Are budgies affectionate? (How to tame your budgie)

Whether budgies are affectionate, many people who are thinking about the acquisition of the intelligent animals want to know.

However, the question is not so easy to answer. Because numerous factors are involved here. Among them is the amount of time you spend with your pets.

In this article you will learn how affectionate budgies can be and how you can make them especially tame. Before we do that, however, we’d like to briefly test the truth of three myths about budgies being affectionate.

Let’s go!

What’s true and what’s not: myths about the attachment of budgies
Budgies in single keeping become more affectionate

This is not only wrong, but also not species-appropriate.

Budgies are social animals that need contact with conspecifics. If a bird is kept individually only for the purpose that it becomes more trusting, this is called desperation and Stockholm syndrome.

It is true that taming an animal alone can be somewhat easier. However, the animal suffering should not be accepted for it.

Even if budgies are kept in a whole group, you can get them used to you, tame them and gain their trust. As with a single animal, this takes some time, but the effort is worth it.

We’ll show you how later!
Are female or male more trusting?

Females are more affectionate than males – it is said again and again.

But this is also a false statement.

Whether a budgie becomes tame and shows special attachment depends mainly on the time spent together, your behavior and the character of the animal. The sex, on the other hand, does not matter.
Young budgies become tame faster

This may be the case, but it does not have to be.

Young budgies usually have not had any bad experiences with humans, or at least not too many. This may be different with older birds.

However, they may also have already had a lot of good experiences and therefore have shed their shyness.

Even with older, shy animals can be achieved by sufficient patience but much. So your budgies can soon eat from your hand, if you approach it correctly.

Which is right: shy or tame?

Budgies are naturally shy towards humans.

They are among the flight animals and fly up when they are frightened or suspect danger. Since this is difficult to do in a cage or aviary, they retreat to a corner or hide.

If the birds have grown up close to people and have become accustomed to it, they are usually much more relaxed. Especially with a serious and dedicated breeder this can be observed well. Even in the pet shop you have probably already noticed it.

The more human contact budgies have, and the more positively they connect this, the more trusting they become with time.

Whether a budgie becomes affectionate, however, also depends crucially on the individual character. One animal doesn’t want to get off the shoulder or even cleans “its” human and lets itself be cuddled.

For others it is quite enough to sit on the hand from time to time.
The origin is important

As with humans and other animals, the origin and thus the previous imprinting play decisive roles.

A budgie from second hand, which was already tamed and showed great attachment with the previous owner, will behave differently than a bird from the pet shop.

Both, of course, need time to settle into their new environment. However, an animal with a lot of previous contact can be expected to become accustomed to new people more quickly and to be trusting.

Caution: There are also birds that are immensely fixated on one person. This can definitely lead to problems and create dangers.
Dangers and potential problems with very affectionate budgies

Birds that seek constant closeness to their owner are occasionally downright forgotten on the shoulder, or can hop onto the head or shoulder in a flash as they walk by, and then be accidentally taken out onto the balcony or into the garden.

There is also a risk that they may accidentally get stuck in the door when leaving the room or not want to go back into the cage.

If there is a very strong fixation on only one person, the bird may become stressed as soon as that person is not present. Refusing food, becoming apathetic or agitated and upset is not uncommon.

Therefore, it is better if from the beginning several people deal with the animals, feed them occasionally and get them used to their voice. This way, in case of a vacation, a business trip or even in case of illness, the care can be provided by other people.

How can I tame a budgie? 10 proven tips

If you want trusting budgies, you have to be patient. However, with the following ten tips, you will soon notice the first progress.

Tip 1: Choose the right location

Budgies need peace and quiet, but at first they should be able to participate in everyday life as observers. The middle of the coffee table, the dining room or a room that is hardly used are therefore not optimal. We also do not recommend the bedroom as a location.

A quiet corner is better, where children are not constantly running around and there is no hustle and bustle. From this observation post, the animals can orient themselves and get used to the daily routine.

Tip 2: Let them settle in

New surroundings, possibly new conspecifics, new people – that’s quite a lot for the little birds at once.

Therefore, give them a few weeks to get used to you and everything else.

Avoid unnecessary reaching into the cage. Feeding, watering and changing the floor litter are enough. Avoid hectic movements, but talk to the animals.

Tip 3: Get used to your voice

The first step in actively getting them used to you is to talk to the budgies frequently. Likewise, you can sing, talk on the phone next to the birds, or comment when you feed them, add employment material to the cage, or add a bird bath for refreshment.

This will already associate your voice with positive activities.

Tip 4: Establish a call

If the birds no longer shy away from you or avoid you, you can train a call. It doesn’t matter if you use a whistle, “come”, “here” or “blabadiblubb”. Connect the call positively by using it every time you bring in fresh food. If the animals respond, it’s time for the next step.

Tip 5: Feeding from the hand

Now you can go one step further. The next time you introduce food, remove the bowl or dispenser and place a small amount of grain on your hand. Hold your open hand calmly and loosely in the cage so that the birds can see the food.

Don’t be disappointed if the first attempt is not successful. Just keep trying at each feeding before you hang the fresh food back in the cage.

Tip 6: Offer special treats

If the usual and accustomed food doesn’t work, you can also entice with special treats. Possible are for example:

Panicle millet
Nibble sticks
Apple
figs
Strawberries
Fennel
Carrots
Lettuce
Pumpkin
Chickweed

For many budgies, the lure is so great that they don’t even notice sitting on your hand the first time.

Tip 7: Lure them onto your shoulder

Your budgies hop or fly onto your hand? Congratulations! Again, with food or especially delicious snacks, you can now lure them inches from your hand to your shoulder.
Tip 8: Careful touching

If all this works and the animals no longer show any shyness towards you, you can touch them carefully.

Slowly approaching them and lightly touching them with a finger is perfectly sufficient. This is not only cute, but can also be very useful for checks in case of suspected diseases or parasite infestation.

Tip 9: Never catch with bare hand

To make sure your hands are really only positively occupied, you should never catch the birds with your bare hands. Wear gloves or use a tea towel. Alternatively, you can get the birds used to using a transport box voluntarily.

Again, lure them in with food.

Tip 10: Teach them tricks

Teaching budgies small and simple tricks is not only fun, it also creates a better bond between you and your pet. It also keeps the birds mentally occupied.

The more you spend time with them, the more trusting and affectionate they become. However, if you spend only a few minutes a week, this will not happen.