Thank you -re shape of my budgies head

Question
Hello, Chrys. Thank you very much for your answer.

I will do as you say -- I presumed there would be no way around catching Maciek and feeling her head. We do catch her sporadically: mainly because one of her feet is not quite straight and the claws on that need trimming once in a while -- but the fact is that she is still quite "wild" and will even get uneasy at being looked at a bit more intently, not to speak of being held in hand (still, she actually seems to enjoy being stroked with a long tail feather that one of them had dropped). My budgies come from a rather shabby pet-shop, so perhaps that is the reason they (mostly Maciek) have not yet grown to be really close and friendly with us. (The male is quite unafraid and he will sit on us or try to steal our food, or eat treats from hand -- the latter of which Maciek half-willingly does, too, sometimes -- but he wouldn't be touched, even with a feather.)

As said, I will examine Maciek. Just so that you wouldn't worry, her eyes are ok, she is eating, flying, and so on, so I guess it must be the feathers. But I will check.

As for bathing -- we do have a problem about it. Our budgies don't show any interest in baths. Some time ago, Maciek used to fancy jumping to the drinking receptacle, but even then that was a rare event -- now she's totally not interested. Renata, the male, never was. The special bathing attachment to the cage was always ignored by both. Could you perhaps give me some advice on how to move them to bathe?

What with the "puffing up", I might have exaggerated. Renata indeed puffs a lot more than Maciek, but it's quite obvious that he does that out of excitement. He puffs up and either "molests" Maciek (jumps around her, sings, fronts her clicking his beak on hers) or performs a similar (if not more fiery) ritual in front of any stub-like object he takes a liking to. Renata eats a lot, shows a distinct crevice down through the middle of the chest, and is just hugely vital. Especially now, that he seems to sense the spring coming.

Thank you once again for yor advice, time, and concern, Chrys!

Bartek

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Followup To
Answer -
Hi, Bartek.  Thanks for posting your concerns.

I can't open the site you sent...Internet Explorer has blocked that website automatically as a potential risk.

I'm concerned about this budgie because I've never seen anything like you describe in 16 years of raising hundreds of budgies.  Their heads should be smooth with no lumps, bumps, etc.  Have you held the parrot and felt the area to see if there is some sort of mass (soft or hard) under the skin (birds can get tumors/cysts like we do)?  Could there possibly be a scab on the head under the feathers (perhaps from an injury or squabble with the male)?  Is the eye(s) red, swollen, cloudy, etc.?  I've seen baby budgies with fluid on the brain, which presents in a similar fashion, but these were very young babies who died a day or so after hatching (but the head was large all over).  Like you state, could it be that feathers are not laying properly (when was the last bath)?  

Birds are not supposed to be "puffed up" most of the time, unless they are sleeping or are cold.  When a bird puffs up like this, and they are not sleeping, they could be sick and are usually trying to hide something, such as their breast bone protruding from lost weight (so we can't see how skinny they are...losing weight is one indication of illness/disease).  On a bird who is losing weight/too thin, there won't be much "meat" on either side of their chest and their breast bone (keel) protrudes.  This should be considered a serious health issue that requires avian veterinarian intervention immediately.  There could also be a problem that I've never run across in my experiences/research with parrots.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you examine your budgie by holding her and gently palpitating the head area to see what you can feel.  If you feel a bump or lump, you need to take her ASAP to a bird veterinarian (not a cat/dog vet).  Also check her chest area to see if she has meat on either side of her chest.  I'd also check the male, too, since you say he's "puffed" all the time (at least check his chest for weight loss).  If you end up at the bird vet, take the male with you also.

I'm sorry I can't be of much help in your situation.  I'm not sure posting a picture would help much....feeling the area would be the best bet to try to determine what might be going on.  If you examine the budgie and have more information, please let me know.  

Chrys  

Answer
Hi, again, Bartek.  Thanks for responding.  Tameness toward humans in a bird is usually a direct relationship to the experiences they have had with humans.  Female budgies tend to be less friendly sometimes because their role in the world is to protect their eggs and babies in the nestbox from predators, etc., whereas the male guards the cage and opening to the nest, as well as feeding the female while she tends to eggs/babies.  Females also bite harder than males for this reason.  Clipping their wings helps to keep birds tame because they have to rely on their humans to get them from point A to point B.  You might want to clip their wings if you haven't already.  The longer parrots are not tamed, the harder it is to tame them.  If you are waiting for time to solve this problem, it probably won't happen!  Positive interaction on a regular basis with their humans is the only solution.  

One thing to know about birds....they will hide any illness until they can't hide it any more.  When we notice a bird is ill, it is often too late because they've been ill too long by the time we notice.  They do this instinctively so as not to attrack predators to themselves or the flock.  This is why I was asking about the puffing up.

Sometimes, birds will also get food stuck to the feathers on their head if they are sloppy eaters...some of mine enjoy their soft food mix so much their heads & beaks get covered with the food!  It hardens and sometimes resembles a bump unde the feathers.  

Usually, budgies will bathe themselves if you give them a dish of water.  If they won't bathe themselves, you should use a plant mist bottle (spray bottle of some sort), put hot water in it, and spray them down.  The water will not be hot by the time it reaches the bird's body.  They may not like this at first, but they will get used to it and often times this persuades them to bathe themselves.  Do this several times per week when the room is warm (you don't want them to catch cold).  A lot of birds bathe themselves every day.  This is important for the health of the feathers, and I believe birds feel better when they are clean.  It also forces them to preen their feathers, which is also a necessity (birds should spend a lot of their time preening their feathers).

If Renata looks as though he has clevage, he is overweight.  Overweight budgies have a tendency to develop fatty liver syndrome, which is usually fatal at some point in time.  Fatty deposits grow around the heart, etc., just like with humans, and cause many health problems.  If you have your budgies on a seed diet, you need to get them on a healthier diet.  I have a website still under construction that can help you in this area if you want to visit:

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

If I can help you out more or if you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to come back.

Thanks.

Chrys