has anyone heard a budgie croak and what causes it?

 

Is it as part of his/her usual chatter? Could be mimicking something in the local area. (We have a wild magpie here that neighs like a horse and hisses, squeals and pops like a ham radio!)

 

Otherwise could he/she be unwell? How does the bird itself seem otherwise?

 

Cheers,

KathyW.

Croaker budgies apparently suck air into their crops and bloat up, thus making croaking sounds. True croakers sound like frogs - thus the nick name. This has been attributed to an iodine deficiency in the diet. Now days budgie breeders make mineral blocks with iodized salt to sell within our hobby. This is enough to keep this problem at bay. To "fix" a current croaker you add 1 or 2 drops of iodine directly to the daily fresh water source.

I have read that croakers rarely come into breeding condition and may be sterile even if they do. If they breed, they can cause a problem by filling their chicks' crops with air. This disorder is believed - but not yet proven - to be genetic in nature.

 

Here is an article I found also which seems to dispute the lack of iodine theory ...

QUOTE

Budgies are parakeets and parakeets are budgies. They should sound like birds. Ten years ago I rid myself of croakers and won't have then in the bird room. Ask any fancier who has visited me. They all sound like real, live parakeets. It is an inherited quality and can not be cured with lugol as it is not an iodine deficiency. Some puff to the left, some to the right, and some don't puff at all but they all make that frog noise or even may sound like a dog which is barking from afar. They will breed you some nice birds, perhaps, but they feed air. There are also what I term split croakers. They do not auditorialy make the sound but produce the trait in the offspring.

Dan T. Ouzts

 

UNQUOTE

Edited June 19, 200718 yr by **KAZ**

ive had this bird given to me , and he is in top condition but he comes out with this croaking noise , it sounds quite weird around the other birds, i asked a local breeder on his opinion and he said it was genetic also and no cure and that i shouldnt breed with it. he even went on further to say that when he buys from an auction if the bird croaks on the way home in doesnt make it home.

maybe it is genetic

ive had this bird given to me , and he is in top condition but he comes out with this croaking noise , it sounds quite weird around the other birds, i asked a local breeder on his opinion and he said it was genetic also and no cure and that i shouldnt breed with it. he even went on further to say that when he buys from an auction if the bird croaks on the way home in doesnt make it home.

maybe it is genetic

It seems to be. I have heard many show breeders who say if a croaker or its family is in the aviary, they are culled and never bred with.

interesting