Extremely shy budgie

[FathertoFeathers]

I have a budgie (Apollo) who I've had for about 6 months and he is the most shy bird I have ever known. My birds are free to fly around my room (don't worry its nice and safe for them) but Apollo very very rarely leaves his cage even when his buddy Tiki does. Tiki is the most playful energetic and adventurous budgie ive ever had. Tiki is starting to get the hang of being hand tamed but all of my efforts with Apollo have been futile. He won't let anyone come near him without completely freaking out. I feel so bad for him because I want him to have fun and play with Tiki but he just seems so anxious and scared all of the time. What can I do to help him?

 

[CrazyCochin]

hi, we have cockatiels who we bought as hand-raised and feed as young so they are comfortable with people. here are some methods you should consider.

 

[FathertoFeathers]

hi, we have cockatiels who we bought as hand-raised and feed as young so they are comfortable with people. here are some methods you should consider.View attachment 2017464View attachment 2017465View attachment 2017466View attachment 2017467

I have tried all of these things time and time again but he panics anytime I get near. Ive even tried to get him to come to me with millet like I did with Tiki but he won't even come near me unlike Tiki who practically loses his mind from excitement. I just don't know what to do.

 

[Lemon88]

Taming shy birds can take alot of time. It sucks, but all we can do is be patient and wait for them to trust us. Reading to my parakeet frequently is what really gained his trust.

 

[WallyBirdie]

This might not be much help, but is your shy bird finger-trained?
Neither of my birds were handled or tame when I got them. I finger-trained them with simple exercises- then carefully pulled them from the cage for short periods at a time, then longer.
For actual bonding, I run through simple exercises, feed them, and sometimes just sit with them while I read. When they are out, I usually sit in the same room and maybe put the tv on low. It took a bit of time but they eventually got curious and comfortable enough to explore, and now they come to me when they want.

It's not easy or fast. Sometimes one of my budgies has a cranky day and decides to stay in his cage, and sometimes he even bites. But on good days, both of my birds get some time out. They actually like the couch even though they have a play area.

All birds are different. Give it time and hope for the best!
Good luck!

 

[FathertoFeathers]

This might not be much help, but is your shy bird finger-trained?
Neither of my birds were handled or tame when I got them. I finger-trained them with simple exercises- then carefully pulled them from the cage for short periods at a time, then longer.
For actual bonding, I run through simple exercises, feed them, and sometimes just sit with them while I read. When they are out, I usually sit in the same room and maybe put the tv on low. It took a bit of time but they eventually got curious and comfortable enough to explore, and now they come to me when they want.

It's not easy or fast. Sometimes one of my budgies has a cranky day and decides to stay in his cage, and sometimes he even bites. But on good days, both of my birds get some time out. They actually like the couch even though they have a play area.

All birds are different. Give it time and hope for the best!
Good luck!

Neither of my birds were finger trained when I got them but Tiki was so much more receptive to training and trusting then Apollo is. Apollo will just perch as high as he can in his cage all day and will not come out even for treats. I eventually took out his perch and now he spends more time out of his cage but you can tell he would rather be inside. He can be a very active and curious bird especially when there’s new toys for him to play with but he’s also very timid. I have a nesting box on the side of the cage when i has a female and he loves the thing. When he wasn’t on his favorite perch he was in there. He’s just very introverted. I’ve gotten him to the point where I can show him I have a treat and you can tell he’s seriously debating on whether or not he should come over to me or stay put. I’ve started to sing to him and make sure that I give him more attention then he usually gets which is helping some.