New budgies being aggressive to other?

[crof]

I bought two new budgies 2 days ago (my first time owning budgies) and one seems to be chasing the other around the cage every so often and being very loud. I read that this may be the budgies trying to establish a pecking order. Could this be what it is? When it is being loud it seems that it sometimes tries to lean under the branch to get to the other budgie's feet. I have checked and made sure that there is not a wound or anything on either but also read that this is an aggressive behaviour.

When they are quiet they seem fine. They were just eating side by side a few minutes ago (their faces were millimetres from each other) and there didn't seem to be a problem. So they are not fighting over food. I am hoping I am just being paranoid because I am not used to owning them.

Also, I am pretty sure I know the answer to this question but I will ask anyway.....

The woman in the pet shop gave me a bag of gravel included with the cage etc. and said that they need it for digestion. My research before that seemed to say to definitely NOT give them gravel. However, I nodded along and took it anyway. I just want to ask those who read this whether or not it is the right decision?

P.S. I have just noticed that they seem to get loud and active when I put the tv on or play music. So maybe they are just still settling?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice that you can give me.

[hitman]

Mar 6, 2020 16:07:51 GMT crof said:

I bought two new budgies 2 days ago (my first time owning budgies) and one seems to be chasing the other around the cage every so often and being very loud. I read that this may be the budgies trying to establish a pecking order. Could this be what it is? When it is being loud it seems that it sometimes tries to lean under the branch to get to the other budgie's feet. I have checked and made sure that there is not a wound or anything on either but also read that this is an aggressive behaviour.

When they are quiet they seem fine. They were just eating side by side a few minutes ago (their faces were millimetres from each other) and there didn't seem to be a problem. So they are not fighting over food. I am hoping I am just being paranoid because I am not used to owning them.

Also, I am pretty sure I know the answer to this question but I will ask anyway.....

The woman in the pet shop gave me a bag of gravel included with the cage etc. and said that they need it for digestion. My research before that seemed to say to definitely NOT give them gravel. However, I nodded along and took it anyway. I just want to ask those who read this whether or not it is the right decision?

P.S. I have just noticed that they seem to get loud and active when I put the tv on or play music. So maybe they are just still settling?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice that you can give me.

Hi,

It's possible one or both of your birds are female and one is trying to establish dominance over the other.

They can also be hormonal at times which might be why sometimes they are OK.

I have two females and one chases the other to be fed by it, only now and again I see this behaviour. Unless she thinks the other is a boy....

Sometimes the females also pick on boys too. Don't worry too much though this will probably pass and might just be a phase and the birds coming of age will put a halt to some of the behavior.

I too want the best for my birds and don't like it when they fight but in reality it's a bird world. Only they can make sense of it.
The other bird will move away or retaliate which might teach the other a lesson.

I've heard in the past that mirrors in cages could cause aggressive behavior although removing mine didn't help.

I give my birds a sand instead of gravel which does help with digestion. I think gravel might be for larger parrots.

Having budgies can be difficult sometimes but don't give up on them. Give them some time and I'm sure they will be fine

[hitman]

The birds enjoy listening to music and the sounds from the TV will set them off too.

You could put a blanket over the cage at night so they think it's dark. Don't have the TV too loud though

[blue48]

Hi Crof, I'm a newish budgie owner too, but the friend who I got my Bertie from has bred and shown budgies for years. He gave me some very fine gravel too. I keep it in the cage but rarely see Bertie near it. He has cuttlefish bone and a mineral block too, and the seed I buy has tiny shells in it.

[Hezz]

Gravel ... that's a horrible word in the parrot world, so let's talk about grit instead.

There are two types of grit in a bird-related sense. Soluble and insoluble. This doesn't mean that one dissolves in water and the other doesn't. It means that one, the soluble grit, is broken down by the acidic content of the birds' digestive system, and insoluble grit is not.

Insoluble grit is only for those birds that do not husk their seed - doves and pigeons for example. Never supply this to your pet parrot.

