Budgie Health and Avian Veterinarians

Covered in this Page: Finding a Vet, Well Bird Visits, Signs of Illness, Weighing Your Budgie, What You Can do at Home, Traveling to the Vet, Emergencies, and Help With Expenses

Before you even bring your budgie home you should locate your nearest avian veterinarian. These are vets who specialize in diagnosing and treating birds. Unlike small animal (dog/cat) vets, avian vets have the proper education and equipment to care for birds. Many small animal vets will agree to see birds but they can do very little for your budgie compared to an avian vet. Birds are very different from cats and dogs and they require very different treatment and handling when it comes to health care. In other words, it is crucial that you find an avian vet for your bird rather than settling for a regular veterinarian. Avian vets can be more expensive and you will undoubtedly spend much more on vet care than you spend to initially buy your little budgie. This is something that should be taken into serious consideration while you decide if a budgie is the right pet for you. They are inexpensive birds to acquire but by no means are they cheap to keep!


Finding an Avian Veterinarian:
Not only are avian vets more expensive than "small animal" vets, but they are also harder to locate. Often, bird owners have to travel quite a distance to get their vet so this is yet another thing to consider before you decide that a budgie is the right pet for your home. Here are a few good links that can help you locate the nearest avian vet:

USA/Canada:
http://aav.org/vet-lookup/
http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm

Australia:
http://www.vetafarm.com.au/avian_vets.asp

UK/Other:
http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/avian-vets.shtml
http://www.parrotpassionsuk.com/Advice/Uk_Avian_Vets.htm

If those links don't prove to be helpful, you can also call the local dog/cat veterinary clinics to see if they can refer you to the nearest avian veterinarian.


Well Bird Visits
A well bird visit is pretty much a checkup for your bird. The avian vet will usually run tests on your bird to check him for disease or infections. Fecal tests and blood tests are commonly used to rule out common illnesses and your vet will probably discuss a proper diet for your budgie. Blood tests can reveal any nutritional deficiencies present so that you can adjust your budgie's diet accordingly. Also, if you are unsure of your budgie's sex, you can have him/her DNA sexed by your vet during this first exam. The price of well bird visits varies quite a bit depending on your vet but expect to pay around $200 for this first exam. (Most clinics charge a fee just for coming in the door.) I've found that vets are happy to give you an estimate if you call them ahead of time to ask.

Signs of Illnes:
In the wild, budgies are prey animals. Like any prey animal, if they show signs of weakness (such as illness or injury) they will be the first to be picked off by predators. Because of this, budgies are very good at hiding illness and injury. It is up to you, as the owner, to get to know your budgie so that you can quickly spot signs that your bird isn't feeling well. Any change in behavior should be taken very seriously but there are also other common signs to watch out for that may indicate that your bird isn't feeling well:

