Nervous budgie can't fly too well

[aido]

Hi. I have two budgies. One male and one female. I got them when they were around 1-1.5 months old. They are now 5-6 months old. My male budgie has a very energetic nature and flies spectacularly. It will do acrobatic stunts in the air and tweets quite alot. My female one however is the shy one. She doesnt tweet as much and she gets nervous when the male isnt with her at times, and doesnt fly very well. She struggles to fly upwards and make turns in coordination so she always grabs the curtains as safety. I noticed her wings are much smaller then the males. My male budgie has grown so much since i got him, but my female seems to have remained a similar size . I have tried teaching her by flying to me at close range etc. and while the male is very precise at landing on my finger, even at short range the female tends to miss alot, or cant control her speed and lands on my finger not so softly, gets thrown off balance while landing etc. Anyway, they are both molting now i think and i notices the female one lost a couple wing feathers. Now she is very bad at flying and cant reach places she used to. I thınk it is affecting her confidence and causing her to remain nervous. My question is, do you think there might be an underlying condition because she is shy and hasnt grown alot in size, and her wings are small? Or maybe she just has a small stature naturally. Thank you for your time I hope I posted this in the right section

 

[Lady Jane]

Why do you think she is losing flight feathers? Was her flight feathers cut at any time in the past? Some breeders and pet stores that sell birds cut the flight feathers before the bird learns to fly. Question Have you taking your budgies to an avian vet for a wellness exam? I would certainly do that to see if there is any medical reason for her weak flying skills.

 

[aido]

No she has never been clipped. I think they are flight feathers because the feathersa i saw were long ones like the one on her wings, not small and short ones like the ones from her chest etc. I took them in for examination a week after i got them because the male was ill. They didnt mention anything wrong with the female. It just seems to me she has very less wing feathers compared to the male, i believe thats the problem. but i dont know if it is due to a systemic disease that she is so small or its just the way she is. Do the number and density of the wing feathers increase after first molting?
PS: I dont want to take her to the vet to spook her more, unless anyone thinks the situation is suspicious of a disease.

 

[aido]

^Sorry for double post but i missed the edit time. I meant to say I found a couple of long feathers on the floor that was hers

 

[Lady Jane]

Your birds are still very young. My female was very small for an English budgie and she still is. Budgie males are larger than females. Do you know their current weight? When you find long feathers on the floor it is usually from a molt and many birds are molting this time of year. Your female may remain on the small side but she should be flying OK. I would wait a month or two more and see how she is if her flying skills have improved.

 

[aido]

No i don't know their weight unfortunately. Thank you very much for your keen interest you have been very helpful That is what I was thinking to do too, but I love them so much I cant stand the thought of any of them not being healthy, comfortable or happy so I had to ask for a second opinion just in case.

 

[aido]

Hey. My birds are seeming more warm to me now, I guess the molting crankiness is over. Still, the female seems mostly nervous. Thats fine I guess thats just her personality. It doesnt help that the male that flies so well is trying to have sex with her all the time and makes her scream and fall down sometimes. Im guessing that in combination with not flying well really hurt her ego. Still, the other they she was chirping on her own and seems happier
Though, I would like to ask afew things. She has grown many feathers and is still kind of molting and always has a big appetite but she looks a little thin. Which again might just be her stature. But, she still cant fly upwards so well. She chirps her wings fast enough for sure but its like she is stuck on low gear. She cant even fly 20cm (8inches) above the ground. together with the constant nervousness and thinness im starting to suspect maybe a metabolic disease? what do you think? hope im not overthinking x)

edit: i just read and thought it over. It just might be her wings havent developed fully yet. Shes 5-6 months old now. Will her wings grow any more after this time? I give her egg food every 2-3 days

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the forum Aido,

It doesnt help that the male that flies so well is trying to have sex with her all the time and makes her scream and fall down sometimes.

Keep a close eye on those birds, @Ripshod had a similar situation with his young budgies and it led to fights.

If you feel something is off, take her to the vet for a check up. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Lady Jane]

I feel that your male could be detecting some sort of weakness in the female so it may be wise keep them separate until an avian vet checks her out. I have seen budgie s get into some bad fights.

 

[Kodigirl210]

I would listen to what @Lady Jane is saying. Separate the birds for now. The male seems to be acting a little aggressive towards the female and she can’t even begin to think about flying if she’s always looking over her shoulder to see if the male is lurking or going to drop on her.

They need to stay separate from each other all the time!

That may very well also explain her weight issue. It takes a lot of energy to be nervous and on guard all of the time and budgies already have a high metabolic rate.

She’s burning up more calories than she is taking in no matter how much she eats because she never has the chance to rest.

So help her out. Put her in her own cage. Cover the cage with a towel so that only the front of the cage is uncovered. She will feel safe and probably start to relax a little.

And once again if she’s burning up all her energy to be on the lookout-it means she doesn’t have enough energy to fly.

