HELP! Budgie vomiting and eating it

[DezMkB]

I've had my budgie, Afina, for about six months now. She came from a pet store (I know, I know, it's not something I'm proud of). I'm not sure about her age. After adopting her, the pet store recommended a specific brand of food (ZuPreem Fruit Blend) as it's what they fed the birds in store.
Afina RARELY eats fresh fruit. I've tried many times to give her fresh fruit and seeds and she really only has an interest in her pellet food, millet, and treat sticks. Which does fine for her need for seeds, I suppose.
HOWEVER, through the last couple of months, I have noticed times when there seems to be some kind of goo on her feet and covering her forehead and beak. She will pick and eat this off of herself. I haven't actually witnessed her vomiting, but I can't imagine it being anything else as it does NOT resemble her feces at all.
She gets fresh water daily, fresh pellet food daily, a small piece of millet daily, and almost always has a treat stick in her cage (although I just began doing this, AFTER the vomiting).
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY BUDGIE BABY??!!
There aren't any local avian verts in my town, and I honestly cannot rely on Facebook groups to give me reliable info.
I LOVE my birdie, and I want her to be happy and healthy.
Any advice or past experiences?
Any suggestions to get my FiFi to enjoy some fresh fruit and berries?

 

[noodles123]

Birds often pick and eat stuff off their feathers when cleaning them etc. It does sound like possible vomiting, in that regurgitation doesn't typically get on feathers and vomiting tends to go all over. UNLESS, she is mashing the pellets in the water and shoving her head into the soup...but even that wouldn't typically get all over her head.



Are there any zoos near you? Zoo vets can be an alternative to an avian vet in a pinch. If you have an exotics vet that has a good reputation among parrot people, that is an option (although CAV is worth the trip if you have to drive a bit).



Can you drive like an hour to get to one?
Many of us drive at least an hour.


Have you tried cutting them into smaller bits so the flavor is evident the second your bird licks it? Lots of repetition and waste=inevitable, but don't give up. Keep trying.
Have you tried veggies? They are lower in sugar (Although sometimes less preferred because of that).
Fruits My parrot will now eat: bananas, apples, blueberries (sometimes), blackberries, raspberries, pear, peach, watermelon, grapes, and *drum roll* tried pineapple for the first time after years of tossing it (that's not something I was trying to feed her, but I have it a lot, so I usually offer her a little bit before I eat out of the bowl and contaminate it.


Veggies: lettuce, spinach, potato (hardly counts), sweet potato, squash sometimes, cooked pumpkin or pumpkin baby food (non fortified), corn...SAD EH?
She took a bite of a carrot for the first time ever the other day, so at least there is that lol!


If there is a specific food you want your bird to eat, eat the same thing in front of your bird (but don't let her eat off of things you have double-dipped in or bitten off of).

Keep presenting it daily or at least multiple times per week (even if it is ignored or tossed).
Try chopping, mashing, pureeing etc (a fruit puree could hide vegetables well), steaming, baking etc.
Try to notice what colors your bird likes and see if you can find foods with a similar hue, as they sometimes will be more interested then.

try peeled/unpeeled
Try eating it in front of her a few times without offering any to your bird (while secretly stashing some to the side on a human plate so it still looks like yours...that's is often another good way lol


Present these foods when your bird is most hungry (but don't cut him/her off the other food or anything)

 

[Ivan.Vanca]

I personally would suggest to convert the budgie on good quality seeds, mainly grass seeds and canary seeds.... I do not trust mainly those colorful pellets, but maybe it does not have any connection with vomiting. Maybe he want to feed some other budgie. You could get another budgie for him.

 

[noodles123]

I personally would suggest to convert the budgie on good quality seeds, mainly grass seeds and canary seeds.... I do not trust mainly those colorful pellets, but maybe it does not have any connection with vomiting. Maybe he want to feed some other budgie. You could get another budgie for him.

Do you mean a mostly chop diet with seed in addition?

 

[DezMkB]

Thank you for the replies!!! As I've done more research and just plain paid a bit of extra attention to her when she regurgitates, I've realized it's just that. Regurgitation. HOWEVER, there is a lot of it lol. Could it be because she'd like to breed? She honestly just sits there on her long perch, tugs in one her toes (she's does this instead of shaking her head or neck to bring up the seeds) and then creates this huge pile of nasty. Of course I love her and realize this is something that comes with being a bird mom. But she gets it all over herself and her perch! It's messy as heck!!!!!
Just today we adopted a second budgie to keep each other company. They are separated at the moment, but I'm hoping having a friend to actually give the regurgitation to will help her!
I've attached a photo of her on her perch with her puke mound lol

 

[noodles123]

Although budgies often do well in groups, I would be careful with this logic. Be cautious with the idea of getting a bird for your bird because sometimes they will fight and attack each other OR, 2. They may start breeding and then you could have an egg-laying fest (which is not particularly safe for the female, as egg laying takes a lot of energy, nutrients and can lead to egg binding. if the eggs are fertile, then you have to quickly remove and replace them after boiling and allowing to cool (marking each with a pen dot in case more appear).

