A BUDGIE TEMPER TANTRUM ?

[lovezebs]

Hi all.
Figured out a way to shut Freebee up!!! Yay!!!
My method:
I take Freebee out of her cage
Freebee screams
And screams, and screams......
I stick Freebee inside my shirt
Freebee shuts up
I take Freebee out
Freebee screeches
Back into my shirt
Freebee shuts up
Leave Freebee under my shirt, a hoping, and a praying that she doesn't decide to bite (she doesn't)
Freebee climbs up to my shoulder on the inside of my shirt, pops out, sits on my shoulder for a while, then hops off to do her flight climbing.

Know it sounds crazy, but it actually works!!!

When it was time to go back into her cage, I put her cage close to her, door open, and she went in by herself.

~Elana~

[Nipper06]

My Budgie "Lindy" is crabby sometimes - when he's not in the mood to step on my finger, I can get a little bite - but I have no issues about him going back to his cage. When I open the cage do he immediately flies out and does a few laps around my living room and then flies back to the top of his cage in the dining room, where he will hang out for 15 - 30 minutes. Sometimes I put millet spray or greens up there. And then he eventually goes back in his cage without any problems.

Sounds like your Budgie may be "hormonal"? Does she have a mate? Does she lay eggs? Another thought: did you change her cage recently? if so maybe she doesn't feel at home there yet? Just some guesses. I guess they all have different personalities!

[lovezebs]

Nipper06

That's a beautiful Budgie boy you have there. Very pretty bird.

With Freebee, there is no mate, and there are no eggs. Freebee, is still very young. I did get an older male rescue Budgie boy by the name of Opie. I was hoping that they would become good companions, but they don't really like each other. He bullies her and tries to bite her toes, she yells and swears at him. Needless to say, they live in seperate cages at present.

As mentioned above, I haven't been able to find any food that she really likes. When it comes to vegetables, she won't touch anything, and I've tried many different things. I'm assuming, that she was not raised with any green foods, but I'm not giving up on that yet. Eventually I hope she'll give something a try and decide that maybe the green stuff is not so bad.

Freebee , was doing great, untill I ended up having to feed a bunch of tossed Socie infants almost around the clock. Really had no time for her for several days. She hasn't forgiven me.

Hopefully with time and work, we'll be able to get back to where we were.

~Elana~

[Nipper06]

As you can see in my post above. Lindy likes his green food - he flies right to me when he sees I have greens in my hand. I just buy those prepackaged "salad mixes" and give them to all my birds. Lindy also likes peas, carrots, and corn (frozen and then thawed). All I can suggest is, keep offering your budgies green food and veggies and they might like them someday. Mine also likes a little mashed hard-boiled egg sometime as a treat food.

I'd keep your 2 budgies in separate cages, side by side, indefinitely. If they are not super-glued to each other, all the better for you because sometimes budgies housed together get super-bonded and then don't like humans anymore, especially if you don't have enough time for them. I keep Lindy between my 2 female Bourke Parakeets, who also don't like each other. So everyone has lots of "chirpy" company but there is no "romance" going on. They all fly to me when their neighbors get too cranky!



Some inter-species free flight time in my sunroom:


Twitter, one of my female Bourke Parakeets:

[cindy]

Elena...I posted a couple of topics on veggie chops and Nutritional information that may help. At one point I had 31 English budgies here, 19 of which were offspring plus, several pairs of javas (mutations), zebras, societies, scarlet chested, owls, goldbreast and chestnut breasted mannikins....all of them love the chops. The budgies were offered these daily and I found if the food is chopped and mixed they cleared the plates...you can use cooked plain couscous or brown rice as a base.

I cooked the rice or couscous, mixed that with either ground pellets or softened pellets, a bit of dried egg food or a portion of the soak and feeds from Roudybush...added a powdered multivitamin to the mix...the steam from the rice or couscous helped adhere the powdered vitamins to the food (they loved the couscous best). I then had the chopped veggies mixed until the veggies are also coated and then serve.

Some birds like the warmth of certain foods. My Green cheek conure love warm foods like organic oatmeal (steel cut oats) with fruit. Keep offering it possibly in a group setting so they try it and if one bird is resistant then it may join in as others are eating it.

