overweight budgie, please help

[hana]

Hello. I have a budgie who is 9 years old and he can't fly. He is also overweight.
Last year I found him sitting in the corner of the cage and he wasn't moving. My parents took him to a vet and he stayed here for 3 days. When he came back he was like a completely different bird. He was so slim and hyperactive.
But then he slowly gained weight again.
I'm scared something may happen to him if he's like this. Do you know some ways of exercise? Should I change his diet?

Thank you for your answers

(sorry for my english)

 

[noodles123]

Welcome! You sound smart to be concerned. Thanks for posting!


Is he definitely male?
Are his wings clipped or not, and if so, for how long?
What does he eat daily?
Have you had blood-work done?

Your english is fine!

You might also consider any respiratory irritants that might be in your home (standard cleaners, smoke, candles, perfume, especially---deadly Teflon/PTFE/PFOA (even through closed doors) could easily cause enough damage to decrease your bird's oxygen supply etc.

 

[hana]

Yeah, he is a male.
No, they aren't clipped but he has some kind of disease. When he wants to fly he just falls to the ground.
He eats millet. We also give him fruit and vegetable but the only thing he wants is lettuce.
And about the blood-work...I'm not sure. These things do my parents. But I don't think so.

 

[noodles123]

He is getting old too, so that could be part of it... blood-work would check his general wellness, thyroid and general organ function..and it will let you see if his white-count is high. Given age, I would be concerned that an xray might stress him out too much.

 

[Betrisher]

I'm not sure how nutritious millet is as staple diet. AFAIK, it only contains carbohydrates and not much else. Are you able to get pelletted bird food in your area? It might be worth giving your budgie pellets (if he'll eat them). Also, try him with other green vegetables besides lettuce (which really only promotes diarrhoea). Milk thistle is good, or kale, or natural grass seed heads (washed, in case there's anything nasty on it).

Also, do try and encourage him to exercise. Flying is the best exercise, but if he can't fly, make him work to get his food and walk a LOT while he's out of his cage. Make him a ladder or cargo net to climb on. There are instructions in our 'Toys' or 'Do It Yourself' sections. String a piece of knotted rope so that he has to climb it to get his food.

My galah was 550grams and he slimmed down to 300grams in a year, so it is possible to help a bird slim down. You don't want your budgie to get any lipomas (fatty tumours) because these can become malignant and may threaten his life. Act now to help him lose weight and you'll both be happier.

 

[EllenD]

Your major issue is his regular daily diet...Millet is not a staple food that should be his regular meal, it's only an occasional treat...It is full of nothing but fat and very little protein. So he doesn't really have a 'disease' at all, he's obese, he probably has Fatty Liver Disease which will end his life early, and he is definitely malnourished, because millet is not providing him the proper vitamins and minerals or the protein that he needs to stay healthy. His immune system is no doubt suffering too...

Do you have access to a commercial Budgie seed-mix that you can buy in a pet shop or order online? Because that's what he needs to be eating...Most commercial Budgie seed-mixes contain a little bit of millet seed, but different types, along with all kinds of other seeds, grains, legumes, etc. that will provide him with the proper vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. that he needs to be properly nourished. And it won't be nearly as fatty as only feeding him millet seed/sprays.

As far as fresh veggies, 'lettuce' must be the dark, leafy varieties and not Iceberg or any other :"watery" lettuces, as they contain no nutrition at all and are just water...He should be getting fresh greens every single day, if he'll eat lettuce then he'll eat all of the dark, leafy greens such as Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Arugula/Rocket, Bok Choy, Pak Choy, Chards, Broccoli Rab, etc. These are the types of greens he needs to be eating every single day, as they contain all kinds of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. Lettuce, even the dark, leafy kinds like Romaine or Red Leaf do not contain much nutrition, not like the other dark green, leafy Greens...And then also fresh Veggies chopped-up into tiny pieces, such as Broccoli (They love the flowers picked off), Green Beans, Pea Pods/Peas, Sweet Potatoes, all kinds of Squash like Spaghetti, Butternut, Acorn, Yellow, etc., Zucchini, Carrot, all colors of Bell Peppers (they love these), etc. They need to be able to get a variety of dark, leafy Greens and fresh Veggies every single day (no canned or frozen veggies)...As far as fresh Fruit goes, it is all full of sugar, which will turn into fat and be stored in his liver just like the fatty Millet and Sunflower Seeds are, so fresh Fruit should only be given occasionally, maybe 1-2 times a week, and in very small portions...And no Citrus Fruits or Tomatoes, as the high Vitamin C content makes them very sick, and no Avocado or Onions, Leeks, or Chives, as they are all toxic to birds...

I would assume that the reason he can't fly is due to 2 different reasons, the first being his weight (though I can't see how obese he is, and this still really isn't going to cause him to not be able to fly), but more so the severe malnutrition, lack of energy, and the lack of much protein in his diet has probably caused his muscles to atrophy, so he has no strength to be able to fly...

Another issue is the fatty, enlarged Liver he has to have...What happens when a bird's Liver enlarges is that it takes up all the empty space in their abdomens, and it actually pushes up on their Keel Bones; the Keel Bone is that large, flat bony plate that covers their entire chest/abdomen and that you can feel the pointy blade of going down the middle of their bellies...When the Liver gets very large it pushes their Keel Bone upward and outward, this is called "Sternal Lift". And when they start to experience "Sternal Lift", then all of their other internal organs like their Spleen, Stomach, Pancreas, as well as their Abdominal Air Sac all shift their positions inside of their abdomens, and so their weight-distribution is all out of balance, causing them to not be able to fly. So while yes, he does need to lose some weight, it's actually more important that the fat in and around his Liver decrease, and his Liver will then shrink to it's normal size, which will allow his Keel Bone to come down to it's correct position along with all of his other organs, and then his weight-distribution will back in-balance, and he'll be able to fly again...So it's not so much that he's overweight or obese that is causing him not to be able to fly, it's his enlarged, fatty Liver that's doing it, along with some likely muscle atrophy due to not enough protein in his diet...

