[Beta]

Not kidding. It's his favorite toy. He stands on a perch below the swing so his head gets in the way of the side of the swing's at rest position. Then he pushes it with his beak, and so naturally the swing comes back and pushes his head where, he'll push it back the other way. Then he'll head bob at it, talk to it with the funniest sounds, then push it or maybe he's kissing it again and again. He has figured out how to stand to prevent the swing from returning to it's at rest position so his head and the swing are continuously bumping each other. It is the side edge of the swing's perch that he is bumping.

I wish i could show you.

 

[FaeryBee]

Try to get a video of it and upload it to this thread. 😊

How to upload a video

 

[Beta]

Try to get a video of it and upload it to this thread. 😊

How to upload a video

I tried to post a video on this site working with Cody but it was too large as I anticipated but I'd like to know what the maximum allowed video size is that can be posted.

 

[FaeryBee]

I don’t know the answer to that. Sorry!

 

[Beta]

I don’t know the answer to that. Sorry!

That's ok. I used to own and operate an online company with a message board and i understand video limits as it cost me extra for more memory storage on the host server and videos are much larger files than pictures.

This site has a good alternative solution to point to the web address where the video may be stored on Youtube but I don't use Youtube.

No big deal really although I was hoping to start a thread where we can all post short videos of our little budgies doing silly and funny things as they play. Beta has me laughing all the time.

 

[ChickWas]

Upload to streamable and just paste the hyperlink here.

 

[vrabec]

Lucky. Mine is absolutely terrified of the swing. I've tried introducing it now thrice and leave it there for a few weeks at a time, even bait it with millet. He won't go near that quadrant of the cage when it's there. 🤦‍♂️

 

[Beta]

Lucky. Mine is absolutely terrified of the swing. I've tried introducing it now thrice and leave it there for a few weeks at a time, even bait it with millet. He won't go near that quadrant of the cage when it's there. 🤦‍♂️

That's funny and cute. Beta has fear issues with new toys I introduce to his cage but after the new toy doesn't attack him after 24 to 48 hours he'll venture to go poke it with his beak as if to say "Ok, I'll let you hang here but this is MY HOME and I'm the BOSS!"

When Beta jumps off the swing it usually swings back and forth so hard it will bang into him on his perch and I think that is how Beta started a love affair with his swing. It's as though when he makes the swing move by deliberately bumping it with his beak and it swings back and bumps Beta I think maybe Beta thinks it's alive and is his friend, buddy, or lover. LOL! I don't know, but he does get a thrill out of making it swing when he's not on it by bumping it from the side with his beak. And he always stays there so it will swing back and bump Beta in return.

 

[Beta]

That's funny and cute. Beta has fear issues with new toys I introduce to his cage but after the new toy doesn't attack him after 24 to 48 hours he'll venture to go poke it with his beak as if to say "Ok, I'll let you hang here but this is MY HOME and I'm the BOSS!"

When Beta jumps off the swing it usually swings back and forth so hard it will bang into him on his perch and I think that is how Beta started a love affair with his swing. It's as though when he makes the swing move by deliberately bumping it with his beak and it swings back and bumps Beta I think maybe Beta thinks it's alive and is his friend, buddy, or lover. LOL! I don't know, but he does get a thrill out of making it swing when he's not on it by bumping it from the side with his beak. And he always stays there so it will swing back and bump Beta in return.

Lucky. Mine is absolutely terrified of the swing. I've tried introducing it now thrice and leave it there for a few weeks at a time, even bait it with millet. He won't go near that quadrant of the cage when it's there. 🤦‍♂️

One time Beta made it swing so hard it swung back so hard and knocked him off the perch he was on. Would have loved to caught that on video.

 

[Beta]

Beta is torturing me with his cuteness. He is so cute and does the cutest, funniest, most precious things i just got to hug him and kiss him but he won't let me near him. I just can't take it.

Disclaimer:
This is in no way meant to claim Beta is more cute or more precious than any of your birds so I'm sure you know what I'm talking about and many of you have lived through the frustrating times in the early days with your bird when the cute little thing won't let you kiss him. I congratulate all who have made it past this point without pulling every hair out of their head.

I just hope Beta doesn't torture me too many more weeks like this. I know I'm making progress as this morning he took an tiny oat from between my two fingers. That was a big step for him.

 

[Beta]

Beta is learning to used his feet to hold his toys close while he chews on them but he hasn't applied that tactic to hold food while he chews it so he only eats the little seeds and hopefully the little fruit pellets I feed him.

Still can't get him to eat any fruits or vegetables and I've tried hanging them from the top, clipping them to the side, in his dish, chopped in tiny pieces but he won't even be curious about that stuff. So I have a refrigerator full of fruits and vegetables that he nor I like to eat.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

Some do
It’s not very common in budgies, but some do it (especially if they see other parrots eat this way).

