budgie ill health

Question
i have two budgies and recently one of them seems to be under the weather. she is fluffed up most of the time, she seems to be sleeping a lot more often and looks slightly off balance.
i recently put some moulting tonic in their water and it seems to be since then that she has become unwell. also she has started to feed off the ground. is it possible that if she has eaten her own droppings this could have made her become ill?

thank you  

Answer
Hi, Charlene.  Thanks for posting.

Adding "stuff" to water is a no-no!  Whenever you add stuff to a bird's water, the water can become riden with bacteria, etc (water provides the medium for bacteria, etc., to grow).  This might be how your budgie became ill.  Usually, over-the-counter items you buy for parrots at pet shops, etc., doesn't work very well either.  Very definitely, yes, eating droppings can also result in illness.  Two main ways of spreading illness/infection is via the water dish and from contact with droppings.  However, some parrots eat droppings as a source for some vitamins/nutrients if they are lacking these in their own bodies (your budgie may be eating the droppings of the other bird).  Birds dip their beaks in the water dish to drink, then bacteria grow, birds drink the water and become ill (especially parrots that dip their food in their water and/or take a drink after eating and the food from their beak gets into the water).  This is why it's so very important for parrots to have fresh water as much as possible.

If your budgie is still ill, I recommend taking to an avian veterinarian ASAP.  This means making an appointment today/tomorrow, not next week.  You need to have your bird seen by a bird vet in order to ascertain it's condition and obtain meds if needed.  Birds' health can deteriorate quickly (like within hours), so don't hesitate if bird is still ill.

Chrys