I've had my budgie, Sunny, since, well my last post here, which was on July 17. I love him very much, but theres something that just hasn't seemed right since the day I got him. Please take your time to read this, I really need your help and advice! Thanks!

 

Sunny, even though only about a half of a year old, isn't the lively active budgie, nor is he the always content budgie. He NEVER puffs out or is 'content'. He's always been this skinny perky guy. He gets excited when the radio is on, and thats pretty much it. He never plays with his toys- his little bell, his hanging plastic balls thing with the bell on the bottom, and he never perches on his little hanging perch. The WHOLE day, he's either chirping to the radio, eating, or just sitting there as if hes waiting for the world to end or something. Sure he used to love is hanging perch, and once in a while when he got 'frisky' he would nip on the bell or his cuddle fish bone thing, but he doesn't anymore. He just seems bored out of his mind. No toy satisfies him- its like im giving something to a brick wall. He NEVER wants to play, exercise, fly ( only when hes scared) or do anything at all. He used to go crazy when the radio was on, but not so much anymore. He seems sick of everything. I mean it seems like hes healthy, but he just doesn't have someone or something to make him happy. I don't want to get another bird or a mirror, because then he won't want to pay attention to me. What should I do?

i wouldnt worry to much about him not playing with his toys, my budgie has a ball with a bell and some olympic rings, he hardly touches them. i got a wooden parakeet ladder - it is slightly large than plastic budgie ladders you can buy and sometimes he likes to climb an hang upside-down from it.

 

my budgie is on his own at the moment and i think the thing that makes him happiest is when he sings along with the birds outside. sometimes he likes to sit on the windowsill and look out.

 

if he is really quiet and still most of the time then i would take him to a vet to make sure.

 

how tame is he? maybe if you just spend a little more time handling him he will be happier?

Yeah I have a wooden parakeet ladder. Only he cant hang from it- or anything from his cage. When we got him we spent only 60.00 TOTAL including his toys, food, him, and the cage, so its a small cage. I don't have the money to buy him a bigger cage, although I'm dying to. My parents probably wouldn't buy it for him either. I just want to make him happy and live in a bigger my spacious atmosphere so has the ROOM to fly and hang around (literally) in his cage.

okay, this may sound stupid.. but are u sure he's a he? Female budgies tend to be less playful than male budgies. Male budgies are care-free and playful, where as females are more reserved and are more interested in starting a family, rather than starting a circus

 

 

... sounds kinda like the human race :(Laughing out loud):

 

So yea, just a thought

haha :(Laughing out loud): thats true. But yes im positive that its a he. 'He' clearly has a very blue cere and sits like a male. I also took 'him' to the vet and apparently 'he' is a male. Good question though.

Hmm, maybe your budgie is just lonely? Do you play with him daily? If not, maybe you should try giving him more attention.. like an hour a day. OR, you could always get him a partner

Only an hour? Actually I take him out, play with him, and talk to him whenever I'm home, which is, well about 10 hours on the weekends, and while I do my homework after school. Other people in my family take him out frequently and we always leave the radio on, so actually he is quite spoiled. I would get him a partner, but I don't want to worry about breeding or fighting, and that would make him pay less attention to me. I like that bonding feeling when I spend time with him.

 

I was thinking about getting him a bigger cage. He currently has a cage that is shaped like a house with a pointed rooftop, that is approx. 15 inches high, at the highest part that is, about 13 inches wide, and 11 inches long on the sides. Seems a bit small. The only room he has to do is to move a little on his perches and jump down to his food bowl. He has a ladder that lets him drink from his water dispencer. I was also thinking about using corn cob for the cage bottom. Is that okay? What things should I have in his cage?

Edited January 9, 200520 yr by BudgieLover14

When you play with him, is he inside or outside his cage? If he seems that bored, maybe you could try taking him with you when you do different things around the house. Let him come into the kitchen when you eat, into the den when you watch tv, stuff like that.

About his toys, with a single bird sometimes you have to show them how to play. With more than one bird, the 'brave' one will entice the others to play with toys, but you have to be the brave bird sometimes when you only have one.

A bigger cage is very important, as one that is too small may cause your bird to become somewhat depressed. As you save for a larger cage, I would make sure he has lots of outside the cage time to compensate.

Edited January 9, 200520 yr by Rainbow

yah i had a male that did the same thing. then we got him a girlfriend... geez! there was no stopping him after that! she didnt like him too much though. if you have room, i would seriously consider getting another one. im so glad i did because mine would just sit in the middle of the cage on the middle perch and eat in the morning and at night.

Ha-ha, it looks like you were posting as I was typing! If he's out interacting with everyone that much, maybe he just likes to rest when he's back in his cage?

If he gets played with SO much and gets let out.. its weird that he doesnt want to play. Some birds do get like that though, when they grow older.

 

But I still think its the lack of another bird's "relationship" that he wants

That was the same with me, Jack would rarely play with toys but when we got ben he was playing with them nearly every time we saw him.

Unfortunatly I cant get another bird for him..thats just not gonna happen in this case. Would a mirror be a good idea? I brought him to a big mirror once, and he enjoyed pecking at the mirror and starting chirping. Maybe a small mirror for his cage would be a good alternative? :bluebudgie:

You could certainly try although he may become TOO attached to it and then you would have to take it out but it might just give him that missing spark.

Is his diet okay?

Certainly the bigger the cage the bigger for sure.

Julie

the mirror is a brilliant idea, seeing that he has liked it before! my budgie takes no interest AT ALL in mirrors! hehe, only an occasional CD. But if u notice ur budgie is getting TOO attached to the mirror, try take it away for a few days while u get him 2 play with u again, then give it back to him. Make it like a treat:)

my budgie cage is about 16x14x12. i know it is on the small side but as he is only little i thought he would prefer the security of a smaller cage rather than having a massive cage all to himself. its weird that pet shops either sell far to small budgie cages or too big for a lone budgie cockatiel cages.

 

i am saving for a larger cage, as i am also thinking of buying him a friend. i always leave the cage door open when i am home so he can fly around, perch on his branches i have fixed to my bedroom wall or just rest in his cage.

When I got my budgie a partner, he stopped paying attention to me!

 

Oh well, birds of a feather will flock together...

pixie25, a bigger cage would be nice, but if your budgie comes out daily for some "flying about", then he doesnt really need a bigger cage. just as long as he gets some daily exercise, he should be fine :bluebudgie: its just that if you had a small cage and left him there day in and day out.. THEN you'd need a bigger cage! hehehe

unless you're like me and you tell everyone that asks 'what do you want for your birthday?' that i want moeny so i can buy a bigger cage. but he comes out all the time anyway. i actually wanted a whole flock, but then pastel died and i rescued tim but he's not tame enough. and i may be giving him to a friend that wants a bird but doesnt have money for a cage and stuff.

 

once again, bigger is better.

Bigger is better, indeed... but if your bird comes out a lot in the day, then the bigger cage is not neccessary