Budgie has dirty feathers on head

923 Views 14 Replies 4 Participants Last post by bur, Nov 28, 2021

FourCallingBirds

Discussion Starter · Nov 27, 2021

Bird White Beak Fence Mesh

Bird Vertebrate White Beak Parrot

So my baby Snowy doesn't show signs of sickness, but he fluffs up sometimes. Maybe cause he's a new bird. His nares seem very clear even if he has what seems to be a healed blood clot under one of them. But right now, he has a few dirty feathers on his head. Vent is also clear, but is having those feathers on his head okay?

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Cody

· #2 · Nov 27, 2021

I don't see any dirty feathers but I do see what appear to be a few pin feathers which are new feathers that are still in the keratin sheath, they will eventually open and look like the other feathers. The point on the cere with the blood spot looks like he may have been bitten by the other bird, do they fight? Birds will fluff up slightly when resting or sleeping and that is normal but if he is puffed up most of the time then something is wrong.

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FaeryBee

· #3 · Nov 27, 2021

I agree with Cody 100%. Snowy is starting a molt.

Please answer the question with regard to whether these two budgies fight.
Budgies generally have a first light molt at around 3 - 4 months old and another at 6 -7 months old.
When a budgie reaches at 1 year old their molts adjust to the Seasons., After the adjustment the budgie will have its big molts in the Spring and Fall. Budgies may also have lighter molts throughout the year; triggered by stress, change in diet or change in environment.

You can supplement your budgie’s diet with egg food during a molt.
This helps your budgies replenish the energy lost during the time they lose and grow in the new feathers.
Additionally, egg food promotes good and healthy feather growth.
It is possible to buy ready-made egg food at any specialized pet store but just as easy to make your own by hard boiling an egg and mashing it up.
If you wish you can mix it with a bit of cooked quinoa and flax seed.
You can also finely chop some veggies and add it to the egg food mix.
If your give your budgie cooked quinoa, be sure you rinse it well several times before cooking.

Budgies get itchy during their molt, so they'll preen and scratch more often. Additionally, they may be sleepier and quieter as molting takes a lot of energy, and their poop could be a little runnier. To make them more comfortable, you can offer them baths either in a shallow dish of water (or Lix-It bath) or by hanging wet greens (romaine lettuce or kale works best) in their cage so they can nibble on it and rub against them.

Molting FAQs

Miserable Molting

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FourCallingBirds

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 27, 2021

Cody said:
I don't see any dirty feathers but I do see what appear to be a few pin feathers which are new feathers that are still in the keratin sheath, they will eventually open and look like the other feathers. The point on the cere with the blood spot looks like he may have been bitten by the other bird, do they fight? Birds will fluff up slightly when resting or sleeping and that is normal but if he is puffed up most of the time then something is wrong.

He actually doesn't puff up that much anymore. He's also very active, and he does get into fights. A lot.

FaeryBee

· #5 · Nov 27, 2021

If the budgies are fighting then they need to be separated right away.
Fighting that leads to one budgie bleeding is extremely dangerous. A budgie can easily be hurt or killed by another bird.
Is Snowy fighting with the budgie shown in the picture
Do you have more than just these two budgies?
If so, separating all the birds by gender would be best overall to help prevent breeding.

FourCallingBirds

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 27, 2021

FaeryBee said:
If the budgies are fighting then they need to be separated right away.
Fighting that leads to one budgie bleeding is extremely dangerous. A budgie can easily be hurt or killed by another bird.
Is Snowy fighting with the budgie shown in the picture
Do you have more than just these two budgies?
If so, separating all the birds by gender would be best overall to help prevent breeding.

I have two more. Snowy is the only male, also he already had that spot when we took him from the breeder. They don't fight that much anymore, and we try to control the daylight hours so they won't breed.

bur

· #7 · Nov 27, 2021

I don't understand...

When @Cody says being fluffed up might be a sign of illness, you say he is not fluffed up anymore, but he does fight.

FourCallingBirds said:
He actually doesn't puff up that much anymore. He's also very active, and he does get into fights. A lot.

An hour later, after @FaeryBee has said that you should separate birds that fight, you say they don't fight that much anymore.

FourCallingBirds said:
I have two more. Snowy is the only male, also he already had that spot when we took him from the breeder. They don't fight that much anymore, and we try to control the daylight hours so they won't breed.

That does not compute in my brain. Error. Blue screen.
Never mind if you do not get the reference. I'm pretty ancient apparently.

FaeryBee

· #8 · Nov 27, 2021

@bur is 100% correct.
You keep changing your story. Why would you write one thing initially only to change it in the very next post?

bur

· #9 · Nov 27, 2021

FourCallingBirds said:
I have two more.

