Cold/poorly budgie?

[starmum]

Hi,

We have two budgies, Zap (yellow, named after Zapdos the Pokemon) and Cuno (blue, named after Articuno the Pokemon).

Recently Cuno has begun to look a bit scrappy. The feathers round his face and head look dirty, although the rest of him is ok and his vent is clean. One thing I have noticed when I handle them is that his feet area really cold - wheras Zap's are nice and warm. Cuno spends more time fluffed up during the day, although when he is active and chatty it is as though nothing is wrong.

I thought if it was because their environment is too cold then I would have seem the same change in Zap, but the fact that Zap is the picture of health means I don't really know what to do. Sadly my grandfather-in-law, who bred the budgies for us and was our go-to advisor for all questions budgie-related, has passed away so I am turning to you guys for help.

I have attached some photos of Cuno below (sorry they're a tad fuzzy, he didn't want to pose much and kept hiding behind his toy). Does anyone have any advice about what we can do to help perk Cuno up? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thank you,

Amy

[clt80]

If he is feeling under the weather he will be having a hard time keeping warm, maybe why he's fluffed up during the day to conserve heat, and it will be draining him of energy. Are you able to put him near something warm, like a radiator? It could be a bug, or it could be he is just cold. Hard to say.

If his droppings are normal, he is still eating and interacting, I'd give guardian angel in his water a try. That along with a source of heat, not too hot, but enough to keep him warm.

Is he sleeping more than normal? Monitor him and if he doesn't seem to get better, in that he stops being fluffed up in the day, I'd get a check up at the vet.

[starmum]

Thank you for your reply - I'm going to try relocating the cage and adjusting the heating in the room. Regarding the Guardian Angel, would it cause any problems for Zap who isn't ill, or is it more like a supplement so it would be ok for them both to have? I'll keep a close eye on Cuno to see how he goes - he is still pretty social which is why I'm not too worried but I'd rather catch this early before he goes downhill.

[Hezz]

Guardian Angel is fine for both birds to have. If you have one put a heat lamp on your sickly boy - as already mentioned, being ill will make him feel cold and he will be using up all his energy trying to keep his core body temp up. Birds' temp run a lot higher than ours which is why their feet normally feel warm to us.

Have you ever seen him vomit? That's what the dirty feathers look like to me, first impressions. But rather than wait and see, I'd get him to a reputable vet before he gets any worse.