How to Play with Budgies ( Complete Guide)
Last Updated on July 22, 2022 by Ali Shahid
Budgies enjoy playing with their owners and interacting with them. A crucial part of being a budgie parent is to provide an engaging fun time for them. Playing with and interacting with your budgie regularly is essential for his health. But the question is how to play with budgies?
If you would like to play with your budgies, then you can buy them toys, make a schedule for them to fly, and play certain games to entertain them. There is no doubt that budgies enjoy playing with their toys as a result of their inquisitive nature and friendly personalities.
It is natural for budgies to grow bored, stressed, and lonely when there is not enough entertainment available to them. Budgies are known to enjoy playing with budgie bangles, ladders, bells, and chew toys, all of which are popular toys to play with.
In addition to this, they enjoy playing games that require them to use their intelligence and solve puzzles. Lastly, you can play with your budgie by teaching it what to do such as dancing, singing, talking, and showing its tricks.
It will take longer for budgies to engage in fun activities if they are scared and nervous. Your budgie will feel more comfortable if you play with them with their new toys in front of them to make them feel more at ease.
How to Play with your Budgies
Providing budgies with entertaining budgie toys, interacting and playing games with them consistently, and letting them fly for some time are three ways to keep them entertained.
As social animals, budgies love to be with their owners to partake in different activities with them, especially when they are bonded to them.
Similarly, having toys around keeps them occupied for a long time, and they can play with them for hours on end.
1. Buy budgie-friendly toys
A Budgie is one of the most active birds and enjoys playing with as many toys as possible. Budgies consider their cages their homes, so don’t overcrowd their cages with toys. Toys made from natural materials can be chewed by your budgie, such as rope.
As he hangs out in his cage, chewing keeps the beak of your budgie trimmed and strong, as well as stimulating the nerves. You can hang birdie bagels up for your budgie to chew on or slip them onto its perch.
Small, squishy balls and lightweight toys are also good options. The toys your budgie will play well in the wild will be made of natural materials like wood, paper, and plant materials.
We have put together a list of budgie toys that will keep your feathered friend entertained for a long time.
2. Play Gym
Excellent addition to any bird’s home is a play gym that allows them to climb and hang off of objects. Play gyms with bells and chew toys are great for exercising budgies while they rub their beaks on them.
Perches, ropes, and swings can be found in gyms with multiple levels. Overeager budgies can be prevented from injuring themselves by having safety nets to catch them if they fall.
3. Ladders
It is also good for budgies to have ladders because they enjoy climbing, which improves their coordination and balance. A ladder keeps a budgie’s feet healthy as well, so they’re a great addition to any cage.
4. Bells
Something is fascinating about bells that attract budgies. A bell ring is not a sound they would normally hear in the wild, so hearing it is a unique means of entertainment for these animals.
Besides being fascinated by the moving parts, they also enjoy tapping the bell to watch how it moves and makes the most noise possible so that they can see how it works. For the same reason that bells are a fun toy for budgies, chimes are another great toy option.
5. Shredding Toys
The Budgie loves to shred and tear soft materials into many different pieces and toss them into the air. Newspaper and other paper-based items will work just as well as shedding toys, which means you won’t even have to spend money on them.
6. Chew Toys
In order to keep their beaks filed down, chew toys make a good choice when it comes to budgies. In order to find a quality item, you should look for natural materials, such as woven vines, papers, and durable wooden items.
A good chew toy for your budgie is a rattle or dumbbell that makes noise as your bird chews or plays with it.
7. Balls
In order to encourage natural foraging behaviors in budgies, foraging balls are a great idea. You can fill these boxes with treats or shredded paper so that they will be more fun to play with.
Balls can also be used by budgies as foot toys so that they can exercise and stretch their legs and feet after they have been perching for long periods. As a result of this, bumblefoot and joint problems can be prevented.
8. Cardboard
Budgie can shred, bend, peck at, and toss cardboard pieces around in addition to reshaping them into rolls, tubes, triangles, and circles. Due to the lightweight nature of cardboard, small budgies enjoy ripping it apart to find their way inside the cage.
Despite that, you must ensure that your budgie won’t actively eat the cardboard when you give it to him. Our shipping boxes, food containers, and toilet paper rolls are the most common things you can use to make cardboard.
9. Rope
Rope toys satisfy the natural instinct for chewing in budgies, which is why they are so popular. There are also rope toys that can be useful for protecting budgies from self-destructive behavior, like feather plucking, as well as for solving feather plucking problems.
When choosing a rope toy for your budgie, make sure that the rope is made of 100% natural fibers, such as cotton, sisal, or jute, to keep the bird happy.
It is a bad idea to use nylon rope with birds because its strong strands can become caught in the feathers and create a choking hazard for the birds.
10. Swings
Swinging is a relaxing activity for budgies and they like to feel the wind moving through their feathers while swinging. It is similar to flying for birds that have had their wings clipped, so swinging feels very similar to flying for them.
Almost any pet store will have swings for sale, so you can find one near you. Furthermore, you are also able to build your own by connecting two cylindrical rods with a rope in order to make a frame.
Ideally, it should be fastened with a strong, secure hook, and should be sturdy enough to hold your budgie firmly in place.
11. Birdie Bangles
It is composed of tightly rolled layers of cardboard so the budgies can chew on them without breaking any of the layers. If you want to provide enrichment for the animals in the cage, one option is to hang the toys in the cage.
