Burd With Buddy Ball

Burd has strong instincts to feed.

Lots of birds regurgitate.  It's a strong impulse to feed their mate and their young.  I normally advise to distract and discourage this type of behavior when it involves a human.  After all, you don't want your bird to perceive you as his mate.  This little budgie bird is staying with me for a while.  I noticed he is captivated by his woven birdie ball toy.  He walks over and feeds it regularly.  Should I discourage this behavior?  Perhaps not.  Burd is boarding here for the first time and I want him to be comfortable.  He's in his own cage and I don't want to redecorate!  If I remove his "buddy toy" he might get stressed.  I'll just do my best to clean it up and let him continue this comfort behavior. 

At home, the mom might want to redirect this behavior by adding other toys or moving this one.  It's not good to fixate on one item in the cage.  This is why mirrors can become a problem.  A bird can get so attached that the activity level drops.  Not good.

Burd, however, is very active!  He comes out and flies around like a bumblebee.  Very happy camper!