/r/budgies

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit about budgies... what did you expect???

Welcome to the Budgie subreddit, where redditors can gather to talk about and show off their budgies!

If you'd like to show off your budgies to other small pet owners, swing by /r/Littlebuddies

If you'd like to see animals showing sentience, check out /r/likeus

Check out /r/birdhealth before your vet visit!

/r/budgies

78,691 Subscribers

4

My budgie doesn't like to be touched, are there any other ways I can show affection to him?

He can climb on my finger since he was taught that by the pet store I got him from, but other than that he doesn't like me touching his head. How else can I play with him or show my affection?

6 Comments
2024/02/27
08:54 UTC

7

Does this look good enough for my budgie

4 Comments
2024/02/27
08:41 UTC

1

What is wrong with this budgie's feathers ?

My sister bought this budgie newly , and we bought like that.her feathers are Missy and there is something wrong with,and because of that she can't fly properly.Does clipping her feathers would help ?

1 Comment
2024/02/27
05:45 UTC

13

Baby budgie says hi!

0 Comments
2024/02/27
05:38 UTC

3

Friends are never too far...

Came home from work today to find a rainbow lorikeet right outside of the door I leave my little Buu next to while I'm away. Little Buu was so excited when I came outside and brought them right up to the door. Buu didn't know whether to eat with them or make them jealous by playing with his expensive ass toys 🤣

0 Comments
2024/02/27
05:18 UTC

2

More info on how to get budgies to trust you

So I find this works on freshly brought home birds as well as birds you have had for a while. Keep in mind this is not just one particular tip but rather my own personal guidelines now that I have figured it out well enough to be consistent.

  1. I believe firmly that when a new bird is brought home you should attempt to interact with it immediately. This doesn't mean jamming your hand into the cage and grabbing the bird. It does however mean making your presence known and spending time close to the bird, offering it millet (I find what works is to put a little bit of seed mix on a long spoon and put it in front of them at chest level.) Don't make eye contact and if you do look at the bird you should close your eyes immediately afterwards for several seconds as this will help control their fear.

  2. Give them two to three days to acclimate. Offer treats in the morning when they first get up but always be careful and try to pay attention to their body language. You'll know when they're about to run away if you pay attention in particular to their head and shoulders and the position that they take as well as where they're looking (remember that their eyes are on the sides of their head) if a bird looks at you beak first it means that it's not necessarily afraid of you.

  3. The first thing to teach is to have it step up onto a bamboo chopstick. I stick the chopstick in The Bird's face until it bites it and then offer a reward. Once I can waive the chopstick all around the bird without it freaking out then I will push on the feet / legs very gently until the bird decides to step up and then immediately reward this behavior. Overtime you get the bird out of the cage I did this over a period of 2 weeks but your mileage may vary.

  4. Go into your smallest bathroom with the bird in the evening. Try to transport them on the stick but if they get away from you just turn off the lights and drop a very light towel over them and gently pick them up. Don't grab them in your palm though.

  5. Let the bird explore the bathroom assuming that you have bird-proofed it and cleaned it thoroughly with water and vinegar (no bleach, or harsh soaps!)

  6. Once the bird calms down get it to step up and bring it in front of your bathroom mirror. Set it down on a play perch, and practice stepping up first with the stick and then eventually transitioning to your hand. The bird will see itself in the mirror as a rival and thus it magnifies the ability of your successes because the bird will copy what it's reflection does.

  7. After 1 week I usually find the bird gets really excited when I come over assuming that I've been consistent with the time of day. In the case of my baby parakeet Ridley, he trusted me so much he wanted to be held and warmed up in my hand. And he let me pet him for 15 mins.

  8. Be consistent with your treats and offer them even when the bird isn't in training mode to reinforce that you are a friend

This also worked for one of my males who I had lost trust with. I ended up getting a little bit too overzealous with trying to preen him because he was having a lot of pin feathers that he was having trouble with releasing. This turned out to be a mistake and even though I let him go when he started struggling and whimpering and took him back to his cage he had for a while feared my friend and it took some time to get him to willingly come out. He only started coming out consistently after I retrained him for trust and his feathers came back and even still it's not quite the same relationship.

