Destructive behavior in budgies often signifies that they are unhappy with their environment or are intimidated by someone or something around them.
It also means that they aren’t receiving sufficient mental stimulation to keep their minds engaged.
That is why it’s very important to spend quality time with your little budgie and make sure they have plenty of toys in their cage
Why Does My Budgie Chew Everything?
Chewing is common in the avian world, where budgies use their ‘power of beak’ to conduct their day-to-day tasks.
Budgies have continuously growing beaks that need to be trimmed from time to time to keep them healthy and going.
An overgrown beak can cause several health problems such as trauma, developmental abnormalities, nutritional imbalances, polyomavirus-like infections, or liver disease.
That’s why chewing is essential for budgies!
It is nature’s way of keeping a budgie’s beak fit and trim.
Budgies carry out most of the tasks such as eating, climbing, preening, defense, and nest building using their beaks.
So, as budgie parents, it is our responsibility to give them enough opportunities to chew and keep the size of their fast-growing beak in check!
When budgies don’t get the suitable objects to chew by their owners, they gladly find their chewable items such as furniture, doors, window sill, chair, and wooden showpieces within their new homes.
And that’s how they end up chewing everything in the house!
Don’t let your budgie go to this extent!
Chewing dangerous items in the house, such as toxic plants and vegetables, or electrical cords, can cause your budgies some severe consequences or may even kill them.
You cant stop your budgie from chewing, but you can definitely channel this energy towards more appropriate and safe objects like:
- Destructible Wood And Leather Chew Toys
- Foraging Toys
- Hard Shell Nuts
- Natural Perches
- Calcium Blocks Or Cuttlebone
Chewing these objects isn’t only safe, but it is also a source of entertainment for budgies that keep them engaged for a reasonable amount of time.
These chewing outlets also help budgies burn off some energy and keep themselves physically and emotionally fit!
How Do I Stop My Budgie from Making a Mess?
Budgies are beautiful birds, but they make huge messes.
I am sure all budgie owners would agree!
Throwing food around their cages, splashing in their water dishes, and plucking and scattering their feathers around the room are just a few things they do.
While we see it as a mess, they see it as different ways of having fun.
You obviously cannot stop your budgies from creating a mess, but you can minimize it.
Try these tried & tested measures to reduce your time cleaning up your budgies’ messes.
Re-evaluate Your Cage
Consider upgrading your budgie’s new home.
That may make your ‘cleaning the mess journey less stressful.
Place your budgies in a slanted bottom panels cage.
The leftover food will slide down onto the bottom tray of the cage and not on the floor, keeping your floor clean and mess-free.
Buy a cage with sliding metal trays so that all the waste goes into that, and then you can remove the tray and empty it according to your convenience.
Install a very tall cage.
Budgies usually like perching on the top side of the cage.
Place their food and water at the bottom.
The more distance between where your budgie perches and eats, the less chance of food being scattered inside the cage, causing a mess!
Check out my article – Best large cage for budgies
Aid With Add-ons
If you don’t want to buy a new cage and continue using the existing one, you can surely do that.
You can simply add things to your current cage and reduce the chances of mess and consequently your workload.
Place thick layers of newspapers under your cage.
Tear and remove the top layer as it gets messy.
Wrap a seed catcher around your cage.
They come in different varieties.
Nylon mesh nets are most recommended as they are affordable.
The seed catcher acts as a shield and blocks all the seeds from coming out on the surface.
Use a disposable mat or a piece of cloth that you can dump every time your budgie spills food and creates a mess.
If your feathered friend is fond of splashing into its water bowl, try using a thick fabric that absorbs the water and keeps water from being tracked around the house.
Clean Smarter, Not Harder
You love your budgie, but we know you have more essential errands to run than cleaning your budgies’ waste.
Make your life easier and simpler by adopting intelligent ways to handle your pet’s mess.
Use a handheld vacuum to clean remove even the tiniest bits of seeds that the regular brooms would miss.
Buy a robot vacuum if you can afford it.
Instruct it to clean your budgie’s cage twice or thrice a day and spare yourself of cleaning the mess yourself.
Change The Way He Eats
A small change in your budgies’ meals can make a huge difference for you and significantly reduce your workload of handling the mess.
Replace the seed with pellets.
Not only are pellets less messy than seeds, but they are also highly beneficial for your budgies.
Most veterinarians recommend inserting them in your budgies’ regular diet.
Avoid bananas and strawberries.
Both of these fruits are mushy and create a lot of mess.
If your budgie insists on having them, give them in moderate quantities and make sure to clean the mess immediately.
Can A Budgie Go Crazy?
Sure, they can!
Budgerigars are found in open habitats, primarily in scrub-lands, open woodlands, and grasslands of Australia.
When people capture them and keep them in their cages, several budgies don’t accept this change very well.
The bridled boundaries of the cage depress them.
They feel suffocated and lonely without their flock-mates and go crazy!
You can tell your budgies have lost it if they do the following bizarre action:
- Squawking To the Top Of Their Voices
- Frantically Digging
- Hurriedly Flapping Their Wings
- Self-Mutation
How Do You Tell If Your Budgie Is Stressed?
Unlike humans, budgies can’t interact.
They express their emotions through certain behaviors.
The following behaviors and actions imply that your feathered friend suffers from stress.
- Biting
- Screaming
- Decreased Vocalization
- Feather picking
- Self-mutilation
- Decreased appetite