2 females will often fight, but a male and a female could either breed or fight. If you had a male, another male would be an easier decision (but not without risk), but with a female, you are in a more difficult position.


I'm not saying you can't get another, but I would be very very cautious---and unless you have an elaborate set-up with lots of experience hand-feeding, brooders etc, I would not try to breed them...Especially because each baby would eventually need to be separated into it's own cage because of in-breeding risk. If they do get along, they will mate and you do not want to encourage this. Make sure you have no shadowy spaces or tents/huts and DO NOT give them a nest box because that will increase the odds of egg-laying.


If you get another bird, you have to quarantine it as far from possible from your current bird for at least 45 days, although 3 months is recommended by vets in an ideal situation. You technically want the other bird in a totally separate house, but if that is not possible, then as many rooms apart as your possibly can.


They can carry asymptomatic diseases that spread through feather dander and can circulate in air ducts to other birds. A bird during re-homing is more stressed than normal, which makes it more likely to shed viral particles during periods of transition (even if no symptoms show). This makes them more contagious when they go to a new home if they are carrying something. PDD, ABV and PDD are some major ones that are not easy to test for and they do not require testing for these diseases in shops, although some studies estimate that in the us, up to 40% of captive parrots is carrying one of these.



This quarantine is to protect your new bird from your old bird and your old bird from your new. Diseases like those mentioned above can have an incubation period of 2 weeks to 10 years, and some may show symptoms eventually, while others may carry and spread it for a lifetime without anyone knowing. That same virus (when spread from the carrier) can kill another bird (same species) in a few weeks ---no way of knowing who will carry it vs die from it. Washing hands and arms and changing clothes/showering between birds if you handle them during quarantine is important. I'm not saying you have to do a full shower each time, but you really do need to be careful.



While this could be regurgitation, I'm a little concerned by the fact that you said it is so messy. If it seems like it is flying all over the place when she does it, of if it is shooting out or landing on the walls etc, I'd be concerned that it is vomiting.


Vomiting and regurgitation look fairly similar at times, but vomiting tends to be wilder/more messy.


Make sure you are certain of the genders of both birds if you do get another...Also, consider the fact that they will need their own cages upfront during quarantine, and perhaps longer if they do not get along (or get along too well).


Have you tried rearranging the cage to see if that cuts back on this behavior (if it is regurgitation, that is)?
How many hours sleep does she get nightly?
How is her diet?
Any shadowy spaces in the cage?

 

[Laurasea]

That seems like an abnormal amount of regurgitation.....and looks like a boy to me....( but I'm nit sn expert with color mutations at all, but seems tje blue girls have white or tan brown cere , especiallyif they are ready to breed hormonal),

None of my 3 boys have ever done anything like that. I would get it checked out by veterinarian

Your burd might also be thin. I know its nit easy to weigh them. What I find that works is wait till evening, sbd turn off the lights. Just have a little barely light enough for you to see. Then reach in and grab them and place in a plastic storage container, I use a pasta storage container I lay on its side. You have a digital kitchen scale set to grams, and fist you put the empty container on the scale and zero it out. Then you I put the burd in to weigh. If I average my budgies weigh 40 grams. My smallest is 39 largest is 45. English budgies weigh more, but mine are regular.

You can at least see if their us continue weight loss or gain back.
Because parrots of different species have such differences in weight, vets go by % body mass. To judge % lost you would take grams lost ÷ by yiur birds normal x 100 = % lost. For a budgies 1 gram is a big deal, it can be a 3% loss.. . 3% lost seek a veterinarian, 5% you have a sick bird or problem try to get into the vet same day or next day, 10% or more lost supportive foods and feeding need to be started.

Since you have this issue, it would be good to see if weight is being lost. I aldo would clean thst up abd give 5ge cafe a giid clean. Leaving the regurgitation there will let mold, and bacteria grow in it.

If yiu add anything like vitamin to the water stop! Vitamins in water grow nasties and are a gimmick. Its better to offer leafy greens, weave them in the cage bars. A few nibbles is fmgreat. Most budgies take to leafy greens like romaine lettuce right away. My budgies actually love sll veggies. I serve tgrm in wide shallow glass dishes. For me I feed a seed mix available at all times, leafy greens and veggies twice a day, a fruit once a week,, abd i have pellets in a seperate dish always available too.. mine will eat nutri berries crumbled, zupreem crunched up, and mazuri crushed, or oven baked bites crushed, and tops crushed. I font feed all those st once but I have them on a rational. As I have other parrots who eat them. I didn't limit or force them to eat pellets or veggies. Over time their natural curiosity had them explore. I serve all stuff separately. I just share do you know it us possible. Snd especially they love their leafy greens and veggies!!