Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 12/25/2007

Question
hi i have a couple of questions about my budgies
first, i would always spend time with my birds by having some spray millet in my hand and they would come and sit on my hand. i've been noticing that my budgies would sometimes make choking noises. kind of like short gasps or hiccups. they would make the noises for a few minutes and then they would be themselves again. what were they doing? did they need water?
second, the newspaper i lay on the bottom of the cage looked torn and eaten. even , lets say, 'messy parts' of the paper. it was my females cage. why was she doing this?
third, what are some ways to build trust between me and my birds? we are at the stage where they can easily come to sit on my hand when there is spray millet, and only sometimes sit on my finger if i push their belly.
lastly, my budgies would freak out randomly in the middle of the day. they would be chirping and flyinf crazily inside their cages. and i didnt even do anything! it was just random. why do they do this?
thanks

Answer
Hi, Rockerfeller,

Merry Christmas!

I'm not exactly sure what your birds were doing when they were eating the spray millet, but yes, they may need water.  Birds usually take a drink after eating seed because the seed is so dry.  

Your bird may be attempting to make a nest from the newspaper in her cage and/or she may be eating her droppings.  Some birds eat their droppings if they lack in certain vitamins/minerals.  You'll need to investigate exactly what she might be doing by observing her carefully so you can try to get to the bottom of what she might be doing.  In addition, if your bird was hungry and she didn't have any food available and there was food in the cage bottom, she might be eating food from the cage floor.

Building trust between you and your birds is a process that takes time.  Don't do anything to scare your birds or make them fear you for any reason, such as trying to force them out of their cage(s), making quick moves around them that scare them, grabbing them around their bodies, etc.  Spend as much time with them as you can in order to show them you mean them no harm.  

Your bird's freaking out inside their cage doesn't have to be something caused by you.  Birds can see and hear much more than we can.  If they are located by a window, perhaps they are being frightened by something outside that they see.  Since birds don't have any conception of glass in a window, what they see outside can get to them in their minds.  For example, if they see a cat outside their window, as far as the bird's know, that cat can get to them!  They may hear a loud noise you don't hear that frightens them.  Often times at night, birds hear/see things that we don't that frighten them and they have night frights (such as car headlights).  You have to put yourself in your bird's shoes, see things from their perspective in order to understand why they do some of the things they do.  If you have other animals in the house or kids, etc., either of these can frighten birds.  Something on TV or the radio, etc., can also be frightening to your birds if they are not used to these things.    

Chrys