How do I keep my budgie healthy?

What should I know about budgies at a glance?

Budgies (Melopsittacus undulatus, "periquito-australiano" in Brazil) are small Australian parakeets that live in flocks. Adults weigh 30 to 60 g, and how long they live depends on the source.

What do avian vets see most in budgies?

Tumors, obesity and fatty liver on seed diets, goiter, scaly face mites, avian gastric yeast, egg problems and psittacosis are what most often bring budgies to the vet.

• Tumors. VCA says budgies commonly develop tumors of the kidneys and reproductive organs, which can press on a nerve and cause a limp on one leg.
• Obesity, fatty liver and lipomas. VCA notes that obesity is common in budgies fed only seeds, that fatty liver disease can follow and be fatal, and that budgies are prone to lipomas, soft fatty lumps linked to a high-fat seed diet. Merck names budgerigars among the birds that most often get lipomas.
• Goiter. A swollen thyroid from too little iodine, since most seeds contain very little. VCA says affected budgies are often overweight, have a squeaky voice and may regurgitate.
• Scaly face mites. Merck calls these mites common in budgerigars and rare in other parrots. They cause white, porous crusts on the cere, the corners of the mouth and the beak, and the beak can grow misshapen.
• Avian gastric yeast. Often called "megabacteria". Merck says it is more common in small birds like budgies, causes ongoing weight loss, regurgitation, weakness and diarrhea, sometimes with undigested seeds in the droppings, and spreads between birds in close contact.
• Egg problems. Merck names budgerigars among the birds most prone to chronic laying and egg binding.
• Psittacosis. VCA calls it common in budgies, especially those kept close together in pet shops, and notes they can carry it without signs. It can pass to people.
• French molt. Abnormal wing and tail feathers in young budgies. Merck links it to polyomavirus in budgies that survive the infection, while a 1987 study linked it to the PBFD virus. An avian vet can test for both.

Do budgies need vaccines or deworming?

Pet budgies have no routine vaccines. Deworming is usually done after a fecal exam finds parasites, not on a fixed schedule.

• A polyomavirus vaccine exists in some countries. Merck describes it as part of disease control in breeding birds and aviaries.
• Merck mentions deworming every 6 months only for birds in outdoor aviaries in warm climates.
• Scaly face mites need treatment from a vet, which Merck says is repeated after 2 weeks.
• Mite sprays, strips and powders for the house can poison small birds. Check the product with your vet.
• Your avian vet sets the plan for your bird.

How much should a budgie weigh, and why weigh in grams?

Adult budgies weigh 30 to 60 g, pet budgies near the low end and show budgies near the top, so your bird's own usual weight matters more than any chart. Losing 10%, only 3 to 4 g in a 35 g bird, is a reason to see a vet.

A kitchen scale that reads whole grams is enough. Weigh once a week at the same time of day and write it down. Feathers hide weight loss, so vets also use the keel score: feel the breastbone in the middle of the chest. On a 1 to 5 scale, 3 is ideal. A sharp keel means thin, and a keel lost under fat means heavy.

How can I tell a male budgie from a female?

Look at the cere, the band of skin above the beak around the nostrils. Unusual Pet Vets says mature males generally have a blue cere and females usually a brown one. The color varies in some color mutations and changes with the bird's age and diet, as Bird Vet Melbourne notes.

A hen in breeding condition can grow a thick, crusty brown cere, which Bird Vet Melbourne calls brown hypertrophy. A male whose blue cere turns brown should see a vet: Bird Vet Melbourne says this is often linked to a testicular tumor. When the cere doesn't tell, a DNA sexing test does.

Why does my budgie lay eggs without a male?

A hen can lay eggs with no male present, and those eggs are infertile. VCA notes that egg binding is seen often in pet budgies, even those kept alone.

Fertile eggs hatch in about 18 days, according to the Budgerigar Council of South Australia.

