Budgies can cry, they’ll show this by making sharp piercing sounds showcasing their distress. Although not common budgies can also leak liquids from their eyes but, this isn’t something easily spotted. But, the when tearing up a budgie’s eye will shrink a little with small patches forming on the feathers near the eye area. 

Do Budgies Have Tear Ducts?

According to Scott Forbes of the University of Winnipeg budgies do have tear ducts but, they do not shed tears unless it’s absolutely necessary.

The cases when tears will fall are when they need to clear their eyes as a result of dust or debris get in there. Furthermore, it can also be if they have no control over liquids leaking due an illness or being near death.

How Can You Tell That Your Budgie Is Sad?

If your budgie is showing signs of sadness, you will notice their behaviour shifting from what you normally see.

These can be broken down into 6 noticeable signs, which includes the following:

1. Decreased appetite
2. Screaming
3. Decreased vocalisation
4. Feather picking
5. Puffed up feathers
6. Stress related actions

1. Decreased Appetite

a loss of appetite is a very clear sign indicating a budgie not feeling well. This could be due to losing some they hold dear such as a mate or owner or it could be as a result of an illness.

2. Screaming

Budgies can start screaming and cawing incessantly if they are in distress.

This can either be as a result of grieving or as a result of trauma due to an abusive owner or partner.

3. Decreased Vocalisation

On the flip side budgies may also reduce in volume and minimise the amount they caw when sad or unhappy with another.

This may be due to an illness, grieving or out of stress so if you notice this behaviour, although it’s not always abnormal it’s worth keeping an eye on your feathered buddy just incase.

4. Picking Their Feathers

Plucking feathers is another way budgies may cope with their sadness and stress. In this situation you should take action to help your little parrot cope by giving them plenty of attention or even have them checked out by a vet.

5. Puffed Up Feathers

If your budgie seems to be puffing up and if it isn’t a cold day where you’d expect this to keep themselves warm, chances are the little parrot could be under the weather i.e. not be feeling very good.

When for example a budgie is sitting around with its feathers puffed up all day and if this is coupled with some head bobbing throughout, it may be worth checking in with a vet as the problem may be much worse than just a moderately sad budgie.

6. Stress Related Activities

Other signs of stress and sadness can include irritability, biting you more often or they simply aren’t spending as much time with you, especially if prior to this you were both regularly socialising.

All these factors can a play a role on a budgies sadness so if you notice your budgie acting up in a such a way, there’s a chance of them being unhappy.

How To Help A Budgie When It’s Sad?

If you want to help your budgie through these sad bird phases, there are few things you can do to help.

First of all as the budgie is likely to lose its appetite one of the main things you should do is to provide it with quality food, which could be treats that you normally wouldn’t bring out.

There’s no guarantee that your budgie will eat but, there’s definitely a larger chance in it happening. Teats that budgies are known to like include Millet spray, honey sticks, popcorn and fresh fruit like apple and grape slices.

Supplying the bird with a new toy can help in the recovery phase too. It’ll get your budgies mind off any issues, whether it be  the death of another or due to an illness.

Cleaning their cage regularly and even looking to introduce a new budgie into your family can potentially help in recovering quicker too.

Lastly your love and affection can also be very beneficial in assisting a budgies psyche. As a budgie owner you’d know that they require between 4 – 5 of social interaction every day therefore, by continuing to provide sufficient affection to allow healing their little broken hearts a little quicker is always recommended.

What Can Make A Budgie Sad?

Budgies can become sad for a number of reasons. This could be due to the loss of their mate, as a result of illness, or just being lonely due to the lack of interaction.

Of course the most obvious cause for sadness would be the first of the 3 reasons as these little parrots are intelligent enough to understand death or losing someone really close to them.

They will deal with a roller-coaster of emotions even if they’re unable to perceive them with as much depth as we do.

Budgies tend to grieve between 2 – 4 hours after their partner has passed and can continue to be sad and mourn for multiple weeks after. In the end of the day time will heal all wounds that’s why as long as you’re there as an anchor, as a pillar of support, a budgie will bounce back and eventually adpat to their new normal.

Summary

Budgies do cry and will cry when distressed, when suffering the loss of a really close friend or mate and even when they have no one giving them the affection they desire.

Although they have tear ducts and can produce liquids from their eyes, it’s rare for budgies to shed tears out of sadness. Tears will generally fall for if they’re dying themselves or are unable to control it as a result of an illness.

Reference

https://www.petmd.com/bird/behavior/how-tell-if-your-bird-unhappy-or-stressed-and-what-do

https://www.thesprucepets.com/do-birds-get-depressed-390405

https://animals.mom.com/comforts-parakeets-5829.html