Budgie Poop Problems

[Guest gcaprice]

I just got a budgie a week ago today. The day I got her I noticed that she had some poop stuck to her behind. I thought that it was just because she was scared and got some stuck to her. But she hasnt cleaned herself up in any way. Its has acutally gotten a lot worse. Tonight we got her cuddled up into a towel and I got a damp cloth and tried to remove some of it. I got most of it off, but I think that I really upset her. I feel so bad and I dont know what to do. I have a bird bath in her cage, but I guess she isnt using it. Can someone please tell me if this is at all normal, or what I can do to help her. She isnt really tame yet, she was totally wild when we got her.

Thank you in advance, I will be grateful for any feedback.

[hath 0]

this condition is called clag and there are many causes you did the rite thing by removing this as it could block the vent and kill the bird it should be removed twice a day if possible by immersing the back end of the bird in warm water and the mass gntly teased apart

[Guest gcaprice]

Thank you,

But I still have a few questions. I searched the internet, but couldn't find any info. What can I do to make her better? Is there anything I can do? What is the reasoning of it sticking to her? Any more info would be great, thanks.

[hath 0]

that i cant help with as i said before there are many many ailments that this is a side effect off

[Guest gcaprice]

Well thank you soooo much for your help so far. I have been doing what you said by soaking her backside in water twice a day. It keeps sticking to her though. Im worried though because it seems to really upset her. She isnt quite used to me yet, and its almost torurous(sp?) for her. I just hope that she is better soon. It is killing me seeing her like this. Well thanks again, if anyone has any more info Im still listening (or reading ha!)

[hath 0]

you could try some proabotics from your vet or pet shop you can order them of the web as well you just add them to the water

[Guest liverpoolfc]

try changing her diet. sorry guys if this is wrong it might help just for now??

[Guest tequilabudge]

i'd probably recommend changing her diet too if i knew what she was eating as of now. what goes in must come out and if whats going in isn't right then neither will be whats coming out, but it could also be an internal problem where she isn't digesting correctly for any reason (liver, kindeys, etc) she might even just have a minor infection in her intestines and that can be treated with a few injections. if the problem doesn't clear up you should take her to an avian vet for a fecal and a blood screen.

[Guest liverpoolfc]

yeh id advise u to go to n avian vet a.s.a.p. cos your budgie sounds like its in a really bad condition

[Guest gcaprice]

Well thank you, I havent been able to find any vets in my town that have any real experience with birds. I live in a really small town. But I will keep trying. Right now she isnt really eating that much. I have her seed mix out, but it doesnt seem like she has been eating that much of it. I put different fruits and veggies out all day long (I switch it around everyday). And she hasnt really touched them at all. (today she ate a tiny bit of lettuce). I put some spray millett in and she REALLY love that, but that was all she was eating, so I took it out. I will give her a day or two and then maybe have to take her to a vet, whether they have experience or not.

[Rainbow 0]

Do you have any friends who have birds that you could ask where they take theirs? Or are there any breeders (of any type bird) in your area? (Maybe do an internet search.) If so, you could call one of them and ask what vet sees their birds. If both of those are no good, I would make an appointment with the vet's office that was most helpful to you when you called around looking for an avian vet and take your bird in. There are also many vets who may not be a certified avian vet, but who take a special interest in birds and keep current with the latest developments for avian patients - you could ask the vet's offices where you are if any of the doctors have a special interest in birds. Since it has been a week already and there has been no improvement, you should have your bird seen by someone. By the time you can tell a bird is sick, they are really sick because they hide illness as long as they can. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens.

[chirpy 0]

just for now id take all veg/fruit out of her cage, as that could aggravate the problem. if she is enjoying her millet spray, id let her tuck in, as many new budgies prefer the sprays to anything else, as it is often what they are used to in the breeding aviary. also, as the others have said, id try taking her to any vet, and ask them if they can ring an avian vet if they unsure how to treat her. worms can cause messy poos, and it could be as simple as that. before i knew my avian vet, i had to take my bird to a normal vet, and they rang around for advice. she did land up being wormed (with a tiny dose of dog worming medicine) and it did do the trick at the time. good luck

[Guest gcaprice]

YAY!

My baby is cured! I woke up this morning and there was a little pile of poop benieth her! When it was stuck to her it was pretty hard, but it looks a lot more runny! I am soooo happy. She seems happier today too. Thank you for all of your help.

Cheers.

Edited June 4, 2004 by gcaprice

[Guest cpritzl]

My budgie just had the same problem. I didn't notice it yesterday or this morning, although I didn't get to spend much time with him. it sounds like the same thing except after I cleaned it with warm water a long piece of dropping came out and was stuck to his backside, i took it off and saved it. There is only one avian specialist in my area and I didn't get to talk to her today. Hopefully tommorrow. Are there any ideas why the dropping would have been so long? He is a bit lethargic and lazy, but not too bad. I let him fly a bit after I cleaned him up. He hasn't seem to have lost much appetite for his millet spray. I'm still worried although I did see one good dropping before I covered him for the night, it was a bit runny though. Any advice please?

