# I would like to know just how well am i taking care of my budgie



## Wograine (Dec 30, 2016)

Hi everyone, i'm a newbie that just registered here so first and foremost i would like to know if i'm taking good care of my budgie buddy and what do i need to change for him to be healthier and overall happier. My budgie is a male and i have him for over two and a half years now, and i got him since he was a baby being the first and only budgie i have. He's very dear to my family and me and we are all taking care of him. His cage is rather small but that is being compensated by the fact that he only spends the night in there. He spends the whole day outside of the cage being wherever he pleases inside the flat that we live in and it has been like that since the day we got him, so he's very familiar with his surroundings and he flies around very comfortably. He's never had big problems with flying into objects and injuring himself and also he never had his wings clipped. He never tried to escape and by now we don't think he will. My family and i earned his trust to the point that we can kiss him and carry him with us, and the only thing that he wont let us do is directly touch him, but he does however occasionally let me scratch him only for a bit. He did learn to say few words and sentences which i'm really glad. He mostly has at least one family member home at all times which means there's always someone to interact with him. Overall he seems playful, cheerful and very active. He's the most quiet and the most withdrawn when he's molding which i think is normal. Now there are the two things that worry me about him the most that i'm familiar with, first of them being that he's a seed junkie. For all these past two and a half years his diet consisted of eating seeds, the proof being his green feces. He does from time to time eat some fruits or vegetables when we hand feed him, but he never wants to try them by himself. The second problem is that i don't know if he gets enough sleep. I did look up about that on the internet and i mostly found that he should get around 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep which we can't really give him. He gets 8 hours of sleep max. Our flat is rather small which means there isn't really a quiet place for him except when we're all asleep. He does get to nap whenever he wants during the day though. The most peculiar thing about him is that he really likes to mate, mostly with my head and fingers. I don't think there is a day that he doesn't attempt to mate. Sometimes there are cases when he finishes mating and there's a tiny bit of blood left behind probably from him getting scratched due to friction, but he's never had issues with that and that didn't occur recently. And another issue is that there are no avian vets in my town and if it would ever come to worst i wouldn't know where i would find one, so that's why i want to keep him in top shape, keeping him around with us for as long as possible because we really love him. I would like to hear what you guys think and how/if would his current problems affect his future, and it would be great if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks!


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

Hi and welcome to TB  
Your budgie sounds adorable and is clearly a beloved member of your family  
Please take the time to read through the stickies at the top of the forums aswell as site guidelines. 
Introducing a crumbled pellet to his diet would be a good idea however it is an extremely slow and gradual process - do not remove the seeds just add small amounts of pellets through the seed mix to start off and gradually increase the pellet amount (this process can take several months depending on your budgie) 

Making sure his environment is completely safe is extremely important. He should be supervised at all times when not in his cage. Ensure no hot surfaces or liquids (such as tea or gravy) are in the area where he is out, keep windows and doors closed etc.

The 12 hours sleep is important. Could his cage go to a bedroom perhaps at night and then just don't turn the lights in or name much noise when you're going to bed? Also cover the cage at night.


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## Wograine (Dec 30, 2016)

Hi again and thanks for the warm welcome 
I will try my best to read most of the guidelines and stickies here!
Now i'm gonna be getting pellets asap and i will be persistent with feeding it to him, hoping it turns out well.
We tend to be around him most of the time, and he is never around hot surfaces or liquids.
The problem with his sleep is that we have only one living room and one bedroom that are both occupied during the day and night, but i'll see to move him somewhere quiet where he can get most out of his sleep, and we do cover his cage.

If i may add i noticed that today and two days ago his feces were black and i know it may be a sign of internal bleeding. I really hope and think that is not the case but i have no idea what could be the cause of that. However there was a day in between where his feces were standard green instead of black so that gives me hope. Also he is behaving as usual and he's not showing any signs of sickness. Thanks again for your kind words and help


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome to the forums!  You have certainly come to the right place as you will find all you need to know on budgie care here. No doubt the wealth of information found here at Talk Budgies will be extremely useful and of benefit to you and your budgie.

When you mention the black poops, were these freshly made? I'm asking this because when the poop gets dried it will turn dark in colour.
Also in case you don't know, budgies will not have black coloured poops just when there is internal bleeding involved. When they aren't eating and are in the process of starving themselves, the poops will also be quite dark in colour.


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## Wograine (Dec 30, 2016)

Thanks for the info and i'm really glad to be here! 
Now sadly the poop was black when it was fresh and i don't think he is starving because the food is always available to him and he does eat often.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

What is your budgie's name?
We'd love to see some pictures of him if you have any you'd like to share.

Since there are no Avian Vets. It would be in your best interest to try to locate an Exotic Vet with experience in caring for small birds. If that is impossible, then find a regular vet and establish a good relationship with him/her. You can do a good bit of research using this forum to determine best practices and work with your vet as necessary if your budgie becomes ill or injured. The vet can also consult via phone with an Avian Vet in another area (or country) if necessary. There are even Avian Vets who do on-line consultations and utilize Skype when needed.

If the poops are black but well formed with white urate, then don't be too overly concerned.

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-bud...aluation-bird-droppings-indicator-health.html

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-general-budgie-info/103922-my-birds-droppings-normal.html

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

You'll find most of your basic questions about budgies and caring for them will have been answered after you've read through all of them.

Site Guidelines
How-To Guides
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
Budgie Articles
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295001-list-stickies.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/333106-posting-forums.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/295033-prepared-veterinary-care-expense.html
Avian First Aid
Why Quarantine?

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-general-budgie-info/227841-50-common-budgie-dangers-watch-out.html

http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/327881-heartfelt-plea-forum-members-new-old.html

http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/24411-cage-sizes.html
http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/31719-essentials-great-cage.html
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/339826-resource-directory.html

When you upload pictures as thumbnail attachments directly from your computer, tablet or phone, the forum automatically defaults to landscape.

To upload full-sized pictures with the proper orientation, please use a photo-sharing service such as PhotoBucket and follow the steps in these instructions:
http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html

For gender and/or mutation help - Lighting and Angle DOES matter

By the way, all photos entered in any of our forum contests must be a full-size photo and not a thumbnail attachment so it's good to know how to upload them! 

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

Glad you decided to join us and looking forward to seeing you around the forums.

:wave:*


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## Wograine (Dec 30, 2016)

Hi and glad to have you! 
My budgie's name is Kićo and this would be him

Now there are no exotic vets in my town either so i guess i'll contact a regular one and seek for his aid when needed. The poop is indeed well formed with white urinate, and the feces just keep shifting from black to usual green and vice versa. I'll be sure to read most of the things the forum has to offer and i thank everyone who answered my questions and helped me understand things better! Also sorry for late reply. Cheers!


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

Kíco is gorgeous 

You've received excellent advice so far, I agree completely. Additionally, the links posted above will be very helpful in keeping your budgie as healthy as possible, given the lack of avian vets.

If you have any questions after reading though everything, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help!

Can you post a photo of Kíco's droppings? We will then be able to better see what you mean. From what you've said so far, however, they seem to be normal.

Here's a link to help you post photos directly from Photobucket: http://talkbudgies.com/how-guides/175818-how-post-pictures-photobucket.html

I hope things go well with your boy! Keep us posted 

Cheers! :wave:


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## Wograine (Dec 30, 2016)

Thanks once more for the warm welcome!
I agree that everyone was helpful and have aided me a lot and i really appreciate it 
I will take the picture tomorrow as soon as i see them, the little fella is sleeping right now  and happy new year everyone! Wish you all best of luck in 2017! :wave:


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