Does My Budgie Hate Me?
Last updated on October 26th, 2024 at 09:12 pm
Written by Isra P
If you have wondered, “does my budgie hate me?” know you are not alone. Pet owners worldwide are haunted by the thought of being hated by their beloved winged companions. You see, budgies can be loving, but they might resent you if you get on their bad side. These birds are sensitive creatures, and it doesn’t take much to make them angry.
Your budgies might hate you if you do something that distresses them. Hiding in a corner, running and flying away from you, screaming, biting, flapping wings, and refusing to eat while you are present are a few indications that your birds are not fond of you. This behavior is often the result of an incident where you or another person inflicted physical or emotional discomfort on your pets.
But no need to despair! You can take specific steps to repair your relationship with your beloved budgies. So keep reading and find out how you can regain the love of your precious friend.
How do you Tell if Your Budgie Hates you?
The first step towards making your budgies like you is to determine for sure if your presence is actually irritating them. You must become a keen observer and see if the following actions take place whenever you show up. Keep an open mind and avoid lashing out at them in case you confirm your suspicions.
Hides in a Corner
A budgie that doesn’t like you will hide in any corner of the cage it can, especially if your hands are getting close. Budgies are cautious when hands are near, so their proximity is something they will avoid if you are not their favorite person.
Runs and Flies Away From you
Aside from hiding, budgies will also run and fly if possible if you get too close. That’s their instinct kicking in. Of course, if they like you, they won’t do that, but if you aren’t trustworthy, they will run faster than you can blink.
Bites you
In the world of budgies, biting is almost a universal sign indicating you aren’t liked. However, it is crucial to distinguish between a gentle peck and actual biting. Budgies use their beaks to move and explore their surroundings. So if they use their beaks to poke you, it signifies love and friendship. When they bite for real, you know, because it hurts a lot. That’s when you realize you are not on your budgie’s friend’s list.
Refrains From Eating
Budgies love eating when they are relaxed. However, they will hesitate to take a bite if they perceive a threat nearby. If your budgies hate you, they will wait until you are gone to eat.
Screams at you
Another sign that budgies hate you is that they scream at you. You must watch out for any change in their behavior when entering the room. If they were quiet and suddenly start screaming the closer you get, there’s a high chance your presence has something to do with it.
Opens Eyes Wide
A bird on alert keeps its eyes wide open to ensure no move goes unnoticed. That goes for budgies as well. If they don’t like you, you will see that their eyes open fully as soon as you show up to watch your every move.
Flaps Wings at you
Flapping their wings is something birds use to defend themselves and signal you to stay away if they don’t like you. So whenever you get close, see if they make any aggressive or defensive moves against you. Wing flapping is definitely a red flag.
Breathes Faster
Have you noticed that people have fast, shallow breathing when they get upset? That’s also true for your pets. Whenever they get irritated, your pets breathe faster. This breathing results from their nervous system getting triggered by the approach of a possible predator. In this case, that’s you.
Poops Clear Liquid
A more liquid than usual poop is another thing you have to watch out for to identify an upset budgie. Of course, you also have to be certain it’s not the result of an underlying condition. If a budgie makes a quick, clear liquid poop as soon as it sees you, that’s saying you are not welcomed.
Why Does Your Budgie Hate you?
Now that you know your birds have a problem with you, it’s time to find out the cause. First, analyze your previous actions and look back on whether there was a time when you yelled or handled them in a way that upset them.
Try to remember when you first noticed that your budgies became annoyed by you. There is a massive difference between buying them already angry and doing something that ticked them off after.
It's Traumatized
Your budgie may be distressed by your presence if you have caused it emotional or physical trauma. For example, grabbing it when it was just resting, yelling, chasing it with a broom, or clipping its feathers are more than enough reasons for your pet to dislike you.
There are cases in which a budgie may be agitated as soon as you bring it to your home for the first time. The breeder or a previous owner could have inflicted plenty of pain on it, and you may have no idea about it. Still, now your pet thinks all humans bring pain, and you will be considered the enemy.
It Doesn't Know you
New budgies are always a thrill. However, since they don’t know you, you are guilty until proven innocent. Their instinct is to survive; to do that, they have to consider everything unknown as a threat, including you. For that reason, they might be agitated at first when they meet you.
