Is my budgie ill? Spotting the signs it tries to hide

According to the MSD Veterinary Manual, birds hide illness so as not to appear weak. VCA Animal Hospitals adds that by the time signs appear, the bird has often been ill for several days to several weeks. Feathers can also hide serious weight loss or a swollen abdomen, the veterinary edition of the MSD Manual notes.

The first clues are subtle: a budgie that no longer sings in the morning, plays less or comes to you less. Knowing its habits is how you spot what is changing.

• Fluffed-up feathers, a bird sitting puffed up, sleeping more with its eyes closed.
• Perching low, or sitting on the cage floor for long periods.
• Less singing, chattering or interest in its surroundings.
• Laboured breathing: open beak, wheezing, a tail that bobs with each breath.
• Discharge from the nostrils or eyes, matted feathers around them.
• Eating or drinking more or less than usual, regurgitation.
• Loss of balance, falling off the perch, drooping wings.

A bird’s dropping has three parts: the faeces (the formed green or brown part), the urates (the white part) and the urine (the clear liquid). According to VCA, a healthy bird produces one roughly every 20 to 30 minutes.

Fewer droppings

A sign it is eating less: take it seriously, according to VCA.

Faeces

Soft or unformed, black, red or with blood, or containing undigested seed: abnormal.

Urates

They should stay white; bright yellow, green or pink urates are abnormal, according to an avian vet writing for the World Parrot Trust.

Urine

Much more of it over a lasting period, especially if the bird is drinking more: tell your vet.

Soiled feathers around the vent

A sign of diarrhoea or a digestive problem.

Newspaper or kitchen roll on the cage floor, changed every day, makes the droppings easy to check.

Scaly face and leg mites

Common in budgies according to the MSD Manual: dry, white crusts on the beak, face and legs, often without itching. The beak can become permanently deformed if treatment is delayed.

Goitre

On a seed diet low in iodine, the thyroid enlarges and gets in the way of breathing: wheezing, “clicking” sounds, according to the veterinary edition of the MSD Manual.

Kitchen fumes

An overheated non-stick pan gives off fumes that can kill a bird with no other warning, according to the veterinary edition of the MSD Manual: keep your budgie well away from the kitchen.

A significant change in weight, up or down, is among the signs of illness listed by VCA. In a World Parrot Trust publication, an avian vet advises weighing your bird about once a week on scales accurate to the gram. In a budgie of around 35 g, losing just a few grams already matters.

The signs of a sick budgie are subtle and build up over several days. In the MyArk health record, the household notes what it sees, the date and the weigh-ins, so your vet has an accurate history.

• Dated observations in the health record
• Weigh-ins on a chart in the weight tracker, to spot a drop early
• Vet visits and treatments kept in one place
• Your vet’s contact details on the pet sitter sheet