I've had my budgie for a few weeks and things are going well. The bird is very comfortable and since it was hand-fed, is not timid or startled around people. I believe it's about 2 mos old. It cannot fly very far yet, so I'm not worried when I take it on walks. It's very good about staying in one place, although when outside with all the other birds in my yard, it instinctively flew towards their location. Overall things are going well, and it has a great disposition. Some questions:

1. Once it can fly well, I'm not sure if I can trust it outdoors. It may fly up into a tree or something. Is there a way to train a budgie to fly back to you ?
2. It lunges/bites sometimes, and usually warns me vocally , although generally it is not phased by closeness of hands, only by being touched. Is there a way to train a bird to be more tolerant of human touch ?
3. I don't have strict rules and let the bird do as it pleases. It doesn't really leave the cage area, and I leave the door open always. I'm not home during the day, so I put the cage by the window where the outside birds feed. I don't know if this is a good idea for our bonding, but I'd rather it be entertained when alone. I've got a few mirrors too, and it seems enamored with itself sometimes. Generally, I think we've bonded well, although I believe the bird takes me for granted since I spoil it I just don't want any behavior problems since I'm not a bird trainer, and wouldn't want to cause something unwittingly. Comments appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

PS I also don't have a name yet, how does one arrive on a name? I was hoping to determine sex first, but think I should get a name soon.

Hi ALK, welcome to the forum
In answer to your first question, well..I wouldn't be taking him outside even now! It's way too risky.Theree's no telling how fast he might suddenly take off. He could only be able to fly a little distance one day and then suddenly he's flying waaay better than the day before. If he got to a tree and climbed up, how would you get him down? And certainly when he is able to fly better, there is no way to stop him from flying off.Even if he wanted to come back to you, there is a chance he could be caught in a wind current and carried further away. Not to mention predators outside like cats dogs other large birds?
You can however teach him to come to you INSIDE when you call him or do a certain whistle
#2 lunging and biting? Usually if a budgie lunges or bites it's because he is feeling threatened. Try backing off a little..let him come to you. But if he does bite, try not to react by pulling your hand away quickly. Act like it's not bothering you. Otherwise he will think hmmm if I bite the big bad human will leave me alone! LOL You have to work slowly and earn your birds trust. You can't force him to be friendly or sit on your finger.
Even tho your baby was hand raised and used to human touch,you and your home is new to him.
I don't see anything wrong with him being by a window, other than making sure there is no draft, and if it's sunny out he doesn't get too hot. He needs shade
If you mean that you leave his cage open even while you are gone, I don't think it's a good idea because he could get hurt or stuck behind something and you wouldn't be there to rescue him.
Some say that single birds might bond with the reflection in a mirror rather than with their human, but if he is bonding with you, I don't see a problem with it.
Takes you for granted?! But of course! I think they own US rather than the other way around! LOL

Oh man,naming?? I know, it's soo hard to come up with a name that feels right isn't it? Especially if you don't know whether it's a boy or a girl LOL
A close up of your keeter's cere might help us determine whether it's a boy or girl. From your avi pic I'm guessing you have a little boy It's cere looks pretty dark purple? My Levi's looked like that at that age

The main thing I would be concerned with in taking my budgie outside, are large predator birds. Like hawks and Eagles. It happens more than you might think. You could be right there with your birdie, and if you weren't watching the sky, one can fly right down and take your birdie in one fell swoop, and there's nothing you could do about it!

As far as the sex of the bird goes, you can't really tell until he/she is older. The cere changes color, over and over till they're (?) a year or so. Others on here know more than I on this, and I'm sure they can and will help you

Welcome to the forum!

Ditto to kksuns' and tweetymom's advice. Some people take their birds outside in their cages, but you still need to monitor them in case a cat or wasp comes along.

I think that a budgie free to roam the house all day is a recipe for disaster. He could chew electrical cords or paint (or other toxic substances), or as kksuns said he could get hurt and lie there for hours.

He looks like a plump, pretty birdy, from your pic!

By the way, where is "DFW?" (Just nosy...)

dallas i think

My last budgie, Nathaniel Givens, was a bit of a biter. I blame it on frustration with his impotence (I tried breeding him with several mates. He killed two of them and almost got the third but I rescued her just in time.) Anyways, I decided Nathaniel Givens was too much of a free spirit (I liked to call him Nathanarchy lol) so I decided to let him free. This was during mid-March, so I thought it would be safe. Unfortunately, the day after I set him free in his favourite park there was a severe cold snap. Temperatures dropped below freezing and I'm almost certain he passed away. I like to think he's in bird heaven now with his former mates. Just goes to show even in death you can't escape an angry woman.

We adopted a ringneck parakeet that was abused but she was a biter and almost ripped my finger off once when she bit me when i tried to pet him and ahe bit me We couldn't keep her because she always bit and screamed so we gave her away to a lady who thought she could do more for her

We imagine Go_go_Go did not really do this and is posting a style of joke That is fine, many posters over the years have posted things which were not literally true, to make a point or to overemphasize it. They are always great learning conditions, since some people may honestly wonder if they should let a parakeet go.

Anywhere that *can* reach below freezing should not have parakeets let go. Even if we assumed this parakeet survived the spring, they obviously would have died the following winter. So this would have been a poorly thought out decision. There are always places to donate an unwanted bird.

General Disarray - there are definitely birds that for whatever reason are defensive and afraid. It does take a lot of one-on-one time and attention to help them learn to trust. It is like taking in a dog that was part of a dog fighting ring. It can take a long while for those dogs to become gentle. It sounds good that you were able to give the bird to a woman who had that time.

hey how long do u think it would take time to get the keet finger trained or to come out the cage i had him for 2 weeks and i can get my hand like 2-3 inches away but then he climbs away any advice