Just defiant?

[mizloco]

Recently my two have had an extra small bowl on the side of the cage ith seed, egg food etc. It just slots over the bars and they started biting it making it tip over all on the cage floor. So I took the extra bowl out as they still have their two normal pots on the bottom of the cage. They started chewing the paper in the cage and their poo so I put the little pot back in and they stopped the chewing. But they then kept making the pot tip over, and I watched Ernie he was doing it on purpose not by mistake. So I have taken the pot out again and ordered one that goes on the side of the cage but is bolted on so can't be tipped over. But in the meantime they have shredded the paper and eaten their poo. Are they just being defiant and naughty cos I have taken the pot out? Can budgies be that mischievous? The wonderful world of budgie behaviour never fails to amaze and amuse me.

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[Marianne Marlow]

If they can be naughty, they will!

Mine used to tip seed pots over and chuck them on the floor. I just have to keep finding ways to out-fox them!

[stace]

They can be just out and out little devils. This is typical budgie humour. They are laughing at you.

In the meantime, can you attach the extra bowl with cable ties of something? Just to stop them eating paper and poo.

[samwiseg]

Seems like that Budgies think everything is a toy?!

[Hezz]

There are some schools of thought that say they nibble on their own poo for missing nutrients. I am not going to wade in on that debate, but basically nibbling their own poo is not likely to cause them any harm. It is probably only us, their owners, who have a problem with it. And the paper nibbling seems to come and go in phases too. I don't know whether this is a boredom thing - I haven't chewed on paper for a while so better give it a go just in case I decide I like it - or whether they haven't enough shredding material in the cage to keep them busy. I always have about three or four bark stations set up around the cage so there is always something for them to chew on ...... without having to go down onto the floor and start on the paper.

[mizloco]

I have put their extra bowl in and used ties as suggested and funny enough they have not been on the floor once. They are little monkey's that's for sure. I am sat here trying to do an essay watching them as they have just ventured out on the landing platform at the front of their cage. They have never been out so this is amazing and I am sat here with bated breath that they are going to come out and fly round for the first time...so excited!

[Deleted]

Ever since i've owned budgies they will eat the poop and i've tryed everything to stop this thinking as Hezz says they might be lacking in something, well if they are i havn't found it.

Problems can occur when the poop gets wet this then becomes very toxic.

[Deleted]

I don't know about budgies, but rabbits produce two types of poop, soft and hard. One type they will actually eat to try to get more of the nutrients out that they couldn't digest the first time.