Vicious Voodoo

[Dannii]

I’m saddened at Voodoo’s social behaviour recently. She’s becoming possessive over EVERYTHING in the cage. The larger perch, swing, see-saw swing, food bowls, bird bath, hoops, rope toy and even the cuttlebones…and there’s FOUR cuttlebones in the cage. Oh and outside the cage, she rules the play gym.

By possessive I mean, whenever Lullaby and Alfie go near any of the listed above she starts screeching and practically chases them around the cage and nips at them. Even when they’re sleeping, she’ll jump on their perch and nip at them till they move. Lullaby sometimes nips back, but I think Alfie is actually scared of her, since he starts making this heartbreaking call/screech thing that lets me know to open the door. Once I do the poor boy flys to my shoulder and perches close to my neck, most times under my hair :rolleyes:

Mr Bojangles doesn’t get as much of her wrath as the other two do, but I think that’s because they are a bit of an item… though they still have their disagreements, but I think because Mr Bo is so big and fluffy and, well, loud she backs off.

This behaviour started before I got Lullaby, in fact, it was one of the reasons I got Lullaby - I felt she was bullying Alfie and Alfie seemed so lonely even though he was with the others…if that makes any sense to you. But since Lullaby’s joined the flock Voodoo’s gotten notably worse.

At first I thought it was a territory thing, but last night Alfie and Lullaby where running around on my bed playing with a cat ball ( it’s like a plastic ball with a bell in the middle of it ) and Voodoo came out the cage, climbed to the top of it, waited for a few minutes before flying over to the bed, practically landing on Alfie, screeching and nipping at him. TOTALLY UNPROVOKED. :mad:

She’s been in time out in the quarantine cage ever since, before one of them gets hurt. Her attacks are getting more vicious and I’m really not sure what to do. Mr Bojangles seems all sad that she’s not in the same cage now, even though I have them practically side by side - it only seems to distress him more. And the quarantine cage is too small to hold two at night. So I’m really at a loss of what to do :S

[skythrutrees]

Bigger cage that hold the two of them?

Sorry, I'm not really an expert here, just wanted to offer something until someone with more experience answers.

Good luck!

[atvchick95]

how old is she? , sounds like she may be hitting maturity and that is like a child going into Teen age years - bad attitude, know it all etc.

a complete cage re do may work, take everything out and just put it all in new places. including food/water/treat dishes

not sure what you can do with the play gym except maybe move it to a whole different spot (even if its just over on the opposite side its on now)

it could also be she just won't get along with any other bird.

I have 2 females who bonded but wouldn't get along with the males. they ganged up and bullied them.

Now the one is out of breeding cages and as long as no one gets to awfully close to her she's fine. but if they get too close to her personnel space she will screech at them and lunge at them .

Other then that, the only other thing I can think of, if switching the cage around doesn't work, is she'll have to be in a cage on her own - or if there is a budgie she gets along with .

[BudgieBudgie]

Are you sure on their sexes?

I'm no expert, but to me it looks liek Voodoo is male.

But if Voodoo IS a girl, and Alfie and Lullaby are also female, that you have three hens and a cock. That kind of female:male ratio seems to cause problems for people. In that case, the solution would be to separate them or bring the ratio to 1:1.

Sorry I couldn't be more help!

[Pippin's mom]

Hmmm..tough one.:(

I'm sure your male/female ratio is fine. I would continue to keep her separate for awhile..including separate out of cage time..maybe with Mr. Bo, but no one else then try putting her back with the rest. Not saying it always works , but sometimes a time out has been know to change a bad attitude.

Could Voodoo be going into breeding condition?

[Dannii]

how old is she? , sounds like she may be hitting maturity and that is like a child going into Teen age years - bad attitude, know it all etc.

a complete cage re do may work, take everything out and just put it all in new places. including food/water/treat dishes

not sure what you can do with the play gym except maybe move it to a whole different spot (even if its just over on the opposite side its on now)


I think she's over a year? because of the ring around her eyes? though she still has a fair amount of stripes on her head.

Thank you, I will try all that before I let her back in with the others :)

Are you sure on their sexes?

I'm no expert, but to me it looks liek Voodoo is male.