• Abnormal Droppings - These are often the first thing you'll notice when your bird is ill. Normal budgie droppings are firm and a green or brown color. Abnormal droppings may be loose/runny/watery, bright (almost neon) green, or even smaller in size. Sometimes stress will cause loose droppings but if your budgie's droppings are bright green or if they contain undigested seeds, have your bird seen by an avian vet immediately. Bright green droppings can indicate kidney problems and undigested seeds mean that something is seriously upsetting your budgie's digestive system. If your budgie is having loose droppings (or droppings that stick to his vent) for no apparent reason or if they last for more than a few hours, take him to the vet to be checked up.
• Weight Loss- It can be very hard to tell if your budgie has lost weight unless you monitor it regularly with the use of a gram scale. This is a very good investment and you should weigh your budgie about once a week. If you begin to notice a loss of weight that can't be explained by a change in diet or increased exercise, you should have your budgie seen by the vet.
• Discharge from the Eyes or Nose- If your budgie is having any type of discharge from the nares (nostrils) or eyes he should see a vet. Many people write this off as a "cold" but it could be a more serious infection which may need to be treated with medication by the vet.
• Sneezing- It's not uncommon for a budgie to occasionally sneeze but if your budgie is doing this often he should be seen by the vet. As mentioned above, these sorts of symptoms should not be overlooked and simply labeled a "cold."
• Vomitting- Budgies often regurgitate food for a favorite person, toy, or other budgie. This is not a cause for concern. When a budgie regurgitates, it is usually obviously that he is doing so on purpose. The budgie (male or female) will bob its head up and down to bring the food up from the crop (a pouch which holds the food before it is pass on to the stomach). Vomitting involves very fast shaking of the head and you can someitmes tell that a budgie has vomitted because it will have messy feathers on its face and/or head.
• Deformed/Missing Feathers or Prolonged Molt- During a molt, it's normal for your budgie to look very scruffy and unkempt. However, if you notice abnormalities about the feathers, this may be a cause for concern. It is important to remember that new feathers (blood feathers) are encased in a sheath of keratin until they are completely developed. These, especially the larger ones, can look very odd if you've never seen them before. You may be able to see the blood supply through the feather and this is perfectly normal. Abnormal feathers may have stress bars, discoloration, or they may curl. Stress bars are dark lines that go across a feather and are often a sign of a poor diet. If your budgie is continually losing flight and/or tail feathers, this can be a sign of polyomavirus (often called french molt) or even PBFD (Pscittacine Beak and Feather Disease). These are serious diseases that often go hand in hand and must be checked out by your veterinarian. They are very contagious so the affected budgie should be quarantined from all other birds and all birds should be tested.
• Fluffed up in Appearance - Budgies often get fluffy when they're preening or before and after a bath. Puffing up their feathers is a way to keep themselves warm so if your budgie stays fluffed up he may be feeling cold as a result of some sort of illness. Keep him in a warm room and call your avian vet.
• Tailbobbing - If you notice your budgie's tail moving up and down as he breathes he may be ill. This can be a sign of some sort of infection and should be looked into by your vet immediately.
• Open-Mouthed Breathing or noises when breathing - If your budgie is breathing with his beak open or if you hear some sort of sound as he breathes (a clicking noises for example) he may have a respiratory issue. Budgies have very sensitive respiratory systems and these are things that should be seen by a vet immediately.
• Lumps on the Body- Budgies are prone to fatty tumors (lipomas) and these will appear as lumps on the body. They should be checked by your avian vet. Lipomas can be prevented by offering a healthy, varied diet as well as regular exercise.
• Decreased Activity- If your budgie is spending more time perched and sleeping and less time being chatty and active than usual, it's quite possible that he/she isn't feeling well and may need a vet.

As I stated earlier, any change in behavior should be taken very seriously and dealt with as an emergency. Budgies go downhill very fast and often, every minute counts when it comes to treating them. I know firsthand just how tricky it can be to judge how badly a budgie needs a vet. The fact is, you can't know just by looking at the bird. Furthermore, you aren't going to be able to google your bird's symptoms and diagnose him yourself and even if you guess his ailment correctly, there is nothing you can do at home to properly treat him. All too often I see owners waste time on the internet trying to find an answer to their bird's probablems when they really need to be in the vet's office instead.

Another very important thing to remember about budgies is that most of their illnesses will have the same exact symptoms! You can search online or in books forever and still have no clue what is wrong with your bird. Not even your vet can take a look at your budgie and tell you exactly what is wrong. Until the proper tests are performed, your budgie's problems will remain a mystery and the faster you get him to your vet, the easier it will be to pull him through the ordeal.

Weighing Your Budgie


Budgies are notorious for suddenly falling severely ill and/or passing away with seemingly no warning. One good indicator of illness is their droppings but sometimes that fails. Another extremely good way to monitor your budgie's health is monitoring its weight. Recently, two of my budgies contracted a bacterial infection, one of them severe. I would not have known anything was up if I didn't weigh them regularly and keep track of their loss. Everything else about them seemed perfectly normal. Their droppings were fine, activity was fine, they were eating like little pigs. But after seeing a significant weight loss, it was off to the vet where they were diagnosed and then put on antibioitcs.

What scale to use?

Regular digital kitchen scales can work fine with weighing budgies but you do have to be careful on what type to get. Obviously, the surface needs to be large enough for a budgie (or a bowl that the budgie can fit into) to stand on. Just as importantly, the scale should read in *at least* one gram increments. Many scales weigh in two gram increments and this can prolong the amount of time it takes to notice that something is wrong. In an animal as small as a budgie, every single gram counts.

