tweak

Thank you Elly and birdluv you have been a great help Yes, Arny was moulting as well so that would top off his grumpiness, I'm sure. He's starting to come back to his sweet self today so patience is a virtue I guess! (Laughing out loud) Elly, I'm glad you said it was okay that he didn't need a budgie friend as I wasn't planning on getting another one, at least not yet. That made me feel easier about it. With a kittycat around I think I'd be run off my feet! (Laughing out loud) Many thanks again to you both ~ judy :ygbudgie:

Please help, I'm at desperation point. For the last week my little boy has changed. He is 18months old and went through his first hormonal surge last spring/summer and wasn't too bad at all. This time he's a changed boy. He nips me most of the time and I have to be so wary and plus he's not talking at all, except for budgie talk. He was an avid talker before and very sweet. It's so hard not to take the biting personally especially when it hurts so much Most times he gets agitated wanting to be out of his cage, whereas he used to sit and chat and wait to be let out. He has the run of the house, so most of the day he's free. Nothing has changed, so I'm stumped to say the least. Does he need another feathered friend or is this just a brief(?!) episode I need to get through? Thanks so much for your help anyone:)

Thanks Elly It is nearly a week so I will introduce it to him in a day or so and see what happens. He has settled down heaps since I took it from him and he's much more of his sweet, gentle self. He loves to flip coins off the table and then buries them in the vents in the floor heating! (Laughing out loud) Do you recommend any other toys that I could give him? ~ Judy

Thanks for your helpful advice everyone:) Do you recommend a length of time they need to nap? Feathers, when you say "we play", what do you do with your budgie when you play with him? ~ Judy

My Arny would be out of his cage all day playing and usually is. But I'm wondering is it best to let him have a nap during the day for a short while to have a quiet time? We have a lot of wild birds in our garden and it always seems a quietish time around the 2pm mark, so am wondering if it's a good idea to settle my budgie for 1/2 an hour or even longer. Thanks for your help judy

Thank you both for your help He settled down for a few days, but now he's obsessed with a toy ball. Its a plastic one with holes in it and a little bell. He just loves it and won't part with it. If he flicks it on the floor he'll go for our feet and nip us if we get near him. Just now I took it away from him and he's flying about trying to find it, chirping loudly. Please help again! I don't know what to do as it seemed he treated it as his mate. I feel so sorry for the poor li'l guy.

My lovable Arny who is nearly 18months old has become very nippy in the last couple of months. From what I can gather it's his hormones is it? He used to be so loving and sweet and is still that way sometimes. For most of the day he's out of his cage and if he lands on my shoulder he's good for a few minutes...but then decides to give me a nasty nip on the neck. If he's on my hands he's okay for a few minutes but then keeps nipping me quite hard. I don't punish him in any way, although I do get frustrated occasionally and put him in his cage to calm down for 1/2 an hour or so. Help! is there anything I can do please?

Oh, sorry to say, but personally, I hate those sand sheets. I don't think they should be sold at all. It may keep the nails trim, but how sore would their poor little footsies be having to walk on such a rough surface? Well, I've had no trouble at all with my budgie's feet. He's not on it all day and as I said the small amount of time he is on the sheet seems to do the trick. I certainly wouldn't use them if I thought he was suffering in any way. The suggestion was actually made to me by someone who bred budgies, too.

What a great idea! Thanks Elly. Gee budgies are so clever! Love your beautiful budgies too :budgiedance:

Oh okay I hadn't realised that sand perches were an old school idea. Thanks, Elly I also meant to say, that I put newspaper on the bottom of the cage and then the 1/3 of the sandsheet on top of that to one side. He doesn't stay in his cage all day and has plenty of freedom. However, the amount of time he is in it seems to be enough for his claws to keep trimmed down.

No, I would never use anything like that on the perch. They are purely sand sheets (and not ordinary sandpaper which is too rough). I only use a third of a sheet just so that he's not walking on it all the time, but it sure does the trick

I posted this for someone else in another area, but perhaps it can help:D I'm no expert as you can see, but I have a friend who is budgie-educated and he had some great advice when I first got my budgie, Arny. He recommended some sand sheets (for caged budgies) from the pet shop. I've used them for a year now and they've kept my budgie's claws short so that I don't have to trim them. I buy a packet of 6 and cut them into thirds and only use 1 piece, cleaning it up and renewing it every few days. It works a treat! :ygbudgie:

I'm no expert as you can see, but I have a friend who is budgie-educated and he had some great advice when I first got my budgie, Arny. He recommended some sand sheets (for caged budgies) from the pet shop. I've used them for a year now and they've kept my budgie's claws short so that I don't have to trim them. I buy a packet of 6 and cut them into thirds and only use 1 piece, cleaning it up and renewing it every few days. It works a treat! :ygbudgie:

Thank you Bea. I'll certainly give that a try :ausb: Your budgies are so beautiful

Yes, I've heard that too. They seem to be a *one person* cat too, although I may be wrong. I don't know much about Birmans but what a beautiful cat they are We have a friend who has not only had Siamese but named 2 the same names. The first one, Noco, died so he renamed his second one, Noco II. They were very much alike. You and others have some gorgeous budgies Thank you for all your help By The Way