Fatty Lump

[Guest Phoebe]

:glare: Mine prefer green vegs rather than the root ones and it's better for them, give that a try.

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Thanks Phoebe. The only green veg I have at the minute is Brussel sprouts and cabbage - are they okay?

[Guest Lin]

Their fine. My birds prefer the darker leaves. Try shredding some, hanging some up and putting some on the floor. All budgies seem to have their own preferences for their fresh vegies

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Thanks - I cant wait to buy some more things tomorrow.

Ive just looked at Pixies do's and dont's with food - very handy!

[Elly 0]

What I have been doing is mixing a bunch of different veggies and fruits together and blending them into small pieces and then mixing it with a little bit of seed. Now if he picks out the seed only, I am not sure but he is eating something (Laughing out loud). I did notice a piece of green on his beak yesterday. I do this daily and leave it out for only 1/2 a day or until I think it is not fresh anymore. He refuses to eat anything out of his cage other then millet, and if I hang it in the cage he won't touch it either. We had some success early on but then he reverted. So you can try that too :dbb1:. I got that idea from Risha.

[Guest Phoebe]

:ausb: Good plan Lovey, will try it with my lovebird IF she comes home. has never loved fruits or veggies and she has been mutilating herself on her left wing for so long and collars have been a normalcy in her life. The lesion has not been healing and bleeding upon touch, my avian vet took a biopsy today and I fear it is cancer. Meanwhile all my budgies chow down on a mixture of chickweed, brocolli and baby romaine and they love it. :dbb1:

[Rainbow 0]

I have several birds that needed to be put on a seed-restricted diet. The heaviest was 56 grams. They had fatty pads across the chest area, the heaviest even had fat padding on her rump, but my vet never called them tumors. As the birds have lost weight, the fatty areas have shrunk. I'm not sure if your bird just has excess fat or really has fatty tumors, but if your vet thinks they will shrink with weight loss that is a very good thing. Ask about why your vet thinks she got this way, if it is diet-related only you know where to start. If it could be thyroid related, you may need medication or it could be as simple as adding iodine to the water. You can get that from your vet. Any medical reason needs to be addressed and a proper diet should be discussed between you and your vet. Fortunately most of my birds also ate pellets and veggies too, but the pellets weren't eaten by every bird so in the beginning the seed-restriction really needed fine-tuning. Regular weighing is invaluable at this stage.

 

I think I might have replied to you in another post, but I'm not sure. You will need to weigh your bird regularly - every 3 or 4 days at first - until you know you have the right ratio of seed to other foods. You don't want your bird to lose more than a gram per week, maybe 2 grams max. Make sure you watch her feces - if they start to become black when they are fresh (not dried) she is not processing enough food through her system and is starving. Up the seed quota until the droppings return to normal, then slowly restrict them again. This needs to be a slow process. For example, if she is a smaller "pet" budgie and weighs 50 grams, she needs to lose 20 grams. That is almost half her weight. It should take almost five months to get that 20 grams off. She didn't become overweight overnight, and you cannot expect her to lose that much weight quickly. If you can add veggies, sprouted seeds, wheatgrass, pellets, egg food, cooked foods to her diet, the amount of seeds can be further restricted as you notice she is eating more of the other stuff. As she loses weight, her activity level will naturally increase, which will make it easier for the grams to come off, and you can occasionally offer millet or canary grass as a treat. For now, I'd not give any treats at all. Another plus is by the time your bird is at a healthy weight, her diet will be varied and you know she will really be feeling good. You will probably think you have a new bird. I have noticed an increase in activity level and general well-being in my birds as they have lost weight. Some are at good weights now, a few are still losing. I've been working on it since mid-summer. They will eat pretty much anything you put in front of them now.

 

Do you have anything to weigh her with? I wonder if she is eating her new cage due to a vitamin or mineral deficiency? People will eat weird stuff due to an underlying nutritional problem too, maybe it could be the same with birds. I know some birds will overeat grit for that reason.

Edited November 29, 2005 by Rainbow

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Thanks Rainbow.

My vet didnt tell me anything at all apart from there was a fatty lump.

I was on the phone for an hour before ringing all vets in the area and there are no vets that specialise in birds

:hap:

I desperately need someone to check him out so I know exactly what Im dealing with. I have some normal scales which I couldnt get him onto earlier so Im getting some smaller digital scales tomorrow to weigh him!

[Rainbow 0]

Fatty lump sounds positive to me, as opposed to tumor. Hopefully it will shrink down as he loses weight. Can you call the vet back that saw him and ask about the best way to go about putting him on a diet? It is difficult to find an avian vet. Maybe the vet that saw your bird can tell you who he refers his avian patients to, if he doesn't see many of them. I don't think it's bad if you take your bird to a non-avian vet as some of them have a special interest in birds and keep up with new developments and procedures on their own, even though they are not certified avian vets. It's just better if they are. Others really do just specialize in small animals like dogs, cats, guinea pigs, etc. and don't know much about birds. Overweight budgies seem to be pretty common. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

When you get scales, get one that measures in grams. If it only measures in ounces you won't really be able to tell how much your bird weighs. Did the vet weigh your bird so you have a reference point to start will to check progress?

Edited November 30, 2005 by Rainbow

[lisa 0]

my budgie is plunp all over i hope hes just fat! he needs a diet to much millet spray

 

 

I had a budgie that had a fatty lump on his belly for most of his life and then it just disappeared slowly. When he died of old age it was nowhere to be seen.

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Just though I had better give you all an update.

Blueys favourite veg is now grated broccoli green beans and cabbage

I havent managed very well on the weighing him side of things, he totally freaks out when I try to put him on the scales, hes so scared of me getting a hold of him and is absolutely petrified when he goes anywhere near the scales I leave them next to his cage in the hope he will get used to them.

Ive finally found an avian vet about an hours drive away but havent got an appointment until 10th Jan as they are very busy which is a good sign I hope!

[Rainbow 0]

I'm glad you found a vet. Also that Bluey is eating veggies. That's wonderful! What kind of scales do you have? Is there a perch attached or just a flat surface? If it's flat, you can either use a lightweight container to put your bird in, or try holding your hands barely over him as he sits on the surface. You might be able to keep him still long enough for the weight to register.

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Just some small digital scales.

He sometimes gets on my finger no problem but its when I try to get a hold of him he panics so much.

Ive even pretended to eat them so he thinks theyre okay but hes not so silly to fall for that one.

[Rainbow 0]

So how did that visit to the vet go? Hopefully well. Can you update us?

[Guest smilyl]

hey blue budgie how is bluey???

[Guest Bluebudgie]

Hi, i posted a new topic on Blueys progress under Trip to the vet. Bluey has been to the vet.

I will tell you briefly here what happened.

His fatty lump is not in his abdomen so theres not a great risk on putting pressure on his organs. His cere has changed colour as well and the vet thinks he has testicular cancer

Hes doing great though, full of himself and no change at all in his personality, hes still my cute baby!

Thanks for your concern.