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Budgie Health Questions and Concerns

1303 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  lvolt
First thing I want to say is hello to everybody and a thanks towards this forum as I've been here before many times and learned quite a lot of things about budgies, as well identifying a health problem for one of my budgies.

As I am a 3 months new budgie owner, I have some questions regarding some behaviors and health issues that may still be present with my budgies.
I have 4 budgies, two males and two females. One of my female has been brought to me by my grandpa and at the time when he gave it to me I only had one male and female that are kind of a couple.(They still work on their relationship :D). My family told me to give her away, but I love pets and animals so much that in a couple of minutes I've became attached to her and I couldn't give her away. I brought her a partner and I was forced to buy as well a cage for her and her new partner to live in.

The hen that has been brought to me by my grandpa is sometimes aggressive, and I was forced to buy a new cage for her and her new partner because of this, because I don't know why she was always picking a fight with the other male budgie that was not her partner and as well had a big fight with the other hen, where I was forced to intervene to stop them :D
My first male budgie is named TLB(The Little Buddy), he has a face of an innocent, is so calm and harmless that its like a little baby angel :budgie:
And because of that he was always crying and running when the aggressive hen was attacking him (her name is Furiosa, go figure). So I had to move her with the new male budgie (Snowflake) in the new bought cage only for them. Surprisingly enough she is not attacking Snowflake as long as he doesn't stay in her way and Snowflake always sings to her and to my surprise she even kisses him when he flirts with her, but the moment he does something wrong she tries to peck him :D

And here comes my first question. Why is Furiosa like this? I've searched through here and on internet and by the answers that I've found I think it may be some hormonal problems, I also think she is the oldest of the bunch because she has full brown cere and I say that she may have hormonal problems because she has a little crust on her cere, and I'm pretty sure it is not mites or anything as the crust is not big and is brown as her nose color.
But I'm asking if maybe she has a health issue because I've read on internet that sometimes when budgie are aggressive they might have some health issues. I want to mention that she is active as a normal budgie would be, eats well (even fruits), drinks well and is full of energy when she is flying. But I'm asking of her well being because when Snowflake approaches her and he doesn't try to kiss her she attacks him. (I also put her back in cage with TLB to see how she reacts towards him, but I am getting the same answer, she still attacks him, although not as bad as before).

And my second question is for Snowflake and the other hen, called Bella (Bellatrix). I don't know why but both Snowflake and Bella, when they get tired they breath so heavily and I can hear something like a click in their chest when they breath after they fly too much and get tired. Is this something to be worried for, because a friend of mine has a budgie for almost 3 years now and sometimes when his budgie gets tired I can hear this clicking sound in him too. I want to mention that I hear this sound only when I hold them in my hands after they fly.
And regarding the cold feet. Bella has her feet almost and always kind of cold, but again she is very active, eats well, drinks well and doesn't give any signs of sickness, it may be like this because she is paying so much attention to everything that happens around her and she may be stressed? (Although she was the first budgie that I've got of the bunch, and she most of the times now stays relaxed and with her feather fluffed, not the sick stance though. I also want to mention that for a few days now, Bella gets tired a little faster than she did before when she flies. She was flying like an airplane on turbo before and now she flies like an ''almost running out of fuel'' airplane and getting tired a lot more faster. Why?

Sorry for the long post. I've read some FAQs here and some other things regarding the behavior and health issues, but I want owners with experience to tell me what might be the problems. And maybe you may ask why I'm not taking them to a vet, all I have to say is that I don't have any bird vet around where I live and I even had to say to one of the vets here what medicine he should give to one of my budgies when he had mites. (I identified his mites in an early stage by reading this forum, so thanks again to all, and he is fine now:) )
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Hi and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Your budgies are very pretty. :) Furiosa is currently in breeding condition which, as Randy has told you can lead to aggressive behavior.
Budgies need to have the biggest cage possible -- The bigger, the better.
They need room to stretch their wings as well as to have some space to get away from one another.
I suggest getting new cages for each pair of your budgies.
The cages they are currently in are not large enough for two birds.
The minimum size recommended for two budgies is 30" long x 18" wide x 18" high. http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html

Additionally, it is very important for you to provide them with natural wood perches of varying diameters to exercise their feet. Plastic perches and wooden dowel perches can quickly lead to bumblefoot.

Essentials to a Great Cage-Talk Budgies Forums

Grapevine Perches and multi-branch perches are good choices.





Clicking sounds after flying fast can be a sign of a respiratory issue.

Respiratory Problems

To help with respiratory issues, you can put your budgie's cage in the bathroom when you run hot water through the shower so the cage is in the hot steamy air -- that will help open the airways.

Another option is to tent the cage with a sheet and place a pot or kettle of boiling water under the sheet where your budgie is unable to touch it and allow the steam to accumulate that way. If you have pure eucalyptus oil, you can put one tiny drop into the water as that will also help to clear the airways so the budgie is better able to breathe. A warm air humidifier is helpful for budgies as well.

You indicated there are no Avian vets near you.
Have you checked the links below as well as doing a google search for Avian Vets near your location?
(As you do not have your location in your profile we don't know where you are in order to try to help. ;))

Association of Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/index.php

International Vets Register
http://www.parrotmag.com/vets

Bird Vets Near You
http://www.birdvetsnearyou.com/ml2/...F5DE88A8EC01&gclid=COaCna2x3qoCFcLBKgoda0ZZug

Avian Vets have special training to determine the cause of symptoms resulting from illness or trauma.
When you rely on unskilled individuals, you delay effective treatment. This can prolong suffering that may be avoidable.
The bird will often require a more intense, prolonged treatment with a poorer chance of full recover than it would have if you seek prompt professional diagnosis and treatment at the first sign of illness.

If there are absolutely no avian vets in the area, your next best option is to find an Exotic Vet that deals with birds rather than a regular vet that handles only dogs and cats.
If you are in a country that has few vets, perhaps you can develop a relationship with one whereby you provide the vet with information and he/she works with you to ensure your budgies receive the best care possible.

Apple Cider Vinegar is a natural probiotic that helps keeps the budgies' digestive tract healthy and promotes immunity.

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-holistic-natural-remedies/103936-apple-cider-vinegar.html

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