# Budgie is partially bald; suspect the cagemate



## XiaoQingandSky (Aug 30, 2015)

I have two parakeets. The green one has a bunch of feathers missing mainly on her head and spends a lot of time just sitting on the bottom of the cage. She will eat, which I take as a good sign. But she has no energy. I'm pretty sure it's not a seasonal thing because my other budgie is just fine. However, I suspect that my other budgie is picking the green one's feathers. I witnessed it one time. The green one doesn't really seem afraid of the other bird, though. My last resort will be to go to the vet. We bought new food and two new cage accessories recently (a pumice perch and ball-string toy thing), but I don't really have any suspicions of them. The green one hasn't touched the pumice perch and barely the ball-string toy thing. Can anyone help?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The more information you can provide, the better equipped we will be to provide input on your situation. 
Please provide the information requested below:

How large is the cage Length/Width/Height?
How old are each of the budgies?
How long have you had them?
How long has the one budgie been sitting on the cage floor and when did you first notice the feather loss?
Why haven't you separated the two into individual cages?
Can you please post a picture of the budgie with the balding patch on its head as well as a picture of the cage?​
http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html*


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## XiaoQingandSky (Aug 30, 2015)

The cage is about 1 foot wide, 1.5 feet tall, and 2 feet long.
I'm not very sure how old they are. 
I've had them for about 3 years now, I think. 
The green one sits there for maybe 5 or 10 minutes at a time (I'm not really sure; I don't watch them that much). 
I'm not sure about it. I haven't found time to buy it yet. I don't know if it's the right step to take. Is it? If it is, how big should the cage be? A smaller temporary one or the same size one as the one I have now that they're both currently in? I'm afraid the new surroundings will cause her to panic. 

Update: I have now spotted the cagemate picking the green one's feathers multiple times. The cagemate won't attack her very often though.I guess the green one isn't really fighting back because she doesn't have enough energy. She will hide her head in her wings. Another reason could be feather picking.
I read up on it and it said budgies will pick their feathers when they're bored or depressed. I'm making an effort to really spend time on them, taking them out of their cages daily and stuff.


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Hello your little green budgie is being bullied by the sounds of things, sitting on the bottom of the cage is not a good sign in fact the other budgie could actually become very aggressive towards the green one. You need to take the green budgie out and give it a cage for itself. t will be very stressed and possibly sick. An avain vet visit is definitely needed it should not be weak. Please take it to the vet as soon a possible.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*


XiaoQingandSky said:



I have now spotted the cagemate picking the green one's feathers multiple times. The cagemate won't attack her very often though.I guess the green one isn't really fighting back because she doesn't have enough energy. She will hide her head in her wings. Another reason could be feather picking.
I read up on it and it said budgies will pick their feathers when they're bored or depressed. I'm making an effort to really spend time on them, taking them out of their cages daily and stuff.

Click to expand...

It is very important that you get the budgie that is being plucked by the other into a new cage as quickly as possible.

I recommend you get her into see an Avian Vet for a proper check-up as well. 
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.


The very minimum recommended size for one budgie is 18x18x18 but the Bigger cage you can get for her the better. I'd recommend something like this:

Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Flight Cage, White : Bird Cage : Pet Supplies

Please review these links:
http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html
http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html
Essentials to a Great Cage-Talk Budgies Forums*


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