Discover The Top 9 Adorable Secrets To Keep Your Budgie Happy & Healthy – #8 Will Surprise You!

As you’re interested in “cute ways to make your budgie happy”, I’m assuming that you’ve got a budgie at home or at least seeking to get one. 

Aside from the obvious reason that you’d want your pet to be the happiest bird ever, happiness is also necessary for a budgie’s well-being.

How so?

Well, sadness affects a budgie kinda how it strikes a human. 

Similarly, a sad budgie is likely to experience a loss of activity and appetite as well as a general indifference to its preening and beak sharpening schedule. 

Such a budgie may also randomly scream, hiss, or chew on its feathers. 

All these changes usually weaken the budgie’s immune system. 

Also, if sadness persists for months, it may even shorten your bird’s life span. 

This is precisely why a well-loved happy budgie is likely to outlive 15 years but a sad budgie may not even see its 4th hatch day. 

Luckily, you can avoid all this by simply keeping your bird happy.

So, I present to you: 

The Ultimate Guide to Making Your Budgie Happy – These 9 Cute Tips Will Have Them Singing with Joy!

Here’re some simple tips to make your budgie the happiest pet ever: 

1. Get a Playmate

Guess what’s cuter than one budgie? Well,…two budgies. 

I get it that you’d want to have just one bird and frankly, I do support the idea as long as you’re willing to spend a lot of quality time with your budgie.

After all, budgies are social birds that naturally live in a flock of hundreds of birds.

In fact, they crave it to the point that a lonely budgie may garner an unhealthy obsession with mirror toys just to have a sense of connection.  

Now, you may be that introvert who prefers solitude but that shouldn’t hinder you from letting your budgie have a social life.

You don’t want chicks? Don’t get a couple! 

But you can still get two budgies of the same gender. 

You’d be amazed how much two budgies can entertain each other as well as ‘you’ as an observer. 

It gets stupidly ‘cute’ because budgies are quite mischievous little birdies. 

They’ll poke each other, cuddle and huddle together, have little budgie run-around-the-cage tournaments, jam along to favorite tunes, or bicker over trivia like swings & sitting arrangements. 

Also, they’ll keep each other company while you’re away.

So, that’s a win-win. 

We go into more detail in a separate article we wrote

Double the Fun: Why Getting a Second Budgie is the Best Decision You’ll Make!

2. Set up a Spacious Cage

While the idea of a large cage may not sound ‘adorable’ at first but you’ve to imagine a little budgie living lavishly in a ‘mansion’ with lots of space to have everything from a kitchen and master bedroom to a gym section, swimming pool, conservatory, home cinema, and sauna.  

Now, I’m not saying you’ve to build a ‘palace’ for your budgie to make it happy. I’m merely pointing out that this ‘posh’ lifestyle for your budgie is only possible if you have a big enough cage. 

After all, only a roomy cage can allow a bird to have lots of toys, exercises, and most importantly, safe flight. 

But how big a cage? 

Well, as big as you can get but at least 18” wide x18” long x18” high for one budgie.

That said, a fancy cage may look cute to you but it may not be the most comfortable for your bird.

So, I’d suggest you get a plain design and decorate it with cute budgie toys.

Check out our recommendation for large budgie cage by clicking the link below

Budgie Paradise: These 5 Large Cages Will Have Your Feathered Friend Living in Luxury!

This brings us to the next tip:

3. Provide ‘Cute’ Toys

Getting ‘adorable’ toys to make your budgie happy sounds like an obvious tip. 

But cuteness is a subjective term and so, toys you find endearing may not be the most attractive or suitable toys for your budgie.

For instance, you may find plush toys ‘cute’ but their stuffing may be toxic for your budgie.

Even if that’s not the case, the plush toy will become a storeroom for harmful fungal spores and bacterial infections. 

You may also find vintage and dull-colored toys befitting your ‘refined taste’, but a budgie is likely to find gaudy and bright-colored toys ‘cute’. 

