Parakeet help

[Sorrell]

Hi guys, I bought two parakeets today after seeing all the great pictures of Pickle and Symon, I just had to get some They are out in my fish room which is heated to 80 degrees and doesn't have any drafts so I thought that would be best for them. I have a nice cage that stands four feet tall and I bought them different size perches and toys for them. I also have a tall free standing perch with multiple levels and perches for them during the day while they are out of their cage.

My question is what is the best way to tame them? I tried to hold them tonight and both bit me and drew blood...I put on some cotton gloves and they bit them instead, but they were so scared the whole time I had them out. Do you tame them just through handling? I just worried because they were so afraid when I had them out, i don't want to traumatize them

I've had cockatiels and doves before, but they were tame when I got them. I've also had parakeets but we had three of them that were so bonded to each other they wanted nothing to do with me and they pretty much had free flight through the fishroom for their lives. I would appreciate any help on making these birds more social with myself. I do know it will be harder since I got two, but I felt so bad only getting one, I really tried, but I had to go back to the store and get a second, I just didn't want the first to be sad

Also, is there a way to tell male and female when they are babies? There little thingies (I don't know what it's called ) ) over their beak is still brown

 

[AquaSeaFoam]

Its been a long time since i've had parakeets, but what i remember is females are brown and males are blue. They might be too young to tell yet though, and the color may change when they are sexually mature.
I would try to spend some individual time with each of them... take one into a small room and just let it be around you... try to tempt it with treats but holding it with force in your hand will likely just make them more scared. If their wings aren't clipped you might want to do that too.. it will be easier to handle/catch them at least until they are more tame.
Also, be careful if leaving them in the fish room.. they could drown if they land on the aquarium... or poo in it.. which isn't good either.
Good luck with your new lil guys (or girls?)

 

[Sorrell]

Thanks for your reply, I will definately try to work with them individually, and they're wings had already been clipped when I got to the pet store. Don't worry about the fish tanks, they are all covered, bettas are jumpers So, birds out and fish in

 

[leck85]

training parakeets lmao.. HAVE FUN..

their beaks are so damn sharp...

this is how i trained mine..

originally, everytime i took it out it did the same..

so i ignored it for like 6 months, now everytime i take it out its happy to come out... and doesnt bite at all..

doesnt sound like a great 'plan'.. but it worked for me..

i made it so he wanted to come out... now he enjoys it.. before it was like i was pissing him off..

 

[Sorrell]

Just wanted to say that I read what PK suggested in Miss Cheese's thread, so I now have that advice too I'll try to get some pictures of my new guys tomorrow and post them.

 

[plecoperson]

i assume you mean budgies rather than a different species of parakeet? If they aint budgies it is a diffrent method of sexing! for example, ringneck parakeets have a ring around their necks in the male, or something like that. Its very difficult to tell whats a boy and whats a girl in young budgies. I just got one and Im still not sure... it's cere(fleshy bit over the nostrils) is pink with a blue tinge so I really dont know. I just call it a girl.

I would say dont try to hold them in your hand. Introduce your hand to the cage (maybe train them one at a time) so that they arent scared. try to get close to them (still not easy even when their wings are clipped) and then when they are comfortable with you, press your finger against its chest just above its legs and say up. Its natural for the bird to step up onto your finger. all the bird books Ive read say this is the best thing to teach them. Mine wouldnt step on my finger and its was getting to be a pain in the bum until I found she was completely happy to step onto one of the perches from her cage. she wont step on my finger unless its from the perch, but she is getting better.

Be patient. they wont become as tame as a bird which lives on its own, but im sure they can be tamed enough to sit on your finger, etc.

 

[aloaring]

Welcome to budgie world if they can draw blood likely hood is that they are female, female budgies bite a lot harder than males !!

Plecopersons advice is the best push your fingers against their legs if theywon't step up that will force them to do it and they quickly learn,one of my budgies alwys lifts her leg to step up when she sees me !!
they will be very scared for the first few weeks so give them time to get used to you and the new environment. !! have fun with them!

 

[Sorrell]

Thanks for the help guys I have a new problem however. This morning when I went to check on them, only one was in the cage, the other was out just walking on the floor, but the cage was still closed. All I can figure is they could squeeze out the bars, but it's a parakeet (yes budgie) cage so I figured they would be ok. I'll go look up the bar demensions.

Ok, here's my cage...it says perfect for finches and it has pictures of parakeets, but I guess they can still get out

 

[AquaSeaFoam]

If it can hold finches, parakeets shouldn't be able to squeeze through the bars... maybe it learned how to slide the door open? Try using a twist tie or something to hold it down.

 

[Sorrell]

Here's some pictures

 

[Sorrell]

As you can see I am completely retarded, there is a hole for food cups in the cage that they were getting out of, I didn't even notice it was there until I realized some of my pictures didn't have cage bars across them

 

[juliethegr8t]

Look how beautiful they are!! I adore the grey and blue one, he/she is a very unique shade of blue, don't always see that. Anyways, good luck with taming them, I know you will. Animals love my Stephi, as do I!!!

 

[Vip]

Amazing Sorrell, just how many pets do you have lol

Im also wondering if i can get some pics of your dogs

 

[silver]

Oh my gosh!!!!!!

*snickers at Sorrell*

Sorry, seriously I think it's quite funny in a VERY CUTE WAY that they were getting out of the hole!!!!



I had my fair share of parakeets, and yes they got out and flew around the room too. Their feathers weren't clipped though. They can sure squeeze out of some TINY holes or cracks, my gosh!!

Have fun!!

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

to train them have you tried using that thing where you tunnell them through your hands? it might be harder to train them as you have two but i'm sure you can do it! good luck