# I think something is wrong with my budgie



## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

Hello,

So it's late at night here in a country where there is already poor vet care for birds and there's no emergency vet because of covid. Something is wrong with one of my birds and I don't know what to do.

He was fine until half an hour ago, playing in and out of his cage. A few minutes later I noticed that my female budgie was beating him up, which is unusual. I went to separate them and noticed that something was wrong with my male budgie. He is all puffed up, his eyes are looking weird kind of squinting, and he is looking very lethargic and quiet. I've had him for 6 years. He has never been like this. And even though my description may not sound like mutch I think something is wrong.

I've separated the female in another cage, because she kept picking on him. He is now standing on two legs and his head is turned to the side, kind of trying to sleep. He is usually very vivacious, and I just know something is wrong.

What do I do?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Keep him separate so he can rest peacefully without being picked on by the female. I would keep him warm and cover the cage on 3 sides and see if he perks up after a while. Is he eating, do his droppings look normal? Are these pictures of him right now, he does not look too bad in these pictures. He is a handsome guy.


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

Cody said:


> Keep him separate so he can rest peacefully without being picked on by the female. I would keep him warm and cover the cage on 3 sides and see if he perks up after a while. Is he eating, do his droppings look normal? Are these pictures of him right now, he does not look too bad in these pictures. He is a handsome guy.


Well he was eating all day. This happened an hour ago and he hasn't eaten since then, but it's late here and I have turned off the lights so he can rest. And I haven't noticed anything unusual with his droppings. Yes these pictures are from now. He looked very unusual an hour ago he got puffed and weird, right now he is sleeping, and the female is in another cage.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Did she bite him anywhere that you can see, if so it could be that he is in pain from it. Hopefully he will be ok with a nights rest.


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

Cody said:


> Did she bite him anywhere that you can see, if so it could be that he is in pain from it. Hopefully he will be ok with a nights rest.


No, I don't see any injuries on him :/


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Keep the two budgies separated. 
Since the female has attacked him once she cannot be trusted not to do it again.

You'll need to keep a close eye on the male. He may be ill and not exhibiting symptoms yet. 
Other birds can sometimes tell when a flock mate is injured or ill and will begin attacking the bird that is in a weakened state.

Please be sure to update us with regard to his condition.

Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, all of the How To Guides, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and the stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.

Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.

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.*

*SITE GUIDELINES*

*List of Stickies*

*Posting on the Forums*

*Let's Talk Budgies!*

*FAQ*

*Articles*

*Be Prepared for Veterinary Care Expense*

*Avian First Aid*

*Quarantine IS Necessary!*

*A heartfelt plea to forum members new and old*

*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*Cage sizes.*

*Essentials to a Great Cage*

*Resource Directory*

*If you have any questions after reading through everything, please be sure to ask!*


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

He is back to his old self again today, chirping, playing, eating, but I noticed that his poop is a little runny and light brown today, which has me worried  

I have noticed before that when one budgie gets ill the others attack him/her. I will read through the forum and keep a close eye on him.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm glad to hear your budgie is doing better.
How many budgies do you have and are they all in the same cage?
Are you keeping this male and female separate from one another and separated from any others you may have?

I recommend you remove the plastic dowel perch in the cage and replace it with natural wooden perches of varying diameters to help prevent pressure sores.*
*
Pressure Sores*

*The information in this link will give examples of better options for perches:*

*Essentials for a Great Cage*


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

I have two budgies one male one female, and they live in the same cage. I've always kept my male budgie with a female one. When my last female budgie passed away he got really upset, and since he has alway lived with another budgie I'm scared to let him live alone.

I've never had a problem with budgies fighting. Sometimes they will pick on each other, but it's never gotten to the point where one budgie will hurt another.

And I don't have any plastic perches in the cage, they are all wood.

He is still doing great today, and I haven't noticed any liquid poop this morning.

Also, they are getting along great. They are always standing next to each other, feeding each other, and pruning. He has never gotten along with another budgie so well. I was very surprised when I saw her beating him up two days ago.

Edit: I read that it's not only about the perches being made of wood, but they need to be a different diameter. All of my perches are the same size, so I will be changing that.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Lizzie and welcome to the forums!  

You've been given great advice and resources above by FaeryBee. If you have any questions after reading through everything, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help. 

I'm glad your boy is doing better today; I hope he continues to do well. However, please be sure to keep an eye on your budgies and ensure you're monitoring them to ensure there is no bullying or fighting between them. Even two birds who "have always" gotten along can fall out of friendship with each other, and budgies can live separately and still be perfectly happy, especially when there is bullying going on. 

I'm glad you're going to be putting in some new perches~  

Keep us posted on how he's doing! 

Cheers 👋


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

Hello! He is still doing great 👍 Thank you all for the support and the amazing articles 😀


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Are the budgies still doing fine together at this point in time?*


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## Lizzie93 (Apr 23, 2021)

Yes, they are back to the way they were


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*OK, good. I'm going to close this thread now.*


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