I need some advice on a neglected baby budgie I received

[Zara]

when I peaked in he was asleep on the floor! I thought he was dead

Hate when that happens, or they sleep on the floor on their side Always gives a good fright!
It´s a baby thing. Some adults sleep like that but it´s not as common like with the youngsters.

it’s only been two days, but is it okay to start feeding him once a day?

I would do just one more day, just for good measure. Push the first feed back an hour again - just in case he´s waking up and pigging out on other foods after a good nights sleep.

 

[Britnicorn]

Hate when that happens, or they sleep on the floor on their side Always gives a good fright!
It´s a baby thing. Some adults sleep like that but it´s not as common like with the youngsters.


I would do just one more day, just for good measure. Push the first feed back an hour again - just in case he´s waking up and pigging out on other foods after a good nights sleep.

It’s adorable but terrifying And sounds good thank you!

 

[Lady Jane]

I know a few little bird owners that spread pellets on a soft blanket because the birds foraged for them better than from a food dish. Try a few small blueberries, fresh, and see if he nibbles on them.

 

[Britnicorn]

I know a few little bird owners that spread pellets on a soft blanket because the birds foraged for them better than from a food dish. Try a few small blueberries, fresh, and see if he nibbles on them.

I’ll try that!! He does love to look around for his food, he does it on my bed

he’s eating the romaine lettuce right now, too. He didn’t want it in the cage, but he’s nibbling on it from my hand!

 

[Britnicorn]

I’m not sure what cuttlebone is, but I gave one to my budgie and he had a lot of fun biting it up, but I don’t think he was actually eating it. Is he supposed to eat it? He’s just super destructive

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I’m not sure what cuttlebone is, but I gave one to my budgie and he had a lot of fun biting it up, but I don’t think he was actually eating it. Is he supposed to eat it? He’s just super destructive

Cuttlebone comes from Cuttlefish ( not actually a fish ... a cephalopod ). Dried cuttlebone is the internal shell within their soft body. I am not a fan of cuttlebone. It's a fairly porous material that can harbor bacteria if it gets wet ( or pooped on). Offers no significant nutrition, may be fun to shred but I have concerns of fine particles or dust that could be inhaled when they chew on it.

Cuttlefish Animal Facts | Sepiida | AZ Animals

Enjoy this expertly researched article on the Cuttlefish, including where they live, what they eat & more. Now with high quality pictures.

a-z-animals.com

 

[Britnicorn]

Cuttlebone comes from Cuttlefish ( not actually a fish ... a cephalopod ). Dried cuttlebone is the internal shell within their soft body. I am not a fan of cuttlebone. It's a fairly porous material that can harbor bacteria if it gets wet ( or pooped on). Offers no significant nutrition, may be fun to shred but I have concerns of fine particles or dust that could be inhaled when they chew on it.

Cuttlefish Animal Facts | Sepiida | AZ Animals

Enjoy this expertly researched article on the Cuttlefish, including where they live, what they eat & more. Now with high quality pictures.

a-z-animals.com

Oh sheesh I just heard how everyone gives it to their birds for calcium. Maybe I’ll take it out now. Thanks for the info!

 

[Kiwi's Mom]

I used to give it hard side out because it helped with keeping beaks at a nice length but Kiwi never uses it so it’s not in the cage anymore.

 

[Britnicorn]

He denied almost all the formula again tonight (there's no way he ate more than two mL) like he did this morning- he gets angry whenever I try to give it to him now not gonna lie, a little angry budgie flying across the room as he squawks birdy-curse words at me is adorable. He's eating the seed/pellet mix that's in his cage pretty well, though. He doesn't eat a ton of the pellets, but I mix in the powdered pellets (pellets that I smashed with a hammer) in everything he eats, so I'm not worried about it. He is starting to eat more of the seeds that are in the seed mix, too, and doing better about eating anything I give him

 

[Britnicorn]

Phoenix loves my little brother so much! It’s so adorable. He only allows everyone else in my family to pet him, he refuses to stand up on any of them (except my mom, but he only did that once and hasn’t done it since) and will squawk at them and flap his wings when he’s had enough pets. When my brother came into my room, Phoenix flew to him immediately! Phoenix tried to land on his shoulder, but he got scared and ducked so Phoenix landed on his head instead I put phoenix down on his shoulder though and he just looks so happy

 

[Kiwi's Mom]

Another one of these lol

He has grown a lot

 

[Kassiani]

That's just so adorable that he loves your brother so much!

 

[Zara]

That´s great he´s ok with your brother. Try having other people interact with him too. Nice to have a social bird who is friendly and not afraid of people

When we had my partners little brother and sister living with us, I would get the birds out and let them interact with them too. But they were told never to get the birds from their cages without me there. They were just too young to be trusted.

 

[Lady Jane]

Did the vet say if the crop will shrink in size over time?

 

[Britnicorn]

Did the vet say if the crop will shrink in size over time?

No. The vet said it’s probably something that’ll affect him the rest of his life, but it’s not causing issues right now. But the next vet visit after he said that the vet said the crop went down half in size, so it’s possible that it’ll keep getting smaller

 

[zoo mom]

Phoenix and your little brother look adorable together.

 

[Britnicorn]

So I was offering Phoenix some water, he seemed crazy about it and sticking his whole face in it, then he started climbing in. He was happy about it, so I didn't see a problem with it, but then he spat out a mouthful of water? He didn't do any head motions or anything, just poured it out onto my hand. Did he just drink too fast or something? The vets are closed on Sundays so I can't take him in anywhere he seems completely fine otherwise, though

 

[Lady Jane]

He certainly has an adventurous soul.

 

[Britnicorn]

Now he's started opening his beak and grumbling at me whenever I put my hand near him- maybe he's just in a mood after his bath? Sheesh I'm so worried about him.

 

[camelotshadow]

Think he was maybe testing to take a bath. Likely he;s playing with the water & if he;s acting fine he should be OK.