Knowing what different bird behaviors mean can help you figure out what your bird is feeling and if the bird is healthy or not, one behavior that you may be confused about is a bird flapping its wings really fast
This article is a look at why your bird flaps its wings really fast
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Why does my bird flap its wings really fast?
Wing flapping is quite normal, birds do this every day when flying, but if the speed of the bird’s wing flapping picks up then the birds may be flapping their wings for these reasons:
Testing their wings out:
If the bird that you’re referring to is a baby bird then the bird may be flapping its wings as a way to test them out.
Baby birds need to learn how to do everything from scratch, this includes flapping their wings before they can even try to fly.
If your baby bird is flapping then the bird is simply learning how to use its wings and trying to start to get itself off of the ground using its wings.
What to do:
This is normal behavior for your bird, let your bird explore its wings and learn how to use them, the bird will learn and should be able to fly in no time
Exercise:
Birds, just like humans, need a good amount of exercise to keep from feeling stiff and to maintain good health.
If your bird flaps its wings in the cage then this means that the bird is trying to stretch and trying to get some exercise in any way that it can.
This will usually be seen in a bird that is confined to its cage for long periods of time.
What to do:
If this is what is happening then letting your bird out of its cage once in a while is recommended.
The bird doesn’t need to be out of its cage for the whole day but letting the bird out of its cage for about an hour or so will be good for the bird.
Seeking attention:
Whichever bird you own the bird is likely a very social animal, birds are generally quite social animals and will want to spend their time playing with you and or playing with other birds in their environment.
If you come into the room and your bird starts flapping its wings then this simply means that the bird is excited to see you and wants to play with you. The wing flapping is a sort of celebratory dance that the bird will do when you come around.
This is more common in birds who don’t have a friend, these birds are bored and lonely and see you as their only source of social interaction.
What to do:
Birds who do this usually feel quite neglected and lonely most of the time.
If you don’t want the bird to feel bored and neglected you would either need to spend more time with the bird or give the bird a friend to socialize with when you aren’t around or when you are too tired to interact with the bird.
They sense a predator:
A lot of animals are predators of birds and birds are always on high alert for predators.
If a bird sees a predator close by then the bird may start rapidly flapping its wings as a way to scare off the predator. The loud wing flapping and commotion caused by the bird is the bird’s way of getting the predator to back off.
This aggressive wing flapping may be accompanied by other aggressive behaviors like lunging or biting at the predator.
The bird may also try to flap its wings as a way to get away from the predator.
Birds don’t have much in the way of protecting themselves, so, the birds will flap their wings and try to get away from the situation if it feels threatened.
What to do:
The bird likely feels very threatened and stressed out by the predator, if the predator isn’t going away on its own then you would have to remove the predator yourself
What you perceive as a predator may not be what the bird perceives as a predator, while bird predators can be wild animals they can also be your domestic cats and dogs, or even people that the bird isn’t used to.
Take note of when your bird starts acting aggressively and look for and remove whatever the bird sees as a predator.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other budgie related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Bird Flapping Its Wings And Screaming, Budgie Flapping Wings Rapidly, Budgie Purring, Budgie Cooing
