Budgies Fragile?

I had a little yellow budgie for about 3 years before he dropped dead in his cage about 5 months ago. I was heartbroken. Lemon was on a only seed diet (he refused to eat anything else) and looked healthy before and after he died. A few months before, it had been my best friends birthday and I bought her a little white and blue budgie named Snowball (Her and Lemon never came in contact). She dropped dead in her cage yesterday and she was also on a only seed diet as well.

There seemed nothing to be wrong with both of these budgies and I am very confused why they would die suddenly. If it means anything, Snowball lived with another female budgie while Lemon lived with a male budgie. There isn't any possible way they we're killed in a fight. I just heard that budgies are really fragile and tend to not live long. Is this true? Thanks for any answers.

Unfortunately the average lifespan of a budgie on a sead only diet is only 3-6 years. On a good diet they can live 15-20+ years. It's our responsibility to make sure they get the right diet, it took me 6 months to get my galah off of seeds and even longer to get her eating fresh foods. As for suddenly dyeing, birds hide their illnesses and it usually only appears that way.

I'm not sure about snowball, did your friend take her to a avian vet when she first got her to make sure she was healthy? A pet store health gaurantee doesn't count as a vet check. Those birds are constantly exposed to new birds.

I don't mean to hurt your feelings, I'm just giving you the facts. I'm very sorry that the 2 budgies died.

With Budgies, it depends a lot on their breeding as well. Sadly, 'wild budgies' are very healthy, awesome birds, but a lot of the ones we have available in the US have been poorly bred and are prone to disease.
I had a budgie on a seed only diet (as hard as i tried to get him to switch, he wouldn't) and he lived to 7 yrs old. My vet thought the fact that he was rarely caged and was free to fly around the house protected him a bit, despite the unhealthy seed diet.
But i also had another budgie who ended up with kidney tumor, lame leg because of it, chewed off her own toe, etc. It was ugly. It made me so sad for her, and this type of thing isn't as uncommon in budgies as it 'should' be.
If they had a longer life span in general, i would be all over having another one. They are one of my most favorite animals!!

Budgies on seed diets is not a bad thing. They are naturally seed eaters! And in the wild, that is pretty much all they eat, except for some grasses. Of course, it would be great for our budgies to eat other things, like veg & fruit. But, most of them won't. It isn't the seeds that contribute to their early deaths, it's poor breeding. Most pet shop budgies, are from big breeders, or home breeders. That allows a lot of inbreeding, and poor early development of chicks. Unfortunately, they are "pumped out", and sent off, just to make money & fill the need for inexpensive birds. You probably didn't do anything wrong. Sadly, it's the nature of the business.

Budgies on a seed diet are prone to malnutrition and obesity.

Budgies on a pellet diet are prone to kidney failure and gout.


Due to the way budgies are bred, they are often little carriers of disease. An illness that may not effect them could potentially be harmful to another species.

Budgies are hardy little birds when they eat right, live in a clean environment, and with healthy genes. Unfortunately, there's rarely a way to tell whether a budgie has healthy genes or not just by looking at them.


Without doing a necropsy, you wont ever know why the bird died, and most often at such young ages, it's usually do to an infection that was missed. Some illnesses are so infrequent in parrots that the only symptom is that the bird "drops dead". Not very encouraging, right? There's usually always signs, as subtle as they are. Maybe the droppings are a little watery than normal? Maybe they are a slightly different color? Maybe there's air bubbles in the droppings? Maybe the bird isn't as active as it was previously? Maybe the bird doesn't keep it's eyes open as much as it used to? Maybe it's a little fluffier today? Sometimes, the obvious reasons are so subtle that they go missed.


I'm sorry it's not conclusive. I've had a lot of budgies, and I've lost a lot of budgies. Needless to say, I don't own any budgies anymore. If I could have an outside aviary of violet budgies, I'd change my mind in a heart beat! But until then, no budgies for me.

I think in the 45 or so years that I have been taking in birds, I have never been without a Budgie or two (or ten). And, I wouldn't want to be. Yes, they are not long lived, generally. But, that budgie chatter is like children's laughter to me. I love the sound of them as they argue with each other, their toys, the food dish, whatever! For that alone, I hope not to be without them. And, I recently lost a pair that were both very old, and had both been with me more than 10 years. And I got them as adults already. Neither one would eat anything but seed mix. Except whole wheat bread. And another that died at about 4 years old from an egg binding cloaca prolapse. She ate lettuce, apple, kiwi, kale, and other veg & fruit. But, of all the Budgies I have had, she was the only one who ate more than just a bit of fruit & veg. Anyway, I love these little angels. And cannot see ever not having a few. Right now, I have 6...2 pets, 4 rescues.

BillsBirds said:

I think in the 45 or so years that I have been taking in birds, I have never been without a Budgie or two (or ten). And, I wouldn't want to be. Yes, they are not long lived, generally. But, that budgie chatter is like children's laughter to me. I love the sound of them as they argue with each other, their toys, the food dish, whatever! For that alone, I hope not to be without them. And, I recently lost a pair that were both very old, and had both been with me more than 10 years. And I got them as adults already. Neither one would eat anything but seed mix. Except whole wheat bread. And another that died at about 4 years old from an egg binding cloaca prolapse. She ate lettuce, apple, kiwi, kale, and other veg & fruit. But, of all the Budgies I have had, she was the only one who ate more than just a bit of fruit & veg. Anyway, I love these little angels. And cannot see ever not having a few. Right now, I have 6...2 pets, 4 rescues.

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I miss my budgies! I, too, loved the chatter and just their overall feisty behaviors! Except for the odd one or two that were more passive and happy as is!

To me, no specific species of bird is " fragile " . It all depends on how you care for it. All birds have hollow bones, and yes. A budgie could be more seriousely injured then a macaw, but it's just a matter of size. Birds with seed only diets live a very short, tortures for some birds, life. They can get obese, have cancer, fatty tumors, and other life threatening diseases. The reason I HATE brands like kaytee, is because they trick owners saying on their website and packages that they have extra vitamins , dried fruits, and lettuce in it. Practically saying " it's the healthiest thing you could feed your little friend. " all I know is that MOST of the parakeets and budgies ignore them . A body as small as a budgie needs even more nutrition awareness then a macaws . Hope we can soon educate more bird owners about pellets. Most budgies,that eat pellets and fruits and veggies can live up to 15 , while rarely,not impossible up to 20 . I just love my budgies so much, even though they bicker with each over like a old couple , it all pays up when I see them snuggling with each over at bed time. Sorry to break to you like this, I am sorry your 2 fids died

BillsBirds said:

[T]hat budgie chatter is like children's laughter to me. I love the sound of them as they argue with each other, their toys, the food dish, whatever! For that alone, I hope not to be without them.

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This is so true!

[Mine get fruits, veg & leafy greens in the a.m. and are particularly voracious eaters of dandelion leaves! They get a seed mix in the p.m.]

Thinking back,my budgie Percy only wanted seeds in his food dish as his regular meal, but he ADORED my rabbit and wanted to eat with him. He would see Blythe eating alfalfa hay and would run over and pull a piece right from Blythe's mouth. They shared that all the time. It was SO CUTE. Odd friends, but good friends.