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My Budige Starts Biting


gumpy

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Hi

I am new in this forum, but I really do hope I will get some help. It is an unusal entry, because I actually rescued my budgie. We do have four other budgies, well we had actually three, but they had babies, so we have five. One of the babies though just appeared to be handicaped. But we couldn't really see what was going on, until we undid the whole nest and realised, that he couldn't walk. I made a lot of research on the internet and found out, that he had splayed legs. But the budgie was already four weeks old. Too late to do anything about the splayed legs. So we took him out of the big cage and I looked after him. Or maybe her. we don't know yet.

 

Anyway. The bird, we call him Gumpy, after Forrest Gump, was very tame. I could feed him without any problems. He was really happy. At least seemed happy. But suddenly Gumpy started to bite. I gave Gumpy a nice environment, so he wouldn't have any trouble to eat. Drinking was a bit of a problem for a while, so I gave Gumpy water, which I still do sometimes, but in the meantime he also learned to drink. I always looked after Gumpy well. Never treated him wrong. Always talk to him. Sing to him. Feed him goodies he likes. But now I can't even take Gumpy out of the cage anymore without getting bitten, which I used to be able to do without any problems. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't follow any suggestions that are given, because Gumpy has splayed legs. He doesn't seem to be in pain or anything. He is climbing around in the cage, he could figure out ways to do that. He just can't walk. Why did Gumpy suddenly start biting I wonder? He is okay for a little while in the morning and likes "cuddle" on the head. But when I leave, even for a couple of minutes and go back, Gumpy starts biting.

 

Would be great if anyone could help me with Gumpy

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hi and welcome to the forum. how old is Grumpy now? one of my handraised babies started biting me when she was going through her first moult, she was 12 weeks old when she started biting me.

Edited by deb
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Sounds like normal adolescent behaviour to me, Grumpy will get over it when he/she matures.

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Charley was a "runner" when I got him, at a few weeks of age, couldnt fly at all and was very VERY tame. Then he started to bite more and more, not painfully but still, it was begining to worry me. I think he was about 3 or 4 months old then.

 

However, he only did it for a few weeks and now doesnt ever even try to bite me. He is now 6 months old and sometimes just sort of "nibbles" which seems to be more of a loving bite (love bite?? (Laughing out loud)) but completely got over the "nasty" type of biting. What he does now is almost a "caress" :):P

 

I dont know how common that is but it does confirm what "Ikon" suggested, that its a fairly normal adolescent thing. I'll be interested to read what others have experienced with biting.

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Guest lonebudgie

I agree with the others sounds like adolesence and possibly she is a girl , Keep persevering but dont force the issue, try more hand taming at meal times , too distract from biteing you.

Good luck :)

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I agree with the others... just a tip. Try to ignore it and not pull your hand away (very hard I know). That way Grumpy will soon learn that biting does not lead to you removing your hand and he wont get what he wants... Your hands WILL recover eventually :(Laughing out loud):

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Budgies have hormonal periods and you have to work through them.

 

The first thing you can do is simply ignore the bits and yes I know they hurt. Merlin does it too me when he is grumpy. Budgies are usually grump right before and during their molt and how often they molt really depends on the bird since we live in artifical heating and cooling.

 

I have noticed Merlin molts every 4 months and so at this time he is his quietest and bitest and I usually leave him alone since I know he is not feeling great. The best thing you can provide during this time is optimal nutrition and a warm water to take a bath if your budgie likes to bath.

 

Your budgie should be coming up on his first molt so that is probably what is causing the behavior change and you will notice in a couple weeks he will be back to his old self.

 

Are there any mirrors, reflective toys in his cage or anything that he is very attached too? If so removing them is very important as you want your budgie to continue to be attached to you and not have to stress over protecting in aninate object.

 

I hope this helps.

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Hi, welcome to the forums :D

Sounds like gumpy is a bit grumpy, (Laughing out loud).

l agree with the others, sounds like he is going through a molt.