There are also special bird scales that you can buy which often have a T perch attached. Your budgie can step up onto this perch so that it doesn't have to stay still on a flat surface. Some budgies will stay still long enough, many won't. It just depends on the bird. Some of these scales also come with a bowl type attachment and a cover so that you can put the budgie inside, cover it, and get its weight without it flying away. The same thing can be achieved by using the tare function on your kitchen scale. You simply place the bowl (and its lid if you're going to be using one) on the scale, use the tare button, and it reads as zero, even with the bowl on top. Any extra weight added (your budgie, in this case) is the weight it reads.

If you're using a bowl on a set of regular kitchen scales, make sure that what you cover it with is breathable. You can use a plastic lid with holes cut into it. A dark one may help the budgie settle down so that he/she doesn't move as much and so that you can get an accurate weight. You can also hold the lid just above the bowl so that its weight isn't added to the scale. (Remeber that when using the tare function, you include the lid you'll be using as well). Surprisingly enough, I only have one budgie (Phizzy) who I have to use a bowl (or small box with holes poked into) with.

When do you worry?

In my opinion, it's best to weigh your budgies weekly and at the same time each weighing. If you notice a one gram loss in a particular budgie, weigh it again the next day to see if it gains the gram back or loses more. Inexplicable weight loss of 2-3 grams should constitute a trip to your avian vet especially if it appears to be steady. I've had three birds who lost weight due to illness and they literally lost about a gram a day. This is a very dramatic loss for a bird.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when dealing with a baby budgie, weight gain should be observed. At around 8 weeks old, my last baby budgies weighed 28 grams. The healthy boy slowly but steadily gained weight while my baby with a malignant tumor stayed the same. There was no weight loss, but he was also not gaining and for an 8 week old baby, that was odd.

What might be causing the weight loss?

Remember that even a budgie who seems healthy in all other aspects could very likely be sick if you're noticing a steady loss of weight (or lack of weight gain in a baby). There is a phrase called "Sick Bird Syndrome" in the companion parrot world that basically means MANY illnesses have the same or similar symptoms. This is why, when budgie owners come here asking health-related questions, the most common answer is "go to an avian vet." Even if we were avian vets (and we're not) there would be absolutely no way for us to positively diagnose your budgie based on symptoms alone. So many conditions involve the same exact symptoms that it's a complete guessing game. And while we guess, the budgie's condition deteriorates. The best course of action is, of course, to get the bird to the vet to have the problem properly diagnosed.

This brings up another good point. If your vet does nothing more than look the budgie over, he/she has NOT properly diagnosed the bird. At the very least, you should expect your avian vet to run fecal tests to try and get to the problem. If that fails, they may suggest having a blood panel done.

I've only had three birds lose weight as a sign of illness thus far (two budgies and my eclectus) and in their cases, they were diagnosed with bacterial infections. This is very common in birds and a major reason to always quarantine new birds. It's so easily picked up. Bacteria is all around us and even stress can make your budgie more prone to developing a bacterial infection. These types of infections are combatted with antibiotics but again, this is not the only thing that causes weight loss and treating with antibiotics without knowing for certain that there is a bacterial infection will cause more harm than good if that isn't the real problem.

How much should an adult budgie weigh?

A budgie's ideal weight also depends on the individual budgie. Just like humans, birds have different builds which affect how much they weigh. Some are naturally on the smaller side while others are "big boned." Generally, a standard/pet/american budgie should weigh between 30-40 grams. 40 may be overweight for one budgie but ok for another. 30 for many adult pet budgies is significantly underweight. Most of the budgies I own (and have owned) stay very close to 35 grams and were/are very fit birds. The exception is Pixel, who for a while, topped out at 42 grams. This was overweight for her and she eventually got back down to 36 (with more exercise). All of these budgies are the pet/standard type.

English/show budgies are larger and weigh more. 50-60 grams is normal for them, though there are larger birds and smaller ones, as mentioned before.

When in doubt, feel their keel (breast) bone. It should be easily felt yet not feel as if it's sticking out. If there is a layer of fat on the keel bone, the budgie is overweight.

What's wrong with a pleasantly plump budgie?

I'll be the first to admit that a chubby budgie is often a pretty cute sight. At the same time, it saddens me because this is one of the biggest problems our little birds face. Obesity can cause a bird to have trouble flying and lead to fatty tumors. The extra weight puts extra strain on their internal organs and all this can lead to a lessened quality of life as well as a shortened life span.

How do you prevent your budgie from getting too fat? (Or slim down a fatty bird?)

