Parakeet Health

Question
I have a parakeet who is about 6 years old and she is not looking well. Her heart beats must faster than normal. She looks fat but it could be constipation. Her beak color has turned brown and she is having trouble getting from perch to perch in her cage. She is also have trouble flying like she hasn't before.
What do you recommend we do?

Answer
I would recommend that you get your bird to an avian vet to get examined. If properly cared for, budgies should live 8 to 15 years, so I would recommend getting her to a vet to see what could be wrong, or if it is just the start of natural aging. Unfortunately, many people feed their budgies all (or nearly all) seed diets, and often birds fed and cared for in this manner don't see much pass 6 or 7... and one of the other signs (besides pre-mature aging) that birds with poor nutrition exhibit is being overweight (since seeds  are so high in fat).  

If you don't already have an avian vet, here are listings online that you can search through to find one in your area:

http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm

http://www.parrotpro.com/avianlst.htm

and

www.aav.org

I hope this helps, and hopefully it won't be anything serious.

-Maggie