 

[Beta]

Some do
It’s not very common in budgies, but some do it (especially if they see other parrots eat this way).

Yea, that's why I asked. I had a Sun Conur who always used his foot to hold up a big biscuit as he ate it.

Thanks

 

[Beta]

So now that he has a cage full of toys, and 2 external playpens he wants nothing to do with me though he does seem to want me to watch him play. He's so in love with his swing (that's his girlfriend) and his little3 bell toy that he won't let me get near them. LOL He moves to block the path of my hand from being able to get to his toys while he's threatening to bite my hand.

He even bites my fingers when he's eating the spray that my hand is holding for him while he eats it. I keep his big cage doors open all day as i'm with him all day but he rarely ventures out of his cage other than to climb up to his playpens.

Monday will be my 10th week with him. He'll play with my hair but i guess my nose got too close to him and he bite my nose. The little ****** left a mark too. He spends 70% of every day making love to his swing bumping it so it bumps him back, talking to it constantly. I'm getting jealous of Beta's toys. LOL

Here is a picture of Beta's setup with his external playpens.

 

[StarlingWings]

It's great that he loves his toys since it's important for budgies to be able to entertain themselves independently, too. Additionally, it's perfectly normal that he tries to keep you away from his toys in his cage; they are, after all, his. As long as he's not becoming overly attached to one specific toy to the point where he doesn't play with anything else than I'd say his behavior is normal; my girl won't let me even touch any of her toys when she's in there so when I rearrange her cage i have to make sure she's out of the cage first, haha.

Additionally it seems like Beta is finding his independence and he seems to be right at that stage where he's about to hit or is hitting puberty, which will make him a bit more territorial or bitey for a while. The best thing you can do is respect his space and not try to interact with him physically unless he initiates it, and in the meantime keep talking to him and sitting by him to watch him play as much as you can. The important thing is that he feels you're part of his flock!

Have a look at this link if you haven't already:

Why is my young budgie suddenly aggressive?

Looking forward to hearing more about Beta

 

[Beta]

Thanks for the tip on the Aggressive budgie link. Very interesting information. I think Beta is just starting to have an interest in pruning my hair and nibbling on my eyebrows and nose. He likes to get in front of my face but only when i keep my hands clasped behind my back.

 

[Beta]

I know how much Beta loves his Girlfriend even if she's just a swing. He's always talking to her, guarding her from me, pecking and kissing her and climbing all over her. So, can you imagine my surprise when this morning I caught Beta cheating on his girlfriend flirting and kissing with this other swing.

 

[FaeryBee]

Beta is a special little character.
I have now merged your threads and retitled the thread: "Beta's Updates (ongoing thread)"
Please post all your updates about Beta in this thread. Thanks!

 

[Beta]

Beta is a special little character.
I have now merged your threads and retitled the thread: "Beta's Updates (ongoing thread)"
Please post all your updates about Beta in this thread. Thanks!

Ok. So here is a Beta Update. Beta is finally getting used to all his toys and is starting to take an interest in me. He will climb on my arm but once there he bites it up and down my arm. He has to learn that I bring the food but I'm NOT the food.

Also he loves my cell phone since i recorded Budgie sound videos on it and anytime i use the phone for my own reasons he flys to me and lands on my head. I can't get him to land on my shoulder yet so every day I clip an inch of Millet Spray to each side on my tea shirt at each should and walk around the house all day like this. So far, no joy. When I put my shoulder level with his face he bites it but won't climb on it. So now we are at the point of who can be more stubborn. He won't be getting any millet spray unless he climbs on my shoulder.

Meanwhile I'm spreading millet spray all over as I walk around the house with it clipped to my shoulder.

Regards to all!

 

[Beta]

OK so Beta is now about 20 Weeks old and I've had him for 10 weeks. He loves to watch my cell phone when i use it since I showed him videos of himself with his Budgie sounds on the cell phone. Obviously he thinks it's another Budgie and he's very attracted to other budgiies now. The problem is I cannot get this bird to go on my shoulder no matter how hard I try. He will land on my head when I used the cell phone but not on my shoulder. Ive tried clipping his favorite millet spray to my shoulder but no dice. I sewed a wood branch perch to the shoulder of one of my shirts but no dice.

As a reminder this is the bird that got petrified when the lady in the store chased him all over the big cage trying to catch him for 30 minutes completely terrifying him. Then at the check out counter the manager made her log the code on the band around his foot and that terrified him for 15 more minutes as she tried to read the tiny band on the struggling bird's foot.

How the heck can I get him to go on my shoulder??

He still wont get on my finger unless I'm holding his millet treat.

Any advice?