Bono the Budgie

This is Bono! He is a tiny little American Budgie. He is staying with me while his mom is away. My job is to try to make him comfortable perching on one's hand. Right off the bat, he was not interested at all in stepping onto the hand.

The first thing I did was to trim his wings. His ability to fly kept me mostly one step behind in our taming sessions. After he is hand tame, he can be allowed full wings again. Trimming isn't forever.

The next thing I did was remove the mirror in his cage. If he felt a camaraderie with that "other bird" he wouldn't need the companionship with a human. Bono came here in a small cage with a tiny door and perches and toys that were too big for him. I moved him into a larger cage with a wide swing out door and outfitted it with small perches and budgie size toys but no mirror. The large door gives me access to work with him. These few changes, along with lots and lots of patience, has shown some improvement in his demeanor. Hopefully, by the time mom comes back, he'll be eager to step onto a finger! Tomorrow, the scary hand will be holding sweet golden millet! Now there's an enticement!