My budgies won’t come out to play 😩

AngelaF

AngelaF

Regular Member
So I’ve always had trouble getting my birbs out of their cage to play but I felt like I was getting somewhere all be it very slowly with millet bribes or just leaving them to venture out on their own.

In July I went away for 4 days so they had to stay in whilst I was gone. Now the older 3 are refusing point blank to come out and my newest baby Buddie, whose about 16 weeks, is the only one who came out very briefly.

What could I try to entice them out? They have a big branch on top of the cage for perching and they have a play station on the table smothered with millet but still no joy, I’d be glad of some advice xx
 

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If there is a suitable & inviting perching point in the room, in plain sight of the cage, the budgies will venture out eventually. It may take a long time though!

When the first one starts doing it on a semi-regular basis, the rest will decide it's safe and join in.

I'm assuming that the budgies are fully capable of flight (not getting over a previous wing-clipping incident, etc). Are they currently moulting? That will affect their energy levels and overall enthusiasm.
 
I agree with everything Loz said. They might simply need more time, they could be moody due to molting, etc. As soon as one Budgie tries it, another one will probably observe them a few times and then follow.

Soft background music or TV noise might help them relax if the room is too quiet (Parrot Town TV on YouTube has music especially for birds). But if they are eating, drinking, and seem to be healthy overall, I think they just don't feel ready yet.
 
Lozhinge said:
If there is a suitable & inviting perching point in the room, in plain sight of the cage, the budgies will venture out eventually. It may take a long time though!

When the first one starts doing it on a semi-regular basis, the rest will decide it's safe and join in.

I'm assuming that the budgies are fully capable of flight (not getting over a previous wing-clipping incident, etc). Are they currently moulting? That will affect their energy levels and overall enthusiasm.
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Thank you Loz, they are all flighted and the only one melting is Buddie the baby, although Sky my female seems to be missing a couple of wing feathers. She’s normally the first one out every time I open the doors for them. The boys have always been pretty difficult to coax out, before my little break I was trading Chip to come out on my hand but now he won’t come out at all.

In fact today has been a super weird day, every time I’ve tried to interact they have gone mental as soon as my hand went in the cage, even with millet. They’ve hardly eaten today as well. I added seed tonight their chop but they point blank refused to eat it. Tonight I gave them their home made organic seed which they usually eat no problem, and they have eaten just 16 g between them and it’s usually 20g. I did give them some nutraberries this afternoon so that could be why they ate less seed mix.

I’m thinking of going back to basics as in organic seed with cooked sweet potato instead of veggie chop and see how they go with that for a few days. And I’ll just leave the cage open whilst I’m pottering tomorrow afternoon, cleaning their cage and stuff. I’d like to leave their cage open all the time but I have dogs and although I love them a lot I wouldn’t trust them with my birds out and them in the same room.

I can’t think of anything else that’s changed to make them so skittish unless it’s because I didn’t have my usual sweater on as it was too blooming hot today.

Fingers crossed the food thing is just a one off and I’ll go with leaving them to come out on their own, hopefully one of them will make a move 🌻🌻🌻
 
caza66 said:
We’ve had this with our Senegal, we went away and put Biggy in for boarding with the avian vet. Since then, beginning of June, he has only been out once. Sulking, I think.
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I’m thinking that they are mad at me too as I’ve never been away before, hopefully it won’t be for too long 😁😁😁
 
AprilRobin said:
I agree with everything Loz said. They might simply need more time, they could be moody due to molting, etc. As soon as one Budgie tries it, another one will probably observe them a few times and then follow.

Soft background music or TV noise might help them relax if the room is too quiet (Parrot Town TV on YouTube has music especially for birds). But if they are eating, drinking, and seem to be healthy overall, I think they just don't feel ready yet.
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Thank you, I usually have the radio on all day for them, I’m curious as to the Parrot Town TV, I’ll check it out and see if they like it better than the radio.

As for eating it’s a bit off but that could be because it’s a new fresh batch of chop and it wasn’t frozen. I’m going back to basics tomorrow to see if that is the issue or not, fingers crossed it’s just an off day🌻🌻🌻
 
Lozhinge said:
Food going back to normal should help. As for budgies being little homebodies, I suspect they'll leave the cage when they are ready.

Who knows why they all seem to get an idea in their heads all at once. They are little mysteries at times.
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Fingers crossed they will venture out at some point. My mum says that they live in the Hilton so it’s no wonder why they don’t want to come out…. 😂😂😂
 
UPDATE: so I’ve spent a lot of time over the last week trying to get my babies out to play for a bit. The good news is Sky and baby Buddie came out and then I bribed Billy and Chip out at last with millet. So I’m thinking I’ve been forgiven.

Chip didn’t stay out for long but the other 3 had a good fly around so I’m really happy.

Buddie went back in after about an hour and half and the other two were out for about 2 hours. I had to help them back in but they are still my friend today. That’s the only problem when your kitchen and dining room are all in one and the dogs need a pee. But it’s a start.

I’ve been clicker training Buddie and Billy today, just inside the cage, and it’s going really well with Buddie, he’s got the hang of it now and I can get him to move around a little bit. Billy on the other hand thinks he can snatch millet from my hand after attacking the chop stick, so a lot more to do with him but I’m sure we will get there eventually.

Thank you all for your advice, what I’ve learned is that I need more confidence in my birds and patience, mainly with myself, I will get there eventually. I really appreciate being able to come here and ask questions without being laughed at. My family think I’m nuts…

Have a good weekend everyone 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
 
AngelaF said:
Thank you all for your advice, what I’ve learned is that I need more confidence in my birds and patience, mainly with myself, I will get there eventually. I really appreciate being able to come here and ask questions without being laughed at. My family think I’m nuts…

Have a good weekend everyone 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
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People who don't own birds, don't always understand how serious we can be about them. Just like a dog or cat owner. I love my dogs and I was a "dog person" first, but it annoys me that dogs and cats are taken seriously more than birds.
 
AprilRobin said:
People who don't own birds, don't always understand how serious we can be about them. Just like a dog or cat owner. I love my dogs and I was a "dog person" first, but it annoys me that dogs and cats are taken seriously more than birds.
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I have dogs too and they tell me I spoil them too much, I guess they are my babies just like my birds so yes of course I’m going to look after them all to the best of my ability. I feel sorry for anyone who has never felt the love of a bird or any animal in fact. It’s so special when they trust you, because it’s unconditional, no strings attached like most humans who always seem to have an agenda. So I agree totally with you, it’s soooo annoying when they take the Micky and it takes a lot to just ignore them sometimes…they don’t have a clue what they are missing out on 😁🌻🌻🌻
 
AngelaF said:
I have dogs too and they tell me I spoil them too much, I guess they are my babies just like my birds so yes of course I’m going to look after them all to the best of my ability. I feel sorry for anyone who has never felt the love of a bird or any animal in fact. It’s so special when they trust you, because it’s unconditional, no strings attached like most humans who always seem to have an agenda. So I agree totally with you, it’s soooo annoying when they take the Micky and it takes a lot to just ignore them sometimes…they don’t have a clue what they are missing out on 😁🌻🌻🌻
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Over the years, I've encountered two people who don't like any animal at all! To each their own but I think it's strange. Imagine someone disregarding every other creature on this planet except the other humans. There are some people who admire pet animals from afar, but they can't or prefer not to keep their own pet(s) for some reason. But not liking any pets or wild animals???
 
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