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My Budgie Came From Boarding Very Sick


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Hi All,

I went overseas for 4 weeks when i came back yesterday from holidays i got my budgie back from the boarding.

He was very sick, infected eyes, blue legs, stays fluffy all time does not talk don't name his name.

He was at the vet while boarding and the vet said it may be stress she gave him Psittavet for 10 days.

I refused to pay yet the boarding until i make my own checks. I took him to my vet and they did corp checks but didn't find anything.

They contacted the vet who gave him the Psittavet and told me to keep giving him the Psittavet for 10 days.

If we won't get better then they would like to do a Psittacosis test after 2 weeks.

Any help or idea would be appreciate.

 

 

Thanks

Eyal

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Is psittavet oxycycline?? If not I am surprised the vet isn't giving him oxycycline if there is a chnce of psitticosis.

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Is psittavet oxycycline?? If not I am surprised the vet isn't giving him oxycycline if there is a chnce of psitticosis.

Psittavet is doxycycline

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no worries, if it is psitticosis he should be feeling better VERY quickly. I was put on doxy for psitticosis a few weeks ago (YES me ) and I started to feel better in less than a day. Make sure that if you start to feel sick you see your doctor and tell them the situation as you will need to get on antibiotics too. Psitticosis needs to be treated for atleast a month though, ten days is too short.

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Is psittavet oxycycline?? If not I am surprised the vet isn't giving him oxycycline if there is a chnce of psitticosis.
Psittavet is doxycycline
Its not good because i am alergic to Doxycyline .
Is psittavet oxycycline?? If not I am surprised the vet isn't giving him oxycycline if there is a chnce of psitticosis.
Psittavet is doxycycline
Is it possible that is only stress of a new enivornment?
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Hmmm...there are a few other antibiotics but you will find that you probably have to be on them longer. I would suggest that you wear a face mask when cleaning his cage for the next week or two and avoid the feather dust as much as possible. I found it easiest to put the birds that I had in the bathroom(as it was easy to clean afterwards) and feed, clean, etc first thing in the morning and then take my pj's off and put them straight into the washing machine and hop in the shower. Handle him as little as possible for atleast a week or two as it would be awful for you to get sick since you won't be able to be treated easily. I was sick for about 4 weeks and had three different courses of antibiotics before we worked out what it was. As soon as I got the doxy I started to feel much better.What's his breathing like?

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You say his eyes are infected too... It really sounds like Psitticosis to me too. Why has the vet not diagnosed it as Psitticosis to be on the safe side????

 

If it is Psittacosis, he is highly contagious to you and your family. as MB said, dont breath in the dust from his feathers, touch poop, eye discharge, saliva or nasal discharge.

 

two of the most common symptoms of Psitticosis in birds is infected eye/s and runny (green) poo. as well as the other symptoms of fluffed up appearance, nasal discharge, lethargy, etc etc.

 

I would recommend continuing the antibiotics for the full Psittacosis treatment time. If you only do them for 10 days and it is Psitticosis, you risk getting a bacteria which could become resistant to the antibiotics.

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Psittacosis has to mean he has been in contact with an affected bird. Where was he placed in quarantine at the vets and what other birds where nearby ? You need to ask and get these answers./ Vets dont just start courses of Psittavet for no reason. They must be aware there was in infection of psittacosis in the vicinity to be treating him. The eyes symptom is one of the first signs followed by the runny poo. Is he eating ? If not he may need crop feeding. Does he feel thin ?

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Having worked in vet clinics it wouldn't be hard for it to be passed on even if there were no other birds boarding. If a vet nurse or the vet handles a sick bird and gets feather dust on their clothes and then does something in the birds cage, etc.

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Psittacosis has to mean he has been in contact with an affected bird. Where was he placed in quarantine at the vets and what other birds where nearby ? You need to ask and get these answers./ Vets dont just start courses of Psittavet for no reason. They must be aware there was in infection of psittacosis in the vicinity to be treating him. The eyes symptom is one of the first signs followed by the runny poo. Is he eating ? If not he may need crop feeding. Does he feel thin ?

 

Hey KAZ,

He was in a boarding house there were other birds there. Before i sent him there, I told the manager that he should not be in contact with any birds . She didnt do it. He has contacted other birds , although she told me other birds have to be checked by vet anually before boarding , i replied anyone can tell this its not guaranty that owners do so.

She said to me he was not eating when the dease started. He is eating now but he used to eat only pilletts now he turned back to seeds only.

He looks very sick does not talk at all and does not remember his name or words he used to know.

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This must be extremely worrying for you. Be very sure he is actually eating as they often appear to eat but are just dropping the seeds back out again. Feel his body weight to be sure and feel his crop to see if he has food in there. While on psittavet or similar they arent meant to be having vegies or other sources of moisture, to be sure they drink their medicated water ( if thats how he is being treated ). Also the course should be 6 weeks and not in 10 day bursts as it seems to be now.

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Guest DrNat

Kaz is right, the course for psittacosis (chlamydia psittaci) is 45 days (or 6 weeks) with no other sources of moisture (no wet food like vegetables etc, dry food only) and remove all sources of calcium for the duration of the course, because calcium binds the doxycyline and prevents it from being active in treating the infection.

 

If you are sick with a respiratory infection or are concerned that you might be, then you need to see your doctor and have a test done to determine if you have been exposed to chlamydia psittaci or some other kind of respiratory disease (tell your doctor this and that you are a bird keeper). If you are allergic to doxycyline there are other antibiotics that can be used to treat you.

 

I agree with the precautions of wearing a mask at all times in the aviary. I do this routinely anyway because constant exposure to inhaling the budgie feather dust can cause lung problems regardless.

Wear gloves when cleaning or wash your hands with disinfectant soap after handling your birds.

