Rainbow

Since this is a pretty recent development in your budgie, and it has already been over a week since you first posted about this, I strongly urge you to call the vet and schedule an appointment. Budgies won't look ill until they are very, very sick already as they tend to hide any weakness as long as possible. By the time they look or act sick, they are feeling really bad. Even during a heavy molt or if the wings have been clipped, a budgie should still be able to keep his balance. This sounds like it could be serious enough to warrant a trip to the vets.

I cover mine for several reasons. One is as a measure of security. They live near a window, and even with the blinds drawn, when cars go down the street at night the lights sometimes startle them. The cover seems to help keep that disturbance to a minimum. There have been a few times where I did not cover them, and they seemed restless and more prone to night frights. But they could also just be used to it now and that is what makes them feel secure. They are creatures of habit and like routine. I also do it to keep them on a regular sleep/wake schedule. They really do require a good 10-12 hours of sleep at night to keep them getting along nicely. :wine On a more selfish note, it also allows me to sleep an extra hour on Saturdays......

I used to notice that with Rainbow sometimes. It always seemed to correspond to his "hormonal" times when he would regurgitate to everything. To set your mind at ease, in case he has a crop inflammation or something that would cause the crop to empty too slowly, a trip to vet would be a good idea.

That does not sound right. Do you know how old he is? It almost sounds as if it is neurological in origin, or maybe the result of a stroke. Could he have ingested something that is not budgie-friendly? Have you been able to see an avian vet?

Sorry I have not been able to respond before now. What's the latest? Liver failure is serious. Did your vet give any medicines or recommend a special diet until the liver can attempt to heal? Luckily, the liver is the one organ that has the ability to regenerate. Do you know if he stopped eating due to liver problems, or if the loss of liver function is the result of another illness? Did the fungal infection ever truly go away? Do you know what caused it? If you don't know, I think I would try to find out from the vet what brought all this on to begin with. On the plus side, at least he is still eating. Do you weigh him to make sure he is maintaining his weight?

Don't hold her yet, she is not ready for that. If she is so nervous that she freaks out when you simply go near the cage, if I were you I would just sit next to the cage and read, or eat, or something and don't even look at her. It may take awhile (even weeks) but eventually she will realize you are not going to hurt her and you can go to the next step - putting your hands on the outside of the cage. Once she gets used to that, then I would get out the millet and just hold your hand inside the cage and let her come to you. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience. If your other budgie is tame, it may help for her to see you interacting with him. If he is okay with it, she may settle down faster once she realizes you don't hurt him either.

What's MPO? Please, no shortcuts. Antt, what exactly do you feed Snowy? I mean, everything. Has he had any dietary changes at all? What are the temps where you are? Any extreme temperature fluctuations? Can Snowy get to any plants that could be nibbled on? Are the feces fully formed, or very loose? Is there a lot of water so that it looks like water got spilled on top of the feces, or does the liquid part have a color to it? Is it clear? How often does he go? Does he have access to the outside, or is he strictly an indoor bird? What's on the bottom of the cage? Do you have a grate, or does Snowy have access to the bottom? It very well could be a bacterial or fungal infection of the crop, but lets rule out dietary or environmental issues first. Those things you have control over. Little bugs in your budgies tummy...not so much. I know how hard it is for you to get a trip to the vets. I will try to help you keep visits to a minimum if I can, okay? It may not do any good, but let's try, okay? Or you can pm me if you want. Yes, if he gets worse, he gets worse. It could happen. But at least you want to try to make him better. Did the vet do a gram stain to check for yeast?

I'm unsure from your description where it is broken. If it's just the nail that is hanging beyond the quick and it is not bleeding, then I would guess you could just snip the nail off with clippers so it doesn't get hung up in anything. Or she may bite it off herself. If you mean it's broken right at the toe, yikes! I'd get her into a vet. If she rips it off somehow it will bleed and she will really need attention then. It does not take much blood loss for a budgie to go into shock. Can you post a picture of it? I could probably tell you something better if I could see.

Check the ingredients for sugar, or some form of it like sucrose, or corn syrup (honey included). If there is a lot of sugars, or they are one of the first 3 or 4 ingredients, then I would classify them as treats to be fed VERY sparingly.

What does your vet say?

Bravo for Julie's Budgy2! My fattest one really is not into exercise at all, she just sits in the cage, even when all the other birds are out. She sits so expectantly too, right next to where I usually clip the broccoli...and just patiently waits...and waits.... budgeover, A lot of people do measure out food. I thought about it, because I have some that could stand to lose a few grams, but with so many it would be hard to make sure no one goes hungry because some piggie budgie ate more than her fair share... You can always try measuring seed, maybe start on the weekend when you will be there all the time so you can see when the food runs out. Then you will have a better idea if yours is eating too much or not. You say he doesn't look fat. Are you just worried because of the number?

