Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 12/8/2007

Question
Hi Chrys, I have a female albino budgie and she's only young, about 9 or 10 months old. Well the problem is, in the last few weeks she's started chewing on absolutely anything, mainly the bars on her cage. She chewing all the paint off and she's always doing it, and as the bars are metal it makes a rather loud annoying noise and she does it relentlessly. We always make sure she's got plenty of shell grit and cuttlefish but it makes no difference! She's also got plenty of toys and things to play with, like a ladder, swing, ball with a bell etc. And we always make sure she's got plenty of food and clean water. We clean her cage regularly and we just can't understand why all of a sudden she's doing this! Are we doing something wrong or has she just developed an annoying habit? How do we get her to stop? Please help!!

Answer
Hi, Emily,

My first concern is the paint your bird is chewing off the metal cage.  If this paint is toxic, it can harm your bird.  Please check into the type of paint used for the cage and, if necessary, purchase a different cage made of bird-safe paint.  If the bird has been chewing this paint for some time, it could be toxic paint that is causing your bird to behave in this manner.

Also, it's part of a bird's behavior to chew on things.  This is normal.  Chewing satisfies a need bird's have.  Chewing on things also helps keep the bird's beak trimmed down.  Do not offer your bird grit...parrots (your budgie is a parrot) don't need grit.  Only birds that don't hull their seed/grain need grit.  Grit can impact in your budgie's crop, which requires surgery to correct.  Cuttlebone provides supplemental calcium...not really a chew toy.  Perhaps your budgie needs some toys that she can chew on/chew up.  Try offering some soft wood or tree branch your bird can chew on, in addition to some toys she can chew.  

What type of diet is your bird on?  Improper diet can result in behavior like you describe, particularly if your bird is on an all-seed diet.  Also, a cage that is too small can result in behavior problems.  Do you spend time with your bird?  This might also be part of the problem...perhaps she needs more of your attention on a daily basis.  

Think of what might have been going on in your bird's environment at the time this problem started.  Often times, something in the bird's environment has changed that creates an annoying habit.  If you can figure out what might have changed, then you can fix the problem.  Something like someone pestering the bird, changing furniture around, new paint on the walls, cage location change, someone moving out/moving in, etc.  In order to resolve the problem, you need to try and figure out what started the problem to begin with.

Chrys