I suppose that won’t be an issue as most commercial bird toys have flashy colors. 

So, it’s safe to assume that your budgie will be pretty much happy with any of the regular bird toys you bring home including shredding toys, bells, climbing ladders, bird kabobs, ropes, and different-sized perches.

However, it’s not like you can’t have toys that both you and your budgie find “Cute”.

For instance, I find slinky perches awfully adorable because budgies wiggle their way through hoops and they make a tiny little ‘queue’ when they do it. 

I think budgies find it enjoyable too because every budgie that walks the entire length of a slinky usually climbs back up from the other side.

Also, there’s something very sweet about two budgies trying to wrestle in and then, finally sharing a coconut swing. 

But that’s just me, most budgie keepers find Intelligence-training toys as the cutest way to make a budgie happy.

So, I’d suggest you get your budgie some puzzles, rotating toys, basketball or ringtoss playstations, hoops, and skateboards. 

That said, certain budgie toys are relatively expensive and kinda useless.

But we still get them because they’re pretty and make ‘us’ happy.

For instance, your budgie can live happily without budgie-sized vanity, chairs, supermarket trollies, beds, spectacles as well as nail-trimming perches. 

But your budgie may not live happily without your attention.

This brings us to: 

4. Spend One-on-One Quality Time 

Being flocking birds, budgies thrive on social interaction.

Therefore, your one-on-one session will definitely give your budgie immense satisfaction. 

I recommend you fix specific hours on a daily basis to spend time with your bird. 

You can use this time to teach your budgie some tricks through positive reinforcement.

The idea is that you treat the bird with its favorite food or a gentle massage every time it listens to your command. 

Gradually, your budgie will start doing tricks on your ‘cues’ such as:

1. Stepping onto your finger, hand, and arms.
2. Spinning or turning around.
3. Doing a high-five, wave, hand-shake, or fist-bump. 
4. Performing a head bob or a nod.
5. Repeating phrases such as ‘Pick-a-boo’, ‘Whee’, or ‘Good Morning’.

But I find ‘Drop dead on gun cue’ to be the most enchanting trick.

It’s not just that a small bird faking death on a gunshot signal looks funny, but also because the trick manifests how the keeper had patiently invested significant hours in training the bird.

However, you don’t have to make all of your one-on-one time with your budgie a school lesson. 

Instead, you can just go with the flow. Talk to your budgie, gently stroke it, let it walk all over you, and feed it its favorite treats. It’ll be happy that way.

Check out our article – Unlock the Secret to Winning Your Budgie’s Heart – These Cute Tips Will Make Them Love You!

Besides, you can make your budgie happy without being in the same room using the next tip:

5. Introduce Playful Foraging 

A wild budgie spends most of its waking hours looking for food.

That means for your budgie to experience healthy stimulation, it must struggle to find food.

So, you can make your budgie happy by turning its lunch into a fun activity by:

1. Changing the location of food containers within the cage.
2. Putting up different food materials at different corners.
3. Installing treat-dispensing boxes in the cage where the bird has to put its beak inside various holes to find food. 
4. Embedding the bird’s favorite treats amid shredding toys. 

This way, the bird will have to use all its mental and physical skills to explore different objects within the cage.

And so, it’ll be a thrilling experience. 

But here’re a few things to remember:

1. A budgie may not explore all the objects within the cage. Therefore, the bird may not eat everything and suffer malnutrition. So, it’s best to keep track of the consumed food’s quantity. 
2. A good measure would be to hide food only in one spot at a given time. So, your budgie eats it all. Alternatively, you can feed the bird its lunch at a regular site and only hide the bird’s favorite snacks during your one-on-one session. 
3. Make sure the food your bird eats is healthy and fresh. So, I’d avoid hiding vegetables that may wilt in a few hours but would definitely hide bird seeds.
4. Finally, food that you find delicious may not be healthy for your budgie. So, don’t give your bird toxic foods like avocado, chocolate, or caffeine. 

