Video Tips to stop nipping?

[Zoepr143]

I’ve been observing the behavior of my three new budgies and they seem to be nipping at each other. For example if one of them is playing with a toy, and another comes ‘too close’ they will nip. It’s not constantly though but it is a problem. The three of them have been in the same cage with each other for ~5 months.

Then there is also the yellow-green female who bites the blue-yellow male’s tail. I saw it for the first time this morning. I managed to capture their behavior but I’m not able to upload the video for some reason, so here is a picture of his tail

Should i put one of them in a different cage or is there a way i can prevent this behavior?

Edit: oops I forgot to change the ‘video’ tag sorry

 

[MiniMacaw]

How big is their current cage? I ask because when I got my three budgies they came to me in a small cage and they squabbled over anything and everything. Once I got them into their flight cage, where they could each retreat to their own area and decompress, they stopped. They still cuddle up together on a perch but they always have the option of flying away to a different area to prevent a squabble now.

 

[JLcribber]

You have an "odd" number of birds in one cage (two's company, three's a crowd) Problem #1. The cage is way too small for that many birds Problem#2.

 

[Zoepr143]

How big is their current cage? I ask because when I got my three budgies they came to me in a small cage and they squabbled over anything and everything. Once I got them into their flight cage, where they could each retreat to their own area and decompress, they stopped. They still cuddle up together on a perch but they always have the option of flying away to a different area to prevent a squabble now.

You have an "odd" number of birds in one cage (two's company, three's a crowd) Problem #1. The cage is way too small for that many birds Problem#2.

I got these three in this cage on sunday, the family who had them were allergic and i took them in. I have have a bigger cage that I’m getting soon so don’t worry! And I don’t want to put kiwi into their cage yet since it’s too small for four budgies, and they haven’t gotten used to each other yet. When the bigger cage arrives will the nipping go away @MiniMacaw ? And @JLcribber will their behavior show improvement if i add kiwi and have them all together in the larger cage? For the record I want this cage Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch : Birdcages : Pet Supplies
And these are their cages now:

 

[MiniMacaw]

I got these three in this cage on sunday, the family who had them were allergic and i took them in. I have have a bigger cage that I’m getting soon so don’t worry! And I don’t want to put kiwi into their cage yet since it’s too small for four budgies, and they haven’t gotten used to each other yet. When the bigger cage arrives will the nipping go away @MiniMacaw ? And @JLcribber will their behavior show improvement if i add kiwi and have them all together in the larger cage? For the record I want this cage Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch : Birdcages : Pet Supplies
And these are their cages now:
View attachment 259544

I can’t say if the nipping will for sure go away once the new larger cage arrives but I do know the new cage is nessesary. For such small birds budgies are very energetic and have such a propensity to be quarrelsome with each other that they need a cage that allows them their own space.

Hopefully with the new space of a flight cage they will start to feel more comfortable and less likely to feel the need to protect every inch of cage as their own.
I’ve also noticed with my budgies that out of cage time is really helpful. My three get free flight daily and they use every second of it lol. Budgies are so tightly wound that getting excercise is really important to their mental well-being. They’re much more likely to be relaxed around each other when they know they get to burn off that steam every day.

 

[JLcribber]

will their behavior show improvement if i add kiwi and have them all together in the larger cage?

Not necessarily. One cage is one territory no matter how big it is. Pairs of birds do not share territory. Budgies can share very large cage but you’ll be have a lot more harmony with two cages.

 

[Zoepr143]

I can’t say if the nipping will for sure go away once the new larger cage arrives but I do know the new cage is nessesary. For such small birds budgies are very energetic and have such a propensity to be quarrelsome with each other that they need a cage that allows them their own space.

Hopefully with the new space of a flight cage they will start to feel more comfortable and less likely to feel the need to protect every inch of cage as their own.
I’ve also noticed with my budgies that out of cage time is really helpful. My three get free flight daily and they use every second of it lol. Budgies are so tightly wound that getting excercise is really important to their mental well-being. They’re much more likely to be relaxed around each other when they know they get to burn off that steam every day.

They don’t trust me enough yet to get them back into the cage once they’ve been out for a while, i will start with that soon though since yesterday they already ate seeds out of my hand . I do let kiwi fly everyday because she steps up when i tell her to.
Thank you!

 

[Zoepr143]

Not necessarily. One cage is one territory no matter how big it is. Pairs of birds do not share territory. Budgies can share very large cage but you’ll be have a lot more harmony with two cages.

I’ll get the cage and see how it goes, if it gets worse and they don’t seem to get along i can always get a second cage.
Thank you!

