Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi new to this forum and this is my first question. I am new to the budgie world having recently acquired a hand raised baby budgie. At first he seemed to really like seeing me, coming right up to the cage door and perching on my finger, shoulder and pearched twittering away near the stereo. He has been with me for about a month now and the last 4-5 days and suddenly run to the back of his cage near his cuttle bone and wants nothing to do with me. If I offer my finger, which before he step up to eagerly he now sqawks at me and looks like he like to bite me.
He is eating and drinking normally and seems healthy. Does anyone have any ideas why this change in behavoir. Is this to be expected or am I doing something wrong.

Thanks,
Sula

Birds can react differently for a number of reasons. It could be that something has spooked him and he is now scared of being handled. It could be that you have changed something about your self and are unaware of it which has frightened him. Bare with me because I don't know if you are male or female LOL! You could have changed soap, cologne or perfume, painted your nails, wear a new watch or other jewelry or be wearing a shirt with different length sleeves or of different colors. If you can't find any other signs of sickness then try to think back and see if there is anything you may have change however minor or major that could cause this problem in him.

Lastly if none of the other ideas seem to be working out it could be that he has started into his "testing" phase. Many birds no matter the size and even if they are handfed will go through a phase when weaned or during sexual maturity (many refer to it as the terrible twos although depending on the bird may start as early as a few months or as late as 10 or more years). This phase usually involves testing their caretaker. Nipping, not stepping up, puffing out feathers etc basically to see what you will put up with and to try and show you it is boss. If this is the case you must be patient and may need to start from scratch with "bribery" LOL! A favorite treat or toy may entice the bird to come to you or redirecting a bit towards a toy may help save your fingers from a few nips. If he offers to bite have a toy handy and direct the bite toward the toy while offering the other hand to step up on. Keep the toy handy for further bites.

Hi,
Thanks ever so much for your reply. I don't think the first part of your repsponse applies. I have been wearing same kind of clothes, jewlery and looking about the same. I wonder if he is testing me though and found the second part of your email very interesting. I am still getting him out of his cage daily for an hour or two at a time. He seems to like me once out so that seems OK. I will keep plugging away though and when he has bitten me it has not been that hard yet. He still likes hanging out on my shoulder and on my computer top and even likes my dog so some things are still going well. And when he is perched near the stero he is still twittering away.

Again I appreciate your input. Thanks!
Sula

One other thing. Sometimes depending on the cage size if the cage is smaller (sometimes even in a larger cage) a bird will become territorial. In these instances it is better to teach your bird to come out of its cage to you if at all possible. Then it doesn't feel it has to protect it's territory and will usually do a lot better. If the main time you bird is biting or acting scared/aggressive is directly around the cage this may be the case.