Taming two at once?

[~Melissa~]

Well now that I have the larger cage I am going out sometime this morning to the petstore and I am might buy a couple more budgies for the home. My question is how do you go about taming two at the same time? I have always only bought one but today I might bring home two. Do you keep them in a cage together or do you keep them in their own individual cages? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!



Thanks in advance!!!



***Update***

I'm home with 2 budgies and I couldn't be happier. I'll post pictures soon, so check out budgie pictures.

[judy]

good luck melissa, I will be sure to keep reading your post, as I have just bought 3 pair of breeding loris so I will need the same answers as well.

[a11ycat]

Hi,
My first birds were two budgies that I bought together... all I can suggest is routine, patience and they'll build up their trust like any bird. They do feed off each other's reactions, so if one panics, likely the other will too... but if you can get one to step up, the other won't be afraid either. I found that one of them was more timid than the other one, so I worked more with the brave one in the cage which I felt reassured the other one (which may seem the opposite way round of doing things, but working with the timid bird could cause both birds to get upset, whereas the brave one was unlikely to be perturbed too much and so neither was the timid one). Unfortunately mine are both fairly un-tame now as far as the cage is concerned... but the brave one will come and land on my head or wherever he wants when he wants and although the timid one won't do that, if the timid one (who isn't such a great flier) needs rescuing from the floor, he is quite happy to step up onto my finger and wait until I take him to his cage or the play area... I think thats about as much as I can expect from them in terms of tameness, but they're happy and that makes me happy! Hope this helps!

[~Melissa~]

Thanks a11ycat. That did help quite a bit.I actually started doing that last night. the female is the braver of the 2 and I got her to step up but the little male would have nothing to do with it. Hopefully after a few days he will get the idea that I am here to love him not harm him.

[Scully]

Hi Melissa, ive been thinking that i'm actually doing exactly that with my two Kaks. Perhaps not quite the same , but im working on both, and the female is more braver than the male. I think it may take longer, who knows. Kaks are not quite the cuddly type, but we are getting somewhere.

I think once one sees the other being brave it helps.

[telmadee]

that was great advice a11ycat, ive just upped your karma #cheesy#

[Billie]

My flock of four are in their large community cage now and as far as taming is going for more than one at once, so far so good.

Harry is bold and will do anything for broccoli so I hold a piece in the cage by the same perch and don't move. Harry was eating this fine and I have gradually moved it further and further round so he has to step onto my finger to get to it and although tentative at first he is now climbing all over my hand and even flies straight on to my hand if one of the other birds is blocking his route.

Minty took a bit longer but anything Harry has he and Sky want some of so after a while Minty took to jostling Harry out of the way for the Broccoli and he too flies to my hand if Harry is in the way. The other two birds Sky and Minty were a bit more timid but Sky happily eats from the perch next to my hand but is only just starting to put the odd foot on my finger. Blue who is the most timid will now come down to me and take some Broccoli but hasn't yet put feet near me.

As everyone says just do the same thing regularly. I only offer Broccoli from that one perch and don't wave it around after them, they come and try it in their own time.

I'm really pleased as I haven't had a tame budgie that would sit on my finger since I was about 5, 30 years is a long time to wait but they make you feel so special that they trust you enough to sit on your hand

[Berserka]

That is great news Billie! It's a great feeling isn't it?

[Billie]

It certainly is Karen, although it is hard to laugh when they squabble and fight over who is going to get to the broccoli. Ahh what it is to be popular eh

[Berserka]

at least your budgies like broccoli! I can only get my kakariki to eat it.