Taming my older budgie

Question
Hi,

I've owned my budgie for about 9 months now. I don't think she (I think) came out of her cage with the previous owner. She is not a very tame budgie. I don't think she comes out of her cage when my hand is not in there. She is content with sitting inside her cage...

Thanks for the help so far,
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi,

I have a problem with my budgie: She refuses to come out of her cage. Every time I put my hand inside the cage, she'll just stare at it. She's not scared, but she doesn't want to perch on my finger. She is nearly 2 years old I think, and I bought it from a friend of mine.

Please help me overcome this problem
-----Answer-----
Hi, James.  Thanks for posting!

How long have you owned this bird?  Did the bird come out of it's cage when your friend owned it?  Was the bird friendly/tame around your friend?  Does your bird come out of it's cage on it's own when you don't put your hand inside the cage?  I need answers to these questions in order to help you further.

Thanks.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, James.

Male budgies have blue ceres (the area above the beak); females have white/brown/beige/tan.

Your budgie is behaving this way because s/he is not tame...she didn't imprint on humans as a baby (wasn't handfed) and obviously doesn't have much trust in humans.  S/he fears fingers/hands/people in general.  You'll need to start from scratch to try and tame your bird.  Your goal is to build trust with your budgie, therefore, don't do anything or ask anything of your bird that doesn't build a trusting relationship.

Visit my website and read the areas on taming/training:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Another good website:  www.birdchannel.com

When you are home, leave the cage door open so your budgie can come out if s/he wants.  A bird's cage is its personal territory, its personal space, its safety zone, so be careful about invading this area (of course, you have to service the cage and feed your bird).  Position your bird's cage so s/he is near you when you are watching TV, on the computer, etc., leave the cage door open and see if curiosity doesn't eventually get the best of your bird.

Try the above for a couple of weeks (taming won't occur over night...takes much time and patience and knowledge on your part).  Then let me know how things are going.  You want to try and coax your bird out of its cage (allow your bird to sit on top of its cage)...this would be the first step.

Chrys