Ask Lafeber

Question:

July 5, 2021

Budgie loves living room lamp


Hi. I got your answer regarding keeping my bird off of light fixtures. I got my budgie about a month ago and he came to me with clipped wings, so he is not a great flyer. Still, being clipped does not stop him from flying the short distance across the room to the lamp. He is tame and will fly to me and sit on my shoulder when he wants to. However, he was never trained to step up because he hates hands and always tries to bite and fly away when I do so no matter which treat I offer. How do I implement your suggestion of removing my budgie from the light fixture without scaring him?


Answer:

Hi Henna,

You might try working on stick training. There is a lot of good information in the link I provided – I’ll paste below again. It can be a slow process, so be patient with him. You might try draping something over the lamp when it is off, and see is that deters him. Of course remember to remove it when the lamp is on. It’s OK to put something on or near the lamp that might make him avoid it. It’s not the same as scaring him. You should still walk over to him if he goes there, and offer your hand. If he flies from the lamp to avoid your hand, you have achieved something. The important thing is to give him the message that the lamp is off limits, but without punishment.

Teaching Your Bird

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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