# Sleep and Care for my budgie



## Alulu (Jan 3, 2022)

I've had my budgie (Luna) for about a month and a half now. I've done a lot of research, and often find myself here looking for the answers I need. Despite what I wanted due to the houses she'll live in, the pet store had already clipped her wings  . Luna has started to warm up to me, and will _sometimes_ hop onto my finger with the command "up" and allow me to take her out of the cage.

Note: Although I'm 19, I've been living with my parents to save money for college, and drive between their houses on a weekly basis.

Both of them have other pets. My dad's cats don't seem to have any interest in the bird. On the other hand.. my mom has 3 Yorkies, and a cat. 2 of the dogs are only really interested in the bird when I have her out, and she gets spooked and "flies" away- which I then have to chase her down, as she can't really fly.

I try to keep the cage half covered with a blanket, so that Luna has extra protection from the cat. I often find the cat sitting by the cage, and when the bird moves nearby, swats at her, claws out. I'm not upset with the cat, and because my mom was out of town, I worked on breaking this behavior by spraying her with the squirt bottle. She got pretty good, but it's impossible to be perfect. She would sit and watch, but not use her claws, even if she decided to put her paw on the cage.

When my mom got back from her business trip however, she got upset when I would spray the cat, viewing the cats behavior as "playing". I told her that I didn't want the cat thinking it was okay to use claws, but didn't mind her sitting by the cage. Because it wasn't my cat though, I respected her wishes and stopped spraying the cat, and started to just pick up the cat and move her away when she would use claws, or become aggressive in some other way.

Some time passed and everything seemed to be okay. I had my budgie go to bed at the same time every night, and would wake her when I woke in the morning. My mom made the comment at some point "you're trying to keep your bird on a schedule, but it's not going to work, because you don't even have a schedule." in a rude tone, as I was putting the bird to be around 10pm, and we often don't go to bed until midnight or later. I started letting the bird stay up, knowing that we were likely too loud for the bird to sleep, even in another room and covered However, my mom started waking the budgie WAY earlier than what I've heard budgies need for sleep. Two night ago, my budgie only got 4 hours of sleep. Last night? she got around 8, with is better.. but not 10-12. (I've also found that despite the covered cage, my cat finds a way under the blanket- so I'm sure the cat keeps the bird awake as well).I commented on not waking the bird when they (my mom and sister) wake up super early, and to just leave her be until either 1. The bird chirps, indicating she's awake and wants the cage uncovered, or 2. until the time hits the 10-12 hours mark for how long she's been sleeping. They haven't listened, and continue to not let her get sleep.

I decided to let it go, as the bird doesn't appear to be "cranky" or less playful (she's never really played much, as she hasn't been fully comfortable with her new living situation).

On top of this, when my budgie perches near the side of the cage, my mom and sister have started to stick their finger in the pet her, even though she does the "open beak like I want to bite you but won't because I know not to"- and when they continue, she does bite them. I've told them to stop, because her body language indicates she doesn't like it, but always get the response "You're just jealous that we're interacting with _your _bird" and claim she's just playing but with what I've read, and how's she's change when I interact with her now, that isn't at all what it is. She used to let me pet her back if I was gently, and now she doesn't let me do it at all, and barely let's me pet her tummy, doing the same "open beak" signal, or attempting to bite in general.

They also make comments about me not feeding her, despite her always being fed, except for once when I woke up late for work, and my sister had to feed her, as I forgot (she had food in the bowl, but was mostly out).

I've started to get more agitated with how they talk down to me about it, when I say the budgie needs more sleep, or doesn't like them poking her with their finger. (I'm fine with them petting her, as long as her body language says it's okay, but again.. my mom forces the bird to let her pet her saying "she's an animal and needs to learn").

AITA and just over protective of the bird? Or do I need to put my foot down and get them to listen?

I'm really at a loss here as to what the "right" thing to do is


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## Siklo (Nov 21, 2021)

Sorry to be rude but your family are being absolutely horrible.

First of all I wouldn't let the bird out at all while any of the other pets are in the room. Regardless of if they've shown "interest". One nip or claw swat is all they need to seriously injury or kill her.

If possible at all while you're at your family's I'd keep the bird in a room where the other animals can't go, and sure as hell wouldn't let that one cat near the cage even for a second.
****, I sure wouldn't be so gentle with just some water bottle and if my mom got prissy at me for protecting my pets life, I'd eat her face.

Cats are birds natural predators, it's not playing. That cat will kill your budgie if it is given the chance. 
I've had the most gentle, sweet Persian cat bring me dead birds and murder a sparrow that accidentally flew into my living room in the blink of an eye. House cats murder millions of birds every year. 

Your family needs to understand that your bird is your pet and your responsibility and if they cannot follow and respect your rules then they can't interact with it.
They are being disrespectful to you and downright harmful with their behavior. 
I'd sooner get a companion for her and a pet sitter and leave her at your place when you're with your family than let them keep up with this behavior if they refuse to change.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Your situation is bad all around. It is stressful for Luna to be going from one house to another constantly and the situation with the cats and dogs makes it even worse and on top of that your family members are making things worse. Birds are not like dogs where you can have them traveling with you from place to place, the poor bird is never going to be settled with all the stress it is facing, you should not be allowing *any* contact with cats and dogs. The cats are only doing what is natural for them and spraying them with water will not erase their predatory instincts. I am sorry to say that if this is the kind of life you intend to provide it would be best if you could rehome the bird to someone that could provide a more stable home and has no predatory pets in the home.