 

[Jas]

Also make sure that all your birds have enough feeders, drinkers, toys ect so they don't feel like there is any competition. My four budgies all Live in a flight cage with 5 feeders, two standard drinkers and a very large drinker. They have 5 toys in their cage And I rotate them with others once a week.

They have the odd disagreement but it's over before its started, usually over the best perching spot.

Hopefully they will feel less territorial and more settled in within a few months of their new cage, they may need more time to adjust.

 

[Zoepr143]

Also make sure that all your birds have enough feeders, drinkers, toys ect so they don't feel like there is any competition. My four budgies all Live in a flight cage with 5 feeders, two standard drinkers and a very large drinker. They have 5 toys in their cage And I rotate them with others once a week.

They have the odd disagreement but it's over before its started, usually over the best perching spot.

Hopefully they will feel less territorial and more settled in within a few months of their new cage, they may need more time to adjust.

Thanks, what kind of drinkers do you have? In the cage they are in right now (the three new ones) i have two feeders and two drinkers. (Two on each side). I’m also getting new perches when i buy the new cage, to have more variety for their feet.

 

[Jas]

Two plastic ones with little perches in front ( I am going to switch the out to stainless steel (harbour less bacteria) but it's just finding the right size, they also like to bathe in these ones XD) and then a 600ml stainless steel one that hooks onto the front side of the cage.

For perches my guys love branches, they like to pick off all the bark, same with some of their wooden toys. I don't know if you already have a store where you but your things but check out Scarlett's parrot essentials they do some really good perches, food, toys ect I believe they ship all over (definitely Europe I believe) and at decent prices as well, also they do some really nice flight cages (rainforest), I have one for my conures and now they have so much room, wanting to upgrade the budgies too XD. I'll have no bedroom left though .

 

[Zoepr143]

Two plastic ones with little perches in front ( I am going to switch the out to stainless steel (harbour less bacteria) but it's just finding the right size, they also like to bathe in these ones XD) and then a 600ml stainless steel one that hooks onto the front side of the cage.

For perches my guys love branches, they like to pick off all the bark, same with some of their wooden toys. I don't know if you already have a store where you but your things but check out Scarlett's parrot essentials they do some really good perches, food, toys ect I believe they ship all over (definitely Europe I believe) and at decent prices as well, also they do some really nice flight cages (rainforest), I have one for my conures and now they have so much room, wanting to upgrade the budgies too XD. I'll have no bedroom left though .

Thanks, ill check out their site! How many fids do you have?

 

[Jas]

6, Ive had budgies for nearly 10 years now. Busbee is currently my oldest at 6 his birthday was on the 18th of October . His flock, cheeks, snow and blue are about a 1-2 years old, and they've all decide to molt at the same time XD.

The conures I got in June, I wanted a step up from budgies but not a massive jump. (Plus mum has asthma so a large bird, or powdery one wouldn't be the best bird to have).

 

[Zoepr143]

6, Ive had budgies for nearly 10 years now. Busbee is currently my oldest at 6 his birthday was on the 18th of October . His flock, cheeks, snow and blue are about a 1-2 years old, and they've all decide to molt at the same time XD.

The conures I got in June, I wanted a step up from budgies but not a massive jump. (Plus mum has asthma so a large bird, or powdery one wouldn't be the best bird to have).

Awesome! I also want to get conures or caiques when i get my own place. I will be posting a new thread soon with a poll for the new cages. I now have 3 options from amazon

 

[Jas]

They're sweet little birds, completely different to budgies. They are also part clowns, one of my conures likes to lay of his back so you can tickle his tummy.

It's responsible that you're taking your time now to plan for a new arrival, I can't wait to see the cages!!! Do you have any name ideas yet? Or the species of caiques or conures in mind?

 

[Zoepr143]

They're sweet little birds, completely different to budgies. They are also part clowns, one of my conures likes to lay of his back so you can tickle his tummy.

It's responsible that you're taking your time now to plan for a new arrival, I can't wait to see the cages!!! Do you have any name ideas yet? Or the species of caiques or conures in mind?

I like to come up with the name when I already have them so that it fits their character. I have no caique species that I prefer but for the conures probably a GCC, they’re really fluffy, cute and cuddly and they are not as loud as for example sunconures. I don’t want to make my future neighbors TOO mad

 

[Jas]

I like to come up with the name when I already have them so that it fits their character. I have no caique species that I prefer but for the conures probably a GCC, they’re really cute and cuddly and they are not as loud as for example sunconures. I don’t want to make my future neighbors TOO mad

That's a good thing to keep in mind, noise level XD. My two are only noises when they want cuddle or food. Plus GCC have some really nice colour mutations.