6. Bring in Soundand Entertainment

Budgies are songbirds with an exceptional ability to mimic sounds.

So, you can entertain your budgie by letting it listen to various vocals.

I recommend you play commercially available Budgie soundtracks.

These include various kinds of chirps, bells, and chimes, as well as natural soothing sounds like water drops, flowing rivers, rustling trees, and falling leaves.  

7. Allow Out-of-Cage Flight 

Flight is a healthy activity that will make your bird incredibly happy. 

But there’s no such thing as an out-of-cage ‘free flight’. It’s just you bird-proofing a room and letting your bird stretch its wings under your supervision. 

The bird-proofing will require switching off fans & extra tube lights, closing off doors, windows, and vents as well as covering mirrors, and removing anything sharp, toxic, or harmful like exposed electric wiring, plants, or non-stick pans away from the bird.

A better idea would be to set up a safe bird room where the budgie lives within the cage. So, all you’ve to do is close the door to bird-proof the room. 

Such a room can be decorated with multiple perching spots and toys to allow the budgie maximum freedom within an enclosed space.

However, an exclusive bird room may be an impractical perk for certain breeders. 

But worry not, you can make your budgie happy through the next tip in the list:

8. Arrange Budgie Picnics and Spa Days

By budgie picnics, I literally mean taking the cage out of your house and letting your bird breathe fresh air.

Some breeders make this picnic more exciting by using those cutesy bird harnesses to let their budgie have some out-of-cage and outdoor flight enjoyment.

Now, I do think that bird harnesses are safe and people using them are awesome.

But the idea kinda gives me slight anxiety. 

So, what I’d do is combine a picnic day with a bird spa day.

That means letting your budgie enjoy itself say 1-2 hours in a cage outdoors and then providing it with a shallow bowl of kale leaves soaked in lukewarm water. 

I know it sounds kinda dumb but a bird bath relaxes the budgie’s muscles after a day out. Even if it doesn’t, your bird usually appreciates it.

But wonder what’s actually dumb? Well, you lighting a few fragrant candles to make your bird spa ‘exquisite’. It’s partly because your bird is not your ‘date’ but mostly because the candle fumes are extremely toxic for a budgie. 

However, if you’re up for a few ‘bird spa specials’ I suggest you clip your budgie’s nails. 

Also, if you’ve too much time on your hand (which I don’t), you can try to help preen your budgie by gently removing large chunks of dirt – even though that’s kinda going overboard but it may be a way to strengthen your bond with your bird. 

That said, some budgie keepers make this outdoor picnic a “Take your budgie to a bird party”.

While I find this party exciting, such places are not risk-free as you cannot have all the budgies checked up for an infection – unless your vet arranges the party.

But if you do decide to take your budgie to another budgie’s place, just make sure the two don’t share a cage or food. 

9. Create Personalized Privileges

If this is your first time caring for a budgie, you may have assumed that all budgies behave in a set pattern.

However, each budgie is born with a unique personality. 

That means things that excite one budgie may disturb another and vice versa. 

So, some budgies will love to cuddle but others may prefer alone time. Some may sing along to your every phrase yet others may just wanna play with their toys. 

But if you spend enough time with your budgie, you’ll know what makes it particularly happy.

Then, you can create an exclusive trick just for that one budgie.

For instance, I’ve seen a budgie that preferred walking over flying.

So, his owner trained the bird to walk like some bird royalty whenever he called the bird “Your Highness”. 

I’ve also seen a budgie that loved to fly through hoops. And so, its keeper hung several bird-sized hoops not just inside the cage but also on his room’s ceiling. 

Then, I’ve also met an owner that would let her budgie walk all over her arms and then, get the bird to a peck on her cheek.  

This reminds me that things that make you and your budgie happy may not be safe. 

For example kissing your budgie

Having said that, let’s address the question that has just popped up: 

Is It Okay To Kiss Your Budgie?