[Rainbow 0]

Well, what kind of diet is your bird on? Since you saw one normal stool since, it could be nothing to worry about. Maybe he ate too many greens or fruit, and his system is clearing it out. There are a million reasons for the odd stool. Your sample is only good for maybe about an hour if you want the vet to do a gram stain with it, as once it begins to dry it is no good. Since this seems to have been going on for less than a day, I would check on your bird again in the morning and if there is still a problem, call the vet's office. Hopefully he will be fine tomorrow.

[Guest cpritzl]

He was on a seed mix with a little dried fruit mixed in, with millet spray as a treat every few days. Thanks for the advice he seems alot better now, still a little lazy but it is late for him and I'm sure washing him was a bit traumatic. I think I'll still call the vet in the morning maybe find out a bit more. but thanks again so much.

[Rainbow 0]

You're welcome. I'm glad he seems better.

[Guest cpritzl]

I woke up this morning and found it was stuck again... I cleaned him off and made an appointment for the vet

I don't know what else to do

[Guest tequilabudge]

his poop was probably long because he had a dried piece blocking his vent all day and none could come out! that is why if a budgie has this problem you have to remove the stuck pieces so it won't get a fecal impaction, they could die from it! its a good idea to take your bird to a vet.

[Guest cpritzl]

Well I took him to the closest exotic vet i could find. Theres only one near me. She said that his belly was distended (sp?) or bulging out a little bit. She said it may be a tumor or a blockage. He has still had some long droppings but only about 1/4 the size of the first one. SHe put him on 1mL per day of fresh pineapple juice and said if that didn't help to try a little tiny drop of mineral oil in with the juice. Also just a drop of yogurt with active cultures. She said he seemed healthy, was still eating enough, and very alert so that made me feel alot better. I'm still checking him twice a day for stuck droppings although I haven't seen very much, maybe one here and there but he has alot on the bottom of his cage. She wanted to hear from me in about a week and if that didn't help she said antibiotics may. She said its normal for three year olds to start developing tumors though and that makes me very sad :bluebudgie:

Ive seen some posts here complaining about high vet costs. The office visit was $40 and if any blood work was required it would about $10 each. I felt that to be quite reasonable.

[Guest tequilabudge]

yes when they get about that age a lot og things can go wrong, tequila is also 3 and my vet thought that she had a tumor too but it was just an infection. your bird might have an infection in its intestine. did your vet do a fecal examination? if not, it is a good idea to get one done.

[Guest cpritzl]

I asked the vet to do one but she didn't think it would be necessary

 

 

He seems alot better, I've only had to clean his backside a once and it was just a small piece in his feathers. He still does seem sleepy though, I hope he gets better

[Guest bird_death]

does the lady you took it to have an email address i have had to have my baby put down with this (mine wasnt alert and had its head down on the bottom of the cage) i want to know if this was my fault

[chirpy 0]

cpritzyl hows your little bird doing now ?

and bird death, the little bit of info youve just given jusnt tell us much, but what makes you think that your birds passing could be your fault? sometimes our birds get sick and no matter what we do, we cant reverse it. even if there was something wrong that maybe an expert could have spotted, but you couldnt, dosent make it your fault

[Guest bird_death]

I had my baby for a year n half from a big pet store when we bought him he had a 7 day take him back guarantee..when we got him home he was quiet, didnt move around much and thats the way he stayed till a 3 wks back when he started eating food off the floor we thought it was cos it was cooler at the bottom of the cage and he seemed happy enough. Last friday i noticed a lil bit of poo that i cleaned up and let him out the cage for a bit..he has always been miserable so the fact that he was acting up was nothing new. I went to my mums for the weekend got back sunday night and noticed a large clump of poo on his bum..he was shaking his tail feather to get it off wouldnt move and was lifeless..i cleaned this up aswell and he ate and drank but i knew he was not right that was 9pm sunday i couldnt get him to a vet was going to take him to one in london but then i had him on my hand and he was lifeless head down on my palm just breathing so we didnt take him b'cos i thought he was going to pass away he attempted to waddle around in the spar rm and picked at his food so i covered him for the night. Monday morning he was just on the floor not moving..breathing..i took him to the vets where he said that from what i said even if i took him to a specialist (they didnt have one and he made it sound like it could take time) it would still be farer to put him down as if he survived he probably wouldnt be happy anyway. the fact that my baby would have to wait in the condition he was in was horrible so the vet put him to sleep

 

i feel responsible because i should have taken better notice but i just thought he was being his normal silly self.

 

I have had 5 budgies and this was the first one i have had since moving in with my husband so i probably feel responsible more for this one than the others

 

Also i picked him out and am now worried that i will pick another bad one and i cant handle that right now.