Post by keldar89 on Jul 26, 2015 19:53:17 GMT
Help! I have a male budgie (Ollie) who's nine years of age. He's a delight to be around and view - but not to interact with!
As long as I can remember, he's had a mirror in his cage - he used to have a mate who sadly passed away shortly after getting Ollie, so we replaced the deceased budgie with a mirror.
He used to be quite tame and would happily interact with people around the house. He would happily sit on your finger but wouldn't move too far away from the perch, but never bit!
For the past few years, he's become really aggressive - you can't go near him without some form of protection or you risk losing your finger. He'll bite you (or at least attempt to) when filling up his seed. When you open the cage door, you can tell he doesn't like it because he makes a high pitched tweet (sounds unpleasant - that's when you can tell he has his guard up).
I've read around that the mirror can be the cause of it, as he's protecting it. So I'd happily take it out, but I've also read this can be quite stressful for the budgie as he's lost his mate. So I'm not too sure what to do?
What is their memory span like? E.g. if I remove it at night time when he can't see - will he forget it by morning? Is he too old? Or too used to his mate after so long?
I have no clue - but I want the friendly budgie back.
On a second note, I don't know if it's related - but if you go close to his cage to greet him, he'll dive to the perch that meets where my face is if you get close, he'll lightly "nibble"/peck your nose. It doesn't hurt and this bit is quite gentle. Is he being friendly, or am I mistaking this for the behaviour above and he's trying to get me to go away?
Thanks,
Kelvin
Edit: just to add, he's also quite violent towards the mirror. He'll violently attack/peck that, squawk at it and all sorts...
As long as I can remember, he's had a mirror in his cage - he used to have a mate who sadly passed away shortly after getting Ollie, so we replaced the deceased budgie with a mirror.
He used to be quite tame and would happily interact with people around the house. He would happily sit on your finger but wouldn't move too far away from the perch, but never bit!
For the past few years, he's become really aggressive - you can't go near him without some form of protection or you risk losing your finger. He'll bite you (or at least attempt to) when filling up his seed. When you open the cage door, you can tell he doesn't like it because he makes a high pitched tweet (sounds unpleasant - that's when you can tell he has his guard up).
I've read around that the mirror can be the cause of it, as he's protecting it. So I'd happily take it out, but I've also read this can be quite stressful for the budgie as he's lost his mate. So I'm not too sure what to do?
What is their memory span like? E.g. if I remove it at night time when he can't see - will he forget it by morning? Is he too old? Or too used to his mate after so long?
I have no clue - but I want the friendly budgie back.
On a second note, I don't know if it's related - but if you go close to his cage to greet him, he'll dive to the perch that meets where my face is if you get close, he'll lightly "nibble"/peck your nose. It doesn't hurt and this bit is quite gentle. Is he being friendly, or am I mistaking this for the behaviour above and he's trying to get me to go away?
Thanks,
Kelvin
Edit: just to add, he's also quite violent towards the mirror. He'll violently attack/peck that, squawk at it and all sorts...
. It is a nibble and is very soft - he does it like he's trying to nudge me, as opposed to getting his beak and trying to bite me. So that's a relief.
.
) The soft little nose nibbles would suggest that he isn't completely without hope, but you are going to have to move very slowly, to start with anyway, if you want him to get back to being interactive with you. Have you tried bribing him with millet? If he is any sort of normal for a budgie he will not be able to resist a small spray of millet. You can use this to try to entice him out of the cage, also to get him to see that your hand in the cage can be a good thing ...... it comes bearing gifts. 
You really are going to have to go right back to basics, I feel, and it may take a long, long time before you see any improvement in his behaviour, simply because he is not a young bird any more. But persevere, be patient, and most of all be consistent ....... and most of all don't give up as soon as he bites you. Rather stop a session with a treat, when he hasn't bitten you!