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I am so happy to get those responses. Gumpy is bye the way three month old. Close to getting four months. So it sounds like you are all right. I actually did take a little toy out yesterday. I gave Gumpy a little mirror with a bell underneath. He loves it. Or she. So I thought, maybe it just loves it so much, that Gumpy is protecting it as well. So today, Gumpy still bites, and yes I am trying not to pull back, but I think Gumpy is a little bit less aggressiv. I might leave the toy out until Gumpy is more used to be handled and then give him the toy back. I really hope one day he will stop biting. Or at least not so hard. I see what will happen in a month time and see if things will change again to the way Gumpy used to be. Cute and loving.

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Hi and welcome to you and your flock.

If Gumpy is as you say about 3 months old, it is probable he is going through his first moult and is just a bit grumpy (as the others have mentioned).

Hopefully the biting should pass :wub: .

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me again. hmmmm gumpy hasn't changed. he is still biting a lot. i did actually realise, that gumpy must be scared. he is also shaking sometimes. how can a bird suddenly be scared, while he was happy before to be cuddled. or could it be that gumpy was always scared but wasn't brave enough to bite. i have been trying to work with gumpy and teach him when he is good or bad. i realised, he doens't react on the word "no" but he does react on the word "bad". so when gumpy is good and he doesn't bite, it give him millet. you reckon that can be a go? i can hardly take him out the cage anymore, without getting attacked like mad. or maybe it is just the moult stage, but how long does that last for?

He is such a lovely bird and i really would like to give him a long and happy life

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He might have been scared before and not brave enough to bite. Budgies in general are not cuddlers and usually only like to be scratched on the back of their heads. So if you were able to pick him up and cuddle him he probably was scared. I have a great FAQ article about taming a budgie and earning their trust in the FAQ section called Taming Your Budgie, I believe you will get a lot of great suggestions and you can start as if you just got him today. We must remember that our hands, movements, body are huge compared to a tiny budgie and when they strike out they are simply protecting themselves it is not be to be mean or nasty. Keep us updated.

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Hi Elly

Thanks for that. I definately will read your budgie training. This morning and also yesterday when I got up and went to Gumpy and opened the cage, he was sticking his head out. I can cuddle him for a little while on its head. He loves it. But when I go back again he starts biting straight away. It's strange. I believe I have a lot of work to do to tame Gumpy.

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Hi

Just wanted everyone to let know, that Gumpy is doing better. I realised when I take him outside and have him next to me, he is okay. He just doesn't really like yet to be touched. But we are getting there. Slowly. I just spend as much time as possible, so he is getting used to me more and more. Anyway. Maybe somebody is able to tell me if Gumpy is going to be a male or a female. His sister is definately a female, as she was fighting with the other females in the avory. And her cere is really dark brown. Even she is only five months old. But Gumpy's cere is very different and still looks the same. A little bit of blue is shining through the pink. So I really don't know what Gumpy is going to be. Maybe somebody else can help me with that.

I wanted to post some photos but couldn't figure it out, as I can't link to a website, but that's what it asks for, when I click to enter an image.

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I'm really glad to hear things are going well. Some budgies just don't like to be touched... but your progress sounds great. Check out How to post pictures. Hopefully this will help you. If we can get a good clear, close up picture of his/her cere, we'll be able to help you sex Gumpy. Good luck with the pics and let us know if you need more help. :)

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gumpy3.jpggumpy2.jpggumpy1.jpg

 

And I always thought I was a computer expert, but that took me a while.Anyway. I took those photos in december but the cere of Gumpy hasn't changed much. It's sometimes a little bit more blue but then changes back again to what it is one the photos. Don't forget, Gumpy has got splayed legs. I am trying to figure out what's the best home for him/her. If I would build a cage one meter high, he would climb to the highest point but also fall from high too. But I saw Gumpy happy in a "not recommended" birdcage because he can climb but not walk or fligh. Tried a wide cage. But Gumpy just sits there and seems unhappy. It's a high maitenance bird, because I have to clean him every day to make sure, there is no germs building up on his belly. But I love Gumpy and hope to make him happy in his not so fortunate live. So I try to give this very special bird everything. Hope you can tell me if it's going to be a male or a female. I can tell you that Gumpy is listening well. Is picking up noises from other birds. Noises from me and my husband. Talks somehow, but I can't understand yet what he is saying. Still call it a he. But I think it might be a female.