Generally, before your new pet can accept you, you have to work a lot to train it, especially if someone from its past harmed it.
It Doesn't Feel Well
Occasionally, ill birds may seem angry at you simply because they aren’t feeling well. They always do their best to hide the fact they are sick, but they will show other signs typically associated with sickness, such as puffing up a lot if that’s the case. Scheduling a vet’s appointment is the ideal way to proceed when that happens.
It's Part of the Personality
Some budgies are just not people friendly. They are what you would call introverted.
You may try all techniques out there, but in the end, they will just do whatever they want. Touching, petting, and even having them perched on your fingers might not be a choice. Under those conditions, bringing another budgie friend could diminish that animosity towards you.
Something About you or Nearby is Triggering it
Your feathered buddy could be upset at you because something about you is bothering it. A new shirt, holding a cup, wearing a mustache, carrying a purse, a menacing toy, a new dog you brought, or even certain music can turn your lovely companion into an angry foe (resource). Pay close attention to determine if the new attitude is related to something you changed recently. If it is, fix it asap.
In the following video, you will see a few examples of an angry budgie:
How to Make a Budgie Like you
At this moment, it isn’t a secret anymore why your budgies resent you. Still, it is time to let go of the past and bond with them by applying a few simple yet effective techniques. They aren’t a quick fix, so it might take a few weeks to a couple of months to overcome your pet’s lack of affection.
Be Patient
Patience is a virtue! You will have to wait a bit before overcoming your budgie’s disliking. Give it some space so it stops being keen on hating you.
Don't Force it
Rushing the process is always a bad idea. You have to start slowly. Let your budgie come to you. Don’t grab your pet and place it on your shoulder in a futile effort to make it like you. That will only make everything worse! Remember, building trust requires love, time, and effort.
Learn Your Budgies' Favorite Treat
To stop being loathed by your budgies, you must find out what they love the most. Typically, it is some type of snack.
More often than not, millet is the treat they expect, and by offering it at the right time, you will score lots of points with them!
Talk to Your pet
Before bribing your feathered companions, it’s essential you speak to them consistently in a soft and loving tone for around five days. After that, three sessions of approximately 10 minutes daily should suffice to make them less defensive. Furthermore, you can add singing to the mix just in case they are more into music.
Show Your Hands with Care
Now that you talked and sang to your budgies (hopefully they liked it), it’s time to present the hands. Yes, this is the tricky part and one that may take weeks to do it successfully. After the fifth day of having a conversation with your budgies, you will show them a hand while keeping it outside the cage
You have to be sure they can see it, but it should be far enough from them so they don’t feel threatened by it. Do it for a week. Don’t forget to keep talking to your budgies as you show them your hands.
The next step is to place your hand inside the cage. Do it while you speak to them in a loving way. Once the hand is inside, don’t move it anymore as you engage them for the usual 10 minutes. After a while, you will be on your way to being more lovable in the eyes of your budgies.
Use a Towel if Needed
If, at some point, while you are trying to get close to your bird, there’s an emergency and you need to remove it from the cage, you have to do it the right way. Otherwise, all your hard work can be undone in mere seconds.
So how should you do it? By using a towel. Don’t use your hands or gloves, as that will make your pet despise your limbs, and you will need to start all over again (reference). The awesome part when you use a towel is that all the anger is associated with that object and not with you.
Reward Your pet
A budgie that behaves well should be rewarded! Now, not all budgies like the same things. Some like food more than anything; others can’t help themselves to keep playing almost all the time. So, depending on what they love the most, that’s what you should offer to make them like you even faster.
Present a new toy
Some budgies love getting a new toy. Still, you should proceed cautiously and place it outside the cage to see how your pet interacts with it.
Putting it inside the cage as soon as you get it can backfire and make your pets hate you more if they get terrified by it. So testing it outside is a much safer approach.
Favorite toy of the male blue budgie (particularly the bell)
Your budgies might hate you for any mistake you have made while trying to do the best for them. Even blunders done by previous owners could turn your companions against you. Fortunately, there’s hope. You can still do the right thing and regain their love by being patient and following the appropriate steps. As long as you don’t give up, your budgie will love you again.
