Rainbow

Poor birdie. I'd call the vet and see if they can't see you on an emergency basis today. It sounds as if she might have a concussion or could be in shock. Your bird should have been her normal self soon after hitting the window if there was no injury. Please call your vet again and explain the situation and how long she has been acting this way.

Is it real diarrhea or just increased urine? Diarrhea is an urgent problem, increased urine isn't quite so. Those were good links chirpy gave you. In my personal experience, increased urine can be caused from anything to greater liquid intake (extra veggies or fruit or water ingested during a bath) to hormones (breeding condition will sometimes create a more watery stool, especially in hens) to kidney trouble. Some are temporary conditions, others obviously a bit more serious. Did your vet give you any idea at all what he was looking for in a blood test?

Medicines in the water aren't the most effective way of getting them into the bird, because budgies don't drink much water anyway. Anything that makes the water look or smell different may prevent them from drinking it too. If you can get oral meds, that would be best. If not, make sure your bird has no other source of water (like vegetables or fruit) for the entire course of the antibiotics. If the droppings are sticking to her, she may not be getting enough fluids anyway. I'd just keep trying to clean her off with warm water. I hope everything turns out fine.

Risha, we've seen that innocent look before.....

I just use soap and very hot water.

I have pieds. They all have iris rings, but you really have to look closely to see them on some of the birds. For example, my oldest baby hen is almost 16 months old. The iris is grey, but only a few shades lighter than the black iris of baby budgies. To glance at her, she seems to have no iris ring. But it is darker now than it was 6 months ago. I anticipate it to be more obvious 6 months from now. Sunny ( a male) is almost 14 months old, and you can only tell he has an iris ring when he is "in display" and has his eyes pinned. Then it is very obvious he has an iris ring, otherwise you can't really see it because it is only a few shades lighter than black. Some birds I think just have the changes to the iris at different rates, because most of the birds I have are this way with the iris ring. If you didn't know the true age of your hen, going from my experience I would say she was under a year. Unless she is a recessive pied, then she will never get the iris ring. If you are certain she is a few years old, she is probably a recessive pied. Your picture was too large, please keep under 450 x 450 pixles.

I have a self-cleaning oven. When it was new, I did the self-clean thing once, but my birds were moved to my room and stayed there for several days, I kept my door closed the whole time and was worried about them. Other windows in the house stayed open plus the fan stayed on. Most ovens are coated with teflon. That's why they are so easy to wipe up. When you use the self-clean feature on a new oven you are overheating it which burns it off. Probably so you don't kill yourself from eating food with teflon fumes baked in it. (not really-I'm not sure of the real reason but I do know you have to self-clean a new oven before you use it) It will stink up the house like crazy - it gave me a horrible migraine from smelling that stuff. It is truly awful. That is the only time I've ever used it, and I will not use it again. It's just as easy for me to wait until the oven cools and wipe up anything that might have bubbled over. If it's burned on, I just put a wet sponge on it to soften it up, and it wipes right off. I guess since your mom uses it alot it probably doesn't smell up the house anymore. I'd definitely take precautions by keeping them in your room for a day or so, and ventilate the rest of the house. I'll bet the reason BirdTalk's site recommends moving the birds is because of the danger from overheated teflon coating.

They should be learning to eat seed by now. Try offering soaked seeds, soft veggies, pellets softened with fruit juice or water, or millet as often as possible. You should not have to feed them formula very often anymore. Keep us posted.

I'm glad he seems alright. Keep us posted on the vet trip.

That is sad, I'm sorry.

It's probably too late, but I would have cleaned off the cere with a warm wet q-tip to get a better idea of where the cut is. If the bleeding has stopped, and the wound isn't open, I'd say he will be okay, but you could call your vet to make sure. I've had birds get their ceres slightly torn (like a scrape), but with no blood, and it has healed fine. Budgies do not normally get nosebleeds. If the cuttlebone is that sharp, throw it away and get a new one in case his cere got damaged by it instead of a toy or the other bird. What did you end up doing?

Ouch. I'm glad they are feeding well for you. I don't think I would use that hen for breeding anymore.

Glad to hear it , hath. Hooray for your wife!

Can you post a picture?

I like how the floor extends out past the walls...helps in rodent control, I'll bet. It is a nice setup. :fear

If at all possible, could you attach a small flight to your shed? That way they could get natural light, yet still be able to get out of the elements.

I have just taken mum away. does anyone know why they do this? she didn't do it to her last baby and I'm worried about any future ones. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dad should take over feedings. I think stress has a lot to do with the plucking. Not that you are doing anything wrong, but there in an inherent amount of stress that goes with raising baby birds. At three weeks of age, mom has just spent the past three weeks, plus the past (roughly) 3 - 4 weeks before that stuck in a small, cramped nest box eating regurgitated food and holding in her poop. And that is only if it is her first round. If she is on her second clutch, then double that and add another two weeks for the first clutch to completely fledge and leave the box. How stir crazy would you be?? She needs a good rest, but if she is bred again next season, I'd watch her. If she starts to pluck babies again, retire her from breeding permanently.

I can't think of any reason why they would not be able to breed....

I am so sorry for the loss of your new budgie. Even though it will probably be difficult, you should let the store where you got your budgie know he was sick and has since died after a few days. If they are a responsible store they will have their remaining budgies seen by their avian vet. They may even offer to let you have another bird after they have verified the health of their remaining birds. (((hugs to you)))

You should put dad with him to feed him. 4 weeks is early enough to start leaving the box, but dad will feed him for about another 2 weeks and show him how to eat seed.

Great news!

What a shock. This made me sick to my stomach. I don't know what to say. I am so very sorry, hath. I certainly hope whoever did this to you and your birds is caught swiftly and dealt with appropriately. My definition of appropriately in this case isn't fit to print. My thoughts and prayers will be with you for awhile.

If you are not sure she is old enough, don't breed her. As nerwen said, just because she seems ready to breed isn't a reason to breed her. Their bones are still soft and growing, and an immature hen is more likely to have problems (like egg binding, ignoring the babies, or plucking out of frustration) because they are not mature enough emotionally to handle the strain of breeding. If it were my bird, I'd wait until next year. Can you post a picture of her? We might be able to guesstimate her age a little better from a good closeup. How long have you had her? Was she still a barhead when you got her? Have you ever seen her go through a full molt? I'm not trying to put you off of ever breeding, if you know what you are doing and what to expect it is very rewarding. But I AM concerned about what it would do to your hen if she is too immature.

Does he look ragged like he is molting (spikey hair?) or does he just sit fluffed up on both feet and doesn't move? Spikey hair makes me think of molting, but the sitting fluffy and sleeping all the time doesn't sound like a molt-related behavior.

The male will bring her into condition. Make sure she is already on a good diet of pellets, fresh veggies, and some seed every day, and make sure she has a calcium source, like cuttlebone or a calcium perch. Just because she has lost the stripes on her forehead does not mean she is 12 months or more. The first molt occurs around 4 months, so unless you know her birthday and you've had her for over 12 months don't assume she is old enough to breed. Have you ever bred budgies before?