I Can Feel The Keel Bone On My Budgie :(

[The lion 0]

i can feel the keel bone on 2 of my budgies , they feel skinny and eat well, a buddy of mine told me that his budgies where the same and they had mega-bacteria, is it possible that mine might have that? the difference between me and him is that he has access to an avian vet and i live hrs away from any vet :/ help plz, or am i worrying too much? i cant see the keel bone but when i grab my budgies i can feel it, and i grabbed my friends budgie and i cant easily feel it, or is his budgie too fat?

Edited January 26, 2012 by The lion

[Finnie 0]

i can feel the keel bone on 2 of my budgies , they feel skinny and eat well, a buddy of mine told me that his budgies where the same and they had mega-bacteria, is it possible that mine might have that? the difference between me and him is that he has access to an avian vet and i live hrs away from any vet :/ help plz, or am i worrying too much? i cant see the keel bone but when i grab my budgies i can feel it, and i grabbed my friends budgie and i cant easily feel it, or is his budgie too fat?

 

 

It's possible that you are worrying too much and jumping to the conclusion that your birds have the same thing your friend's birds had. BUT, you are doing the right thing by observing your birds and paying attention to what you notice.

 

 

The keel bone shouldn't feel sharp, so if your bird is thin, it's good to take a look at any other symptoms, including how he eats, as you have done. One of the symptoms of mega-bac is that the bird seems to be eating all the time but still losing weight. This is because the bird is picking up food but not actually eating it. So you should watch and see whether the bird is husking the seeds or just picking up and dropping whole seeds.

 

Is this thinness in all of your birds, or just some of them? Do any of your birds show any other signs of not being well? (Sitting fluffed up, runny poos, staining above the cere, any thing else that just seems "not right".)

 

Something else to consider is your method of feeding them. There are a few things about how budgies eat that can sometimes lead to trouble, if you aren't aware of them. One thing is that for some reason, they don't realize to dig down into their food dish to find good seeds at the bottom. As they eat, they husk their seeds and let the seeds fall back into the bowl. Then the husks pile up and bury the good seeds. Then the budgie thinks it is out of food. So even if your food bowls are full, you need to check that the good seed isn't buried under the husks. This is one reason why I feed my birds on the floor in wide shallow pans and saucers.

 

They don't all do that. Most of mine will kick the seeds all over looking for the ones they want, which leads me to another one of their quirks. They are finicky eaters. If there is a particular seed or seeds in their food mix that they don't want to eat, they will kick those seeds aside, and it's as if to your bird, those seeds don't even exist. Apparently, they will starve to death before they eat the reject seeds. So as bird keepers, we not only have to make sure they always have plenty of seed, but we have to make sure that the seed they have left in their dishes isn't just the rejects piling up.

 

 

You may already be on top of those two issues, but it bears mentioning. Sometimes how we feed our birds needs to be tweaked, even though we thought we were already doing a great job. Or sometimes we get a bad batch of seed, and that throws off a good system.

 

So that's a couple of things to consider. Other people might have more ideas. Keep in mind that all we can do is give you suggestions. We can't cure birds over the internet. If it really were megabacteria, then internet advice won't be enough.

[Guest K&M Breeding]

I was also going to suggest to check the actual food dish to make sure they're really eating if they're all housed together you may want to seperate the two you are worried about from the others, So you can monitor their actually food intake better and also be able to monitor their poop much better than trying to figure out who's poop belongs to who in an area that has several budgies. you shouldn't be able to feel the keel bone though, In a healthy budgie that is of good weight your supposed to actually have to feel for it but w/out too much trouble It shouldn't be noticeable as soon as the bird is in your hand - if that makes sense

 

Also when it comes to feeding where people go wrong is they will fill the dish clear up to the brim - thinking since budgies don't dig through the food they'll always have a supply because it's Clear full - the rule of thumb is to ONLY give them the amount they will actually eat this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix. I have actually seen people use dishes that are 10 or even 20 oz in size and have it ALL the way full clear to the brim they actually would have to "Scrape" some off the top just to put it back in the cage (like when your baking and you dip your measuring cup into a bag of flour you use a butter knife and scrape off the top so you get a full 1/2 cup measure(or what ever it may be) and this isn't the proper way to feed birds plus its very wasteful Most do this so they don't have to feed the bird(s) for a few days but in fact they're starving their birds and not knowing it. It's also on most food bags(at least here in the U.S.) to feed 2 tablespoons of seed Per bird.

