Young budgie is bullying my older older budgie :(

ayx_sha

Registered
Hi recently I added a new perch into my cage, its on the highest level. All my budgies love sitting on it especially sunny (yellow) however kiwi (green) is always territorial over it, whenever sunny even goes near it if he sees kiwi approaching her quickly runs away 😭 this just makes me feel awful, right now they’re all asleep but do you think I should take this perch away

I have a flight cage with three levels, generally kiwi gets along with the other birds however she just seem to have very selfish, mean personality. I do love her, but ever since I got her if I’d be hand feeding another budgie she’d jump on top of them and kick them off so she could take the food, if they found a nice spot to perch on in my room she decides she wants that spot now and bullies them off.

She doesn’t seem to be scared of me, but when I feed her whilst she’s perching on my hand she likes to bite me idk why (even though she’s the one who flew over to my hand???) , it doesn’t seem like she doing it out of self defence bcs she’ll actively follow my hand so she can chew and attack it. When I present her with millet, she’d rather chew my hand then eat the millet

She tends to go after sunny bcs he’s the most sweetest / least aggressive and one. I’d feel so bad if I separated her, she’s not genuinly mean just territorial even though I try giving her everything she justs wants other ppl’s stuff

She is a very sweet little girl and is my smallest budgie, but has the fiestiest personality

Sunny and Kiwi are bonded pairs btw, they have a toxic relationship

IMG_4165.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4931.jpeg
    IMG_4931.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 6
  • IMG_4930.jpeg
    IMG_4930.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 6
Leave the perch personally I'd add another identical at the same height.
There is always a bird more dominant than another it's the natural order of things.
@Lozhinge is very experienced with budgies I am sure he will have further advice.
I know you are worried because you want the best for them and everybody to get along happily birds don't have the same feelings and social structure as us humans so what you see and interpret isn't what they see and interpret.
 
Welcome to you and your lovely flock!

DizzyBlue's advice is sound. With multiple birds, there should be multiple "highest perches", at least one per bird. Preferably more.
Similar for seed bowls, at least one each. In fact, any resource the birds enjoy, be it food or toys, should be duplicated as much as is practical.

The point of this is to reduce competition pressures within the flock to the absolute minimum possible. Whilst males tend to compete over females, the females compete for the best food, the best perch, the best nesting spot (they are always looking for those, whether or not you want that!).

I have a number of budgies that form a single flock. It's often harmonious but I have one particularly bad hen, Squeak, who often gets it into her head to bully others. With her, when she's in that mood, I have to take active steps to disrupt her behaviour. Think of it as having to break Squeak's bad habit (prevention is better than cure, of course).
I can go into that this aspect in more detail but your first steps should be to adjust the birds' environment as outlined above
 
Hello! I have 11 Budgies. Loz and DizzyBlue already told you basically what I was going to say.

Three of my female Budgies will nip/softly my hand, but it doesn't feel as if they want to attack me. More like nibbles. One of them, Willow, preens my hair and also climbs onto my arm or shoulder sometimes. So I don't think she is trying to attack when she nibbles. It's just a habit of theirs, I guess. All of them show the usual signs of a Budgie liking their owner: looking at me, preening themselves or standing on foot in my presence, making those happy-sounding chirps while looking at me, fluffing their cheeks a little, etc.
 
jandrsc said:
Hello! I have 11 Budgies. Loz and DizzyBlue already told you basically what I was going to say.

Three of my female Budgies will nip/softly my hand, but it doesn't feel as if they want to attack me. More like nibbles. One of them, Willow, preens my hair and also climbs onto my arm or shoulder sometimes. So I don't think she is trying to attack when she nibbles. It's just a habit of theirs, I guess. All of them show the usual signs of a Budgie liking their owner: looking at me, preening themselves or standing on foot in my presence, making those happy-sounding chirps while looking at me, fluffing their cheeks a little, etc.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice but when kiwi bites me they’re not really ‘nibbles’, she’s caused lots of scars on my fingers, drawn blood etc 😭 I’m thinkning rhat she might see my hand as one of her toys maybe?
 
ayx_sha said:
Thank you for the advice but when kiwi bites me they’re not really ‘nibbles’, she’s caused lots of scars on my fingers, drawn blood etc 😭 I’m thinkning rhat she might see my hand as one of her toys maybe?
Click to expand...
You mentioned her choosing to nip you even when you hold millet. Do you leave millet in the cage all the time?
If so, I would stop. It helps to have a treat(s) that the birds can only get from you directly. Millet, crumbled Nutriberries, etc.
 