Soluble grit is often called oyster shell grit, and as per the name is made up of very small pieces of shell or tiny shells themselves. This can help in a small way towards digestion, but it is a very good source of calcium, and personally I think our budgies get some sense of satisfaction in crunching those little shells into tiny bits.

So, bottom line, if your bag does not say oyster shell grit, or soluble grit, don't give it to your budgies. Pet store staff often know very little about the products they sell, unfortunately.

[Hezz]

To the aggression part of your thread. How big is their cage, do they have out of cage time, do you have two (or more) seed pots in the cage?

Budgies have as many different personalities as humans, so stands to reason that they are not always going to get along. Unless the aggression results in down and dirty fighting, locked together rolling around on the bottom of the cage, blood drawn and feathers flying, try to ignore it. If one is in danger of being injured then you will need to separate them for safety's sake.

Noise. Budgies like noise. Most birds like noise. Noise tells them that everything is well, it is safe to be out and about. Quiet tells them danger is around - ever notice how birds will go quiet whenever there is a raptor in the sky?? The only noise that will concern them is sudden loud noise. That can cause panic flying. Constant chitter chatter from a TV or radio also gives them the feeling of being part of a group, that they are not on their own.

[crof]

Thank you all for your replies.

In response to Hezz, I only have one seed pot in just now. Should I put 2? Since I only got them 3 days ago I had a treat in the cage and a spray of millet to help them settle. However, I have not seen them even acknowledge the seed pot. I have removed both treats so that they will hopefully go exploring for their actual food. I have also put some on the floor as I saw a youtube video that said some young bird eat from the floor.

The cage is 60cm x 35cm x 55cm. I also have not taken them out of the cage as of yet as from the stuff that I have read it says to leave them for a week or 2 so that they can settle it.

Another question about gravel/grit.... Will it harm them if I don't offer it at all? It seems so controversial that I am not sure whether to offer it or not.

[BloomCountyLover]

crof, no you do not have to offer grit at all. There are many other sources of calcium that you can give your birds. The list is long, just a few are kale, bok choy, spinach (small amts), mustard greens, sesame seeds and even almonds. Eggs both shell and white/yolk can be offered as well.

[Hezz]

Don't believe everything you read (not even everything on this forum). You do not need to give them grit if you aren't comfortable doing so.

With a millet spray and a treat (I'm guessing you mean a seed bell or something similar) in the cage, I'm not surprised that you haven't seen them eat out of the pot. Also once a young budgie is perching, there is no real need to have seed on the floor of the cage for them either, as long as you are confident that they know where to find their food.
I would put two seed pots in, yes.

You can start your basic step up training with them now. The sooner they are used to your presence, the better. Some people do say leave them a couple of weeks, some will say leave a few days. I never have, I've always started out the way I mean to carry on, and that's interacting with them many times during the course of the day. It may be too early to be letting them out of the cage, best to have some sort of training in place first. When they have their first taste of freedom, they can be rather reluctant to be put back into the cage, when things are still new to them.

[crof]

Thanks again. They are eating from one seed pot and ignoring the other (I think this is just because of the position of it). The pet store gave me a bag of seed which was unbranded and looks like they just made it themselves. So I added a second seed pot but they seem to only go to one. I am also interchanging between the pots daily with the stuff they gave me and 'Bucktons Budgerigar Food with sprialife'. Purely because I am not sure whether or not to trust the pet store.

I am going to start a new post on handling so all of your help with that would be great too.

[maryann]

My bird seems to love conversation! Either the TV or if I’m talking on the phone. He really chimes in. It’s pretty funny. He can get a bit loud. The person on the other end always laughs.
When I added a cuttlebone, Harvey loved it. His previous owner gave him nothing but seed. I’m having trouble getting him to eat anything fresh but I keep trying. I’m not adding grit. I have heard of crushed up eggshells. I wonder what others think about that.

[Hezz]

Crushed up eggshells are fine, as long as the eggs have been boiled and you remove the membrane. It is basically the same thing as the soluble grit.