 

After the bird recovers from the course, there is a probiotic formula for birds that you could consider giving to yours to re-establish a healthy normal intestinal flora. (Similar to humans consuming yoghurt after a course of antibiotics to aid in re-establishing intestinal flora).

 

Also, your vet needs to diagnose the bird definitively as psittacosis as there are other bird diseases like coccidiosis that can cause similar signs and symptoms.

Edited by DrNat
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Kaz is right, the course for psittacosis (chlamydia psittaci) is 45 days (or 6 weeks) with no other sources of moisture (no wet food like vegetables etc, dry food only) and remove all sources of calcium for the duration of the course, because calcium binds the doxycyline and prevents it from being active in treating the infection.

 

If you are sick with a respiratory infection or are concerned that you might be, then you need to see your doctor and have a test done to determine if you have been exposed to chlamydia psittaci or some other kind of respiratory disease (tell your doctor this and that you are a bird keeper). If you are allergic to doxycyline there are other antibiotics that can be used to treat you.

 

I agree with the precautions of wearing a mask at all times in the aviary. I do this routinely anyway because constant exposure to inhaling the budgie feather dust can cause lung problems regardless.

Wear gloves when cleaning or wash your hands with disinfectant soap after handling your birds.

 

After the bird recovers from the course, there is a probiotic formula for birds that you could consider giving to yours to re-establish a healthy normal intestinal flora. (Similar to humans consuming yoghurt after a course of antibiotics to aid in re-establishing intestinal flora).

 

Also, your vet needs to diagnose the bird definitively as psittacosis as there are other bird diseases like coccidiosis that can cause similar signs and symptoms.

 

Thanks for that I went to the vet today to do a blood test for Pisttaci . Unfortunately there is also no improvement of the budgie eyes since Wednesday

when the vet saw him last, the vet decided to add another antibiotics called baytril.

We should have the results of the blood test on Monday to see if he was exposed to Chlamydia, even though its possible that the results woould not be accurate because he is already on antibitics.

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I hope the results come back okay, and you can get him started on the 'proper' medication... then he should start to improve. Good Luck and keep us posted! :P

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I hope the results come back okay, and you can get him started on the 'proper' medication... then he should start to improve. Good Luck and keep us posted! :blush:

 

His results came negative. But unfortunately he is not reacting to any antibiotics so far.

The vet gave him the last antibiotics to see if it helps . If it does not i need to take biopcy .

He still has infected eyes which he scratches all time and moved the infection to his head

 

Eyal

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Has the vet considered that it could be a mite infection? I don't mean feather mites that are easy to see but a bad scaly mite infection. A simple topical treatment of ivermec on the back might be all he needs.

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Oh dear :hap:

That is such a long time for the little guy to be sick :hap: I wonder what it is if his is not responding to antibiotics??

Thanks for the update.

My thoughts are with you and I really hope he pulls though fingerscrossed.gif

 

 

MB - Thats a good idea :hap:.... It could be mites, you would think a vet could pick that up easily though :blush:

Edited by **Liv**
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A vet that wasn't experienced with birds might not though, especially if it is mainly around the eyes which is not somewhere that most people realise they can get it.

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Can you post a picture of the sick bird please?

this is a picture sorry of the delay - could see his infection in his eye. I gave him antibiotics so his face looks a bit messy

benjie sickBenjie sick

Edited by eyal
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Sorry to hear of your problems with the boarding place, ....

 

Look i have read your post and you say that he used to eat only pelletes, now eats only seed, use to know his name now he doesn't .. I understand that he is sick BUT are you certian that the birds haven't been mixed up???????

I know it may seem like a stupid thing to say and that it is your bird you would know what he looks like and etc, but these things happen .....

As for paying the Fees, tell them that you will not, that your bird had contacted and infection from the place that he was MEANT TO BE CARED FOR AND LOOKED AFTER . not left mixed with other birds and not treated properly ........

 

I hope he gets better real soon and this problem gets sorted out,

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Guest DrNat

Hmm... Yes, is he actually your bird?

 

Mites and scaley face are easily treated with a drop of ivermectin on the back of the neck.

 

If there is no improvement after the course of antibiotics for psittacosis and he survives, give him a break for a few days to clear his system (because the medications themselves can knock the bird around), then take him back to the vet to consider a broad spectrum antibiotic such as lincospectin.

 

Or you could just wait it out and see if he improves on his own accord.

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Hmm... Yes, is he actually your bird?

 

Mites and scaley face are easily treated with a drop of ivermectin on the back of the neck.

 

If there is no improvement after the course of antibiotics for psittacosis and he survives, give him a break for a few days to clear his system (because the medications themselves can knock the bird around), then take him back to the vet to consider a broad spectrum antibiotic such as lincospectin.

 

Or you could just wait it out and see if he improves on his own accord.

Also the vet asked me if he is my bird? yes he does not talk anymore and also his voice changed but thats maybe because he got cold or infection.

He is not on Antibiotics for psittacosis anymore, the vet gave it to him for 10 days only because his blood test for psittacosis came negative.

He is now on antibiotics called Clavulox for 7 days he became more difficult to catch up so thats good he used to be like that before so i think he is a bit more stronger than he was but his infection has not gone.

The vet only check his drops and crop wash but she did not take a little of the infection aroud the eyes to be checked under microscope is it necessary?

Would you expect a vet to do it?

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Since the infection around his eyes was obvious that is the first thing I would be doing if I was a vet personally(I'm not a vet but used to work as a vet nurse

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Sorry to hear things aren't improving. I would get a new avain vet. You said at the start he was at the vets for boarding. If this is the same place you are now taking him for treatment, I'd find somewhere new. I too am not a vet, but the first thing I would do would be to take a swab around the eye... mmm... Good luck and keep us updated.

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