Does my budgie have a behaviour problem?

[Congo]

Hi everybody,

I think I may have a problem. I have had my budgie for almost two years. He's adapted to his environment but something different has been happening lately. Usually when I put my finger inside the cage to let him sit on it as I take him out he just climbs up but lately he has been nibbling and seems to get into defensive position when my finger is far away. The nibbles aren't hard though. When my fingers close to his belly though and he gets on he doesn't nibble. He also doesn't nibble when I get him to come to finger outside. Is there anything wrong with his behavior?

[captwest]

he might be telling you no, i don't want to come out of my cage, but i will if you insist.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Use a treat or something else he likes to reward him for coming out. Also, if he used to come out eagerly and doesn't anymore, look carefully at what might have changed. I've noticed that if I'm being distracted or absent minded, I might handle my bird with less finesse then, say, bringing his head closer to the cage door top than he's comfortable with, so pay extra attention for a little while to diagnose what might be going on.

[Congo]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. My budgie doesn't nibble anymore which is weird ( I think this because I changed the area where his cage is when I cleaned it) but something else that is strange is: that he is losing a lot of feathers especially on his head. Does this have to do with anything?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Sounds like he's molting... in two years has he never molted before? Or is this different? Has he had a recent vet checkup?

[Congo]

Hi,

Thanks again. I can't remember actually. I guess I will wait a few days and see what happens. When he comes out to play he has the playful personalty. No, he hasn't had one recently. I believe this is what happened to my other budgies so hopefully my problem is not to bad.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Did something go wrong with previous budgies?

[Congo]

Hi,

Two of them died of old age but another one died from lung disease (I couldn't treat her fast enough). I'm pretty sure he's just molting because I think I saw some feathers starting to grow on his head when they weren't there yesterday. I guess I'll have to monitor his health for a couple of days.

[Congo]

Interestingly my budgie is breathing heavily. Like it was tired or something. He hasn't done this before. Does this occur during molting? Do birds become tired some how?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I think it may be time to take your bird to the vet. Breathing heavily is not normal. When is the last time your bird had a checkup?