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## Alulu (Jan 3, 2022)

Siklo said:


> Sorry to be rude but your family are being absolutely horrible.
> 
> First of all I wouldn't let the bird out at all while any of the other pets are in the room. Regardless of if they've shown "interest". One nip or claw swat is all they need to seriously injury or kill her.
> 
> ...





Cody said:


> Your situation is bad all around. It is stressful for Luna to be going from one house to another constantly and the situation with the cats and dogs makes it even worse and on top of that your family members are making things worse. Birds are not like dogs where you can have them traveling with you from place to place, the poor bird is never going to be settled with all the stress it is facing, you should not be allowing *any* contact with cats and dogs. The cats are only doing what is natural for them and spraying them with water will not erase their predatory instincts. I am sorry to say that if this is the kind of life you intend to provide it would be best if you could rehome the bird to someone that could provide a more stable home and has no predatory pets in the home.


Luna doesn't seem to mind the car, and she actually chirps and plays more while I'm driving. This isn't exactly what I intended for her. I considered keeping her in a different room, away from all other pets, but she gets more upset being _away_ from everything. Even if I'm in the room with her. That's why I began keeping her in the living room, and just covering half her cage so she has an "away". In addition, I placed her bed in such a way that she could hide, but I've never seen her use it to get away. That's why I don't understand what to do.. Despite what I've read about the signs of her being stressed, the only time she acts out, is biting my family when the provoke her. I do hear her screech sometimes, but when she does that, nothing is around her (i.e the dogs are away in their pen, and the cat is visibly occupied with something else, and we're playing a board game in another room).

I did read a lot before accepting her as a gift- mostly about the other animals. Most of what I got, was as long as I keep her away and safe, that she will get used to them being around, she just won't have any concept of "danger". I didn't view that as an issue, because I would be with her, and watching her at ALL times, and not allow them the slightest chance of hurting the bird. 

Knowing this.. do you still believe she'd be better off being rehomed?

It was a consideration before I decided to make this post asking for advice, as much as I hate the idea. I've had her for little over a month and am already attached to her more than the pets I've been around for years 😭


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Having a bird and keeping it in a cage for its entire life is no life at all for the bird and you certainly cannot under any circumstances let the bird out with cats and dogs around and please do not think that the cats and dogs would not harm the bird, they could very easily kill the bird even if that was not their intent. Please read through this article Cats (and Dogs) are Predators // Birds are Prey


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forums,

We appreciate that you came to the forums for help because you genuinely love Luna 💘

However, I agree completely with the above. Pure love is important but is not the only thing you need for the health and safety of your bird. Continuing to live with your family right now (which you have no choice but to do) is not in the best interests of Luna since they refuse to respect her and you and in doing so are directly harming her mental well being and inflicting stress upon her constantly.

What Cody said above is true, and in addition, prey animals like small birds, etc. will always feel endangered if they see or are aware that there are predatory animals about. It's in their nature to fear them, especially since they are constantly antagonizing and aggressing her. It's no way of life for a pet bird, whomst are our privilege to have as part of our flock. Without us doing our part to ensure "the flock" is safe, then we have to make difficult decisions to ensure our birds are happy.

If you can't ensure that these types of situations do not arise, and that Luna can't be given the time free of stress that she deserves (and it sounds like she can't, since even if the cats and dogs are put away, your family seems to have no regard for her and sees her as a toy-like creature with no emotion or thought), then you need to rehome her to someone who can giver her this.

This is not your fault at all. I do believe that you are a good owner yourself and you clearly have done a lot of research and love Luna very much. I hope that there is a time when you can live on your own and be able to devote the love and care you spent so much time cultivating.

Even if somehow the cats, dogs, and family members all calmed down, it still is not a healthy environment for a bird. Even the stress of having so many predatory animals around, even "without interest" and always having that worry that if she gets out of her cage she could be killed in minutes, is not worth it. 

I know you love Luna and I'm sorry that she came into your life at a time when you can't control your family members actions 

I hope this helps you decide what to do.

Let us know how things turn out! Best wishes ❤


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## Alulu (Jan 3, 2022)

Cody said:


> Having a bird and keeping it in a cage for its entire life is no life at all for the bird and you certainly cannot under any circumstances let the bird out with cats and dogs around and please do not think that the cats and dogs would not harm the bird, they could very easily kill the bird even if that was not their intent. Please read through this article Cats (and Dogs) are Predators // Birds are Prey


I am well aware of that. I do let her out of her cage when she want to come out, keeping the other animals away. More often than not, she does not want to stay out for more than a couple minutes


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Luna should never be in a room where there are cats or dogs present even when she is in her cage.
Allowing the other animals around her is stressful to her and should not happen.

I'm sorry to say this but I truly believe it would be best for Luna to be rehomed to someone who can care for her in a safe environment.*


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