Budgies make great pets due to their friendly nature, intelligence, and ease of caring for them. They can express how they feel despite not being able to communicate using words through body language. Any budgie can show how it feels using its feathers by fluffing them up or flattening them out. 

Your budgie is puffed up because of the following nine reasons:

1. Your Budgie Is Getting Ready to Sleep

Budgies puff up their feathers to provide better insulation and stay warm as they sleep. The air pockets trap warm air, which helps prevent the loss of warmth from the budgie’s skin.

2. A Sign of Happiness and Excitement 

A budgie will puff up its feathers when excited about something. Puffing up feathers can also be accompanied by head bobbing and other happy movements. Providing a new toy or a favorite treat can make your budgie happy.

3. Feeling Scared or Upset

When threatened, budgies puff up their feathers and wag their tails to scare away any predators pursuing them. This is tense and anxious body language, and your budgie may become aggressive.

4. Your Budgie Is Exposed to Cold

If temperatures drop below seven degrees Celsius, a budgie will fluff its feathers, creating air pockets that help trap warm air next to its body for insulation. You may also realize that your budgie is trembling a lot.

If you have a question such as, Why does my budgie fluff up and shake? Are you scared that your budgie might be sick?

If so, you need not worry because your budgie is OK and feeling slightly cold. By shaking, the budgie moves muscles to generate heat quickly. However, a budgie should not stay in the cold for long, as this can harm its health.

5. It Is a Way of Grooming

Budgies love to groom themselves and be in good shape. They preen their feathers from time to time and enjoy bathing. You will notice that your budgie puffs up whenever it prepares for a bath, as it’s a way of shaking off built-up dirt, thus making cleaning easy.

Puffing up also helps to smooth and straighten out feathers if they get shuffled through preening.

6. Your Budgie Might Be Ill

Has your budgie become inactive lately and stopped playing? Why is my budgie puffed up and not moving? question rings in your head always? If so, you must urgently act, as your budgie might be sick.

A sick or injured budgie will remain puffed up most of the day,  which can be accompanied by conditions such as:

1. Low energy as the budgie stops eating.

2. Sitting with eyes half closed.

3. Labored breathing. 

4. Discharge from the nose, mouth, and eyes.

5. Less vocalization and inactivity.

If your budgie exhibits the above symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention from the veterinarian to have your bird tested and treated.

7. Attracting a Mate

A budgie puffs up and chirps excessively when seeking attention from a potential mate or its owner. Consider spending more time with your budgie or getting a companion for it to stop the behavior if you are not around most of the time.

8. Demanding Food

When hungry and needing food, your budgie is likely to puff up. Hence, a budgie puffed up but eating when provided food is not sick and should not raise any concern.

9. To Fend Off Threats

Puffing up feathers is a defense mechanism used by most birds. Your budgie will puff up when it perceives some danger and defends itself. By doing so, it looks bigger and more intimidating to other birds or predators.

What Does It Mean When Budgies Puff Up?

Budgies puff up their feathers to keep warm at night when temperatures drop and during cold seasons. As the budgies relax for sleep, they will fluff up their feathers. It can also be a sign of sickness or impending danger.

Why Is My Budgie Puffed Up and Closing Its Eyes?

A budgie puffed up with eyes closed is a sign of sickness. The budgie will seem sleepy all the time and will sit at the bottom of the cage rather than on the perches.

Sleeping throughout the day can also result from the infestation of feather mites. The budgie becomes restless at night and cannot sleep well due to the discomfort caused by the mites as they suck its blood.

Keeping the budgie’s cage clean can help protect your bird from mite infestation, which can adversely affect its health. Always check under your budgie’s wings and feathers for early detection and treatment of the mites.

Why Does My Budgie Puffs Up When I Talk to Him?

Once you have gained your budgie’s trust, it will be comfortable socializing with and being around you. Puffing up, accompanied by chirping and tail wagging, indicates that the budgie enjoys your company.

However, if a budgie puffs up with a twisted tail and slightly open wings when you talk to him, it means that your budgie is irritated and needs time to get used to being near you.

How Do You Treat a Puffed Up Budgie?

Given the various reasons for the puffing up of a budgie, it is essential to closely monitor your bird to ascertain the cause of this condition and be able to provide the correct remedies.

The following are ways to treat a puffed up budgie:

1. Warm Up Your Budgie

If your budgie is puffed up and shaking, measure the temperature to test whether the room temperature is the problem.

Move your pet to a warmer room, get a heater to provide warmth, and also close all gaps and drafts that may be available.

2. Provide a Conducive Environment for Sleeping

Putting your budgie in a quiet and dark place will help it get enough sleep. Hence, with a suitable living environment, fluffing up before sleeping should not raise any concern, as it’s normal for budgies.

3. Encourage Bathing

Providing your budgie with warm water will motivate it to bathe, as they love to be well groomed.

4. Investigate If Budgie Is Upset

Watch the budgie for a while to identify the stressors and have them removed. The budgie can be threatened by loud sounds in the surroundings, bright lights, predators, passing cars, or other pets within the household.

5. Feed the Budgie and Hydrate It

If the budgie is puffed up due to sickness, hand feed it, as starving birds can die within a short time. Providing fresh, nutritional food will help the budgie gain more energy and heal quickly.

When sick, budgies avoid drinking water and can become dehydrated. You can use a dropper to give it apple juice, grape juice, or boiled water mixed with honey for hydration.

6. Seek Medication

Taking proper care of the budgie is essential. Ensuring that the budgie sleeps and stays in a clean environment is vital for its well-being. In the event of an illness, your budgie should be taken to the veterinarian for treatment.

7. Allow Your Budgie To be Excited

If your budgie is puffed up out of contentment, allow it to be happy and continue creating an inviting environment.

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