Budgies

The budgie, one of the smallest of the parrot species, occupies a big spot in the hearts of bird lovers all over the world. They are the birds you are most likely to see in pet stores making them the most commonly kept parrot in captivity.

They are colorful, friendly and quiet enough to make great apartment birds. Their cages do not take up the entire living room or empty out the savings account. For many people, a budgie was their first bird, and perhaps the one responsible for their life-long love affair with all parrot species.

Budgies have gained much notoriety for their accomplishments. The 1995 Guinness Book Of World Records documents Puck, a tiny blue budgie, with the largest parrot vocabulary on record with 1,728 words and phrases spoken. It is a title most parrot aficionados would have assumed belonged to the African grey.

Why Budgies NEED to Be Trained

Budgies need to be trained because they are very adept fliers. While they aren’t capable of landing a bite that will send you to the hospital for stitches, nor are they loud enough to damage your hearing (although for what they lack in volume they can more than make up for in persistence), your bird does have one huge advantage over you: it can fly!

They have the speed and maneuverability that is to be expected for a bird of their size, and they are natural masters at evading human hands. Even with the best of intentions, our huge hands “snatch up” little birds to take them out of the cage against their will or to put them back in before they are ready to go.

So what do you suppose happens when you have a budgie with advanced flight skills that is afraid your hands? If you guessed that you would spend the next three hours trying to corner and capture your bird to get it back in the cage, you are correct.

This misadventure will give your tiny bird even more reason to fear your big hands!



Frustratingly, the first thing many people do is reach for the scissors to clip the wings without any consideration to the psychological damage that occurs when you strip away a bird’s main method of mobility. A bird that cannot fly is left feeling vulnerable, and this will only add to his mounting fears and negative emotions.

Instead of modifying your bird’s wings, modify your bird’s behavior by taking steps to regain trust. It is never too late to start working towards the relationship you always wanted with your budgie.

Being very intelligent, the budgie is highly trainable!

Target training will take away your need to chase your budgie, capture it and force it back into the cage. A trained budgie will fly back to you on cue in exchange for a food or praise reward. A trained budgie has learned that your hands offer only treats; therefore, it will no longer try to avoid them.

If you are new to trick training we recommend you start with our One Day Miracles series to learn all the basics you need to know to get started right. If you already have that and are craving more specific small bird trick training, then check out our Budgie Course.  

55 comments

Karen

Where do you get your millet? On Amazon I find mixed reviews. I don’t want to get something of bad quality.

Karen
kiah

I am wanting to get a budgie but I already have a male zebra finch should I just get another finch or is it all right to get a budgie? Thank you so much!

kiah
Joe cook

How can I tell hw old my budgie are

Joe cook
Kanuja

Hello, Thank you for you’re awnser. I’m watching the video’s in the links you sent currently. They’re pretty helpfull. And off course you are not strict or anything like that! People buy small birds way to impulsively and it’s great that you try to prevent that. I’m very sorry if i’m being annoying, but just to be sure. When i get a bird i shouldn’t put it in the cage directly but just interact with it. (I did see the video with Sugar, but we’re buying a bird from the breeder so it will arive in a carrier and not in a cage. I tried to search for birds to adopt, but there aren’t any budgies put up for adoption in my area.’ Again thanks a lot for the awnser.

Kanuja
Sherry Leclerc

Hi. I’ve made Blueberry’s seed mix, but I’m missing one ingredient. I haven’t been able to find rapeseed anywhere. Can you tell me where you get yours? Thanks, Sherry

Sherry Leclerc
Kanuja

Hi, i’m getting a budgie this year but i wondered what the first thing is that you have to do after getting it home. I read numerous sites but now i’m just confused.

Kanuja
Michelle

Is there a reason not to create a plant based cage bottom? Where the floor is actually grass (with roots)?

Michelle
Ayluun Baasandoo

I love birdtricks

Ayluun Baasandoo
Rose

I took in 6 adult budgies a year back and they were locked in a cage and just fed seeds. They were so timid and would never play or chirp, they would just sit on a dowel perch. I took them to the vet and their health was not good. One of them passed away shortly, but the other 5 are living the best life I can give them they are in a large flight cage and are on your feeding system. I am trying to get them on your pellets but sadly no luck yet. I am so proud of them though they are so active and spend hours outside their cage, they are also getting used to humans. They won’t stay with me for long but they will step up. Do you have any tips on how to get them to eat pellets and be less timid?

Rose
Ashley

I just order food from you for my new bungie and wonder if the parrot food is not correct…

Ashley
Elieen

I recently viewed you talking about your budgie home made food. Please let me know where on your website it is to order. I believe it was freezer dried to stay fresh longer.

Elieen
MYA

can i know what domain for parakeet in hierarchical classification?

MYA
hamza

my budgie is kept on flying away doesn’t want to come down and doesn’t listen

hamza
MaryJo Ahkna

Hi I have watched many, many of your YouTube videos. I have enjoyed all of them! I have a question. I raise Serama bantams. I would like to know if any of your bird food would benefit my adorable little tiny bantams. Please let me know. Thank you !

MaryJo Ahkna
Jan Biscan

I’ve been mixing your pellets with my two budgies’ chopped broccoli every day for about a year. They love the pellets. I put a small amount of seed in they cage daily also, mixed with your pellets. I’ve been feeding them Goldenfeast Australian blend, but the company has now changed the formula; it doesn’t seem as “clean” and healthy. However, this is the only brand I know of that has no synthetic vitamins. Can you advise me of a healthy nut/seed blend that is similar? I really enjoy your videos.

