If you are thinking about getting a budgie, then you may be wondering whether it is possible to train them and how to go about this. Whilst budgies are generally very easy-going pets, and easy to take care of, they also are very social birds and require lots of interaction and stimulation. If they do not get this, it can be extremely detrimental to their health. 

Where possible, you should buy budgies in pairs so that they have another bird to interact with; however, if you do only have a single pet budgie, then playing with and training your bird is going to be even more important, as well as adding lots of toys to their cages for stimulation when you’re not around.

This guide will give you some handy hints and tips on how you can interact with your pet budgie, to ensure you have a happy, healthy pet bird. 

Taming a Budgie

The first step in training a budgie is to tame them. This will stop your bird from being afraid of you and allow you to handle them and teach them further tricks at a later stage. When you first get a budgie, it’s not unusual for them to be timid or skittish around you. It takes time to create a bond and earn their trust. 

Start by feeding them something that they love. Millet is a great option as it is like sweets to a budgie! Little Peckers is a supplier of all kinds of bird foods. Their online store is reasonably priced with a fantastic selection. They even sell nutrient enriched bird foods for good health. 

Millet is available alongside lots of other treats. Hang it in their cage and leave your hand in there for a while, so they can get used to your presence. You don’t need to do anything else at this stage, but after doing this for a few days, you can put some millet in your palm and place your hand in the cage and hold it there. After a few days, you should find the budgie (being a very curious creature) will hop onto your hand to take the millet.

Do everything in small steps. From here you may try and remove your hand from the cage with the budgie sitting on it, and at a later stage attempt to stroke their head with the other hand. Over time, your budgie will become more and more accustomed to you and become more comfortable interacting with you.

Once your budgie is comfortable sitting on your hands and being stroked, you can begin to introduce them to more interactions. Taming your budgie is the very minimum you should do, as it will allow you to closely look at them for health inspections, etc., which can be very challenging with a skittish bird. 

Playing with a Budgie

Budgies love to play and can become very stressed and bored if they are not stimulated (which can even lead to them pulling out their own feathers) so it is important to ensure you either have more than one bird or play with them regularly. 

They are extremely curious birds who love to explore their surroundings, so start by buying a selection of things for them to explore. Bells, push toys, swings, and chew treats are all great options for giving your bird lots of things to play with. They love colors and mirrors also, and you will often see them interacting with the “budgie” looking back at them in the mirror. 

They also love to shred things, so paper is a very entertaining to them if you are on a budget. You should hang items in their cage to play with, but where possible, take them out of the cage with their toys and play alongside them as you would a child. Hold toys up for them, place items on your hand while they sit there, and spend time bonding with your pet while they play.

Playing with your budgie has many benefits including:

• Encourages movement which reduces the risk of obesity

• Keeps their beaks at an appropriate length

• Prevents boredom

• Encourages bonding between you and your pet

You will get to know your pet and their favorite activities, for example, your budgie may love it if you push a plastic ball with a bell towards them, and sometimes they will even learn to push it back (you can encourage this behavior with a trail of millet!)

Don’t be surprised if your budgie won’t play with a new toy straight away. This is not uncommon. Budgies can be very wary, and therefore are fearful of new objects added to their environment at first. However, in a few short days, curiosity will almost certainly get the better of them, particularly if you strategically place treats in or around the objects. It won’t be long before they are hanging from them! 

One thing you should consider when you get a budgie is holidays. If you are going away for a week or two, then it’s wise to leave your bird with a pet sitter as opposed to using automatic feeders, so they don’t become stressed with the lack of interaction.

Teaching a Budgie to Talk

One thing that kids find especially entertaining is when a budgie learns to speak. Not all budgies will speak, and it takes a great deal of persistence to get them to do so, as it doesn’t come that naturally to them. Essentially, a budgie isn’t actually talking but mimicking. So, ensuring you speak to them on a regular basis is going to be a good starting point for teaching them to say a few words. For example, greet your budgie with the same words every time you enter the room: “Hello” or “Good Day” would work, or you can choose your own greeting. 

Ensure you place your face close to the cage and repeat the phrase regularly. A bird that takes notice and watches you during this phase is a bird that can potentially learn to talk, as they are interested in the interactions.

Do this for around 10 minutes at every training session, a couple of times per day ideally, and ensure the room is as quiet as possible other than your voice during your training session.

You can of course talk to your budgie more but use the phrase you want them to learn often throughout the interaction. Eventually, you may hear your budgie say something that remotely sounds like a word or phrase. If this happens, repeat it back to them, so they know they got it right! Then reward them with a treat! 

Once they have mastered one phrase, you can begin to focus on another, teaching them more and more words until they have their own little repertoire! Teaching them their name followed by a phrase is always a lovely addition to their vocabulary, for example, “Timmy is a handsome boy!” and is guaranteed to get a chuckle from your guests.

Budgies do better in pairs, but if you do only have one, ensure you interact with them regularly to stop them from getting bored. Taming them is a necessity to ensure good health, but beyond that, you can teach them tricks and even to talk with a little patience and persistence!