Meri

A week, okay, thats alright then, we just miss Declan's distinctive chirp. Must say tho, Merlin chirps enough for both of them, he even does little chirps during the night

Good News, I haven't seen him chew a feather for awhile. He has a new friend and they get along tremendously - MOST of the time. What's weird is Declan no longer chirps - only the new budgie does, endlessly. Any ideas why?

Well, we finally got the test results for Declan. He has neither the Polyoma virus or Beak and feather, both tests were negative. So it looks like another budgie is the answer, as the feather picking is boredom. What do you recommend i get Dec is 1.5 years old male, what other budgie would you get, an adult or a baby? Male is better though isn't it, they will be less likely to fight. Any advice would be great!!

Took Declan back to our regular Avian vet and they are doing blood tests for Polyoma and Beak and feather. Should know results in the next 2 weeks. Vet seems to think that his new feathers that are coming through now (he has just been moulting heavily) are all okay so maybe he is shedding the virus and will be okay. We'll wait and see for sure, but he seems very happy otherwise. Have tried giving him pellets but he's not overly impressed by them but he must be eating a few, I mixed them in with his favourite seed mix.

What does that mean for other birds? Can i get another companion for him or is it contagious?

Truly? That would be great, Going to start with foraging and pellet diet with seeds. At the moment he has 3 different seed varieties but he only eats one. Going to have to spice things up for him to maintain interest. Thanks for the offer!! I'll let you know how it goes!

I read over this thread, excellent ideas so I'm trying the paper towel with seed inside it tomorrow, we'll see how long it takes Dec to work out there's food inside!! I tried putting several food dishes around the cage but he always goes to only one of them. Trying to encourage him to be a bit more adventurous!

Thanks for that article, it was really interesting, From reading that I'd say Dec's behaviour seems more psychological that the others. None of us are around much so I suppose he is bored - he spends most of his day chatting to his mirror. Thats what makes me think he needs a friend, he was waiting in the vets and there was another budgie there and they were chatting to each other - very noisy, Dec was fascinated by the other bird, it was so cute. We've always had birds in pairs except for my last bird. I think I'll get the tests done to rule out polyoma and beak and feather disease and then go from there. Your suggestions and ideas have been really informative, thank you!!

Vet said it wasn't mites. He had perfectly normal feathers in the shop when we bought him, they seem to have started to annoy him after they grew back following him getting his wings clipped. I had heard that its an idea to clip wings if you want to tame your budgie, but now I'm not so sure. Could it be that the wings weren't clipped properly and are irritating him?

I live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne and I always thought it got too cold in Winter to leave the budgie in the laundry as it has no insulation and gets really cold. Our house is old and the laundry was added later so isn't as insulated/warm as the rest of the house. Is it an idea to keep them warm while they moult?

My bird is still having his heavy moult, feathers everywhere!! Its amzing how many feathers they can loose at once!

The Vet I saw was an Avian Vet but not our normal Vet as she is overseas. I thought some photos may help so here are a few. As for the chewing, I have seen him chewing them off so I know it is that - they aren't falling out. Hope the pics help. Please let me know what you think. Dec is home a lot on his own, so it could be boredom, but he's been chewing them for awhile.

I have just been to the vet this morning with my Budgie Declan (bought him on St Pats day last year). He keeps chewing off all his flight feathers so the vet said it could be caused by either a viral infection or something else. The vet recommended we get another budgie for company as Dec is home a lot on his own. Would you suggest holding off on the other bird til we know for sure what it is Dec has. I don't think its the French Moult someone mentioned as he has tail feathers and there is no issue there, just whenever his flight feathers grow back he chews them off or they don't grow at all. Some tips would be great!! Fantastic idea to have this forum!! Thanks ever so much!!