# Help caring for disabled budgie



## Ninjaturtleswag (3 mo ago)

Hi, I recently got a new budgie a few months ago. I got him from a pet store, and they unfortunately clipped his wings too short, he could not fly at all when I first got him. One wing has grown back completely! But the other has not. This has led to him only being able to fly in a straight line, he cannot turn, or stop flying, as the only time he can stop flying is if he lands on what he's aiming for, or if he crashes. Thankfully he can't really fly very fast so when he does crash it doesn't seem to affect him too much.

Unfortunately, this has led to him being not very confident, and seems utterly depressed most of the time. He won't really interact with the other birds, and spends most of his time on the same perch, or playing with some of his toys.

I have attached ropes and climbable objects to his cage and things in my room so he can still get up high and sit with his friends, try helping him up myself when I notice him wandering around flock calling, things like that, just to kind of help him not feel as left out.

Basically, I am wondering if there's anything else I can do to help him out, or if I should try to seperate him from the other birds as he doesn't seem to care for them much, and when they do fly away he flock calls until they come back and he just sits there and stares at them until they fly away again. Then repeats the cycle.

Just seeing if anyone here has any tips or advice on helping a flightless budgie live his best life. His name is Beef. Here is a picture. You can see the grown in wing behind him, and the short wing on this side. Thanks guys!

Edit: I forgot to mention he is very young still, and probably never learned to fly in the first place, which is part of the problem as well.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

He's so cute! It looks like he still has his baby bars on his head which indicates he is quite young and has not been though a full molt yet. Even severely clipped feathers should eventually molt out and new ones will grow in, it can take up to 6 or so months for that to happen but eventually he should have both wings completely feathered up. Meanwhile it sounds like you are doing what you can for him, how old are your other birds and are they all budgies? Do all your birds live in the same cage?


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## Ninjaturtleswag (3 mo ago)

Yeah, i have 2 other budgies and they are 2 years old! They are both females however, and I try to keep my girls and boys in seperate cages cause I don't want them to breed but unfortunately his cagemate died after a night fright, so with that on top of everything else I just don't have the heart to seperate him from other birds. The girls don't seem to pick on him thankfully, but I will need to find him a friend soon and start quarantine so someone doesn't become the odd bird out.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi, Welcome to Talk Budgies!

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

*What is your little boy's name? He is adorable!
Unless the secondary feathers were injured, the flight feathers on the wing where they are still missing should grow in within the year.

Thank you for keeping your budgies separated by gender. That's excellent!*
*When you have mixed genders, it is very important to do everything necessary to prevent breeding.
Budgies are much healthier and happier when they are never bred.
*
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Additionally, please be sure to read the thread "Posting on the Forums" which is linked below.

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(Stickies are threads “stuck” at the top of each forum sub-section)
These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*

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## Ninjaturtleswag (3 mo ago)

Hi, thanks! His name is Beef. I don't think the secondary feathers were injured. I just kind of assumed the wings grew in at the same time for some reason lol, but that makes sense. Hopefully they'll grow in soon, I would love to see him flying around!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Please let us know how things progress with little Beef! He's simply precious!. *


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forums! 

Beef is adorable! You've been given great advice above. I agree completely. 

Meanwhile, please be sure to read through the links provided above, and if you have any questions after doing so, please do ask as we'd love to help. 

We especially hope to see more of Beef soon!  

Best wishes 👋


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