5 Scary Things Your Budgie Fears | Budgie Scared of Everything

Since budgies are small and fragile, the world can be a really scary place for them, especially when they are in the wild. They can easily be attacked by predators and end up dead. That’s why these birds are usually alert and get scared easily. This helps them get away from potential threats quickly.

So even if you decide to keep a budgie as a pet, it will take time for them to adjust to their new environment. Moreover, there are things that will still scare them months or even years after the move. That’s why it’s important to be aware of things that popularly scare budgies. Fortunately, that’s where we come in. In today’s post, we are going to discuss 5 things budgies fear. They include:

Other humans

Even if your budgie is already used to you, they will still be fearful of other humans. Just like it took some time for your budgie to get used to you, it will take time for it to get used to the other humans in your life. As far as they’re concerned, humans are giants who could kill them. So don’t try to force things – let the trust grow with the passing of time.

Other animals and pets

In the wild, there are many animals that are constantly trying to eat budgies. For instance, monkeys and big snakes like pythons and boa constrictors find budgies particularly tasty. As such, budgies tend to be wary of other animals, especially bigger ones. So even if you feel like your indoor pets are harmless, your budgie could think otherwise.

To ensure your budgie feels safe and comfortable, always keep their cage out of the reach of other pets and animals. And even when you take your bird outside to get fresh air, ensure they’re in their cage and don’t leave them unsupervised.

Sudden loud noises

Just like humans, budgies are scared of sudden loud noises. So if you’re constantly banging doors or shouting at your partner, you are going to have an anxious budgie on your hands. The same goes for budgie owners who live in areas that are regularly exposed to ambulance and police car sirens.

Unfortunately, you can’t control all the sources of loud noise in your neighborhood. All you can do is make your home as quiet as possible. So keep your TV’s volume low to moderate and avoid shouting a lot, especially around your budgie’s cage. Also, if your smoke alarm regularly goes off while you’re cooking, always have something on hand to fan the smoke away before it gets to the detector.

Hands

Believe it or not, even tamed budgies can be afraid of hands. So if you just got a new budgie, expect it to take a while before they are comfortable with you bringing your hands anywhere near them. As far as they’re concerned, your hands are large apparatuses that you can use to hit them.

So be patient with your budgie and let them get used to your hands slowly. You can start by showing them your hands from outside the cage for a few minutes every day. After a couple of weeks, you can then start placing your hands in the cage for a few minutes every day – don’t touch or reach out for your budgie yet though.

Do this a few times before edging closer and closer to your budgie until they are comfortable enough to touch you or perch on your finger. Over time, they will let you feed them and bring them out of their cage while they’re perched on your finger.

New toys and foods

If there’s one thing you should know about budgies, it’s that they don’t like change – they aren’t that adaptable and are generally paranoid. So if you make any changes to their environment they will notice and start freaking out. As such, acts like introducing a new toy or changing the type of food your budgie eats should be carried out cautiously.

For instance, if you want to place a new item in your budgie’s cage, talk to them softly and soothingly as you do so. This can help them relax and trust that the item isn’t dangerous. To further soothe your bird, you can even let them see you play with the item and place it outside the cage for some time.

This way, by the time you finally place it in the cage, your budgie is already familiarized with it and is 100% sure it isn’t dangerous.

How to know your budgie is scared

If your budgie has been exposed to any of the above-mentioned things but you’re not sure whether they are scared or not, here are some signs to look out for:

• Feather plucking
• Puffiness
• Watery droppings that aren’t related to illness or diet
• Panting
• Sleek feathers
• Flapping and flying around erratically
• Continuous chirping or screeching
• Wide eyes

Whenever you see these signs in your budgie, try to figure out what is scaring them and deal with the situation accordingly.

Pay attention to your scared budgie

Ultimately, the best way to figure out what scares your budgie most, you need to pay attention to them. This way, you’ll be able to immediately notice subtle changes in their behavior that suggest fear and adjust the situation accordingly.