Budgie Behavior (preening, playing and eating)

Question
Please help me with my budgie! He's having some odd behaviors, and some health problems.

He's a male lutino (least we think its male), we suspect to be between 9-12 months.  We've had him for about 6 months, more or less.  He has some behaviors that concern me, though I'm not certain I should be concerned.

Firstly, he had a beak overgrowth problem, so we took him to be trimmed, which seemed to go fine.  The beak overgrowth, we suspect, lead to bald patches (or near bald patches) under each wing and below the beak, on the neck.  We are still waiting to see if the shorter beak leads to those patches fading away.

Secondly, he preens a lot. A LOT.  I don't see signs of biting, no blood on the beak or feathers, but my concern is that he is over preening, which is leading to the bald patches. He doesn't seem to play with his toys much, only a small bell on a frizzy rope, which he cuddles against.  He has a hamster wheel thing, doesn't touch it.  Other bells and rings and things, doesn't touch them.  Just preens the day away, sleeps, eats, and cuddles with the rope.  He shows very little curiousity towards anything new.  He walks the same perches, goes to the same seed dish, plays with the same thing, and PREENS.

Thirdly, he's on an all seed diet.  Up until 3 months ago, he would be willing to try any new food we offer (veggies, etc.) but now he seems to resist them.  If we put it in his seed dish, he doesn't touch it.  If we hang it on a clip, he doesn't go near it.  If we offer it by hand, he just stands there with his beak closed (obstinate to the point where you can stroke his beak with the food). How do we get him to eat healthier?

Mayhaps I'm not painting the best picture of my bird, but I'm really trying to do everything I can for him to make him happy, healthy, and active.  My biggest concern now is his over preening and bald patches.  Again, I suspect that his beak overgrowth, his all-seed diet, and his over preening (stemming from boredom? or a lack of curiousity?) is the culprit, but what can i do???

His behavior with people is hard to judge.  He doesn't seem to be afraid; sometimes he'll walk up to me if I put my face near the cage, but sometimes he seems to walk away.  He usually does that double wing stretch when he sees me walk into the room. We can put our hand in, and he usually heads for his highest spot in the back, but if you put a hand at his belly he'll step up and can be brought out of the cage (though he tries to jump onto a perch if you pass too close to one).  Outside the cage, he runs around on the ground, looks for dark hued wood which he likes to stand near (not really play with it, just stand next to or on).  He'll sit on fingers and climb shoulders.  He likes to burrow under clothes, into nooks in fabrics, and try to get under sleeves.  Is his burrowing an attempt to hide? I don't know. He doesn't flop around the cage a lot, or show the other obvious stress signs. So I don't really know if he's stressed

We did have a problem with him being a little aggressive and bite-y, and it seemed to be a territorial thing (he would make that angry dolphin sound and yet move towards you if you got too close to the cage). We changed his cage around and gave him new toys (he can't be territorial with new toys).  That was a few months ago, and he seems to be better behaved now.  We even gave him his then favorite toy back, which he now ignores (again, the lack of curiousity thing).

I don't know what to do to get him interested in more toys and food so that his diet is healthier and his preening is proper.

Help?

Answer
Hi, Ryan.  Thanks for posting!

The beak overgrowth problem probably doesn't have anything to do with the bald spots.  Your bird most likely would have those bald spots regardless of the beak problem.  Your first concern should be why your bird is having the beak overgrowth problem.  Please explain the problem:  is the beak growing too long at the tip, is either side of the beak overgrowing, does your bird have scissor beak, etc.?  The bald spots most likely are from stress, boredom, molting, perhaps too dry air in your home, etc.  Have you had your bird to an avian veterinarian for the beak overgrowth problem?  Do you keep any type of beak trimming aid/block or beak perch in your bird's cage?

Birds are supposed to preen a lot.  They spend most of their day preening their feathers.  Their feathers are very important to them and they have to keep them in tip top shape 24/7.  If the bird didn't preen himself, then you should worry.

Toys - You may not be providing the type of toys budgies/keets enjoy.  For example, why do you have a hamster wheel in your budgie's cage?  Budgies like toys, such as swings (they love to swing), things they can climb on/up/in/through, they like round things they can climb through, etc.  

Food - Birds won't eat anything they don't recognize as food.  If you put something new in your bird's cage and he's never seen it before, he doesn't know what it is and, therefore, won't touch it.  You just have to keep offering the foods you want your bird to eat every day until he tries the new stuff.  Sometimes it helps if your bird sees you eating the food while making "Yum yum" noises.  Seems silly, but works because birds tend to mimic/follow the actions of others.  Could be the types of foods you are offering and the way you are offering them.  Some birds like their food shredded, some like it diced, some chopped, etc., etc.  Find the right size and shape your bird prefers.  Also, try offering cooked brown rice with shredded veggies mixed in.  My budgies all love corn bread.  Offer whole/multi grain type dry, sugarless cereals/breads.  The list is endless of what you can provide.  But, again, be aware if it's something your bird has never seen before, he'll be reluctant to eat it at first.  Also, if seed is available to eat at the same time you are offering other foods, your budgie will always pick the seed over everything else.  Pull the seed out of the cage when you are offering other types of food.  Don't put the seed back in the cage for a couple of hours.  Pull the human food out after a couple of hours so your bird won't eat spoiled food, then put the seed back in.  Some birds like to eat their food out of a food dish on the side of the cage, some like to eat their food off a flat plate on the bottom of their cage.  You need to find the way your budgie prefers.  Your budgie should also be on pelleted food, too.  

Most birds like to "hide" in things...it gives them a sense of security.  It's perfectly natural.  You need to remember your budgie at 9-12 months of age is still a baby bird and learning about things around him, including humans.  From your description, I believe your budgie is doing really well as far as his behavior is concerned.  It seems he might be a little "nervous," but this can be expected when mostly everything is new to him.  Give him some time.  

You can't make your bird like toys.  But then, I think you need to change the type of toys you are offering your budgie.  Take my suggestions above about his food.  Regarding the preening, if your house is dry, you might want to add some more humidity (birds can suffer from dry skin and itching just like humans).  Make sure your budgie has the opportunity to bathe either by providing him with a bathing dish or spray-mist him.  Perhaps the overpreening will cease once your bird is on a better diet and has different types of toys to keep him occupied.  Do you spend enough time with your budgie?  This might help, too, if you don't already.  

See how the above goes and if you need more help, let me know.  There are usually more ways than one to deal with a problem when it involves parrots.  I'd like to know more about the beak overgrowth problem...you might need to take your budgie to an avian veterinarian in order to find out what the basic problem is here.

Chrys