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budgies are throwing away seeds

birbs

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Lately, all of my birds have been throwing away their seeds. This week they've been going throw it much faster than normal and I went to check. You know how seeds have varieties in them? They have been throwing away the rhombus-looking seeds. They are only consuming the circular one (according to google, millets?). This made me confused as this has never happened before. I don't know if it has something to do with feeding their mates but it's happening to all of my budgies. I have 3 females and 3 males. I have this seed feeder that helps me filter out eaten v. uneaten seeds and there are a LOT of uneaten seeds. Never happened before so I am intrigued. All 4 budgies have matures and only 2 have pink cere so I know definitely that it has nothing to do with younger budgies.
 
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birbs

Meeting neighbors
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28
Lately, all of my birds have been throwing away their seeds. This week they've been going throw it much faster than normal and I went to check. You know how seeds have varieties in them? They have been throwing away the rhombus-looking seeds. They are only consuming the circular one (according to google, millets?). This made me confused as this has never happened before. I don't know if it has something to do with feeding their mates but it's happening to all of my budgies. I have 3 females and 3 males. I have this seed feeder that helps me filter out eaten v. uneaten seeds and there are a LOT of uneaten seeds. Never happened before so I am intrigued. All 4 budgies have matures and only 2 have pink cere so I know definitely that it has nothing to do with younger budgies.
Also, it is not like they don't eat it anymore. I try to test them by putting them on my hands and they would quickly gobble them down. So it's not like they don't like it. I'm really curious about this behavior and google did not provide a satisfactory answer for me c:
 

Nanny’s Av

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Lately, all of my birds have been throwing away their seeds. This week they've been going throw it much faster than normal and I went to check. You know how seeds have varieties in them? They have been throwing away the rhombus-looking seeds. They are only consuming the circular one (according to google, millets?). This made me confused as this has never happened before. I don't know if it has something to do with feeding their mates but it's happening to all of my budgies. I have 3 females and 3 males. I have this seed feeder that helps me filter out eaten v. uneaten seeds and there are a LOT of uneaten seeds. Never happened before so I am intrigued. All 4 budgies have matures and only 2 have pink cere so I know definitely that it has nothing to do with younger budgies.
I don’t have an answer, but My budgies and lovebirds do this occassionally
I DO HAVE a question
What type/brand of seed feeder is it that you mentioned that separates eaten seed from not eaten seed
I have noticed that my birds will occassionally let the used seed pile up in front of the feeder hole that the fresh seed comes out of and then it’s as if they don’t know how to forage threw the old seed to get to the fresh seed
Is this normal?
Please send info on how to find the type of feeder you use/mentioned in your post
 

Sparkles99

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Maybe knowing more about their overall diet would help some of the more experienced members answer your question.
 

Sylvi_

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Birds will naturally throw away or waste food, it’s a role they play in the wild for ground foraging animals and plants alike. Like said above, describing your bird’s overall diet will help members give advice.

If your birds are getting a balanced diet of quality pellets, high quality seed and a variety of fresh veggies/fruits - no worries! Your birds are just being birds as nature intended.
But if you’re solely feeding seed, that’s an inadequate diet for parrots and will result in health problems down the road. Look into varying their diet and it should cut down on waste, while improving their heath.

There’s also threads about converting seed-only diets on AA’s Feathered Food Court section!
 

birbs

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Ok, so I finally figured out why there was some food wasted. It turned out that one of the female budgies is laying eggs and she was finding a place to lay her eggs and she thought the feeder was the most "sturdiest" and safest place. She laid it yesterday and today it was cracked. I think she may have punctured a hole (her bites are very hurtful) so she may have used too much strength or she didn't know how to take care of it. Yes, I do have cuttlebones in the cage and will be buying her a nesting box really soon (out of stock in stores). Originally my plan was to reuse the nesting box my other budgie are using but it was unexpected that she also began laying eggs. Also, this is her first time and she has a mate.
 

birbs

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Also thank you guys for the help. It was still useful to me and I will know what to look out for next time if it happens again!
 

Destiny

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If you are not setup for breeding, it is generally better to remove eggs, especially if they might be fertile. Pet birds don't make the best breeders.

Parrot breeding is a big responsibility. A lot can go wrong if you (or your birds) are inexperienced.

If you plan on allowing your parakeets to breed, please start doing research now, if you haven't already. This site has a wealth of information about parrot care and nutrition. It is always better to learn about potential problems before your birds encounter them, so you can try avoid common mistakes and dangers.
 

Zara

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It turned out that one of the female budgies is laying eggs
I was going to suggest this when I read your first post. My lovebird hens are a nightmare for getting in there and tipping food out. I bought a different feeder that I use when she is dead set on nesting in the food bowl;
feeder.jpg (online image, not my bird)

So far it has worked a charm :) Not expensive at all. You can find them on amazon, or at some pet shops.
 

birbs

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I was going to suggest this when I read your first post. My lovebird hens are a nightmare for getting in there and tipping food out. I bought a different feeder that I use when she is dead set on nesting in the food bowl;
View attachment 382813 (online image, not my bird)

So far it has worked a charm :) Not expensive at all. You can find them on amazon, or at some pet shops.
Yes, this is exactly what I use! c: It does work like a charm and it does catch a lot of eaten seeds.
 
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