Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/25/2007

Question
Hi, my budgie is probably about 5 months old. A few weeks ago he was flying around like crazy and crashing into things, when i put him back in his cage he couldn't stay on his perch, he kept falling off. I was really worried, but it stopped and i thought he must have just hit his head or something. But then i noticed that this same thing happened every time he flew, its like he gets on his perch and slowly starts leaning forward until he looks like hes gonna fall and then rights himself. And now its happening even when he doesn't fly. I've been thinking maybe he hurt his leg, because he's been leaning funny on the perch too. But alot of the time he acts normal, so im not sure what could be wrong with him.

Answer
Hi, Carrie.  Thanks for posting!

This is exactly why bird owners need to keep their bird's flight feathers trimmed and/or restrict them to a specific area where they are safe.  Free-flighted birds in our homes are accidents just waiting to happen.  Sometimes they get freaked out by something and fly aimlessly throughout the house not aware of what they are doing.  This is not safe for a bird.  

It's hard to say exactly what's wrong with your bird.  He could have hit something causing a head injury and now has some sort of balance problem, he could have hurt one/both of his wings, a leg could be injured, etc.  If this continues, I recommend you take your bird to a certified avian veterinarian for a medical evaluation.

Chrys