Budgies are intelligent, social, and interactive birds and need plenty of human presence and stimulation to stay healthy and happy.
But budgie owners can frequently have commitments that take them away from home for more than a day, whether to work, be in hospital, or visit family and friends.
So, Can You Leave a Budgie Home Alone?
You definitely can. From a physical well-being viewpoint, as long as there is sufficient water, food, toys, chew toys, background music, and puzzles, a budgie can stay home alone for short periods. However, you must not leave your budgie home alone for more than a weekend. Although there is no fast and hard rule, two days is the maximum period where any unforeseen incident can still be brought back into control. Leaving your budgie alone for 8 to 24 hours would be a more distinctive and manageable timeline.
Budgies are social creatures that need company, be it a human friend or another caged friend.
This prevents separation anxiety or loneliness, which can happen since most budgies flock in the wild and are naturally used to being in groups or at least having others for regular company.
So, if your budgie has already developed a bond with you, leaving it alone for many hours can cause an emotional breakdown.
These effects of loneliness are harder to notice, and most owners do not know that budgies can suffer from such emotional issues.
Nevertheless, budgies are fond of toys, and you can distract them with various toys when you are away from home.
While leaving your budgie for a quick trip to the shop doesn’t need much planning, leaving him home alone for a day or more requires you to plan how to keep him busy, safe, and entertained when you are gone.
What To Do Before Leaving Your Budgie Alone
Leaving your budgie alone for a few hours, a day or two will always require some attention and planning.
For life uncertainties, it is best to take safety measures, including prevention from starvation, accidents, boredom, etc., to decrease the chances of any disaster occurring to your budgie.
Here are some things to do before leaving your budgie home.
1. Cage Preparations
Your budgie is an intelligent and active bird that stays active all day.
Staying alone in the cage can be frustrating, resulting in excessive chattering and screeching to gain attention.
To keep your budgie well entertained, it’s essential to add as many non-toxic toys to the cage, including several foraging toys to keep it engaged.
Try and position the toys at different sections so that the budgie’s interest keeps piqued at all times.
You should also inspect all the existing and new toys for cracks and crevices where your little budgie can get stuck and accidentally hurt itself.
Additionally, remove all the complex rope swings and toys to eliminate any chances of the bird strangling himself.
Supplying a variety of food, toys, and chewing material will help your budgies keep engaged and away from trouble when you are away.
2. Food And Water
Depending on the length of your stay out of home, ensure to leave the water and food dishes full.
Also, ensure there are several backups if one source of food or water gets depleted before you get back.
For instance, besides leaving food and water dishes on the floor, you can hang some food and water bowls for backup.
Related: Can A Budgie Overeat?
3. Maintain The Set Routine
The right way to ensure your budgie doesn’t feel lonely is to maintain his normal routine even when you are away from home.
This way, you will not feel any difference in routine pattern, and before they notice your absence, you will be back home.
You can do this by not letting your budgie since any change in his nights and days using Light Timers. This way, he will still know the bedtime and wake-up time.
4. Background Music And A Human Voice
One way you can make your budgie not feel your absence while away is by adding a human voice.
There are many options for this, such as leaving the television on with a set timer to switch it off. You can also leave a recorder on pre-record with your phrases and words.
Your birds will be comforted by listening to your voice and might even learn to talk while he listens to each word.
If you will be away for more than a day, you can try to use Amazon Echo as it will help you switch on the sound in the morning and put it off when it is time for your budgie to sleep to avoid disturbing its sleep cycle.
5. Use Modern Technology
If you are the type of anxious pet owner who is always worried about your pet’s well-being, investing in a CCTV camera is the best bet.
This way, you can always view what is happening in your budgie’s cage. More so, you can even talk to your little budgie via your smartphone’s microphone.
6. If Possible, Have Someone Visit
Even after applying the measures above, it is recommendable to have someone visit in person to monitor them, especially if you are away for more than two days.
A trusted neighbor or close family member will be perfect because food and water checks are vital.
However, the best option would normally be a house sitter although it will cost you more.
Precautions To Take Before Leaving a Budgie Home Alone
Before leaving your little bird home alone, double-checking if everything is in order won’t take much time.
After all, all we want is the safety of our birds. Some of the precautions to take include;
1. Never Leave Any External Access For Your Budgie Other Than The Cage’s Exterior
Access to the open area might leave your pet susceptible to injuries as the sources of danger are more.
Birds do not control their flight speed when staying indoors and can get injured or hurt when flying into walls or windows.
More so, budgies can get into dangerous things such as chewing upholstery, drapes, and the bills on your kitchen table.
2. Budgies Become Bored Very Quickly
You should hence ensure to offer sufficient options to keep your budgie engaged and entertained.
Otherwise, your bird might end up developing behavioral problems such as feather-plucking or depression.
3. Budgies Are Natural Chewers
They might hence chew plastic water and food dishes which might be harmful to their health.
You should hence be considerate about the dish material you keep inside the cage.
4. No Mirrors
Against the famous notion, you should avoid leaving mirrors in the budgies’ cage.
While budgies can view their reflection as a companion and begin talking to them, it can be a major behavioral problem if they are left alone for a longer period.
Bottom Line
It is completely okay to leave your budgie home alone.
Leaving a budgie alone for the first time can freak you out.
But with time and experience, you will get used to the tricks and tips to leave your budgie home safely, and it will get easier for you.
Arrange everything in order while keeping the safety of your budgie in mind, and he will be safe until you finally get back home.
References
Leaving budgies home alone- Budgerigars Forum