It would be like you staying up all day and all night and then the next morning trying to run 5-kilometers. It just isn’t going to happen.

I think you would see a huge improvement in her after a few days when she has had time to actually rest. I think she will surprise you.

Please keep them separated at all times until the female has a chance to improve her flying and evasion skills.

Best wishes!

 

[Ripshod]

Do your budgies have names yet?
I'm wondering about the condition of the female. Do her feathers look good and sleek or ragged/fluffy?
Have you seen her preening? Does she use her preen gland (have you seen her rolling her head over her lower back)?
Can you get a picture of the underside of an open wing?
What is her diet?
Does she bathe?

I agree with @Lady Jane, the female budgie is showing a weakness and the male is trying to eject her from the 'flock'. We really need to address that weakness, but we need to split them for now.

 

[aido]

Hello and thank you both so much for answering so quick and helpfully. I'm very worried because I love them both so much and I really appreciate it. I agree that she is nervous because of him as well. Whenever I feed her on my hand and she hears him fly she stops eating panics and might even fly away.
Yes they both have names. Her feathers seem fine. She preens quite a lot everyday. All of her feathers are purely white though, and her tail feathers are kind of dirty. I guess she cant reach there. I bathe them with a bottle that squirts mist (water+some vinegar). I tried the tub but they are just so scared of it She eats seeds everyday quite a lot, maybe even more than the male. I give them an egg based extra protein meal every few days, carrots/lettuce/strawberries every other day. I also give vitamin droplets in their water every week.

One other thing; even though the male is causing her to be stressed, whenever they are in separate places in the room, the female will call to him as if she misses him. The male will call back and then fly to her side where they snuggle side by side. If you still think separating is the right choice, let me know and I will do it.

I will send the picture when I can. Thank you all so much again

 

[aido]

sorry for the double post but i wanted to add something. I tried leaving the male in the cage and hand feeding the female. She eats a bit but gets nervous too much when she is alone. Sometimes when I try to feed them she wont start eating before the male starts to eat.

 

[Lady Jane]

If the female is nervous about the male being in the same room then take the female in another room. Yes, they will call to each other but as suggested you really need her to be checked out by a vet. Please do not add vinegar to her bath water. There is no reason to do that, plain water is what we use. Who told you to bathe a bird in vinegar water? This may be the issue with the feathers. Its normal for one of a pair to be the dominant bird. Its that way in my home. My female is the boss and my male does nothing unless the female has done it first or given him her silent permission. The most important things you can do now is to keep them in separate rooms, given them both attention in those rooms and take the female to an avian vet. Write down the issues you want to address and take the list with you. Sometimes we tend to forget the little but important things. I sure do.

 

[Ripshod]

For her safety I would split them. I'm sure she will settle down rather quickly once she realises he can't get to her.
I wouldn't use Vinegar in the sprayer, just water. Vinegar can strip the oils from the feathers.
When you spray them does she look a lot wetter? Like she gets drenched easily?
Do their wings make different sounds when flying? I suspect she will have a much softer sound.

 

[aido]

I only put 2-3 drops of vinegar and the rest water. I read its good to avoid parasites, though I will remove the vinegar from now on. I think the female is nervous of everything, including me. She is afraid the male when he is "in the mood" but other then that they feed each other from the mouth,play and get along in the cage fine. When I let them out is when he gets naughty. I spray them 2-3 times each but its not like she gets drenched. Yes, while the males wings make a strong sound, hers is more soft, like a pigeons. I would take her to the vet but other then constant nerves she seems fine and I wouldnt want to worsen that, unless you insist that is. Ill be sure to buy a cage ASAP. Here are some pictures to compare the cuties :

 

[Kodigirl210]

@Lady Jane - does it look like her cere/nostril area is swollen? It is quite a bit larger than the male’s and it looks swollen to me.

@aido - They are a lovely pair but truly the female needs some rest. She is very submissive and you can see how wary she is while the male is eating in that pic. She also makes sure her head is always facing him. That is not a sign of relaxation.

Please help her. Get her a different cage and leave them in separate rooms for now. It definitely won’t hurt them and it could really help them.

You also might find that your own relationship improves with the female once the male is removed to a different room. Part of her worry may be that the male will come after her if she spends time and attention with you.

They are quite beautiful

 

[aido]

Thank you Makes complete sense to me. She doesnt even trust him while eating from the same bowl and will scream at him quite regularly. I will separate them ASAP. I will keep them in separate rooms until she feels confident. Or shall I let them play out of the cage in the main room like once or twice a week so they dont miss each other too much? Will they be able to live together eventually? Thanks in advance.

 

[Ripshod]

Poor feather condition. She'll always be the weaker flyer of the two. Keep her in the best room for flying and let her fly as much as possible. I'd take her to the vet for a thorough check, particularly her preen gland.
In the meantime plenty of vitamin A. So plenty of spinach (not too much), carrot, sweet potato, egg, red pepper (chilli is okay) in her diet.

 

[Porter]

How big is the cage they are in?