[The lion 0]

I was also going to suggest to check the actual food dish to make sure they're really eating if they're all housed together you may want to seperate the two you are worried about from the others, So you can monitor their actually food intake better and also be able to monitor their poop much better than trying to figure out who's poop belongs to who in an area that has several budgies. you shouldn't be able to feel the keel bone though, In a healthy budgie that is of good weight your supposed to actually have to feel for it but w/out too much trouble It shouldn't be noticeable as soon as the bird is in your hand - if that makes sense

 

Also when it comes to feeding where people go wrong is they will fill the dish clear up to the brim - thinking since budgies don't dig through the food they'll always have a supply because it's Clear full - the rule of thumb is to ONLY give them the amount they will actually eat this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix. I have actually seen people use dishes that are 10 or even 20 oz in size and have it ALL the way full clear to the brim they actually would have to "Scrape" some off the top just to put it back in the cage (like when your baking and you dip your measuring cup into a bag of flour you use a butter knife and scrape off the top so you get a full 1/2 cup measure(or what ever it may be) and this isn't the proper way to feed birds plus its very wasteful Most do this so they don't have to feed the bird(s) for a few days but in fact they're starving their birds and not knowing it. It's also on most food bags(at least here in the U.S.) to feed 2 tablespoons of seed Per bird.

 

I think im just to paranoid about my birds getting sick, because i love em so much, and when i grabbed one and noticed it was skinny i started worrying, i started buying my food from a local grainery about 6months ago, i buy them the "parakeet mix" with multi vitamins, but ima try to make my own instead to see if that helps, i called an avian vet thats about 3hrs away from my house and i was told to use sodium benzoate (1tsp/ gal water at least 1 month) and that would get rid of any fungus or parasite that the birds might have that is preveting them from gaining weight, and to check the bird area for mold and mlidew on walls and hidden areas that harbor moisture, I live in the U.S.

[Finnie 0]

this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix.

 

 

Well, this is the point I was trying to make. You CAN'T stop them from picking through and only getting what they like. If you try to force them to eat ALL of it, you'll starve them.

 

You have to make sure they get their two tablespoons per day from the parts they like, and all the rest of the cr*p in your seed mix is above and beyond that amount. The more stuff in the seed mix they don't like, the more you're going to waste every day.

 

If you can make up your own seed mix with only varieties you know they will eat, go for it. Some people serve the different seeds in different dishes, too, so they can monitor what gets eaten, and how much.

[Guest K&M Breeding]

this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix.

 

 

Well, this is the point I was trying to make. You CAN'T stop them from picking through and only getting what they like. If you try to force them to eat ALL of it, you'll starve them.

 

You have to make sure they get their two tablespoons per day from the parts they like, and all the rest of the cr*p in your seed mix is above and beyond that amount. The more stuff in the seed mix they don't like, the more you're going to waste every day.

 

If you can make up your own seed mix with only varieties you know they will eat, go for it. Some people serve the different seeds in different dishes, too, so they can monitor what gets eaten, and how much.

 

I'm so glad I don't have Picky eaters lol okay Nibbles the cockatiel can be but its with her pellets she doesn't care for the red or Green so Every day I shake up the bowl to bring the other colors back up and when its just red and green an no other colors she will then eat them but as long as there are other colors she leaves the red and green so I'm not really sure if she doesn't like the red and green or if she just likes keeping them for last lol but she used to not touch the banana shaped ones at all but since we switched over to the cockatiel breeding formula and its not shapes its just round like the parakeet size only bigger she eats the yellow ones now

