Sneezing!

[Oscar]

hiya, i was wondering if any of you guys could help me?
Recently Oscar has started sneezing - it lasts for about 30 seconds but it ends with him sneezing up seed (whole seed)? should i be worried or is he just getting something caught in his throat? also thought it could be him learning to regurgitate?? what do you think?
Also i have noticed that his beak has started to split - you know when your nails split and flake off - its like that. I think he might be missing some sort of nutrient but i don't know what-we havent managed to get him to eat any vegetables yet so is there something i can add to his food or water??

Thanks very much in advance
Ali

[Budgiekin]

Hmmmm. I think I know exactly what behaviour you are describing. Oscar is making a sneezing type noise but at the same time is "spewing" seeds. It sounds like he is just regurgitating.....does he shake his head making the "sneezing" noise while seed comes flying out of his beak? How often does he do this? Is his behaviour normal otherwise (i.e. activity level, appetite etc)? Does he do this behaviour in front of a favourite toy or in his favourite spot in his cage?

As far as beak flaking/peeling goes, some of that is normal. The top layers of the beak "shed" to reveal new fresh beak much like a snake sheds its skin. This is different than cracking. If a budgie's beak was cracking/splitting, then that is an issue that would need to be looked at by an avian vet.

If you are concerned that your little Oscar may be sick, please bring him to an avian vet. However, I am guessing that what he is doing is normal, and that his beak peeling is normal as well.

As far as nutrients that you can give your sweetie, the powdered products that you can sprinkle on food (rather than those you dissolve in their water) are best as they don't promote bacterial growth when sprinkled on dry food. The ones you put in the water shouldn't be left in for too long (in other words, you need to change the water frequently). The other disadvantage to the water soluble ones is that they often change the colour and flavour of the water, so your sweetie might just turn his little beak up at it anyway and never even ingest any which completely defeats the purpose of giving it to them.

The nutritional supplement that I give my birds is called Nekton-S which is a general purpose multi-vitamin supplement with minerals. I found it at this link if you wanted to see what it looks like:

http://www.centralah.com/NektonProd.htm


I hope this information helps! Good luck and let us know how your little Oscar is doing! :p

[Oscar]

thats absolutely brilliant thanks very much! yeah he shakes his head when he spews the seed up so i'm glad thats ok and his beak is peeling not splitting so im hopeful that its what you described! as for his other behaviour - he's a cheeky monkey and is eating/drinking normally. i think i was just being a wee bit over anxious!

[Budgiekin]

I am so happy to hear about Oscar. I know what it is like to worry about the little sweeties, especially when they do something we haven't seen before. I used to think my budgie Apollo was choking when he did this weird head, neck beak manoeuvre!

Don't we love our cheeky little monkeys!??