budgie with enlarged liver...

[classylady 0]

Hi, just had x-ray done of my little budgie (3.5 yrs old) and he has an enlarged liver. Vet said to use antibiotics at the moment and try to get him on reduced fat food. I know seed is fatty for them but he will hardly eat greens and veg even if offered every day. I just read that millet is lower in fat than seed is this true and if so can you buy it other than on the stalks? Vet gave me parrot pellets to crush and mix with his seed but knowing how fussy he is I don't think he will eat it alone if I reduced seed and increased that... sigh, any help would be great if anyone else has had budgie with similar ailment. Thanks very much for any comments/advice.

[Guest budgeover]

sorry to hear about you poorly budgie.

Im sure that millet is higher in fat than seed so i wouldn't go out and bulk buy. General advice is that a budgie should only get a spray of millet ONCE a week as a treat. Its thought to be the equivalent of a snicker bar to a human.

 

I would measure out your seed every day. Say a desert spoon. And offer your budgie brocolli/chick weed/ or dandelion leaves (what ever he likes best). Have you tried him with mini corn on the cobs?

Im sure someone else will come a long and give you better advice but i hope this helps for starters.

 

Good luck

 

budgiex

[Guest sallyc]

To encourage the eating of greens, you could take out his seed for half an hour every morining and night and replace it with his greens (in the same food pots). Im afraid Budgeover is right, millet is far more fatty than normal seed and should be used as a treat only.

 

A good way of blackmailing them to eat healthy is to hang a piece of corn on the cob in the cage where you would normally put the millet, he/she will presume its a treat and might be more willing to try it - may be worth a try?

[Guest pixie25]

i would highly recommend wheatgrass. you can buy it in pots and grow your own to feed to him. it is very good nutritionally and most budgies seem to take to it well.

 

find it: here

 

what brand of pellets are you trying to convert to? harrisons mash would probably be the best place to start. if you do a forum search there is loads of advice on pellet conversions, as it is very very hard to get them to eat it.

 

i would go with budge on limiting the seeds. budgies need no more than about a desert spoon per day to maintain their weight and the rest of their daily diet should be made up of fresh fruit or veggies.

 

i remember suggesting in your other thread to eat veggies in front of him. get him on a perch and raise it to your eye level and eat veggies in front of him, really enjoy it and then offer him some of the same peice. budgies are very jelous creatures and he wouldnt want to feel that he is missing out on something. keep persisting and it should work.

 

generally budgies prefer leafy green veggies as they like to shred it with their beaks and once you get them eating one type of veggie they will be more inclined to try another type.

 

how do you offer veggies? many budgies do not like eating fresh foods out of a dish, they prefer to eat it when it is clipped to the cage bars near their favourite perch.

 

i know some other people here are trying to get their budgies on a diet, so a forum search is probably your best bet for more info.

Edited August 21, 2005 by pixie25

[Boris' Slave 0]

Hi, just had x-ray done of my little budgie (3.5 yrs old) and he has an enlarged liver.? Vet said to use antibiotics at the moment and try to get him on reduced fat food.? I know seed is fatty for them but he will hardly eat greens and veg even if offered every day.? I just read that millet is lower in fat than seed is this true and if so can you buy it other than on the stalks?? Vet gave me parrot pellets to crush and mix with his seed but knowing how fussy he is I don't think he will eat it alone if I reduced seed and increased that... sigh, any help would be great if anyone else has had budgie with similar ailment.? Thanks very much for any comments/advice.?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try adding some liquid vitamin B to his water, you can get it from a chemist (Vitamin B is Vitamin B.) about a teaspoon to a litre of water - obviously you will need to adjust the amounts. This will help improve liver function and unless it's too late may reduce the size. Do this for 3 weeks then repeat every 6 months, he should be fine.

Edited August 21, 2005 by karenfernvale

[Guest TeGz]

My vet actually told me that millet is one of the best seeds for them to be eating....

 

No real advice here, good luck with your budge!

[Guest potter]

Be careful of what you feed your budgies. Consult the vet as too much vitamin might be a burden for the liver as well. Keep us updated.

[Rainbow 0]

If you check the ingredients in your seed mix, I'll bet either white or red proso millet ranks pretty high on the ingredient list....it is in most budgie seed mixes anyway. Most seeds are high in fat, millet happens to be high in carbs. Try this site, you might find some information that will help you.

 

http://www.holisticbird.org/