[4Blueberry]

As I described in another thread I just bought a young budgie. Among some of the things I have noticed about him is the fact that he does not eat cuttlebone or millet sprays. I have read that budgies love millet but that does not seem to apply to him. Although I did have a breakthrough of a sort today. I put a millet spray on top of a perch that is attached to a mirror and he finally did start to eat it, although not for long. I thought that birds loved to see themselves in the mirror but it does not seem to have much of an effect on my bird. I remember years ago when I had another budgie he always was playing with his mirror, but this bird does not seem to want to do that.

As for the cuttlebone he has absolutely no interest in it at all and I have read that it is important for them in many ways but I have no way to get him to eat it. The breeder uses small unbleached cuttlebones for his birds and makes little pieces out of it and places them on top of the seeds. I did that but he won't touch it and so I bought a regular cuttlebone and he doesn't touch that either. I think that when he was with his siblings since they were not given cuttlebone they didn't know how to eat it and so now he has no idea what to do with them and I have no idea how to get him to eat them. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I might get this bird to eat his cuttlebone?

 

[Birdmanca]

You are correct. Birds I have like both their mirror and eating spray millet. They love the millet. Maybe your birds were not given these things in their former place.

 

[Blingy]

I wouldn’t worry too much about him not eating the cuttlebone. Just leave a nice, clean piece in his cage. He’ll know it’s there and will use it when he needs it. Mirrors are not something that’s recommended. Often birds will become obsessed with their reflection, thinking it’s another bird. Some will feed the other bird (their reflection) to the point of starvation. There are plenty of other fantastic, bird safe toys out there. Budgies generally love swings and toys they can shred. Two of my birds weren’t into millet when I first got them either. It took awhile of me offering it to them but now they love it. Are you offering your bird a whole sprig or just a little nub? A whole sprig could be too overwhelming and scare the bird (& that much millet is bad for your bird). I’d just offer little nubs, put a few around his cage and see if he goes for them. It can take ages for a budgie to try new things so this may take some time.

Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4Blueberry]

I wouldn't worry too much about him not eating the cuttlebone. Just leave a nice, clean piece in his cage. He'll know it's there and will use it when he needs it. Mirrors are not something that's recommended. Often birds will become obsessed with their reflection, thinking it's another bird. Some will feed the other bird (their reflection) to the point of starvation. There are plenty of other fantastic, bird safe toys out there. Budgies generally love swings and toys they can shred. Two of my birds weren't into millet when I first got them either. It took awhile of me offering it to them but now they love it. Are you offering your bird a whole sprig or just a little nub? A whole sprig could be too overwhelming and scare the bird (& that much millet is bad for your bird). I'd just offer little nubs, put a few around his cage and see if he goes for them. It can take ages for a budgie to try new things so this may take some time.

Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for your reply. I am only offering my bird a small sprig that is sold that way. I don't think he will become obsessed with his reflection as he very rarely will sit in front of the mirror. Mostly he sits in one spot in back of the cage so anything that will get him away from that I am happy for. I put him on top of his cage with a bigger bathroom mirror on top and although the mirror did work and keep him on top of the cage he did not look at his reflection at all. He also has another toy in his cage that has small mirrors in it and he does not look at them at all. I am perplexed by this bird as other birds I have had in the past did spend time with their mirrors but this bird does not play with toys or look at himself in the mirror. I am hoping that in time he will come out of his shell. I will take your advice though and see if I can offer him a very small piece of millet in my hand as so far he will not take anything from my hand at all.

 

[FaeryBee]

The purpose of Talk Budgies is to promote best practices for the health and well-being of budgies.

We recommend you remove the mirror from the cage. Giving budgies a mirror can promote aggression and territorial behavior.
Additionally, some budgies become obsessed with their reflection and regurgitate to the mirror to the point they become malnourished.

Having a cuttlebone and a mineral block in the cage is sufficient.

CuttleBones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses

When your budgie's body feels the need for more calcium, he will begin to chew on the cuttlebone at that point in time.

Millet should only be used sparingly as a treat as it is high in fat content.