While it’s tempting and sounds very ‘cute’. But it’s unsafe and so, it’s definitely not okay to kiss your budgie. 

Now, we all know that certain someone who seems to have a perfect budgie relationship where he kisses his budgies a lot and yet, nothing tragic has happened so far.

But I’ll remind you that budgies are birds and you are human.

So, your intermingling is not natural at all.

Also, the last I checked a small germ that escaped some bat or another animal had us all locked up in our houses. 

So, here’re a few reasons why not to kiss your budgie:

1. Potential Infections

Budgies can carry various fungal or bacterial infections that can transfer to humans. 

A common example is Chlamydia psittaci which can transfer from budgies to humans and cause ‘psittacosis’ which manifests as fever and pneumonia in humans.

2. Prey Instincts

Budgies are prey birds and their life depends on not getting a ‘breathtaking kiss’ from a hawk or a snake. So, you being a big “Hooman” and wanting to express that love through kisses may cause the budgie chronic stress and therefore, sickness.  

3. Accidental Injury

Perhaps, your budgie adores you to the point they actually love pecking you on your lips. But what’s the guarantee that your bird won’t randomly bite you? 

Obviously, you trust your bird and are very ready to risk a bleeding lip. 

But what’s your plan to deal with that sudden pain that may cause you to reflexively let go or squeeze that biting bird? So, I’ll have you remember that your budgie is so tiny that it fits your hand. And so, even slight pressure from your hand may hurt the bird. 

So, it’s best you don’t kiss that budgie at all.

So far, I’ve discussed cute and safe ways to make your budgie happy but how’d you know these are actually working? 

Is Your Budgie Thriving or Just Surviving? These 6 Signs Will Reveal Their True Happiness!

As each budgie has a unique personality, therefore its expression of being happy may vary from other budgies. 

So, the best way to tell if your budgie is truly happy is to…directly ask the bird. Kidding.

Here’re a few signs that may indicate your budgie is a happy one.

1. Active and Engaged

A happy budgie is an active bird that keeps engaging with its environment. 

And so, if your budgie is swinging around, hopping casually, hanging upside down, and stretching its muscles regularly, then odds are the budgie is happy. 

2. Cheery Vocalization

While some budgies prefer sitting in silence, most become cheery when they’re happy. 

So, if your budgie chirps and sings a lot, repeat the phrases you talk around them, whistle and even laugh in their budgie tone, then it’s likely a happy bird. 

3. Vibrant and Tidy Appearance

A happy budgie tends to regularly preen its feathers and maintain its beak shape. So, if your budgie looks well-groomed and has sleek feathers then it’s likely leading a pleasant life. 

4. Beak Clicking and Head Bobbing

A satisfied budgie expresses its joy through beak clicking and headbobbing. So, if your budgie is showing such symptoms then it’s likely a happy budgie. 

That said, Head bobbing may also be a sign of hunger. This brings us to the next sign:

5. Regular Appetite and Regurgitation

Since a happy budgie remains active throughout the day, it’ll have a good appetite. Such a budgie will also show enthusiasm when presented with its favorite treats. But it will also frequently regurgitate its food. 

While we don’t fully understand why a budgie regurgitates, scientists suggest that a healthy budgie regurgitates its favorite food to try and regrow it by spreading its seeds. 

6. Relaxed Body Posture

A happy budgie has a comfortable yet erect posture that exudes alertness. Its wings are not droopy and its neck is not bent. Also, such a budgie doesn’t have puffy feathers.

Looking at all these signs of happiness, you may be curious to know: 

Is Your Budgie Moping Around? Discover the 6 Surprising Signs of Budgie Sadness You Need to Know!

Just as the expression of joy varies among individual birds, a budgie may show its sadness in its own way. But here’re a few common signs to watch out for:

1. Excessive Biting and Screaming

Though biting and screaming are pretty normal amid the breeding season. But a surge in these behaviors outside the mating season may be a sign of fear, stress, or sadness.

