budgie help- Sad Update Post #6

[Princessbella]

I'm so sorry for your loss

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[Sipporah]

FYI birds are not breeds like a dog, they are referred to as species and some budgies have mutations.

Oh I didn’t know that thankq Jane .

 

[Sipporah]

I'm very sorry for your loss.
The budgie in the picture is a lutino mutation.

Oh wow....so I got another bird yesterday and could u tell me if boldy and this new bird are the same species/mutation...? She/he Idk just had a bath.

 

[Sipporah]

And she has so many feathers in her tail I think it’s so messy and appears to be very dirty all the time... it’s so disturbing for me and the perches also get dirty. What do I do??? Any suggestions???

 

[MiniMacaw]

Can you post a photo of your cage please so we can see how best to give suggestions?

 

[Sipporah]

I used to keep some toys but it’s too crowded so I removed them and I’ll make them play whenever I take d birds out of the cage.

 

[taxidermynerd]

I'd say that cage is way too small, I wouldn't even keep a finch in that cage. You need to ditch the dowel rods, get some natural perches, and maybe a rope perch or 2. I keep my budgie in a Prevue Hendryx flight cage, available on Amazon for 100 dollars: Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch : Birdcages : Pet Supplies Many members here have their small birds in this kind of cage, and it's an excellent purchase. You also need swings (budgies love swings), toys (lots of them!) and foraging opportunities. They need out of cage time every day to fly and play.


Also, you can't "make" them play. The birds will play if they want to. They need to get used to toys, my budgie will hardly touch anything unless it's been in his cage for 2 or 3 weeks. You need to let them take their time.

If the bar spacing is anything more than 1/2 an inch, it's too big. As you've already seen with your budgie dying. If you had 1/2 inch bar spacing, that wouldn't have happened. And that blister on your budgie's foot could have been bumblefoot or something like that, and that will continue to happen if you don't have a wide variety of perches. I like to have it ranging from feet completely closed into a fist to flat open on a platform.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge than myself will come along and provide more info. I'm sorry if we sound harsh, but we all just want the best for your birds.

 

[LilSprout]

I'd say that cage is way too small, I wouldn't even keep a finch in that cage. You need to ditch the dowel rods, get some natural perches, and maybe a rope perch or 2. I keep my budgie in a Prevue Hendryx flight cage, available on Amazon for 100 dollars: Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch : Birdcages : Pet Supplies Many members here have their small birds in this kind of cage, and it's an excellent purchase. You also need swings (budgies love swings), toys (lots of them!) and foraging opportunities. They need out of cage time every day to fly and play.


Also, you can't "make" them play. The birds will play if they want to. They need to get used to toys, my budgie will hardly touch anything unless it's been in his cage for 2 or 3 weeks. You need to let them take their time.

If the bar spacing is anything more than 1/2 an inch, it's too big. As you've already seen with your budgie dying. If you had 1/2 inch bar spacing, that wouldn't have happened. And that blister on your budgie's foot could have been bumblefoot or something like that, and that will continue to happen if you don't have a wide variety of perches. I like to have it ranging from feet completely closed into a fist to flat open on a platform.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge than myself will come along and provide more info. I'm sorry if we sound harsh, but we all just want the best for your birds.

I have this cage, it's a great cage with tons of room for playing and jumping around
Foraging is a really great thing to start your birds doing, it keeps them busy and entertained and is very healthy behavior, this is a good video on how to start budgies foraging

This one has some good ideas too

Foraging should be a daily activity!

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Fritzgerald16]

View attachment 261557
I used to keep some toys but it’s too crowded so I removed them and I’ll make them play whenever I take d birds out of the cage.

I agree with @taxidermynerd that cage is way too small. This is also probably the issue behind the dirty tail feathers of your new one. A bird with adequate space will not have dirty tail feathers (there are a few exceptions to that rule though, like birds who like to walk on the floor and drag their feathers through a poo). This is a picture of a cage for a 12 week old parakeet/budgie I had, he had special needs but even still it was a 16inx22inx16in cage with a variety of perches and then after a few days and his balance improved I put two swings and another toy in. This cage was not meant to be his permanent cage though!! I have another parakeet who is also in this same cage but will be switching into a much larger flight cage soon. These little guys need to fly and in your cage or even the one below, they are not able to do so. My first suggestion is find a bird safe tree, yank a branch off, and make a new perch. Second suggestion, go on amazon or craigslist (with parental OK of course) and try to find a bigger cage. Show your parents this thread so they can see what people are suggesting.

 

[Sipporah]

I'd say that cage is way too small, I wouldn't even keep a finch in that cage. You need to ditch the dowel rods, get some natural perches, and maybe a rope perch or 2. I keep my budgie in a Prevue Hendryx flight cage, available on Amazon for 100 dollars: Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch : Birdcages : Pet Supplies Many members here have their small birds in this kind of cage, and it's an excellent purchase. You also need swings (budgies love swings), toys (lots of them!) and foraging opportunities. They need out of cage time every day to fly and play.


