Birds seem to enjoy the freedom that flying gives them, they can go anywhere they want at any time they want.
So, does a budgie that keeps flying back to its cage not want freedom?
This article looks into why your budgie keeps flying back into its cage.
Table of Contents
My budgie keeps flying back to his cage:
Giving your bird time to fly out of its cage is recommended by many bird owners and welcomed by many birds, but, what if your budgie keeps flying back into its cage?
Here is why your budgie may be doing this:
The bird is comfortable:
Budgies like their routine. Their daily, weekly, and monthly routine of staying in, or near, their cage keeps them very calm and relaxed.
Coming out of the cage can be stressful for your bird, especially if it doesn’t do this often.
If you let your bird out of its cage, and the bird feels fear or anxiety while out, then it will make its way back into its comfortable and safe cage
While it is good that your bird loves its cage, and sees it as a safe place, the budgie still needs to leave the cage from time to time.
Leaving the cage will allow the bird to stretch its wings and get some much-needed exercise.
What to do:
You can coax the bird into staying out of its cage for longer and not flying back in by playing with your other birds outside of the cage.
The bird will feel lonely, even jealous, and will want to come out and play with you.
If you don’t have another bird, then play with your budgie’s favorite toys outside the cage
You can also get the bird out by giving it healthy treats when it’s out of the cage.
Doing this should get the bird to associate being out of the cage with the good feeling of receiving treats.
The bird is bored:
Another reason why your bird may prefer to be in its cage after being let out may be that the bird is bored when out of the cage.
Your budgie’s cage is likely full of its favorite toys and favorite perches. The outside may simply be a place where the bird flies
Once your bird is done flying it will make its way to its fun and exciting cage
What to do:
You can help the bird understand that time outside of the cage can also be fun by bringing some of its favorite toys out of the cage and playing with them
Leave the toys on a surface outside the cage.
Also, leave out treats with the toys and allow the bird to sit out here and get used to being outside.
What to avoid:
Don’t close off the cage door, or keep the bird in a different room against its will, in hopes of getting it to prefer being out of the cage.
If you do this, then the bird will feel trapped and may not want to come out of the cage at all once it gets back in its cage.
If you force the bird in this way then this will only traumatize the little fella.
Forcing anything on your bird will cause the bird to lose trust in you.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Budgie Running Around The Bottom Of The Cage, Why Does My Budgie Fly Into Walls?, Should I Let My Untamed Budgie Out, Letting Budgies Out Of The Cage For The First Time, Budgie Sleeping Outside Cage, Why Is My Budgie Jumping Around The Cage?, Budgie Falling When Flying, Parakeet Stays At Top Of Cage, Budgie Flying Around Its Cage At Night