The most important value I can offer is that you can't give up. It can take some time and you might need to move at a slower pace depending on the personality of your bird. One of my five does not trust me at all and is afraid of me despite being the second longest bird I have had. I'm not overly offended though because I got to the point that I understood she just deserves the same love and understanding that all other birds need.

0 Comments
2024/02/27
04:47 UTC

1

Thinking of what to do after my parakeet passed away.

Up until a couple of hours ago, I had a blue wavy parakeet for around 6 years. In an accident, he flew into a closing door and passed away. My family is thinking of getting a new one and we are wondering if the new parakeet will know, by smell or otherwise, that there was one before it and if that is going to be an issue. I know getting a replacement that soon might not be good but not having a bird in the house is already too lonely. Sorry for the sad.

0 Comments
2024/02/27
04:45 UTC

18

Why does she sleep like this? Doesn’t look comfortable

3 Comments
2024/02/27
02:23 UTC

3

Clipped wings 😞

So I got my babies a few weeks ago still young 3-4 months and their wings are clipped. I’ve noticed them aggressively flapping there wings like they are trying to fly and it’s making me so sad. I’m still very new to owning birds how long will it take for them to grow back and they can start flying?

1 Comment
2024/02/27
01:32 UTC

89

I felt like I was being watched….looked up and there’s BB-8 all casual in a coconut

Just trying to play cool as if she weren’t just staring at me planning my demise 🙄

4 Comments
2024/02/26
23:39 UTC

12

Them and their dramatic poses

0 Comments
2024/02/26
22:42 UTC

2

Looking for Advice

Long story short : I think rehoming might be my only option but I’d appreciate any advice on this situation.

Backstory : I’ve been put in a very difficult situation. I’ve moved into an apartment complex and for the past several months have attempted to sound-proof my unit, to no avail. Anyone who has birds knows they are naturally loud - it’s unfortunately resulted in noise complaints from my neighbors. I am unable to place them with any friends or family, and from the extent of my research, most parrot rescues do not take in parakeets. If you have any knowledge of a rescue or organization who might, I would be forever grateful for their contact information.

Regardless, I’ve decided to write this in hopes there might be a family or two who can provide a more stable environment for any of my birds.

I have two female parakeets (Rose and Delilah) who are very bonded, however this has made them very hormonal - Delilah (solid yellow) has been laying eggs since October and despite multiple changes of environment to discourage nesting and several round of hormone injections, has continued to lay eggs. This can be handled safely as she continues to eat, drink and sleep as she should - with added supplements into her diet to account for the egg laying - but it’s made her very aggressive to my third bird Empress (blue and green). I’ve had to separate them permanently because it’s escalated from small bits of chasing to constant harassment and biting.

I would like Rose and Delilah to move on together - with knowledge of their hormonal behavior. I can provide background on the injections Delilah received and the supplements I’m currently keeping her on, as well as providing the rest of what I have.

Rose has never laid eggs herself and is the acting dad in this situation - she dosent help discourage Delilah from nesting in any way but has been the least hormonal bird out of the bunch. She also has never showed any aggression towards Empress and simply watches over Delilah.

Empress is my special girl. It took a lot of time and denial to accept that she is better off elsewhere. I’ve had her for 4 and a half years and I wish the circumstances hadent changed so suddenly. It was an ongoing process to attempt to calm her way of dealing with hormones - she’s never displayed any nesting behaviors but will very loudly and proudly chirp and screech during the winter months (hence the noise complaint). She is incredibly friendly and my most well handled bird, she’ll climb all over you, will fall asleep on your finger and will say “baby bird” to you over and over. I have taken her to the vet on several separate occasions and she was deemed perfect health each time. There’s no other signs of stress or discomfort that would cause her to be loud, that’s just the way she was born I suppose.

