# Parakeet Question?



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I don't know if anyone else owns parakeets on here. I've tried asking on budgie forums but the replies aren't usually nice.

I have four parakeets; Blueberry and Houdini were purchases together and head the pack. I rescued Sheldon and purchased a friend for him who passed (RIP Articuno my baby). Sheldon was now the odd man out. I went and picked him out a friend, so now we have Whisper.

Whisper is unlike any parakeet I've owned. I don't understand whats going on.
Firstly, Whisper has a white cere that normally indicates that s/he will be a female (she's too young to know for sure). However Whisper is a beautiful singer, head bobs constantly, and does not have a bite like a girl. So I was wondering if anyone had females who did that or males who looked to be females until they were mature.

Now, onto the real question. She has bizarre behavior. My theory is she was separated from the nest too young by an irresponsible breeder. 
When Whisper is frightened or panics, she gets to the lowest point possible and burrows. I thought they were supposed to go to the highest point to feel safe -- part of the reason my first cage failed, as it was vertical. Also, when she looks at something she spins her head round the opposite shoulder -- think Owl. Her head bobbing also appears to be a mimicry of the males, as she looks more like one of those dancing parrots than a parakeet staking claim. Overall, her head movements are jerky and unnecessary -- to look at the sky out the window she swoops her head down spins it 90 degrees and then points it vertical. My other birds just...turn their head and look.
She also has wider set legs, causing a tendency to fall over a lot. She walks more parallel to the ground than my other birds, also I think a result of her wide-spread legs. Worse, she cannot maneuver well when playing with toys and will get stuck or flip over or both.

All of this bizarre behavior made me wonder (sorry if this is offensive) if she had some sort of neurological condition. She does not get along with other parakeets at all and is bullied by mine more often than not. 
All of this combined makes me wonder if I should be taking her to see a vet? Is she just a clown? Would a vet be able to tell anything about her when he can't observe the behavior? Could her behavior just be a result of leaving the nest too early and poorly mimicking my others?

The reason I hesitate to take her to the vet is because my parakeets are not tame. They will step up on command but not to be a friend -- usually if I need to put them in the cage or something. This means our visits to the vet are usually stressful and full of tension.

I worry about the bullying a lot. It can't be space as they are only asked to be in the cage if I need them confined or if it is night. Otherwise the cage doors are always open and they have free reign over my bedroom. They also have two separate cages but they prefer to sleep in the flight cage. I thought about getting Whisper a young parakeet friend as the others are older than she but I was told the only way that might work is if I confined Whisper and the new guy together for a while so he doesn't bond to Sheldon, Houdini or Blueberry. Everyone has someone to itch their head or share millet, and poor Whisper is left out and chased away more often than not. If she's not being bullied, she is being ignored -- they'll sit with her and watch her but never join in.
Admittedly, Whisper is a bit of a mean girl as well. She will bite their toys when they play atop the cage while she is inside and will not share any of "her" toys.

The suggestions budgie forums had was to separate her or get rid of her. She may not be nice to me, but I committed to her care when I purchased her. She's been to the vet on the first day I got her for a wellness check but that was before I knew she was strange.


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## Timberlee Fields (Aug 2, 2013)

I'd take her to the vet personally. Or call and ask them. 


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## Emily7 (May 8, 2013)

Honestly, it doesn't sound like she has any health issues - but a trip to the vet couldn't hurt. I can try to answer some of your questions as best as I can. First, it's not uncommon for female budgies to sing and bob their head like males, especially when in breeding condition. The burrowing behaviour does not sound like sound like something to worry about. My conure used to do this as well. Almost as if she was hiding from whatever scared her. I'm not sure about the jerky head movements, but the way you described her legs being wide set makes me believe she has splayed legs. Splayed legs can be caused by a few different things. When whisper was still in the nest her mother could have say on her too tightly, she could have had a calcium defiency, or the nest box floor simply could have been slippery. Splayed legs can be treated in young birds. I'm not sure how old whisper is, but I'd guess her bones are set and nothing could be done for it. Regardless, budgies can live long happy lives with splayed legs! It doesn't sound like hers are severely splayed so she should be just fine. I had an English budgie with severely splayed legs. I had modify his cage and give him lots I platforms to rest on as opposed to perches but he was a very happy guy! How long have you had her? She could still be trying to assert herself and find her place in the flock. I, personally, would wait a little longer for the vet visit, depending on how long you've already had her. If you do take her a vet make sure it's a knowledgeable certified AVIAN vet. Most vets know crap about birds and can create more issues when trying to treat them.


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## Emily7 (May 8, 2013)

Sorry for the huge block of text! For some reason I can't separate it into paragraphs on my phone


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I've had her about two months now. I just worry because I had a bird that's leg was broken when she was young (it led to her passing before her time...) and I paid $80 for the vet to look at her and say nothing could be done. The vet also recommended to keep her alone in her own cage, which I thought was depressing. She lived a while with other parakeets in a cage I set up that no fall was too great and was quite the happy thing. When she passed it was due to a pet sitter letting dogs in the room she was kept in.


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## Emily7 (May 8, 2013)

That's really sad  some vets say they can treat birds but they really have no clue what they are doing. how did you introduce her to the flock you have now? And do you have any pictures of her?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I did the typical quarantine then caged her separately beside their cage. After about a week, I opened the cage doors so she could come out with them and they decided to sleep together. It was rough at first because they would argue over who slept where (as if they didn't have two cages). However, every time I would backtrack intros thinking it went poorly by separating Whisper back alone again they would act like they were besties who wanted her back.

This is the flock together, one of the few times they ever sit peacefully (pardon the tape, the toy came with a mirror that only worsened the socializing problems): http://i.imgur.com/g1EojQV.jpg
Whisper is the light blue white-face parakeet, Blueberry is beneath her and is blue. Houdini is the green one on the latter and Sheldon is the yellow one. Her legs don't look splayed there because she was actually shifting away from Houdini and Sheldon, who if you can tell are sending her the message to back off.
Here she is again http://i.imgur.com/VY4kKqo.jpg , you can see how her head kinda stays cocked to a side and she is squished down rather than sitting up like the others. Hopefully you can also see her legs which are further apart in resting position and point away from her.


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## TheZoo (Jun 20, 2013)

Hello I used to breed and am a current owner of parakeets your little "girl" is most definitely a boy if you want I can explain why but ill leave it at that her poster looks normal however what it could b is that as a chick her breeder didnt have her on woodchips in the nest and she got splayed legs basically the leg slips out of place and if not taken care of as a baby stays that way...her head thing may be "star gazzing" from a inner ear infection or nero trauma (look it up) if you think its star gazing a vet is a must. If you don't think so he is probably just a special little boy...trust me when youve had a lot of them you see alot of personalities and some are just little weirdos plain and simple but I think its cute and not always bad. If you have anymore questions you can always pm me or somthing.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Alright so I waited a bit to see if it was nuero trama.
I've decided to take him to the vet this week. I think he may be a star-gazer. Today he began to lie on his back by flipping his head between his legs and then rotating over.
I'd like the vet to tell me he is a weirdo. I love watching Whisper because he has been the silliest one but I think more and more that there may be a problem.


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## TheZoo (Jun 20, 2013)

Im glad hes getting checked


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