of time and alot of patience to hand tame a parakeet. make sure his wings are clipped this is a must for his own safety, it also aids in training. keep putting your hand in the cage and talk softly, never raise your voice. keep trying to put your finger under his belly so he can step on it. expect to get bitten a few times in fact, dont pull away or he will know he won the battle. eventually he will get on your finger and you can bring him out. when you get him out spend alot of time handling him. i always kept my birds in the living room so the cage could be next to me so i could talk to them all the time. just like you would talk to your dog or cat, they listen to you. i kept the cage on a table next to me and when i ate dinner i would open the cage door and put some veggies on top of the door so he would come out to eat with me. they love veggies. but do not give avocados or uncooked rice it will kill them!!! any more questions you can email me. i have had alot of birds all my life. also i need to tell you that Teflon pans are not good for birds, the fumes from the pans during cooking are poisonous to all birds. keep a cover over him at night and away from drafts. and to finally answer your qustion, no there is nothing wrong with your bird, it takes a long time, and if it is an adult, you might never tame him, it just depends on the bird
2007-01-01 14:07:34 · answer #5 · answered by cathi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If by Parakeet you're referring to the bird better known as a Budgie / Budgerigar (which is the proper name for this particular species, but Americans often mistakenly call a Parakeet / 'keet), then I think I came across what you're looking for the other day:
http://www.budgies.org/info/taming.html
If you're reffering to the proper, more parrot sized Parakeets like these: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/parakeets/parakeets.htm
Then I ain't sure, but the same tricks would probably work.
2007-01-01 14:02:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
relax i used to have a parakeet and it takes a while for them to learn that your there to be there friend not to hurt them. my advice is to talk to him alot. he'll get used to your voice after a while. if your patient try just putting your hand in the cage and let him come to you. dont chase him around the cage thta will scare him and make it worse. another thing to try is feeding him from your hand. you can use bird food or try crackers or non buttered popcorn. birds like that kind of stuff. anymore questions just email me at rachelcann272@yahoo.com id be happy to help : ]
2007-01-02 01:54:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ralphy probably isn't used to his new enviroment, or you for that matter. Treat him with TLC and he'll start getting used to everything. Or maybe his personality is just that he's against the whole world. Still treat him with TLC. Over time, he will trust you and not bite you anymore.
2007-01-01 13:51:35 · answer #8 · answered by Jen 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He is still just scared, it is completely normal. Give him time he has to get used to a whole new environment and get used to you as well. Go slowly if you try to socialize him to fast you can cause him a lot of stress and that's not healthy.
2007-01-01 13:51:52 · answer #9 · answered by Hotsauce 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
haha ralphy.
He's probobly from a pet store with other animals. He probobly just needs a few weeks to get used to you.
2007-01-01 13:50:43 · answer #10 · answered by shawn 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