The answer to this is simple: Proper diet and exercise! All seed diets are often high in fat. A seed mix should contain minimal amounts of fattier seeds such as sunflower and safflower. Your budgie should be getting a wide variety of dark leafy greens as well as bright orange and yellow veggies.

The best form of exercise for your budgie is flight. I've found that putting a playgym directly across the room from my budgie cages entices them to make flights back and forth. You can also gently "chase" your bird provided that it's strongly bonded to you and doesn't get scared by this game. Alternatively, you can step it up on your finger, carry it across the room, and let it fly back to the cage at its own will.

For clipped budgie, flapping and climbing are great exercises. Keeping food and water near the lower portion of the cage encourages the budgie to make frequent trips from top to bottom and back up. Short "flights" can be made by properly clipped budgies and these should be encouraged as well. Step your bird up and quickly (but gently!) push your finger in the air toward a safe landing place. The cage is the place where he/she will most likely fly to so do that at a distance that will make it easy for them to make a steady landing. You can repeat this a few times unless your bird hates it. Many birds actually LOVE this game and come running back for more!

There are many other ways to exercise your budgie but the biggest concerns are making it safe and making it enjoyable. What works for one may not work for another so get creative. Make sure there are plenty of interesting toys in your cages and aviaries and rotate these weekly to keep your budgies from becoming bored little perch potatoes.


What you CAN do at Home
As soon as you realize that your budgie may be ill you should take steps to make him comfortable as well as quarantine him from any other birds you own. Many diseases are very contagious to other birds so this is very important. Try to keep your budgie in a warm, quiet room and call your avian vet to make an appointment as soon as you can.


Traveling to the Vet
It is a good idea to keep a small travel cage for visits to the vet. Also, this can be used as a "hospital" cage. You can equip the cage with a single, low perch and line the bottom of the cage with something soft (shredded newspaper, for example) if he is injured and can't perch or in case he falls. Don't bother putting toys in the travel cage as they will likely swing around and hit the bird when the cage moves about. Secure the travel cage in a seat belt and use a light cover over the cage to keep your budgie as calm as possible.

It is a good idea to leave a few droppings at the bottom of the cage just so your vet can take a look at them so don't clean the cage right before leaving. If you have to travel quite a distance to get to your avian vet, you can put a lettuce leaf or some other moist vegetable in the cage so that your budgie will have a source of water. A water dish or bottle is likely to spill and make a huge mess and if you have an ill bird, the last thing you want is for him to get wet and cold.


Emergencies
If you encounter a medical emergency with your budgie, the first thing to remember is to try and stay calm. Panicking will only upset the bird further. If he has been injured, move him to his travel/hospital cage so that he won't have to exert himself climbing around in his regular cage. If you don't have a travel cage, make his regular cage as comfortable as possible for him. Set it up the way you would arrange a hospital cage and keep his food and water lower so that he doesn't have to go far to reach them. Place the cage in a warm, dimly-lit, quiet room and call your vet immediately.

If you feel that your budgie will be too upset by you entering the cage just gently move the cage to a warm, dimly-lit, quiet room and call the vet. If your avian vet is closed, call the nearest emergency veterinarian and see if they will see your bird. An avian vet is ideal but in an emergency any vet is better than none at all. Just remember to remain calm. Your regular vet may even have an after-hours line that will connect you to someone in the case of an emergency. Keep trying and you will most likely find someone willing to help.


Help With Expenses
Obviously, if you don't have the money to pay for veterinary care for a bird it is best not to get one until you're in a better position. But, life happens and sometimes we buy pets during a time when we did have the money and then circumstances happen that make a financial situation more difficult. Please don't rule out the veterinarian because of this! Many vets will agree to payment plans but you won't know until you try. This is especially important during emergencies. If your bird needs help immediately, don't give up until you find a way to get him seen by the vet. He is a member of your family and counts on you to do your very best to make him feel better. Please don't assume that there is nothing you can do!

You don't have to be incredibly wealthy to properly own budgies but you DO have to plan ahead. Save money each week to put towards covering routine vet visits as well as emergency vet expenses. Have a savings account devoted purely to funding these things. There are several ways to make owning a bird more affordable but you have to take the time to carefully plan this and make your family aware that these are not cheap, easy pets.

If you're having trouble convincing a friend, family member or even yourself that budgies need vet care or that the vet is worth the money, please take the time to read this article and pass it along to others.