Lonely Budgie? Understanding Your Pet Bird’s Emotions

Lonely Budgie, Loneliness is a disease that bugs all of us at some point or the other. We find companionship around us. And human beings being infamous for their deceptive nature, pets become our best bet or the loyalty they offer in our lonely times. But have we ever stepped into these little beings’ shoes? How are they always so full of love and affection for us? Do they never feel lonely in their little kennels or cages?

Having never thought about it that way forces us to think about the world’s most favored pet bird and our very own feathery family member budgie too. And as the anxiety build up around this thought, we delved deeper: Do budgies get lonely?

Why budgies feel lonely?

Budgies are flock birds and being social is their second nature. They thrive well in a flock of the same species while in the wild. But when they are inside homes, their human parents become their flock. Their cage and surroundings are their habitats now. And they get deeply attached to their family and home. They experience every emotion like all the other family members: happiness, mischief, grief, or loneliness. Like with any other emotion, there’ll be a reason behind his loneliness.

Lack of attention

Budgies are extremely social and if they don’t get a dose of love and care from their human friend on a typical day, it’ll start ripping them apart slowly from within. Just adopting a little budgie is not enough. You’ll become a parent only after rendering parental love and care to your little family member. Ignorance can make any being feel lonely and budgies are no exception.

Change in cage position

Changing your budgie’s cage from where it has always been can make them feel lonely. Think of it this way: How would you feel if your parents shift you to another room. It could be a bigger and better room but you won’t feel emotionally connected to it. This holds for your little birdie too. Shifting his cage means shifting him to an altogether new home.

Death of cage companion

More often than not, budgies are adopted in pairs by many parents keeping in mind the fact that they are flock birds. The basic thought behind this is to keep the birds company at all times. This pair sleep together and eat together and hence, forms an unbreakable bond. In such a case, if any of the birds from the pair dies, the other one gets disheartened and a sense of loneliness looms thereon.

Losing favorite toy

Sometimes losing a toy equates to losing a companion. Remember, in childhood, when we couldn’t find our little doll, how we felt? We didn’t want to eat or sleep without it. Our minds used to get fogged by the pain of its loss. All we wanted was our doll we can’t live without. This happens with budgies also. Losing a favorite toy is a great pain for them to handle.

Signs of a lonely budgie

Just like humans, when budgies feel lonely, it gets evident from some clear or a few subtle actions. All you have to do is to watch out for these signs to arrest the problem in the beginning and not let slip your birdie into depression.

• Your budgie will start plucking feathers.
• Loneliness, like in humans, leads to loss of appetite.
• There may be a change in his droppings.
• He’ll get irritable day by day as he just wants to be alone now.
• His vocalization will change and will lack the usual enthusiasm.

Cure your lonely budgie

Though a situation of a lonely budgie pet shouldn’t arise in the first place, if it has, bringing back your budgie to life is solely your responsibility. Even if your schedule is jam-packed, you would find great options to beat his loneliness on this list.

Netflix and chill

All of our life is hectic but at the need of the day, we all simply unwind by watching our favorite TV show. Make this a ‘me-time’ with your budgie by letting him out of the cage onto your shoulders or lap.

Show-time behind your back

If you have a work commitment where you stay out of home for long hours, your budgie would be home alone. The best way not to let him feel lonely is to switch on the TV and keep his cage in front of it. All the cartoons and new faces would keep him entertained from afar.

Set a routine

Loneliness sets in when we have no purpose in our lives. Setting a routine lends meaning to our loneliness. Your budgie might be feeling lonely for the same reason. Set a fixed routine which he can look forward to. A proper feeding time, bathing time, playing time will get him excited about the activities to do in the day.

Get them a lot of toys

Budgies have the brain of a small baby and babies are fascinated by toys. It keeps them entertained. Get your budgies ample toys of varied shapes, sizes, and colors to keep them company. They love sparkly and shiny toys with mirrors or bells.

Get him a companion

Though this should be a last resort, if your budgie is feeling way too lonely, you can consider getting him a cage mate. A bird of the same species is the preferred option as your budgie will feel connected to the new member. Try to keep the new bird in a separate cage adjoining your budgie’s cage. Once they’ve become comfortable with each other’s presence, they can be encaged together.

Final Words

Being with your budgie all the time is not impossible. We all are so busy in our lives. We have so many things to do and so many other relationships to make us happy. But, for our little budgie, it’s only us. If we don’t give him the love and care we impliedly promised him while bringing him home, we shouldn’t have given him the hopes of becoming a loving companion in the first place. And if we took the task, it’s our responsibility to keep him happy. And it ain’t that difficult either.