You’ve likely bought your bird a very nice, comfortable cage that is the perfect size for it. But, if your bird only stays in one area of the cage, the top, then you’d understandably be worried.
This article looks into why this happens
Table of Contents
Parakeet stays at the top of the cage:
Many people choose to raise parakeets because these birds are loving and playful.
Knowing this, a bird that chooses to not play with others, and chooses to rather stay at the top of its cage, may start to worry you.
Here is why your bird may be doing this:
Safety:
One reason why your parakeet may be choosing to stay in one spot, at the top of its cage, may be that the bird is scared of its surroundings and is trying to keep an eye out.
If your bird doesn’t feel safe it will stay to the top of the cage in case a threat appears.
For parakeets, and other birds, sitting high up means that it is safe and can see threats from far away.
Being this high up allows them to be aware of what is around them.
What to do:
If your parakeet is choosing to stay high up in its cage then it is likely afraid of you too.
You can get the bird to slowly trust you by showing it that you aren’t there to hurt it.
When doing this, start off by sitting in the same room as the bird and watching TV or quietly talking to it.
Once your parakeet is comfortable with this you can move on to opening the bird’s cage and trying to get the bird to hop onto a pencil or a wooden spoon.
Place the pencil or wooden spoon close to your parakeet’s belly, it should hop on when it is ready.
Once the bird has hopped on you can bring the bird closer to you and try to get it to hop onto your finger
Giving the bird treats as you get it to get used to you will also help.
Uncomfortable perch:
If you have a high perch in your bird’s cage, but the bird chooses to rather stay on the bars of the cage, then the bird may be doing this because it doesn’t like the perch or because the perch is uncomfortable.
If your bird’s perch is smooth then your parakeet would likely rather perch elsewhere.
This is because a smooth perch will cause the bird to constantly slip which will cause stress on your bird’s feet and joints.
A smooth perch also means that your bird’s feet will always grip in the same position, no matter where the bird stands on the perch, this can become uncomfortable
Your parakeet may try to perch elsewhere, like on the cage bars, to perch more comfortably.
A bird perching on a perch that is uncomfortable will be like a human wearing the incorrect pair of shoes.
What to do:
Giving your bird a variety of different perches will help, this will mimic what the parakeet would usually have access to in the wild.
Perches made out of tree branches will be a good choice for your bird.
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, My Budgie Keeps Flying Back To His Cage, Budgie Flying Around Its Cage At Night