Budgie hens are not always social, some though are down right friendly while others tend to prefer their cage and view it as their nest, their territory.... try letting her come out on her own instead of you removing her. She may be "disciplining you" for interrupting her in her cage and invading her space. I do not remove birds from their cage I open the door and let them come out this way it is their idea to come play. Parrotlets are the same way at times...some will get very upset with you entering their cage and trying to remove them...they will go for your hand and screech and tell you off... I simply open the door and if they choose to come out and hitch a ride on my shoulder or hang out great!!!

[lovezebs]

Nipper06
Thanks for the advice, and I love your pictures. Your sunroom is beautiful. What a wonderful place to let your birds have free flight.

I have tried numerous types of veg/fruits with Freebsie. We have tried:
Romaine lettuce
Spinach
Baby spring mix
Grated carrot/whole carrot/cooked carrot
Carrot greens
Cucumber
Rappini
Apples
Grapes
Beet greens
Red Swiss chard
Oranges
Banana
Corn
Mixed veg
Broccoli
Sweet peppers

Nothing!!! She looks at me as if I'm crazy. If she would talk, I think she would say: Do I look like a goat?

She watches the Finches going at their greens with relish, and I'm pretty certain that she shakes her head.

I keep on trying though

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

cindy
Hi Cindy.

I will have to try some of your mixes. Maybe Freebee, will agree to do me a favour and take a bite. As you can see, in the post above, I have 'tried' veggies. I've also tried some egg (no go).Egg food, nope, pellets, nope. Honey sticks, nope. She is just not food oriented at all.

Regarding opening the cage door and letting her come out on her own. Tried that too. Left it open for hours. Nothing! Won't come out on her own. For a while there, she would come out on my finger or a twig, but not anymore. Once out however, she has a blast, running around on the floor, the table, climbing all over the Finch flights, the dog beds , whatever is in her path. She is fearless and smart.

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

lovezebs --- Ooh, I missed that post where you said that you found a remedy by sticking her in your shirt. That's great! (But what on earth possessed you to put a pissed off bird inside your shirt?!? LOL)

This gives us some very valuable insight.
That tells me that she's feeling insecure both in the environment and in terms of her relationship with you. Going inside your shirt makes her feel safe and cozy and that calms her enough so that she can enjoy being with you.

So I think you're dealing with a two-fold problem here. She's feeling a bit insecure in the environment and she's feeling insecure in her relationship with you. The new budgie could be to blame for both issues. I'd say it's quite likely, in fact.

My budgies are super tough with new foods too. So is Hunter, my cockatiel. These birds were never given anything but seed before they came to me. Hunter will literally run away scared when shown a new food! I'll often stroll into the bird room with a snack, like a banana or an apple or grapes and I'll offer some to him and he'll waddle away at top speed. A very clear "get that thing away from me!!"
Le sigh.

You've got to get a video of her running around! That sounds funny!
Please be careful with her on the floor. I get so nervous when small birds land on the floor. I'm so scared I'm going to step on them!

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter
Haven't stepped on anyone yet, lol !!!
Maybe she is insecure, who knows what goes on in that little bird brain.

~Elana~

[Nipper06]

Elana - one more thing to try with fruits and veggies. Try sprinkling some loose seed on them - your budgie might like to pick the seeds out and then will gradually try the greens and veggies underneath. I did that with my Gouldians who were reluctant to try new foods and now at least some of them are eating greens.

With my Gouldians, they especially like red millet so I use that. For my Budgies and Bourke Parakeets, they especially like hemp seed so I use that over veggies and I think it helps get them interested. If you have neither type of seed, try pulling some millet off of millet sprays and using that as all cage birds seem to love "millet spray" millet !

[lovezebs]

Nipper06
That's a good idea. Will definitely give it a try.
Thank you.

~Elana~

[finchmix22]

Since hook bills are very smart, they learn the signals and out routines. I would teach her the step up with and without going back to the cage. Sometimes, you put her back and other times you don't. When I had my conures, they were trained to "go to bed", which meant to go back in their cage. If they didn't want to go back they still sat on top of the cage. Then, I'd let them sit for a while and I'd take care of the other pets. Then, I'd say "O.K. Bye, bye, night, night. Kisses." That was the signal, I"m leaving and they need to settle into their cage. It worked most of the time.

[lovezebs]

finchmix22

Hi Deborah.

The problem is, is that she won't step up at all now. Not in the cage, not out of the cage, not at all. I swear this little princess is angry with me.

~Elana~

[finchmix22]

lovezebs
Yes, she learned the hand means going back into the cage, so you have to reteach her to step up and uses a treat or make the reward you backing off, which tells her she is not going back in the cage.