What happened to your fourth budgie? Besides Snowy, you had Nova, Cloudy and Winter.

FourCallingBirds

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 27, 2021 (Edited)

bur said:
What happened to your fourth budgie? Besides Snowy, you had Nova, Cloudy and Winter.

FaeryBee said:
@bur is 100% correct.
You keep changing your story. Why would you write one thing initially only to change it in the very next post?

Here's something more clear.

Snowy sometimes fluffs up. A few days ago, he was very fluffy. Now he's not.

I do have Nova, Winter, Snowy and Cloudy in the same cage. We're not sure why he got the wound(? Idk) on his cere, because when we first got him, he already had it. They fought really badly during the first few days then it started dying down. Fighting with the other budgies does typically happen everyday but Snowy doesn't get hurt in these fights. And the fights aren't too extreme, except for Winter VS Nova which is rare. They have been fine today, no major fights so far. We're not to keen on breeding budgies, but we'd like to try. And we don't think we have a choice since we only have one cage, 4 untamed birds, and no separator. As a result, we try to limit daylight hours so nothing happens.
Snowy STILL fluffs but he's active, and eats properly. Sometimes he fluffs, sometimes he doesn't.

I'm sorry for any confusion, English wasn't my first language and sometimes I forget how to put things in words.

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FaeryBee

· #11 · Nov 27, 2021

A Heartfelt Plea to All Members
Tips For Discouraging Breeding
Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies
Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads

Rearranging their cage frequently will help tremendously.
Please be sure you never put a nest box or anything that could be used as a nesting site in their cage.
When they come into condition, you need to limit the light they get to 8 hours a day and limit the amount of protein in their diet.

You should never get budgies if you are not ready, willing a able to house them separately on a permeant basis if necessary.
This is part of responsible budgie ownership.

Additionally, every member should always have a spare cage available for use as a quarantine, hospital/travel cage.

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bur

· #12 · Nov 28, 2021

This is no clarification at all...

A little over two weeks ago you opened a topic about new arrivals. The topic title said you had three healthy and quarantined new birds. What you write now makes me think that was a lie. Quarantine lasts at least 30 days. You now write they are all together and you only have one cage with no way to separate them. If you have only one cage, you cannot have quarantined them when you got them.

I've read your previous posts after I was very confused by what you wrote earlier in this topic. To my absolute horror, I read you had 4 (!) budgies die since you joined the forum one month ago: Spring I, Spring II and the two birds that died of breathing something toxic. You also wrote that you have returned one to the store. So in the last month you have had nine budgies, one was returned, four died and four remain. Those four fight and one might be ill. Those are awful statistics. Yet you choose not to act on the warnings you were given.

I am flabbergasted.

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FourCallingBirds

Discussion Starter · #13 · Nov 28, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

bur said:
This is no clarification at all...

A little over two weeks ago you opened a topic about new arrivals. The topic title said you had three healthy and quarantined new birds. What you write now makes me think that was a lie. Quarantine lasts at least 30 days. You now write they are all together and you only have one cage with no way to separate them. If you have only one cage, you cannot have quarantined them when you got them.

I've read your previous posts after I was very confused by what you wrote earlier in this topic. To my absolute horror, I read you had 4 (!) budgies die since you joined the forum one month ago: Spring I, Spring II and the two birds that died of breathing something toxic. You also wrote that you have returned one to the store. So in the last month you have had nine budgies, one was returned, four died and four remain. Those four fight and one might be ill. Those are awful statistics. Yet you choose not to act on the warnings you were given.

I am flabbergasted.

I'm trying my hardest! And no, only 3 died. The other was returned as it did not adjust properly.

And they were quarantined with the other person before we got them.

FaeryBee

· #14 · Nov 28, 2021

The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being

Quarantine does not take place with "other people" it is keeping the new birds away from your current bird.
You were given ALL of this information in the thread below:

Hand taming

I've had a budgie for about 2 weeks now (her name is Winter) and she was always very, VERY scared of my hand. I was genuinely surprised when she started coming out of the cage with her mate, Spring I. Unfortunately, Spring I died of hepatic failure/broken neck, and let me tell you Winter was...

www.talkbudgies.com

Having three budgies die and returning one to the pet store in less than 2 months isn't good pet ownership.
The bottom line is that you are not following best practices for the heath and well being of your birds.

Did you take Snowy to the vet after I advised you to do so?
Locating an Avian Veterinarian

What is the size of your cage? Length, Width and Height? If you don't know, then measure it and provide the exact measurements.
What is the spacing between the bars on the cage? The spacing should be no more than 1/2" (1.27 cm).

Please answer my questions in your next post on this thread.

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bur

· #15 · Nov 28, 2021

FourCallingBirds said:
I'm trying my hardest!

What age are you?

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