Also, you can't "make" them play. The birds will play if they want to. They need to get used to toys, my budgie will hardly touch anything unless it's been in his cage for 2 or 3 weeks. You need to let them take their time.

If the bar spacing is anything more than 1/2 an inch, it's too big. As you've already seen with your budgie dying. If you had 1/2 inch bar spacing, that wouldn't have happened. And that blister on your budgie's foot could have been bumblefoot or something like that, and that will continue to happen if you don't have a wide variety of perches. I like to have it ranging from feet completely closed into a fist to flat open on a platform.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge than myself will come along and provide more info. I'm sorry if we sound harsh, but we all just want the best for your birds.

Wow really so much info thanks a lot ya “I don’t make them play..they play on their own and I agree with the cage issue it’s way too small and I’m thinking of buying a new one. And I doubt about the perches I’ve searched everywhere literally combed every pet store and online too but I couldn’t find any even I knw that foot problems will occur cuz of the perch I have.

 

[Sipporah]

also since it’s a small cage I take them out and they fly in the house twice a day, everyday and i vil look up in Amazon again for the perches FINGERS CROSSED hope I could get something useful.

 

[Fritzgerald16]

Safe and Toxic Plants for Pet Birds List, poisonous and toxic plants for pet birds, safe herbs for pet birds, safe flowers for pet birds,safe garden plants for pet birds, safe garden flowers for pet birds, safe seeds to grow for pet birds, safe houseplants for pet birds, safe house plantsfor pet birds, Safe and Toxic Poisonous Woods, Toxic Plant List, Safe Plants List, Safe Woods for Bird Perches, Safe Trees and safe wood to use for bird perches and toys,Poisonous Plants for Birds, Safe Christmas Trees for Cockatiels and Birds, Safe and Toxic Poisonous Wood from Trees for Birds and Perches

towards the bottom is a paragraph about safe woods and how to prepare them for putting in a bird cage. Literally snap a piece of branch off a tree and use it as a perch.

This is the exact same one I have in my cage, I just put it at an angle so it didn't swing. Amazon.com : Aigou Bird Spiral Rope Perch, Cotton Parrot Swing Climbing Standing Toys with Bell (Small - 52 inch) : Pet Supplies

 

[karen256]

If you can't find natural perches for sale, you can just cut some of your own from a tree. Make sure it's a bird-safe tree that hasn't been sprayed with chemicals (most trees are ok, but some fruit trees may be sprayed for bugs) - apple, pear, pine, maple, birch, willow, poplar, dogwood, ect. are all fine if not treated.
Dowel perches are really not that bad. They are much better than plastic perches and fine to use for a perch if you find it hard to get other perches, they just shouldn't be the only perch option. What can be bad for their feet, is to have all the perches exactly the same diameter. That can cause discomfort and sometimes eventually pain and arthritis. Natural branches are much better than dowels because they have some natural variations in diameter and the budgies will also have fun peeling the bark off.

I also agree you should get a larger cage. Budgies are so active, they will use every bit of space they can get. A larger cage will also make it easier to get in there and tame them, clean the cage, ect. Pet stores tend to overprice cages. You can find some nice ones online cheaper if you don't mind doing some assembly.

The Petco finch flight cage is the best 'budget' cage if you can't spend much. It's $33, and you can add a few toys and perches to bring it up to the free shipping threshold. Naturally it isn't the best quality cage, but it is a good minimum size for budgies - 30x18x18" and cheap.
If you can spend a little more, Prevue makes a taller 30x18" cage on a stand that is a little nicer and can usually be found for under $100 with shipping.
Or, there are the wrought iron ones like the HQ flight cage that are a little bigger and look nicer still that you can find for around $150.

 

[Sipporah]

Well thanks for the info sadly we don’t have any fruit trees available in India (not at where I live) so I think I’ll just have to cut any random tree if natural perch is really important. I didn’t do anything ‘til now cuz I was afraid if the branch that i get would be toxic when they chew on them or try and peel the bark. But I’ll also google some safe trees for budgies in India hope I could get some help from it. Keep me posted if you do have some suggestions.

 

[Sipporah]

Some of the local trees are eucalyptus tree, mango tree, guava tree (many Indian ringneck parrots love it) and these 3 are the best I cld think of pls kindly tell me which of these tree branches are safe for my budgies to use as perches.

 

[LilSprout]

Some of the local trees are eucalyptus tree, mango tree, guava tree (many Indian ringneck parrots love it) and these 3 are the best I cld think of pls kindly tell me which of these tree branches are safe for my budgies to use as perches.

Eucalyptus wood is safe (not the leaves, get rid of those and just give the wood)
Guava is safe too

 

[Sipporah]

Eucalyptus wood is safe (not the leaves, get rid of those and just give the wood)
Guava is safe too

OMG thankq so much u dn knw how much relieved I am now I’m outside right now n I will collect some branches on my way back....wow thanks a lot n ur bird in d prflpic looks like my boldy...ty lil sprout ‘til later...bubbye

 

[Sipporah]

Why is she like this it’s scaring me like hell....!!!! Is she sick or just sleepy ???

She’s doing this since morning OMG what’s wrong it’s been two days since I got her.