Alfie and Mr Bojangles are boys, no doubt about it. Thats a bad pic of Alfie's cere, it was taken when I first brought him home as a beautiful, but not developed enough, boy ;)

As for Voodoo, I was told she was a girl by a member or two on here that were kind enough to answer my friend on it. I'm sure it was said because of her mutation, the white around the nostrils made her female :S

And finally, I'm sure Lullaby is a girl, her cere is all pink however she's still very very young so who knows. But Alfie and Mr Bo are certainly males :)



I'm sure your male/female ratio is fine. I would continue to keep her separate for awhile..including separate out of cage time..maybe with Mr. Bo, but no one else then try putting her back with the rest. Not saying it always works , but sometimes a time out has been know to change a bad attitude.

Could Voodoo be going into breeding condition?

Thanks, I will also try that. There's probably nothing I wouldn't try lol I just want them to get along, Mr Bo seems so heartbroken over her not being there to sleep beside him :(

I did actually think of that at first, but this has been going on for a few weeks now...are they usually moody like this for weeks before going into breeding condition???

My second thought on this was she's simply a bully? I mean, she's older and fatter than Alfie so pretty much likes to throw her weight around. And Mr Bo's too laid back to really do anything to get on her nerves...and Lullaby now and then tells her off (now that she's actually here lol).

AND THEN I thought it might be their new cage...? it's when things did start to change, but this cage is much bigger with more stuff in it (without being squished) to amuse them, so why would that trigger this behaviour?

Sorry if my questions are dumb, its just I not only want to help the situation but I want to know what could of caused it - incase something is distressing her :S

[atvchick95]

lullaby is a lutino - males keep the pink cere so if its a year old its a male

is the pic of Voodoo in your siggy an updated picture? from the looks of the pic voodoo is about 6-8 months old.

[Crazy Bird Lady]

I would keep her completely separate but close by and only let them out for play time when supervised. Budgies can kill in an instant. I have a few that just attack for no reason as well and when I see or hear this, the offending bird gets caged and loses its flight time privlage.

[Dannii]

Lullaby is younger than a year :)
She's much smaller too.

Yes, thats when I first got her, which was about over a month ago now... I thought that when they got the iris around the eye then that made them 1year+?

[Dannii]

I would keep her completely separate but close by and only let them out for play time when supervised. Budgies can kill in an instant. I have a few that just attack for no reason as well and when I see or hear this, the offending bird gets caged and loses its flight time privlage.

Thank you :)
And I'm definitely not going to allow them to have any unsupervised time together while Voodoo's like this. I couldn't bare it if they did get into a serious fight...

[Pippin's mom]

I imagine they could be grumpy for awhile before going into breeding condition. I don't know why the new cage would make her behave this way since it was new to everyone..doesn't sound like a territorial thing. Maybe she has just decided that she is Queen Budgie and that's it!:P

Try the things already suggested and then if they don't work we can go back to brainstorming.:)

[Dannii]

A little update:

Voodoo is back in the 'main' cage, a few days in time out did her the world of good.
I also completely changed the cage around, bought a few new toys and I even went as far as to move the cage to the other side of my room :rolleyes:

However, I leave the spare cage open all the time and I notice her going in there now and then and just sitting on her own for a bit... but she always ends up back in the main cage for the night, snuggled up to Mr Bo :)

[lamagdalena]

I am glad things are seemingly going back to normal. Voodoo may just be one of those budgies that really likes to be alone. I don't know if that would explain her unprovoked aggression though, just I would advice to keep watching her now. See if this aggression comes back.
Maybe the answer is just a bi monthly or monthly cage rearrangement? Keep us posted! :D

[clifff123]

We have one budgie, Dillon (female 8 months old) who owns everything in our birds room, including us. They others (13) of them just put up with her.

[Kerry C]

I'm wondering why you think this hen has to like her cage mate/s? Do you like everyone you have to be in close proximity to? Have you ever had a falling out of friendship with someone? Birds are no different, but keeping a hen caged with a bird or birds she does not care for is asking to come home one day to a bloody mess and possibly a dead bird or two. It the wild a hen who has a falling out will chase them away. Caged companions can not get out of an angry hen's territory, so she does what is natural to an obstat cage mate - she kills them.