You need to get him on a regular, daily diet that is 50% a well-rounded, commercial seed-mix for Budgies and then the other 50% needs to be only fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens, not Lettuces...You will need to chop-up the fresh Veggies into small, tiny bits for him, as Budgies won't usually eat them otherwise, and you'll have to try different fresh Veggies and Greens to see which ones he loves the most...

I would advise you to completely stop ALL millet sprays and any other treats or people food, especially no people food if he gets any, and no Fruit at all for a good couple of months, and only feed him a varied Budgie Seed-Mix in his bowl at all times, and then another bowl of fresh Veggies and Greens twice a day, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon/early evening...And that's it, no other foods, junky seeds like Sunflower Seeds (absolutely none of those, and most Budgie seed-mixes don't contain Sunflower Seeds so that's good), no Nuts of any kind, no Dried Corn or any Corn for that matter, just the commercial Budgie Seed-Mix you buy in a pet shop and lots of fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens...

If you follow this diet strictly, he'll start losing weight and his Liver will start to also lose fat and shrink in size, and you should see a much healthier, happier, smaller Budgie who will gradually regain their ability to fly again...But if you keep feeding him the diet he's been on, he's not going to live much longer...I'd also see if you have access to Milk Thistle in a supplement form or powder form, and I'd be sprinkling a bit of it on his new seed-mix every single day, as Milk Thistle helps very much to regenerate Liver tissue...

 

[noodles123]

I'd also see if you have access to Milk Thistle in a supplement form or powder form, and I'd be sprinkling a bit of it on his new seed-mix every single day, as Milk Thistle helps very much to regenerate Liver tissue...

They also sell bird-grade liquid milk-thistle supplements, but if you get this, make sure that it isn't suspended in alcohol.

 

[EllenD]

Also, just to make a point here about the life-span of American and English Budgies, 9 years-old is not at all elderly, or shouldn't be anyway, it's more middle-age, the equivalent to a 50 year-old person. Budgies in captivity should live to at least 15 years-old, with a good percentage of them living into their late teens if they eat a well-rounded, low-fat, high-protein diet and they get exercise every single day. So there's no reason that your Budgie shouldn't have at least another 5 or 6 years or more if you get him off of the millet and onto a commercial seed-mix made for Budgies as half his daily diet, and the other half of his daily diet being nothing else but fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens, with no fatty seeds like Sunflower Seeds or Millet or any other "bird treats" or people food, and very little fresh Fruit (and NO Fruit until he's on the new daily diet for at least 3 months and he loses some noticeable weight and starts moving around and playing more, and hopefully starts flying again)...Once you get enough of the fat out of his Liver and his weight down in-general, and you get his muscles some steady protein every day for a few months, he should start flying normally. Once he's able to fly again, then you need to let him out of his cage every single day for exercise and of course for time spent with you...

I'll reiterate again about getting him some Milk Thistle for his Liver...I'm more of a "medical" or scientific person and don't put a whole lot of faith in supplements and holistic-medicine. However, there are certain supplements that really do work so well that the changes they cause are very visible very quickly, and Milk Thistle is one of those supplements. I've seen both birds/parrots and reptiles, as well as people, with fatty, enlarged Livers be put on nothing else but a low-fat, high-protein, varied daily diet and a daily dose of Milk Thistle that have done a complete turn-around as far as their health goes. Milk Thistle really does help the Liver tissue to regenerate more efficiently and more quickly than any other supplement or prescription medication.

I don't know what you have access to where you live as far as Milk-Thistle goes, but in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, etc. you can buy Milk Thistle capsules very commonly in drug stores, grocery stores, health stores, etc., usually it's located with the Vitamins and other health supplements. If you can buy either Milk Thistle capsules that you can open-up, or just Milk Thistle in straight powder-form, either one will work...And you only need to take a pinch of the Milk Thistle powder between your fingers and sprinkle it all over your bird's dish of Budgie seed-mix, and he'll get a regular, daily dose while he's eating his seeds. The Milk Thistle will really help in-addition to the complete diet change...

I'd also recommend a Probiotic powder also sprinkled over his seed-mix once a day as well, either a multi-Probiotic powder like you can buy or order online for birds, or just an Acidophilus tablet crushed into powder and sprinkled onto his food along with the Milk Thistle once a day...The Probiotic supplement is no where near as important as a complete change in his diet or the Milk Thistle is, but it will help his GI Tract to stay healthy and feel better, and it will help his digestion overall...

 

[hana]

Thank you all so much. I will surely change his diet but I have one more question. Is it okay to suddenly change to the seed mix and vegetables or should I do it gradually?
Thank you again

 

[noodles123]

I would do a mix of healthy seed, and pellets +veg (not just veg)...Seed+pellets in one cup and veg in another (maybe limit the number of hours seeds are available daily so that he is hungry enough to eat the other stuff). I would slowly decrease seed and make sure he is eating (even a healthy diet should include a few seeds).

If he eats the pellets and veg, you can remove most of the seed. The thing is, birds can starve out of stubbornness.