Sick or pregnant budgie?

Question
My budgie Lettucehead has been dropping odd stools lately. I still am unsure if Lettucehead is male or female. I don't know if my budgie is sick or is about to lay eggs. The stools are simply bigger than normal and the area near the tail where (s)he drops stools from is swollen. He/She hasn't been behaving any differently and isn't exhibiting sick behaviour as far as I know but I'm worried and don't know what to do

Answer
Hello Fal,

Budgies do not get pregnant in the same ways as mammals. They do not appear larger or any different other than seeing a egg come out of her. Birds (budgies included) of the female gender do lay eggs without a male bird present. Those eggs will not be fertile, but they will appear the same other than no growth or development of the egg will occur. The easiest way to determine the sex of your budgie is to look at the cere, which is the rounded part between the birds beak and head. If the color is a brown or tan color, you have a female. A purple or blue cere means it is a male. This is accurate unless you have an albino (white w/ red eyes) or lutino (yellow w/ red eyes). You would need a DNA kit to determine the sex of those 2 variations.

Back to the original question, birds to not appear sick until they are practically dead. This is instinct and a protective measure they inherited from their native counterparts. They would be scooped up by hawks and other wild animals if they appeared weak or injujred. You would need to contact your vet to determine what is going on with your bird.

Best of luck!