How is she now? Obviously, vomiting in a bird is never normal, and they will not vomit because they need a mate. Regurgitate some, yes, but not be sick to where they have it on their faces. I wonder if while she was out if she nibbled on a poisonous plant, or a scented candle, or something like that? Many of the plants we keep in our homes are poisonous to birds. She may have ingested just enough to unsettle her system, but not enough to kill. You might want to check what plants she has access to. Most vets are not avian, but some clinics will either have vets that have a special interest in birds or will know an avian vet in another area. A phone call to the vet would not be a bad idea - even if they don't know much about birds, they probably know one who does. I can't imagine a vet absolutely refusing to help, but I'm sure it happens. If they refuse, ask them for a referral to someone else. Please phone around until you find someone who you feel comfortable taking your bird to in the future, if it is ever necessary. At this point, I hope everything has worked itself out.

I have noticed something interesting with the birds I have that look green, even though they are blue. If you look at Mystery's shoulder, you can see blue. She's got it on her other side as well. I know she looks green because of the type 2 yellow mutation. Has anyone else noticed blue like this on their "green" skyblue birds too? Does it show the real color of the bird? Like, is that the real shade of blue she would look like if she didn't have the mutation? The other two birds I have that are similarly colored have the same thing too, so I wondered if anyone else has noticed it (is it normal?).

I have a few that could use a little more exercise too. :bluebudgie: They have seemed to naturally have slimmed down a little since they eat more pellets. Do you measure his food, or does he just have a full bowl all the time?

Mine kept to their same diet, but with a craving for veggies. Especially baby spinach. Their veggie intake about tripled, but they were used to eating them anyway, so I gave them as much as they would eat. The cuttlebone got shredded, and as far as seeds/pellets go, I kept that the same. I also used to put a sprig of millet right outside the opening of the nest box so Skittles wouldn't have to leave if she got hungry. She would just poke her head out. Egg food I'm told is very good, but I could never get my birds to eat it.

Anyone? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It depends. There are wet nests and dry nests. Skittles had a dry nest, where the babies feces didn't stick everywhere and dried very quickly, like adult droppings. They were very light colored, and desintigrated easily. They could pile up a little, and Rainbow would scratch them away from the babies and kick them out of the hole, so the box stayed fairly clean. They didn't have any bedding, just the bare wood. I didn't clean it out for the first time until the chicks were about 3 weeks old, and then all I had to do was scoop it out with my hand. It was very un-messy. Once I started cleaning it, though, I did it every day, as all those babies make a lot of poop when they get that big. Wet nests obviously will need to be cleaned before then and the chicks feet carefully checked for caked feces. I think it must have something to do with the consistency of what the hen feeds the babies.

"American" budgies should average about 28-33 grams, and I'm guessing exhibition budgerigars about 50-55 grams.

Very easy to do, julie....

Untrue. Natural selection would dictate mother nature would make short work of a species that didn't have a good digestive system... I'm glad your bird is feeling better, dozybeak.

MY Opinion: Budgies hull their seeds and so don't need grit. Many birds will easily over-consume it, one side effect of which is gravel build-up in the crop. This slows the rate at which the crop empties, which can lead to sour crop at best, crop impaction and death at worst. It also can impact the digestive system. That being said, I have given grit in the past to birds I had when I first began keeping them. Current thinking then was that all birds needed it. I have since changed my opinion. I don't give my birds grit. They do have bird-safe cement perches in their cages which they use to wipe their beaks after meals, as well as calcium perches they can chew on if they wish. Here are a few links to read if you'd like. http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww58eii.htm http://www.quakerville.com/qic/grit.asp http://www.lovinghands.com/Birds/truth_about_grit.htm http://www.tuxford.dabsol.co.uk/masterbree.../chap5grit3.htm http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/articles/bird_grit.html

salt is a very good disinfectant as well as a good healer. my avian vet told me i could use salt if my budgie injured itself and it's wound needed cleaning. Ouch. Would you put salt in your own cut? I'd think warm water would do well to clean along with applied pressure to stop bleeding until the bird went to the vet. Is your vet an avian vet?

Oh no...I am so sorry.

Oh, is that cute or what??? Sorry to hear about the other ones... I wonder why she stops feeding them?

OMG it's basic first aid!! If I were you I'd be marching into their office screaming at them to help this bird! I can't believe a VET would refuse to help whether they were avian specialists or not. PaSCaL, if it is a blood feather that is broken the bird could bleed to death if you don't pull it. Their bodies will continue to pump blood through the feather with every heartbeat and if it is not pulled they could bleed to death. It's just like shooting water through a hose until you turn off the hose.

I found a great article about pieds! (I posted a link in a new thread under budgie facts.) Check it out if you want to know more. We can probably discuss it under that thread because with all the pictures I put up this probably is not the fastest-loading page.....