 

but seed wise all the birds eat all the seeds - my grey won't eat the cat food looking like things in his seed mix but the actual seeds he eats them all as does the other birds. about the only seeds I really have left behind in the budgie mix is these tiny black seeds and I don't think its that they don't like them I think its because they're so tiny they just look like pepper was sprinkled on the seed its just tiny little dots I don't even think they can pick them up to eat them and thats why they're left behind. and they don't really care for those really dark reddish brown millet seeds but they do eat them They just prefer not to

 

We tried making our own mix but for us its just cheaper to buy it already made we had to travel all over the county and in the long run it cost More to make our own and we couldn't even find half the seeds that are in the mix they eat. When we did find it it was in a wild bird seed mix :/

 

now there was one we'd bought at the local farm store (I forget the name of the store) it was a wild seed mix but had all the seeds in it that a normal parakeet seed has but it was "fruit and seed mix" it had fruits in it and when you opened the bag it smelled like Cherries and it was awesome they loved it I loved it made the house smell like fresh cherries I need to go get some more just for a treat (for me and the birds lol)

Edited January 27, 2012 by K&M Breeding

[**KAZ** 0]

the rule of thumb is to ONLY give them the amount they will actually eat this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix.

 

 

If I was to follow this advice I would have dead and starving budgies all over the place.

 

I strongly disagree with supplying only a measured amount of food. Birds needs change all the time. Sometimes they eat more than others, and as mentioned before they may only eat certain parts of their seed mix.

Always have plenty of seed available at ALL TIMES...........and forget what you hear about measuring out teaspoonsful or tablespoonsful.

[The lion 0]

the rule of thumb is to ONLY give them the amount they will actually eat this is also supposed to stop them from picking through and only getting what they really like out of the food mix.

 

 

If I was to follow this advice I would have dead and starving budgies all over the place.

 

I strongly disagree with supplying only a measured amount of food. Birds needs change all the time. Sometimes they eat more than others, and as mentioned before they may only eat certain parts of their seed mix.

Always have plenty of seed available at ALL TIMES...........and forget what you hear about measuring out teaspoonsful or tablespoonsful.

 

I agree with you, i always provide a big dish of seed/food im always buying 50lb bags of food for my budgies and cockatiels it last me about 1-2months with the amount of animals i have, i always think i keep em well fed thats why its weird to me for my budgies to appear thin, i can feel the keel bone when i grab em and press down, its not noticeable to the eye around how many grams should the average pet budgie weigh? and show budgie? i own both types thanks

[Guest K&M Breeding]

Average weight for budgies is 25-60 Grams depending on bird, size build My Pet type all average 35 Grams my Show type average about 50-55 grams some more than that

 

As for the Measuring the food I said it's a general rule Most people with more than 4-5 birds do not do it But I have always done it just never realized I was doing it. I just grabbed a measuring cup that we never use just to scoop out the food from the containers I store them in that I carry around the birds room to feed the birds I never paid attention to the size of it. Until some one asked me one day how much I fed them it ended up I grabbed a 1/4 Cup which equals 4 Tablespoons which for a cage with 2 bird I've always given them 1 Scoop so that is 2 tablespoons per bird my community cage their bowls are 8 oz they have 4 of those bowls and each bowl gets 2 scoops so 8 tablespoons per 8oz bowl The cage usually has 12-15 birds in it.

 

none of my birds are Starving They eat an array of other things every day including pellets, cooked foods, greens, and veggies, and what ever else we have for them that is safe for them.

 

but at my house with the exception of my breeding birds. Seeds is only a very small part of their diet I don't even like giving my birds seed but they need a variety to me its pointless to feed seeds the actual minerals and vitamins the seeds may have is on the husk and they don't even eat that part. But my birds Main staple is their pellets, fruits for the ones who will eat it, veggies for all of them along with cooked foods, leafy greens etc the most important thing to a birds Diet to make it a good diet is Variety an all seed diet is bad an all pellet diet is bad an all fresh food diet is bad. but mix them all together and feed daily it makes it a good diet.

 

and I'm also aware that birds are taken care of completely different from country to country and even in the same country every person has their own beliefs and ways of doing things. My way has worked just fine for my birds and I won't be changing it any time soon. IT may not work for some one else though. but it works great and my birds are thriving and loving life.

Edited January 27, 2012 by K&M Breeding