# Concern about my friend’s budgie



## Monica_Jennie (9 mo ago)

Just recently my friend was on vacation, so I was taking care of all her pets. She has two budgies, a male and a female but when I came over to her house I noticed the female budgie’s stomach area looking unusually swollen. She was also acting much more aggressive then she had been in the past. Is it possible she could be laying an egg?


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

This budgie is male  His cere is pink because of his color mutation; he will keep the pink color throughout his life. Normally males have immature pink ceres which turn blue. However, females always have matte whitish or beige ceres which may have hints of blue.

The bulge you are indicating is his crop. With all that seed he has access too he's probably gorging himself. I don't know how much out of cage time your friend gives them, but he could get really sick and obese if he is allowed unrestricted access to only seed throughout his entire life.

The biggest problem is that the cage is absolutely FILTHY. It should NEVER be allowed to get that dirty 😣 I know this isn't your doing because I can tell it's been like this for much longer than you've been watching them. However, please, please tell them to join the forums so they can learn about the best of budgie care practices. It's horrible to force them to live in such a situation.

The rope toy in the photo also should have all the tassels removed or just removed entirely  Accidental ingestion of cotton fibers can lead to crop impaction and infection or other serious issues.

Dangers of Snuggle huts, tents, fabric housing, rope perches and tasseled toys

A Healthy Diet for your Budgie

Essentials to a Great Cage

I hope you are able to at least mitigate some of this while you're taking care of them. Please keep us posted on how things go.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Please clean the cage while you are caring for them, it is disgusting filthy and is a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, both could make the bird ill. It would make things easier to clean in the future if you place paper towels or newspaper over the grate at the bottom.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*For future reference, posts made on the forum should concern your budgies only.
As you are "bird-sitting" for your friend, thank you for taking the time to check with the forum regarding her budgie's health.

I agree with Cody completely. 

The cage is in horrible shape and no one should be keeping a budgie in that condition!
Additionally, the "fringe" on the toy needs to be trimmed back to no more than 1/2"
Dangers of Rope Perches, Snuggle Huts, Fabric and Tasseled Toys

Please encourage your friend to join the forum to learn the best practices in caring for her bird(s) for their optimal health and well-being.*


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## Monica_Jennie (9 mo ago)

StarlingWings said:


> This budgie is male  His cere is pink because of his color mutation; he will keep the pink color throughout his life. Normally males have immature pink ceres which turn blue. However, females always have matte whitish or beige ceres which may have hints of blue.
> 
> The bulge you are indicating is his crop. With all that seed he has access too he's probably gorging himself. I don't know how much out of cage time your friend gives them, but he could get really sick and obese if he is allowed unrestricted access to only seed throughout his entire life.
> 
> ...


I am not currently taking care of them anymore but I have informed my friend that the cage is very dirty and her birds could easily get sick 😥. However, the birds technically belong to her brother so it’s his responsibility to take care of them. I can tell he is treating them very poorly but I’m not sure when is the next time I’ll see him. I could text my friend to let her know what the problem is but I can’t be sure her brother will do something about it.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Maybe your friend could tell her brother that she would like to help him take care of the birds and clean the cage for him.


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