Although budgies are not aggressive birds, sometimes they may attack each other over toys, food, and territory. But don’t fret! Here’s what to do if you come across a budgie attacking other budgies.
The first thing you must do is separate them immediately by making loud noises or verbal disruption. Next, you can give them time out as you determine the reasons behind the attacks. And if the fighting continues, the best solution would be to put them in separate cages.
But how do you tell whether the attacks are serious or your budgies are simply playing? Read on to find out.
Budgie Attacking Other Budgie: Here’s What To Do?
Budgies are friendly birds and rarely show any aggressive behavior to other birds. However, if you own more than one budgie, it is not unusual for them to attack each other for various reasons. This may happen because of food, hormonal changes, or personal space issues. Nothing to worry about, though. Here is what to do.
Step 1: Verbal Disruption
When you see a single budgie attacking another budgie, you should walk up to their cage and firmly tell them to stop. Once the parakeets stop, talk to them calmly about their bad behavior.
Step 2: Making Loud Noises
Alternatively, you could get a can and fill it with a few pebbles or coins. Then, shake the can loudly. The excessive noise should scare the pet birds, making them stop fighting.
Step 3: Allow Them An Exercise Break
After breaking up the budgies and calming them down, you could try letting them out of their cage. This is because a pet budgie may attack one of its own because of boredom and lacking enough mental stimulation.
Step 4: Find Out The Reason For The Attacks
Next up, you should determine the cause of the constant attacks by observing your pet birds closely while in the cage. An aggressive budgie attacking other budgies can happen for various reasons. Perhaps because of food, space, jealousy, or mating rivalry.
Step 5: Add More Food Dishes
If the cause of the attacks is food, simply put extra food dishes in the cage. You must set up the bowls strategically so the budgies can feel the bird food is enough for each one. Also, add several water dishes inside the budgie cage.
Step 6: Extra Toys
Budgies are high-energy birds and need to exercise regularly to kill boredom. Therefore, you must provide both birds with various rotating and interactive toys. This way, they won’t fight over the few available or get bored and end up attacking each other.
Step 7: Separate The Birds For Sometime
If you notice the budgies are still fighting, the best solution would be to house them in separate and larger cages. However, make sure to place the bird cages close together. This allows the pet birds to get reacquainted and bond but without getting into contact with each other. As a result, it could help them leave peacefully with time.
Why Do Budgies Keep Attacking Each Other?
Like other parrot species, budgies often attack one another for a variety of reasons. These include:
Also read: Why Does My Budgie Puff Up And Is Sleepy?
Defending Nesting Sites
Female budgies are notorious for attacking their male companions because of territorial issues. These bird species consider the cages to be their nesting sites and other budgies to be intruders.
Guarding Food And Toys
When food resources and toys are limited, your budgies will be more likely to attack each other.
Jealousy
If your budgie is used to getting all the attention in the house, it could get jealous when you bring in another companion bird. As a result, it could end up attacking the new budgie.
Limited Space
Budgies will always pick on their cage mates if you put them in an overcrowded cage. This is because they tend to be defensive over everything.
Hormonal Issues
During the mating seasons, both female and male budgies experience hormonal issues. This causes them to be aggressive towards each other.
Budgie attacking Other Budgie Or Just Playing?
So then, how do you tell whether your budgies are attacking each other or just playing? After all, these social birds are very playful. Well, here are tell-tale signs to watch out for when the pet birds are fighting:
- Biting each other feet and tail
- Raised wings
- Loud squawking or distinctive screaming
- Wrestling on the ground
- Hissing sound
- Pulling out other bird’s feathers
Why Does My Female Budgie Keep Attacking the Male Budgie?
Female budgies have a tendency to be highly territorial. They are also bossier than their male counterparts. Some of the reasons the female bird will keep attacking the male budgie include:
- The cage is too small for both captive birds
- The female budgie is older than the male
- When the male budgie is new to the cage
- Incompatibility
- Hormonal changes during the breeding season
Are Budgies Capable Of Attacking and Killing Other Budgies?
Although not common, it could happen due to constant attacks. A budgie can kill its cage mate when trapped in a confined space. However, this is more likely to occur between two adult female budgies. For this reason, it is advisable to stop the attacks immediately you notice them by:
- Putting the individual birds in separate cages
- Providing sufficient bird food, toys, and perches
- Giving every single bird equal attention
- Investing in a more giant-sized cage
Related: Is Your Budgie Regurgitating Or Vomiting?
FAQs
Now let’s quickly look at frequently asked questions on what to do when a budgie keeps attacking other budgies.
Like female parakeets, male pet birds living in one cage can pick at each other over space, toys, and food. The good news? In most cases, you will see them quickly resolve their problems.
These sociable birds may show behavior such as preening, beak touching, and light pecking when playing. But when fighting, budgies raise their wings, bite each other’s feet and tail feathers, violently peck, and make hissing sounds.
Outro
Since it is not unusual for a budgie to attack another, you need to know what to do when this happens. But of course, you must determine the reason for the fighting before taking action. Furthermore, we recommend learning to tell when budgies are fighting and playing.
