First of all, your birds aren't still awake and up that late at night, right? Birds have a specific sleep schedule, and they should not be kept up super late.
However, I will assume you are talking about "night frights." Night frights happen to birds that, in the wild, lived out in the open. When something startles them, they assume they have to fly away immediatly. Budgies come from the desert in Australia, and they can't just stand still and blend into a tree, like Amazons can. So their only option is to flee from something scary. Cockatiels get night frights often, too.
You are definatly doing the right thing by soothing your budgies when they get scared at night. If you just let them flap around, they could break a blood feather or something. Turn on the light and talk to them calmly until they seem ok to go back to bed. It might help to take them out of the cage, so they can see clearly that there is no danger around.
So what causes these bedtime scares? It can really be anything. Maybe a car driving by outside, and the headlights shining in through a window? Maybe a tv in the other room? Maybe a mosquito flew through their cage? Maybe a dog barking, or somebody walking down the hallway? Who knows how birds think anyway? You cannot eliminate night frights all together, but you can do things to make them less frequent.
Do you keep your birds' cage covered at night? This is important because it helps to keep extra lights and bugs out of their cage at night. Any movement, even just through a window, can be scary to birds. Remember, budgies cannot see well in the dark. Other ideas are to keep the blinds and windows closed in the room where they live, so no extra sounds or lights can come in. Maybe your budgies could sleep in their own room, where you can close the doors to keep the sounds of you moving around the house down too. Some people do this and use a baby moniter to hear if their birds do wake up, flapping around their cage.
It's so great that you are concerned about your budgies saftly and mental well-being. I'm sure that with a caring owner like you, they will be ok. The most important thing is to be there with them when they do get scared.
2007-08-01 20:31:53
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answer #1
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answered by AnneBonny10 2
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They may be tired, my lovebirds did that a few times when I took too long to cover them up. Sounds like they should go to bed by now, so put a dark sheet over their cage so they can feel safe enough to sleep:) -- if that cloth is not dark enough that could make a difference. Lights off alone wont necessarily help since they will still feel on guard for stuff. Other than that, they could just be moving around at night. FIve budgies mean you better have a BIG CAGE of at least three feet by three feet, or htey are probably getting unhealthy and barely able to spread their wings, so they are uncomfortable and unhappy. If you must have that many birds, you need to give them space to live -- they are not murderers on death row!
2007-08-01 22:16:15
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answer #2
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answered by boncarles 5
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Hi my Ekkie does this and so does my Goffins.. They do it when they get excited and when they feel the urge to exercise.. The Ekkie will stand on top of his cage and flap for a few secs to minutes screaming the whole time.. I think it is a sign of showery because when he is on my hand I will hold him up and tell him to show me how pretty he is and he starts to flapping showing me his wings.. The Goffins does it out of sheer pleasure he will hang upside down and squawk and flap his wings it is pretty neat they get eachother going.. My Ekkie doesn't do that at night neither does the Goffins but they go to bed at 9 I cover them and they are in a dark room so they can sleep peacefully.. The Goffins will have night terrors sometimes and I go into thier room uncover him take him out and cuddle him tell him it is ok softly about 5 minutes of this and he is ready to go back into his cage .. Maybe your bird is having night terrors and his screaming and flapping is setting off the other ones... Try putting them to bed earlier covering them completely and shutting off all lights including night light.. Good Luck
2007-08-02 06:27:50
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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They may be exercising. All four of my birds sit on the cage or a perch and flap their wings like crazy. Usually when one starts, the others will do it. My conure even hangs upside down and does it. If they don't get to fly around alot- my birds wings are clipped, I'm sure those wing muscles need to get some kind of exersize!!
2007-08-02 01:10:22
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answer #4
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answered by jen's3littlebirds 4
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well, they might be telling you in their language that they want to go to sleep. Birds have a very very tight sleep schedulle as one of your answers already pointed out. It is imperitive that they have the sleep they need. If they are not on time they will have freak outs and flap their wings to let you know they are scared. So, when this happens again, go to the cage and talk quietly to them, that should help. Hope I helped.
2007-08-02 01:58:43
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answer #5
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answered by Mark S 1
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My 2 budgies do this as well. I dont know why but they just go crazy in the middle of the night flying and hittin the cage from every angle. Flappin their wings like crazies. My personal theory is that it may be because of a bad dream or something like that. sort of like when babies start crying in the middle of the night.;
2007-08-01 17:12:16
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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That flapping is called a night fright. You are doing the right thing by talking to them to get them to calm down. Once they are all calm, check them over to make sure that they aren't injured. If you notice an injury be sure to get it treated right away (of course).
2007-08-02 12:12:02
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answer #7
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answered by Me 2
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Tweety Bird.
2016-05-20 22:29:00
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answer #8
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answered by ? 3
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exercising their wings
2007-08-04 23:01:10
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answer #9
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answered by cheri h 7
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