Jan Biscan
Shannon Baird

I just got my first set of budgies, we picked two who were already in a cage together and were cuddling and seemed to be bonded well. We thought this was a good idea and would help them feel safe but I’m starting to think it may actually be holding them back. My fiancé’s budgie Mango is really talkative and we leave the cage open to let him and Delta our blue budgie decide to come out. We only got them yesterday so I may be being too harsh on myself but it seems Mango will make happy noises of we speak but the minute Delta gets too tired or shy to talk to us or interact, so does Mango. I’m also concerned that Delta isn’t settling in too well. He does jump around happily and chirp sometimes but seems generally more fatigued than Mango throughout the day after we take the cover off their cage, I dunno if I’m being impatient or already doing something wrong or if it’s just the after effects of transporting them home yesterdsy but I’ve given them their seed from the place that gave me them till I can get them off just seed and grit slowly at their pace but they aren’t eating a lot of it just picking at little bits here and there. Tried getting them to try apple today hut they were disinterested even if I wedged it in the bars and stayed away. What I will say is they LOVE when I watch videos of Jamie and the birds, they seem to really like her voice and just hearing the birds gets them hella excited cx definitely need to complete the budgie course asap!

Shannon Baird
Niece

I was doing so well with my Boy. In the cage he’s great. I let him out for hours and fight EVERY night to get him back in. I let him out from 5pm and at mid night I’m standing on ladders, getting bite by him to get him of the fan. On the weekends I let him stay out all night to see if he will go back in the cage. I got his wings clipped and now I feel horrible. He won’t come out the cage, he won’t get on my hand to bring him out, he hasn’t followed me around the cage like he use too. I’ve put toys and perches outside the cage for him, I bought a bird playground and still nothing. It’s been a few days now. My poor baby hates me and life right now. I should have given the wings more time.

Niece
zenja

i got 4 rescue budgies 2 days ago, one is fake tame(she does go on your hand but acts like she is forced to do it. they won’t take treats from my hand. Only the fake tame budgie is starting to eat the millet from me, and sometimes her male will come take a look. The 2 kids won’t come out of their cage and panic when i put my hand in to refresh the food or water, but they get really restless in the cage, the door is open all day but they just keep flying in their cage like crazy. we are building a big cage for them so when that is done i have to be able to get them out and in the cages to get them a better life and a better enviorment to build trust. i could really use some tips on how to deal with this scared and tight group off 4

zenja
Lynn

I had a male budgie for years. He did talk but after a long time of being very patient and talking to him the same way over and over. One day he was on my shoulder and I heard him talking. they are very quiet so its hard to hear them unless you are close and paying attention. I have a young male budgie I got recently and I am doing the same thing …talking softly with him telling him he is a pretty bird, the same way over and over and I heard him say “prettybird” the other day for the first time. It takes patience and talking to them all the time. My old budgie barked like my dog, said “I love you” , “kiss kiss” and many other things. Its like anything else it takes as long as it takes and lots of patience…jmho

Lynn
Cynthia

I have a Budgie and her name is Limon she unfortunately has ben traumatized, not by me but she’s very fearful of me her partner died and she was acting lifeless so we peaches another on and she seemed to be happy again. Please help 🙏. How much is it for a one on on person in person lol instruction.

Cynthia
hamnah

hello! recently i got my budgie cherry a friend, they both cuddle and preen, but sometimes they fight…cherry is very attached to me and easily gets jelous if i interact with barry. even if i give her a kiss he runs away from me and tries to bite unless i give him more kisses than her. any advice to make a bird less jelous??

hamnah
hamnah

hello! i have been trying to teach my two budgies to talk but they just wont, my male budgie cherry imitates sounds hes heard like, kissing noises and some other noises i have been trying to teach him to say his name but he just wont talk, and my female budgie barry is new to the flock, she steps up, allows kisses and likes to nibble fingers, she also eats out of our hands but she gets scared and flys around, when we first got cherry his wings where clipped but whe we got barry we decided not to clip her wings, she is very attached to cherry and whenever i leave cherry flies after me which causes her to fly, and since she dosnt like to land on us she flies to the curatins or the kitchen, a few days ago she fell behing the stove, we got her out before she got hurt but im afraid she might get wounded or burned if she flies to the kitchen agian..

hamnah
Stella

For all those asking about diet & diet conversion, there’s this blog with many videos: https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdtricks-blog/diet-nutrition And there’s this video on how to make a healthier seed/grain mix to help with conversion from an unhealthy shop seed diet to a veggie/pellet diet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV8jBQUupyU

Stella
Angelica

My parakeet Dottie is a seed junkie and won’t eat pellets. He will sometimes eat his chop but usually I have to sprinkle seeds in the chop for him to eat it.Dottie will not play with any of his toys that are chewable. He also won’t go on my hand unless I’m holding millet.

Angelica
Dale Bergstrom

I picked up my Budgies on Craigslist. I regret this now because I have found out on my own that they have been abused. They have always been fearful of my hands. I am making progress by giving them treats they have put one foot on my hand. I also use treats to lure them back into their cage. I still need to learn more. Would like to teach them words.

Dale Bergstrom

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published