When she was first introduced to Delilah they got along very well for the first 4 years, and when Rose was introduced they were a great flock. Empress has never shown any aggression to either of the birds and unfortunately seems to be targeted instead - she’s never been a ladder climber in the flock hierarchy.

I can imagine her being paired with another female (taken at a slow introduction pace) and see success. She also seems to be alright by herself but I worry about her becoming isolated after being around other birds for the majority of her life.

Please consider each of their circumstances carefully and if you have any further questions or concerns I’d be more than happy to discuss.

Writing this breaks my heart, I want my birds to be birds, but I feel like I’ve been backed into a corner.. any advice is appreciated…

1 Comment
2024/02/26
22:01 UTC

5

What variety is this?

This is my friends budgie, I’m having a hard time figuring them out! Any and all help is appreciated ^^

They’re quite a new addition so they (my friend) won’t be taking any more pictures with better lighting at this time, for fear of disrupting his process of getting accustomed to the new environment

1 Comment
2024/02/26
21:37 UTC

41

How to care for a mean budgie?

Hello! I am new to the sub and to birds really. I moved with my MIL who has a budgie/parakeet?, Polly. She was a gift from her mother. But in reality she was just getting rid of the bird because she (potentially a she we don't know) is a menace. She's been here 2 years already, but she is mean, angry and always on edge, and has a track record for biting people. Granted I assume it's because she's not properly cared for and probably mad at life. I believe she is a wild budgie that got caged and clipped. My question is, how do you properly take care of such a bird? I hate the thought of her living her small little life in poor conditions and giving her away would cause a major fallout in the family. Some info about her: She eats bananas and apples, and likes sunflower seeds (does not like other seeds or so I am told) She lives in a metal cage with some wooden bars to step on, her cage is cleaned daily. Like to destroy her plastic water holder (take out containers) I am not sure how old she is. But over 3 is a fact. Any help will be super appreciated, please be kind she is not my bird and I am just trying to give her more quality of life. picture included, she seems to have new feathers coming in

37 Comments
2024/02/26
21:29 UTC

4

Is this perch/toy safe?

I'm fully aware that the colourful fabric rope that often comes on bird toys isn't safe for birds and I actively take any on toys off/out of any I purchase for them along with bells and mirrors but I was curious about something like this with the natural fibre rope, is this still unsafe? Don't worry if it is I didn't purchase it I'm just curious.

0 Comments
2024/02/26
21:16 UTC

6

injured parakeet update 2

hello everyone! unfortunately the soonest appointment we could get her into the avian vet was tomorrow at 5:30. but it’s been scheduled so hopefully she can stay strong until then.

also, now that she’s been returned she has to stay at the store until the appointment (because she is technically now “their property”) so she won’t be with me tonight. luckily she still has the setup that i made for her (including the towel for dim lighting) and she’s in the back room now instead of the supply closet which honestly isn’t much better but it’s something i guess.

the rest of this post is about where i’m at in this journey:

i honestly feel like i’m going crazy. this waiting game is so anxiety inducing and i know there’s literally nothing else for me to do but wait. i believe i’ve done everything i could up to this point but it still just doesn’t feel like i’m doing enough to help her. she’s honestly all i’ve been able to think about these past couple of days and it’s really taken a toll on me to the point where i’m having trouble sleeping. like i know she’s “just a bird” but at this point she feels like my baby. idk maybe somebody could offer advice on how to cope with that feeling if they’ve ever experienced the same thing or something similar. anyways, thanks again for everyone’s ongoing support. i really appreciate it.

4 Comments
2024/02/26
20:49 UTC

2

Budgies are just flavoured pigeons

4 Comments
2024/02/26
20:41 UTC

2

Flying backwards

My little guy was born in November. I've had him since mid January. He would try to fly and would go backwards and let out a little squeak everytime he did. As he's been with me longer he's trying to fly more and more and can only go backwards. How can I fix this and help my sweet boy?

1 Comment
2024/02/26
20:31 UTC

11

Why does my one budgie wink at me when I sing? Like she will hold her blink for 10 seconds and keep doing it

7 Comments
2024/02/26
20:24 UTC

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