2. Decreased Vocalization

While some budgies vocalize their pain through shouting, most sad parakeets tend to suffer in silence. Sometimes, a sad budgie does chirp regularly but its sound either softens or loses its usual vigor. 

3. Inactivity and Irregular Appetite

A depressed budgie loses the motivation to stay active or exercise. And so, it also loses its appetite. So, if a budgie doesn’t touch its meal or eats less than the normal amount, it may be sad or distressed. 

Such a budgie will show little to no interest in its favorite treats. 

A sad budgie may also try to conceal its pain by pretending to eat. So, always keep an eye on the food containers to see if your budgie is eating properly. 

4. Unkempt Appearance and Self-mutilation 

A definite sign of sadness and stress in a budgie is its untidy appearance. 

It’s because a sad budgie no longer finds meaning in preening or cleaning itself. Its tense and unused muscles may cause it to have stress bars. 

Odds are it won’t bother to even maintain its beak’s sharpness and so, it will also have an overgrown beak. It may also start to chew its body and self-mutilate. 

5. Changes in Body Language

A sad budgie usually has a hunched body posture with droopy wings and puffy feathers. Also, such a budgie often tries to evade eye contact. 

6. Other Signs

While most depressed budgies tend to sit in corners and become lethargic, a sad budgie may also express its restlessness in other ways. These include:

1. Hissing and lunging
2. Withdrawal from owner by hiding behind toys and bars.
3. More territorial for its space.
4. Pacing around the cage for hours
5. Abnormal droppings

Since signs of sadness in a budgie overlap with bird sickness, therefore, if your pet appears sad then it’s best to see a vet immediately.

But if your budgie is indeed sad, you’d wanna help it.

In that case, you’d wanna know the cause behind a budgie’s sadness.

So, 

What Makes a Budgie Sad?

Here’re a few things that commonly cause budgie sadness:

1. Insufficient Social Interaction: 

Budgies are flocking birds and so, it’s unnatural for them to spend a lot of time sitting alone in a cage. Therefore, if a budgie doesn’t have enough regular contact with you or another winged companion, it’s likely to feel sad.

2. Lack of Stimulation: 

Wild budgies spend most of their time looking for food, mate, or nesting arrangements. And so, they’ve enough mental stimulation to keep them moving. 

But a human takes care of all of those needs for a pet budgie. 

Therefore, domesticated budgies have nothing motivating them to activity. And so, if such a budgie doesn’t get enough interactive toys or physical activities, it’s likely to suffer boredom and eventually sadness. 

3. Flight Deprivation

Small cages offer little to no flight opportunities. Since flying to budgies is as essential as walking is to humans. Therefore, a lack of flight activity may cause the budgie to suffer sadness. 

4. Changes in Surroundings

Budgies are extremely sensitive to their environment.  So much so, that even a small disturbance to their surroundings may cause the budgie to suffer stress and sadness. These changes may include:

1. Moving the cage to a different room, or shifting to a new house. 
2. Change of cage, repainting of walls or ceilings of bird room.
3. Presence of an odd-looking object near the budgie’s cage.
4. Loud noises
5. Presence of a predator or a new pet like a cat or a dog in the cage’s vicinity.

5. Loss of a Companion

Budgies that lose a mate or flock member may suffer severe sadness. However, hand-tamed budgies that lose connection with their keeper may also become depressed. 

That said, a budgie can become jealous if their favorite “Hooman” pays more attention to other pets. This may also cause irritation or minor signs of sadness in that budgie. 

So depending on what caused your budgie to be sad, you can help it by:

1. Introducing another mate.
2. Spending more quality time with your bird.
3. Reducing shrill sounds around your bird. 
4. Taking the bird to new places.
5. Bringing in new toys.
6. Encouraging the budgie to try new foods.

Wrapping Up

Everything a budgie does appears endearing and so, anything you do to make it happy is bound to look cute.

I hope this article answered all your questions regarding how to evaluate if your budgie is happy or sad as well as ‘cute ways to make your budgie happy’.