[AniGamer]

Glad your going to handle it correctly. May God be with you. :)

[Dannii]

I'm wondering why you think this hen has to like her cage mate/s? Do you like everyone you have to be in close proximity to? Have you ever had a falling out of friendship with someone? Birds are no different, but keeping a hen caged with a bird or birds she does not care for is asking to come home one day to a bloody mess and possibly a dead bird or two. It the wild a hen who has a falling out will chase them away. Caged companions can not get out of an angry hen's territory, so she does what is natural to an obstat cage mate - she kills them.

I really don’t believe that’s the issue here, for one thing when I separated her from the others she seemed very withdrawn and depressed and as soon as I let her join the others outside the cage she was over preening Mr Bojangles and chirping more like herself.

I’m not keeping with her caged with them against her will, like I said in my previous post, they all have the choice of where to sleep for the night ( I don’t put them in their cages, as soon as I start to dim the lights they seem to know it’s ‘bed time’ so go back into their cages themselves ). I’m not irresponsible enough to put her in a cage with birds that distresses her, or that she distresses.

I am glad things are seemingly going back to normal. Voodoo may just be one of those budgies that really likes to be alone. I don't know if that would explain her unprovoked aggression though, just I would advice to keep watching her now.

I’m glad to, she’s being very laid back with them and I even caught her preening Alfie the other day ( she usually only preens Mr Bojangles ) The rest of the flock aren’t avoiding her or anything either ( which I was frightened they would start to isolate her ). Anyway, I was thinking of the causes of what could cause the aggression…and was thinking maybe it was one of their toys ( Voodoos seemingly favourite toy ) it’s like, hoops with mirrors and a bell. She’d constantly tug at it and peck at the bell ( sometimes getting a bit carried away with herself )… it’s been removed and I think I’ll keep it out the cage, just incase.

Do you guys think that could have been a factor? Or am I just looking to hard for reasons? :S

[Pippin's mom]

You know now that you mention that Voodoo is getting on well with everyone, but still goes to her other cage and sits by herself...I think she likes everyone, but just needs little breaks for herself from time to time..some alone time. Kind of like a dog has the safety and comfort of his den when he gets overwhelmed or scared.:)

I think leaving the other cage open is a good solution and I'm so glad things are back to normal! You're such a good Budgie mom.:D

[Dannii]

You know now that you mention that Voodoo is getting on well with everyone, but still goes to her other cage and sits by herself...I think she likes everyone, but just needs little breaks for herself from time to time..some alone time. Kind of like a dog has the safety and comfort of his den when he gets overwhelmed or scared.:)

I think leaving the other cage open is a good solution and I'm so glad things are back to normal! You're such a good Budgie mom.:D

Yes, I think you’re onto something there :XD: to be honest, I don’t think she’s very socialised and I’m at a disadvantage of not knowing anything about her past ( my consequence from buying a bin-o-budgie ) It’s just going to take time, patience and a very watchful eye ;)

Aww thanks! I love them more than I could of every imagined, so it means a lot that you think I’m such a good mum :D

[Kayla♥Bug]

lullaby is a lutino - males keep the pink cere so if its a year old its a male

is the pic of Voodoo in your siggy an updated picture? from the looks of the pic voodoo is about 6-8 months old.
What age do they have to be for the color to change? I haven't had my bird that long, maybe 4 months. He is in my avatar if you can see him good. Wondering if he is actually a he?

[Flappy]

lullaby is a lutino - males keep the pink cere so if its a year old its a male

Actually, Lullaby is not a lutino, from what i remember of the first pics Dannii posted. But, i have also always thought Lullaby was male. The cere is very pink, and purpley lower down. Compare it to Voodoo's cere, who is definitely female. So i think you have 3 males, and a female, which should be fine for them anyway.

One of our females, Ruby, the lutino, sounds a bit like Voodoo, but maybe not quite as bad. She's very anti-social, but she doesn't really bother the others much. Just sits alone a lot of the time. I sometimes see her chasing one of our males around the cage, like she just has to be on whatever perch he's on, or eat out of the dish he's eating from. But in general, she doesn't get on with the boys, but preens with our other female, Maya. She's not top of the pecking order though, as Maya is. The boys are at the bottom!