Budgie flys around her cage squarking loudly

[mathewh09]

Had my budgie 'ella' just over a week now, i'm getting a little worried she sometimes flys around her cage squarking loudly what can i do to stop this?.she has lots of toys and out of cage time, i don't want her to hurt herself thanks matt

[BudgiesBuddy]

Welcome to forum

I moved your question to a new thread so you can get answers from all members.

To me it looks a night fright situation. Is she afraid of something? Maybe a cat or dog in the house. Or is there any sudden loud bang?

[Donna Lee]

Maybe she is skittish, as BB said, or maybe she's just having a fly and stretching her wings?

[Bird Junky]

Hi Try this....

B.J's. BIRDS AFRAID OF PEOPLE.

Your birds future home should be made ready. Half the cage top, the back & both sides should be covered with a dark towel. They also prefer a cage against a wall or in a corner of a room, allow a couple of days for your bird to settle down. Such fearful birds do not like to be looked at through the cage top, keep down
to their level & don't make direct eye contact like a predator.

Provide a basic seed mix, water, iodine block & cuttlebone.
All other foods that birds enjoy, ie, fruit, veg, hard boiled egg, nuts, biscuit etc..Can be used as treat food & are used in the taming ,training process.

Once you know which treats are your birds favourites, note these to be used later as special training treats.
Feed the treat foods one at a time in small portions, by placing them on the top of the cage.
You should then retire to a distance your bird is comfortable with. This will allow him to settle down & eat.
At each treat feed, sit a little closer, read or watch TV while he eats. Take your time, the closer you get, the longer you give him to get used to it. Change the type of treat at each visit so your bird gets a good mix.
The smaller the treat portions, the more often the visits. This will show your bird that your visits, mean nice things to eat.

Don't allow yourself to dislike, get angry, impatient or even mildly annoyed with your bird will sense this & will react accordingly.

When the time finally arrives, that you can sit quietly by his cage as he eats his treat food your can offer him
treats through the bars. If this scares him use tweezers or chopsticks for a few feeds. Then try again feeding
by hand. When finally he's happy to eat from your fingers, your both ready next step in this bonding process.
From now on talk softly to your bird at every opportunity.

When hand feeding treats inside the cage use a hanky fixed to the bar above the door with two clothes pegs to act as a safety curtain to prevent your bird escaping via the open door.
Offer him a favourite treat food by holding a small piece between your finger & thumb so your bird can reach it.
If he appears in anyway disturbed. Remove your hand & allow him to calm down.
Re-offer the treat, hold your hand still so he can eat.
Remember offer it don't try to force it on him. If he doesn't eat withdraw & try again later, repeat until he does .
Keep trying, offer him different small treat foods as often as you can over the next few days.
Your aim is to build up a strong bond of friendship & trust between you.
After a day or two of successful hand feeding. Your bird should be ready for step-up.. For their own safety birds should be confined to their cages until step-up has been mastered. Chasing & catching a bird can undermine any bond built up between an owner & bird......B.J.

[mathewh09]

Thanks for the replies, she was really good at first steping up within a few hours. Now she rarely lets me do it i have to use a perch to get her back in her cage. She doesn't like cuttlefish,millet,sweetcorn or the fruit thing i leave in her cage. I'm gonna try grating some fruit on her seed see if that works, its pretty hard to train her as you could imagine although she is very good and never bites. She also squarks when she flies sometimes, it's a very harsh noise as in you know when she's chirping and singing so i don't really know if shes hurt or just singing!? Mat

[Deleted]

She was probably nervous when you first got her but once she settled in a bit she felt more confident about not doing what you wanted her to. You'll just have to keep working with her. Patience and persistence, as Hezz will tell you ^^

Also, as for the squawking during flight, my budgie does that too ^^ It's nothing to worry about

Munchy doesn't chew his cuttlefish but loves his iodine block. Some budgies like fruit but most prefer vegetables. Just keep trying with them, maybe show her you eating some of it so that she knows it's food.

Keep trying with the millet, too. Some budgies don't like it, however. You could try offering her seed from your hand, perhaps first thing in the morning when she hasn't yet eaten so she might be more tempted by the seeds. Just put some on your palm and place your hand in the cage and leave it there. Let her come to you Of course, if she doesn't then let her eat from her usual feeder because she'll be hungry, and come back and try again later. If she does develop a taste for millet then you can use that instead of her regular seed.

Good luck!

[Hezz]

Nice post, Ira.

[samwiseg]

Most birds will have what I call a "mad 5 minutes" every now and again, just to get the blood flowing and stretch their wings. They even do it for fun and if there is a couple of them it can be quite fin to watch! ;D

I wouldn't worry tho, only thing I would say is that it maybe a bit screechy as she is a hen bird but I shouldn't worry

[barrieshutt]

This often happens when a bird has broken a feather

[Hezz]

Nov 16, 2012 8:23:30 GMT barrieshutt said:

This often happens when a bird has broken a feather

Is this right, Barrie? Do you mean a blood feather, or just a normal run-of-the-mill, older feather? Is it a pain thing, do you think, or discomfort?

Is it noticeably different to their, what I call "spak-attacks", what Sam called "five minutes of madness"?