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If you got him in December and the cere hasn't changed to a more tan I am going to say a male plus it really reminds me of my bird Pretty cere. You really need to take the last one and enter it in the April Budgie of the Month Contest it is so cute :hap: Glad things are coming along well.

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Gumpy was born in october. But I am glad to hear you believe it's a male. That is giving me heaps of hope that I can teach Gumpy to stop biting. He is really cute. His sister too. I have to take photos of his sister as well. She is cute too. Her name is Silly. As I always keep things simple. We have Willy, the male. Lilly and Milly. Willy had babys with Milly which are Silly and Gumpy. Only reason for Gumpys name is, because he is special. So I named him after Forrest Gump, because Gumpy can't run. I will take some pictures soon of the whole flock. We had to seperate Silly because she attacked Lilly really badly when she fell in love again with Willy. So we had to take her out. But then Milly started to fight Lilly badly as well when Lilly had eggs. We acutally would need another male. But Gumpy can't do the job of course. So I give Gumpy all the love I can.

 

You need to tell me more about that contest. I will for sure take more photos because Gumpy is really cute and special

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You will see the link for the Budgie of the Month there is a sub-link under budgie pics.

If he was born in Oct he is a male for sure :hap:, the cere would have changed to a more tannish, brown if Gumpy was a hen.

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Cool. I am glad he is a male. I will take some more photos of him and will enter one for the budgie of the month. He is so cute, so who knows. Thanks for all your help.

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Your welcome keep us updated

just a side note all budgies can bite male or female...Merlin went through a biting stage when he was molting and hormonal he finally stopped but ignoring it is KEY he still will nibble but if he takes a good bite I just ignore him or take him off my hand and then try again.

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Gumpy is adorable :hap:

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I haven't posted for a while and just wanted to give all your good helpers an update. It is an up and down with gumpy. What I realised is, that when I put my fingers to the cage and try to cuddle him on his chest, he usually bites. Not all the time. Sometimes he likes it. When I try to get him out of the cage, he really gets nasty. But once on my hand, he starts to settle down.

 

Remember Gumpy can't just fly out of the cage or walk (he got splayed legs). I can't teach him the up, because he can't walk. When I put my hand into the cage, he is actually quite okay. But as soon as a finger goes near him, he starts biting. But when I put just one little millet in between my fingers, he eats happily out of them. Occasionally he gets a little fit and starts biting. Not actually biting, he makes all weird moves around my finger and bites a bit. After a while he settles down and then he starts eating again. But then when I try to touch him again with my fingers, he starts biting straight away. Why is he scared of my fingers but not of my hand. Also I realised that he is sometimes still shaking. I believe, even it's been quite a while now, that Gumpy is still scared. He loves sitting on my hand watching the fish in the fish tank, but when I then move and walk away from there he starts shaking. But as soon as I put him back into the cage, he actually wants to come out again. He sits there talking and waiting. But when I then actually do the attempt to take him out again, he bites. It's like he doesn't know what he wants.

 

Gumpy has his bed time. He goes to bed when the sun goes down. He is during the day where the action is happening and at nighttime he is going into my bedroom and I put a dark towel over him. Even he always wakes up when I go to bed. I used to play with him then too, but I think he just should sleep, so I just talk to him. Say good night. He knows I am there.

 

I could imagine one thing why Gumpy might be scared. Because he is actually living on his belly, I have to give him a bath from time to time. Even I clean the towels he is living on every day, to make sure no germs are building up, he still gets some poops onto his belly. When they are easy to get off, I just use some water and remove them. But sometimes I have to bath him. He doesn't like it at all. But how else could I wash him? But I think that might be the reason that he is scared

Edited by Neat
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He may be frustrated, we had a galah with a deformed foot and he had trouble getting around so he used to bite his problem leg. It took lots of distraction to get him happy and once he was happy he stopped biting us too. Try putting lots of toys, etc within reach so that he has something to keep him interested.

Edited by Neat
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I gave him once a mirror with a little bell underneath. But that's when all the biting started. But yes you are right too. Because I always see Gumpy biting his feet. Specially one foot. The one he can hardly use. Maybe I should give him a toy again. It must be hard for him to live the way he does. That's why I want to make him happy. Everybody loves him because he is so cute. But everybody is also surprised he is still alive. But I really do look after him and care for him.

Edited by Neat
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