WORRIED FOR MY BUDGIES HEALTH & HAPPIENESS!

[budgiediana07]

Hi,

My budgie Gooses (previously named Turkey) health is concerning me.

I've found her a few times at the bottom of her cage, lying down when I got back from work. She shot right up and got on her perch when I turned on my music though! Also, a few weeks ago, I heard her fall from her perch at night.

Should I be as worried as I am? Was she maybe just sleeping the few times I've walked in? I thought budgies slept on their perch

Thank you so much for you help and knowledge!

Diana and Goose

(Bonus questions)

1. I'm thinking about letting Goose out of her cage for the first time in the 1 month I've had her (mostly to give it a deep clean, but I want her to spread her wings a bit)
How do I go about this? She still doesnt trust me enough to pet her and I dont want to scare her.

2. Goose doesnt play with any of her toys and is sticking to the bottom levels on her big cage and it's making me sad thinking she isnt happy.
How can I get her to interact with the toys more?

Again, thank you for all/any help you can give me!

[Hezz]

Some budgies will sleep lying down and they can be perfectly healthy. In my house it became known as the collapsed budgie pose - very scary the first few times you see it, I agree. If she wants to lie down and is in her cage, the only place to do so is on the bottom of the cage. You could consider getting her a platform perch so that she isn't on the bottom of the cage.

If you are going to let her out for the first time, be very careful. Make sure there are no places that she can fall behind - heavy furniture that might be hard to move for example -, make sure you cover mirrors and windows so that she doesn't fly into them thinking the room is bigger than it is, keep her in a smallish room so that once the cage is clean and you want her back inside, you will have more success getting her back into the cage. Will she step up onto a stick? Getting this training in place first is important as it makes transporting her back into her cage and retrieving her from awkward places much easier if she will hop straight up onto the stick when it is presented to her.

Some birds are just not into toys. If you feel she is not happy, she may be lonely, especially as the two of you haven't really bonded (yet?). If your relationship is new, give it time, if not maybe consider getting her a friend.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Your story is so familiar to me! I've had my Tweetie Pie for six weeks now. He is just now getting used to me. I can put my forefinger on the perch beside him and he won't fly away. Today I put my forefinger in front of him and he was OK with that but when I got close enough to touch his foot, he flew away. Still, that's progress. He has started chirping softly to me and watches me as I move about the room and walk up to talk to him. My baby hasn't played with any of his toys including his swing. He sleeps on the second perch from the top and on the side of the perch that is at the front of his cage - so he can sense me coming? His cage is covered at night. I have high hopes for our relationship!

[helenmat]

Maybe leave a radio playing softly when you are not around. Most budgies prefer some noise and not silence.