jandrsc said:
You mentioned her choosing to nip you even when you hold millet. Do you leave millet in the cage all the time?
If so, I would stop. It helps to have a treat(s) that the birds can only get from you directly. Millet, crumbled Nutriberries, etc.
Click to expand...
Hi sorry for late reply 😭 I don’t leave millet in thr cage, I think she’s just a little violant moss ball (that’s my finger she attacked for a bit, it may look dry but its not those are from her biting)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5086.jpeg
    IMG_5086.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 14
  • IMG_5087.jpeg
    IMG_5087.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 13
Help I am having the same problem . I have just got female Galah who is about 10 months old . She is happy for me to put my hand in her cage and readily steps up , she has two perches outside of her cage and full flight around my larger than average dining room . She just wants to be on me which is fine for a few minutes but then will try and find skin that is not covered and bite . No broken skin yet , she will deliberately try and get my ears and face , I do not encourage her to sit on my shoulders but after a quick flight around the room my shoulders are like a magnet. I started wearing two layers of clothing and a hoodie so she can't get to my neck , ears and face . If course she knows my face and ears are hiding by the hood , it looks quite funny when she gets in position and peaks round the hood but it's not so funny when she lunged at my face .I do not know how to stop this. I repeatedly put her back on a perch the moment she bites and it is a bite not a nip . Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place but I am a tech dinosaur
 
Hi Fizzy
Your bird if so very young is testing the boundaries of what she can get away with. As soon as she lands before the bite ask her to step up and remove her. Or if you are watching her fly as she comes towards you to land offer your arm up for her to land and perch (arm rather than hand) then lots of praise before a bite and on to the perch. Easier to avoid the bite and praise plus reward for acceptable behaviour rather than the negative all the time.
 
Agree with DizzyBlue. The only way to stop biting is to avoid it in the first place. Once you have been bitten it is too late to do anything about it.

Punishment (anything aversive that you do to the bird after the event - like tapping the beak etc.) doesn't work long term. So try to change what happens before the bite. If a bird bites your face, it is best not to let him/her on your shoulder. (If she is not on your shoulder she cannot bite you.)

Instead get her to station on a perch and reward her for stepping down onto it with a treat. A bird (or any other animal) will choose to do the behaviour that gains the most reinforcement. If you can make stationing on a playstand more reinforcing than being on your shoulder, then the bird will choose to stay on the playstand. By stationing, I don't mean sitting still on a perch. I mean staying on an interesting playstand that has been enriched with toys and foraging items, etc. to keep the bird occupied.

Same with the budgie, get her to step off your finger before she starts biting. If she starts biting after say, one minute, put her down after 30 seconds and reward her for stepping down. If she won't take a treat maybe show her a favourite toy - but not one that makes her even more aggressive.

With both birds you can also do some target training. This is getting the bird to touch something like the end of a chopstick or lollipop stick with a body part (usually beak) for a reinforcer (a treat works well). It's just another way to have some positive interaction with the bird.... and if they are earning treats for targeting, biting will be the last thing on their minds.

thinkparrot.com

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot

Target training is a fantastic first behaviour to teach. It can be taught inside or outside the cage.
thinkparrot.com thinkparrot.com
 
Thank you Roz . I have been doing exactly what you have said so I am happy to know I am doing something right . I do put my arm up when she is flying towards me and nine times out ten she will land there , I keep my elbow low to try and stop her getting to my shoulder so she climbs up using my clothing , that's one reason I wear two lots of clothing . She is very young so hasn't got much of a history , I don't think she has had any toys , she doesn't play with anything I have offered any tips on how to teach her to entertain herself. I am so pleased I found this site thank you I am grateful for any advice
 
Fizzy said:
I don't think she has had any toys , she doesn't play with anything I have
Click to expand...
Start off with really easy to destroy toys first. You can string together things like soft balsa wood, bitty bagels, finger snaps, woven palm strips, pieces of paper and card board onto untreated leather laces/strips. You can find lots of great ideas at the Natural Bird Product Company - they sell parts as well as completed toys. Here is a link to their balsa wood pieces:

www.naturalbirdco.co.uk

Easy to shred Balsa for little parrots to enjoy

Balsa is a big hit with little birds because they can shred it. Whether you turn it into a toy, add it to perch or simply include it in their toy boxes, it is sure to delight. Also ideal if your parrot does not have the beak strength to enjoy other softwoods. We make all our blocks using the...
www.naturalbirdco.co.uk www.naturalbirdco.co.uk

I make these toys for all my birds. I started even smaller and just plain colours for Ollie (Amazon) who was afraid of everything. Then I gradually added more things and colour. They were his favourite toys. This is one I made for Kobe (Pionus) - it's got some thin pinewood slats on it too:


Toy - Kobe.jpg

The trouble with most shop bought toys is that they are not destructible (often made of hard wood) so birds can quickly lose interest in them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom