Taming a new parakeet

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jennifer,

I just bought a new parakeet and I know how to take care of it [feeding, etc.], but not sure how to start training or taming it.  I have not taken it out of the cage.  In fact, I am a little bit afraid!  And she is afraid of me every time I put my hand in the cage.  Could you give me some advice as to what to do?  I'm also worried about her flying out and then I won't be able to get her back in, as I'm not familiar with handling her.

I had a cockatiel for about 7 years a long time ago and he bit me so much and so often [even though he was also affectionate with me] that I think I have developed a bit of a fear of handling birds.  However, this one is so much smaller and seems sweet, but I'm not sure how to get started.  

Could you help?  Thanks, I really do appreciate it!

Kate

ANSWER: Dear Kate,
thank you for your question.
Start talking to her a lot, so that she gets to know you. I recommend taming her outside her cage because the cage is her home and most birds don't like being handled inside it. Leave her in the cage for a week at least so that she gets to know the room she's in and make sure that she can't fall behind any cabinets ect. For the first flight, you can put something (paper cuts, a piece of cloth) on the windows so that she knows where they are. She will return inside the cage when she's hungry.
To tame her, you can offer millet spray on your hand. You will need to have patience and find a good position for your arm so that it doesn't go to sleep too soon, but eventuall yshe will come to eat from your hand. Even the most shy budgies will do that for millet spray. Repeat that for a few times, until she's comfortable sitting on your hand. Then you can start holding the millet at some distance from the cage so that she has to fly to get to it.

Clicker training is a very good bird training method. You reward behaviour with a specific noise and a small treat and break down the lesson you want the bird to learn into very small steps.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ has a lot of information on clicker training for birds.

I recommend getting the bird a partner. They won't breed unless you offer a nesting box (which I don't recommend) and they won't feel lonely if you don't have time to play with them. Single birds become bored and need constant attention, but a human just cannot replace another bird. Taming two birds is not harder than taming one, especially at a young age. You can also first tame the bird you have now and then get another one, it will learn from the original bird that you are not dangerous and the source of good treats and entertainment.

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, Jennifer.  You were very helpful.  One other question: The bird's wings are clipped.  Does this mean if I let her out of the cage, that she won't be able to fly?  I know she can go a very short distance with clipped wings, but basically from the cage to the floor, or a sofa.  Should I keep her wings clipped?  I suppose I prefer that, but I don't want her to be unhappy, either.

And if I keep her wings clipped, should I open the cage and let her come out and see where she goes?  

Thanks for your help!

Kate

Answer
Birds with clipped wings can only flutter for short distances. I would still let her out of the cage and offer her stuff to climb on so that she's not restricted to the cage. If you can get untreated tree branches, you can build her a budgie tree to climb in and gnaw on, they enjoy that very much. Hazel, oak, beech, birch, poplar, apple and pear are safe trees for example. Here's a picture of my budgie tree:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r294/jedediah667/Wellensittiche/wellensittich

I'm opposed to wing clipping. I know that it's more or less standard in the US, but I feel that it takes away a lot from the bird. It's easy to make a room bird-safe and once the feathers grow back, your budgie will learn to fly very fast. At first, I would stay with her all the time to make sure nothing happenes to her, but once she's comfortable with her abilities, she can fly unsupervised. This website has good info on wing cliping and why it's not really neccessary:
http://birds-online.de/againstwingclipping/againstwingclipping.htm

If you want to keep her wings clipped, let an avian vet show you how it's done for the first time. By all means let her out of the cage and explore, she will still want to do that even if she cannot fly. You have to make sure that she can get back into her cage, though, clipped birds usually cannot gain height. A ladder or a branch to climb up works well, she will learn quickly that it's the way back home.
These website list avian vets:
www.birdsnways.com/birds/vets.htm
www.parrotparrot.com/avianvets/
http://aav.org/vet-lookup/
http://www.toolady.com/vetrefer/vetrefer.htm

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer