Adopting Two Parakeets from a Friend

User Question
I just inherited 2 baby (I think) parakeets from my friend. I absolutely love them...and I hate to say but, BUT, they are scared to death of me. :o( Before getting these two cuties, I searched on the web and stumbled upon your site. Just reading about all the fascinating things they do, made me not want to wait to get them home. And although I do enjoy just hearing them chirp, I want to have more interaction with them. Also, when I change their food or water, they go crazy and fly around the cage - I'm afraid I'm going to give them a heart-attack! I've taken your advice by going over to the cage and talking softly, and by even approaching their area, they climb to the back of the cage and sometimes up the side of the wall. Nothing seems to work. What do you suggest?

Lisa's Answer
I suppose I should update my pages to make it more clear on this point! You can't just do something for a single day and have your parakeet POOF learn to trust you. Parakeets are extremely intelligent. They are like toddlers. If a new, 'strange' looking person comes into a toddler's life, the child doesn't necessarily run into that person's arms immediately! They have to learn, over time, to trust the person. The first day the child might hide and scream! The second day the child might hide and cry softly. The third day the child might just hide. The fourth day the child might venture closer. Trust is earned, it isn't just given.

This won't be an instant change situation. It's going to take weeks before they settle down, because it sounds like they were not hand raised by your friend. It sounds like they were rather wild to begin with! If you are patient, and keep working on it every day, they will eventually learn to trust you. But it'll take time!

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