VCA lists single budgie hens among the birds that often become chronic layers. Each egg uses calcium, a hen on an all-seed diet may not replace it fast enough, and taking eggs away can make her lay more. Talk to your vet if your hen keeps laying. What vets often suggest:

• Let her sit on the eggs for a full incubation instead of taking them away right away.
• Shorten the day to about 8 hours of light, as VCA suggests.
• Remove nest boxes and any place she treats as a nest.
• Improve the diet with your vet's help.
• Ask about a hormone implant, which VCA says generally lasts 3 to 6 months or longer.

Which signs in a budgie can't wait?

Call an avian vet the same day if your budgie is fluffed up and sleepy, sits on the cage floor, bobs its tail with each breath, stops eating or strains without laying. VCA notes a bird may have been sick for days or weeks before it shows anything, and VCA warns that a small egg-bound bird can die within a few hours.

• Straining to lay. A hen straining, fluffed up or sitting on the cage floor may be egg bound. Call your vet now.
• Breathing trouble. Tail bobbing with each breath, breathing with an open beak, or wheezing.
• Not eating or fewer droppings. A healthy bird passes a dropping every 20 to 30 minutes, according to VCA. Fewer droppings, or watery, red or black ones, need a vet.
• Vomiting or diarrhea. Unusual Pet Vets see gut upsets in budgies often and advise a visit, because there are many causes.
• A bleeding feather. VCA advises cornstarch or styptic powder on the feather, and an avian vet if it still bleeds after 2 to 3 minutes. Don't pull it at home.
• Weight loss. Down 10% in a month: in birds this is a reason to see a vet.
• Falling, a head tilt or seizures.
• Fumes. After a burnt nonstick pan or smoke, move the bird to fresh air and call your vet.

How do I care for a budgie day to day?

The habit that prevents the most illness in budgies is moving away from a seed-only diet. The rest is a big enough cage, daily flight in a safe room, a natural day length and a kitchen the bird never enters.

What should a budgie eat?

Vet sources agree that seeds alone are not enough. VCA notes that seed mixes are high in fat and carbohydrates, low in protein and lacking in vitamins and minerals, and that budgies are prone to obesity and iodine deficiency.

How much of the diet should be pellets is where they differ. VCA says about 60 to 80%, with fruit, vegetables and greens as 20 to 25% at most. Merck suggests 40 to 50% pellets and 30 to 40% seed mix for small birds, and Unusual Pet Vets, an Australian exotics clinic, 30 to 50%, warning that more is not recommended for budgies. Ask your avian vet which mix fits your bird.

• Switch slowly, over days, weeks or months, with your vet's help. Keep seeds until the bird eats pellets and some vegetables.
• Give fresh water and wash the bowls every day.
• Never feed avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or very salty food.

What cage and sleep does a budgie need?

Unusual Pet Vets advises a powder-coated or stainless steel cage of an appropriate size, because zinc-coated ones can cause problems, with natural branches as perches. The bigger the better: SPCA New Zealand says a cage must at least let the bird fly between perches, and PetMD suggests about 45 cm on each side for one budgie and about 75 cm wide for two, with the cage lining changed every week. Free flight every day matters, in a room with windows and doors shut and fans and heaters off.

Unusual Pet Vets recommends keeping to the natural day length, because long days under light can bring on too much molting and laying. Covering the cage at sunset and keeping it in a dark room helps.

What in the house is dangerous to a budgie?

Merck says poisoning from the gas of overheated nonstick pans (PTFE, or Teflon) is common in birds kept in or near kitchens, so keep birds out of the kitchen. It lists the same gas from irons, ironing board covers and some self-cleaning ovens, plus tobacco smoke, aerosols, perfumes and candles, and zinc in galvanized toys, chains, mesh, bells and keys.

How do I keep my budgie's health record?

VetVitae keeps a budgie's weight in grams with the keel score and a warning after a 10% drop, its molts, clutches with the expected hatch date and a chronic laying warning, DNA sexing, tests like psittacosis, and its leg ring. An aviary flock can be kept as one group.

It also suggests bird routines like Fresh water and clean bowls, Change the cage paper and Offer a bath.

See the bird help page and weight. VetVitae is free on iPhone, Android and the web.

This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. Your vet knows your pet.

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