12. Intelligence Toys
Budgies’ cognitive skills can be improved by playing games and playing with toys that test their intelligence. Accordingly, budgies enjoy solving puzzles, and they are smart creatures.
Scientists have found that female budgies are more attracted to males who solve problems. You can increase your chances of breeding two budgies by giving them puzzles and games to play.
Games You Can Play with Budgies
Fetch and Retrieve
It is not uncommon for budgies to play fetch like dogs. Playing with your budgie is as simple as tossing a ball in its direction and saying, “Catch it!” You may encounter a situation where your bird runs after the object and picks it up with its beak if you’re lucky.
You should praise this if it happens. If you want your bird to bring you an object, you must teach him to return it to you. If you want to teach your bird how to bring the ball back to you, keep throwing the ball toward it until it learns how to do it.
After your bird has done this, give it a big pat on the head in a happy, excited tone of voice, and say to it, “Great Job”. The simple act of tossing the toy to your bird should be enough to motivate him to come back to you the next time he receives it.
There will be plenty of exercise for your bird catching the toy and carting it back to you after he has caught it.
Staircase Dash
The game requires two players and carpeted stairs. Let your budgie play with its favorite person if it has one. When the bird is placed at the top of the stairs, the preferred individual should gently nudge it down while standing at the bottom.
A person who is bonded with the bird could either call its name or urge it to climb down the stairs. In many cases, the birds climb down the stairs using their feet and flapping their wings in order to get lots of exercise.
If it reaches the bottom, say, “Well done!” It was then that the favorite person put the budgie down, walked up the stairs quickly, and called the bird. The majority of birds will chase after their “own” human as soon as they see him or her.
Upon reaching the top of the ladder, praise the bird once more. A good relationship with your bird is the key to this working.
Birdie Basketball
Make sure to use a birdie-sized basketball hoop to teach your bird how to play basketball. Toy stores carry miniature-sized basketball hoops for budgies or basketball games designed specifically for parrots.
It comes with either a cloth ball or Nerf basketball and attaches to any wall with a suction cup. You can use either. It is a good idea to place the hoops adjacent to a wall on the floor. Put a basketball in front of your bird and say “Toss!” and get the ball into the hoop.
Next, you should give the ball to your bird and say to him, “Toss!” As soon as your bird has managed to put the ball through the hoop, give him a big hug and say, “Good job!.
You can try trying several more times to put the ball through the hoop if your bird ignores the ball. In the end, there is a good chance that your bird will figure things out for itself.
Climb The Rope
You’ll need a rope that’s at least eight or nine feet long, and you’ll need to tie knots every six inches or so. The rope can be hung using a plant hook from the ceiling. Tell your parrot to climb the rope as you place him or her on the flooring near the bottom end.”
As soon as a parrot sees the rope, it will naturally try to climb up it. Depending on your bird, you may need to stand on a stool to serve a treat a couple of feet above the bird.
To reward your bird, you should say, “Good bird,” after he or she reaches the top knot. The bird should be picked up and allowed to climb back to the top once again.
Hide-And-Seek
Bring the bird to a new room or part of the house it has never been to before, such as an unfamiliar basement or bedroom. At one end of the room, place your bird on the floor and walk away.
You can call out, “Find me” and then move several yards or stick your head over the edge of the bed so the bird can see you, and then bow your head back into the bed once the bird has seen you.
For your bird to chase after you, make it a distance that is far enough for it to walk a considerable distance at a fair pace before it can catch up with you at a good clip.
The best way to find out if your bird will come looking for you is to call out its name and see if it responds.
If your pet has been bonded to you for a long time, it will try to locate you if it is in a strange place as it does not want to be left alone. Give your bird a head scratch when it finds you and says Great job.
A Good Time For All
You shouldn’t give up too soon on any of these activities if you want to succeed. Take some time for your feathered game player to get accustomed to what you are asking him or her to do.
It would be a good idea to try that game again another day if your bird does not seem interested. See what kinds of games your bird enjoys by observing its mood on that particular day.
Sometimes your bird may want to chase a ball down the staircase; other times, it might just want to flap its wings.
Arrange Flying Sessions
When your budgie flies every day, you can interact with him and play with him during that time. If he has a play gym or a swing for him to play on, let him play with that.
The best way to make your budgie interact with you is to have him play fetch with you or play with a toy. You should make sure that the time of your budgie’s flying sessions is the same every day so that the budgie gets used to it.
After a while, he will be able to fly back into his cage on his own when finish the session at the end.
Important Points to Consider while playing with budgies
- Prepare the room
Before you let your budgie out of the cage or into a playground outside of it, it’s always a good idea to prepare the room.
Likewise, you should never leave your budgie unsupervised outside its cage, as he may get injured or chew on something that is harmful or might cause him to get ill. Be sure to supervise him before letting him out.
- Play for 10-15 minutes 2 or 3 times a day
You can train your budgie to respond properly to your commands by playing with him and bonding with him at the same time. Play sessions should be scheduled several times a day, lasting no more than 15 minutes, so that you maintain a consistent routine of playing.
You can do this by playing with your budgie throughout the day in a short play session, while at the same time keeping him entertained and active.
- Use different toys every week
In order to keep your play sessions interesting, make sure you use a variety of toys during your sessions. The best way to make sure your budgie’s toys are never boring is to change them up every two weeks and use toys that have different functions, colors, and textures.
Rather than buying new toys every time he needs them, you can simply move his toys around in his cage every two weeks.
