Budgies are very playful social birds who love to play with their owners but when they become aggressive and start biting you then pet owners start wondering the reasons for this behavior.
We will delve into this aggressive behavior of budgie biting and inform you about all the reasons why they do it and how to prevent them from biting.
Budgies are beautiful and colorful feathered pet birds who love to play around however they sometimes become aggressive due to some factors such as fear, defense, fatigue, territorial, play, hormonal changes, unsuitable environment, and much more.
Why Your Budgie is Biting You?
Before you learn why your budgie is biting you, you must first distinguish between biting and pecking. Pecking from your budgie is just a playful thing similar to biting but that does not hurt or pierce through the skin and open a wound.
If your budgies are just pecking at you with their beak then remember it is a good thing. Your budgie is just playing with you.
Budgies are naturally social and playful creatures but if they start biting you then you must understand the reasons before it is too late as we do not want your budgie to keep repeating this habit where you stop spending time with them.
Possible causes of budgie bite are as follow,
Brought a New Budgie
Always remember that the new budgie you just brought to your home is skittish due to the new environment. You need to give them enough time before they settle and get familiar with you. If you start getting friendly with the new budgie then you might get bitten as your budgie is not yet friendly with you.
You need to learn how to tame a budgie before you start to play with it.
Your Budgie is Being Defensive
Your Budgie might become defensive if they do not approve of you as a friend yet. You should gently grow your friendship with your budgie by using treats and gently talking to it.
Your Budgie is Tired
Many a time when your budgie is tired due to sleepless nights then your budgie will not be in a mood to play with you this is why it will bite you to communicate that it is not the right time.
You need to understand how to provide restful sleepy nights to your budgie by reading the below posts.
Do You Need To Cover A Budgies Cage At Night
Can Birds Sleep with Led Lights?
Budgies are Territorial
Budgies sometimes think that you are interfering in their space by touching their favorite toys or touching their food bowls so this is natural and you just need to understand their behavior however tamed budgies do not bite you as they have approved you as a friend.
Your Budgie is Just Playing with You
Sometimes your budgie will bite you while playing with you and this is not an attack or aggressive behavior. You must dig deep and understand why they think that biting is ok while playing. This only happens when you do not take action against it and signal your disappointment against biting.
Hormonal Changes in Female Budgies Turns Tamed to Untamed
Many pet bird owners wonder when their tamed budgies start biting suddenly. You need to understand that female budgies are going through hormonal changes and this is why they will start biting you and even start fighting with their partner in the cage as well.
Your Budgie Might be Disturbed by the Environment
Neglecting the living conditions of our feathered friends can lead to unwanted behavior, as overcrowded environments with humans, children, and other pets such as cats or dogs can cause budgies to become agitated and display aggressive tendencies, including biting.
Improper Diet
If you are not providing a proper diet to your budgies then your budgies might start showing aggressive tendencies towards you and might bite you as well.
How Do You Punish a Budgie for Biting?
You do not need to punish a budgie from biting you but you need to address this behavior gently showing disappointment towards this behavior,
For example, if you are playing with your budgie and it bites you then you should gently say “No biting” and then stop playing with it for a few seconds. You should also repeat this process multiple times until your budgie understand that this behavior is not acceptable.
You can also stop feeding them their favorite treat for a few minutes if they bite so they can understand that biting is not acceptable.
How Do I Get My Bird to Stop Biting?
As mentioned above you can see the possible factors of budgie biting then you must start to address the issues such as,
New Budgie Will Bite you out of Fear
As mentioned earlier, a new budgie needs to get familiar with the new home and you and then you will start to create a bond with it after that it will stop biting you.
Defensive Budgie
If your budgie is being defensive then you should give them space and wait for the time when they start socializing with you.
Tired Budgie
If your budgie is not sleeping enough then it will start showing aggression to you by biting. You should provide restful sleep to your budgie and place the cage in a room where there is no noise when they are sleepy.
Hormonal Changes
If you think that your budgies are going through hormonal changes as they are growing then you should accept this behavior temporarily as this is their basic instinct to protect themselves and their babies.
Bird Room Should not be Overcrowded
If there are kids or other pets such as dogs and cats then your budgie will start getting anxious due to the fear and might get disturbed by the crowd therefore you should shift your bird cage where your birds will stay peacefully.
Improper Diet
Improper diet impacts your bird’s behavior and even weakens its immune system as well then you should learn how to provide proper nutrients to your budgies. Even though this blog is for feed for breeding budgies however this is also relevant to normal budgies who have not started to breed yet.