SL26

The parasite that Bessie had was Trichomonas (canker), but she wasn't displaying any symptoms of it until she was very sick and near death:(. The only sign that she wasn't well was that she was fluffed up. She didn't respond to antibiotics but didn't get any worse until she suddenly starting to vomit seed and produce lots of mucus from her mouth. - by then the damage had been done. The vet hadn't seen this parasite in a number of years, but my birds weren't purchased locally so they probably were carrying it when I got them. Well I took all 6 budgies to the vet and 3 had crop washes to test for the parasite but all came back negative. However has a precaution their getting treated with Ronivet-s powder for 10 days. Hopefully I'll now have healthy budgies and someone else can become the 'regular' at the vet

Can't believe I've lost you too. You and Rosie were my baby girls. I'll miss your nibbles and the way you always claimed your favourite spot on the branches. At least your passing hasn't been in vain, you managed to tell us what was wrong so the others hopefully won't suffer like you girls did. You may be lost, but will never be forgotten. Bye Bessie Boo

Unfortunately Bessie didn't make it through the night. I've got an appointment on Monday morning with the vet to treat the remaining 6, so I'll get all the details on the parasite to share with you. Thanks for the advice Ratzy and Catherine. I've got a slightly smaller cage which can comfortabley hold 2 budgies, so I could put 1 hen and 1 cock in there (Nessie and Sandy appear bonded), and keep the remaining ones in the large cage (1 hen, 4 cocks). The remaining hen (Buffy) doesn't appear bonded with any of the cocks (Alfie, Sunny & Piper) but seems to along well with them. Sunny and Piper are best friends so I have to keep them together as Sunny can get quite protective of Piper! This would mean that there are even numbers in each cage as well. I guess it's a matter of trial and error while minimising the stress.

I need some advice. I need to review my cage set up at home to try to minimise stress in my flock. I'll give you the background of why: After losing Rosie about 3 weeks ago to an unknown illness (autopsy came back inconclusive), Bessie came down with the same thing. She was immediately isolated and taken to the vet and treated, but didn't really respond. Last night she went downhill fast (matter of a couple of hours) and was rushed to the vet this morning. I didn't expect her to make it through the night, but she did. I fully expected to get a call saying sorry she's gone, but she's still fighting. The mystery illness was diagnosed this afternoon. Turns out that it's a parasite the vet hasn't seen in years but it's treatable. Well that's good but Bessie is still in a really bad way – abscess in throat, gut infection and needs to be crop fed, so she's staying at the vets this weekend. Fingers crossed she pulls through. I have to treat the whole flock because they will all have the parasite and it'll be a matter of time before they all go the same way. It appears that Bessie's illness may have been brought on by stress. Last weekend I introduced the 2 new hens to the flock after they were quarantined. Bessie was already a bit miserable after Rosie died because she was the odd one out in the flock (4 cocks, 1 hen) and was generally being ignored by the cocks. Introducing the new hens just made everything worse for her. She was completely rejected and isolated herself from everyone. Soon after this she got sick. It appears that the presence of the new hens upset Bessie. What I need to do is review my cage set up to minimise any stress on the flock. When we're not home they are all in one large cage and are out flying around when we're home. The cage is 83.5cm l x 53.5cm w x 174cm h (picture: ) and easily holds 6-8 birds. I keep things interesting by rotating toys and treats around the cage. So far I haven't had any behaviour problems in the cage and the new hens are now in this cage after a couple of days. I'm considering splitting up the flock so that there is less interaction between the hens when in a cage. The options are: - keep hens in one cage and cocks in another - put 1 hen in a cage with 1 or 2 cocks What are people's experiences with these two options? Do the hens fight each other more if in a cage by themselves? I'm prepared to buy extra cages or whatever to fix this, as I can't go though this illness mess again if I can do something to help avoid it. Any advice would be appreciated. PS – sorry for the long post.

She's lovely! I'm sure you'll have heaps of fun with her!

You'll still need to quarantine the parrot even if it's coming from such a place. Quarantine is to protect both your budgie and the parrot. Some birds can appear well but be hiding an illness. There is some useful information on this site regarding quarantine and why we should do it.

Welcome, I understand your frustration in finding suitable budgies in the Canberra region. I managed to get two wonderful hand tame babies from one of the members here (Lib) and they weren't too far from Canberra, so you might want to send them a PM. The worst case is looking at a pet shop. I know that none are suitable in Canberra, however I did find one in Sydney which has healthy hand tame babies. When I was looking for more babies, but couldn't get any from a breeder (none available or not hand tame), I went to this shop. They mainly specialise in birds and I got some nice healthy ones and they have been a wonderful addition to my flock. Best of luck

I agree with Catherine. It's not uncommon for a bird to attach themselves to just one person, even if that person isn't their owner! Perhaps get your boyfriend to pass Suichi to you from his shoulder so that the bird realises that your boyfriend doesn't want his attention but wants him to go to you. If you hold his favourite treat (eg millet) while doing this, he might see you as the treat giver and go to you for it. Just make sure that your boyfriend doesn't give him any treats. What is he like when it's only you around? The worst case is that he may just prefer your boyfriend and nothing can be done about it. I know that would feel awful, but there isn't much else that you can do. If you are getting a larger parrot, then perhaps this could be your bird and the budgie your boyfriends?

I found a useful link which lists all the current members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians Australian Committee (AAVAC). http://www.aavac.com.au/localvet.html This should be useful for those wanting to find an avian vet in Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks Sunnie, my birds don't like sunflower seeds but love hulled oats (but don't get these too often). I think they are just so active that they won't get fat no matter what I do! Excellent points Dave, this can make bird keeping very frustrating but we can only do our best. Learning to hone in on their behaviour and looking for subtle differences might help, but this can also make you a bit paranoid too! A perfect example of this happened to me last week. After losing Rosie, I was watching the others very carefully. They were due to be wormed so I gave them some millet sprays as a treat and to make them thirsty so they'd drink the medicated water. Well they were so happy in the morning with the millet, but when I came home that afternoon they were so quiet and didn't want to go near me, which was completely out of character. Needless to say I started worrying that they were sick, or that they'd reacted to the medicated water. I didn't sleep well that night . Anyway the next morning when they got fresh normal water, they were so happy again... the little buggers were just punishing me...

So sorry to hear about your hen , I hope the chicks are doing okay. How can you fatten them up then? I weigh all mine every week to keep a record of their weight and to do a general 'feel' check, but no matter what they are fed, they each appear to have their optimal weight and feel.

Definitely! We moved to a regional area but still in a suburban block, but its so nice to drive out of the city when finishing work. I love the stain glass windows and the house looks like it has heaps of character. Even if it does get heritage listed, you could still use some of the bedrooms for breeding rooms. It's not like you'd have to renovate the rooms, just have free-standing cabinets. You could also have large cages on the verandah which wouldn't affect any structural aspects of the house. If your hubby is ready to retire, then it looks like a good move. Just one thing to think about though is what facilities are close by (eg. medical, shops, petrol) and how long it'd take for an ambulance to get to your house. I know this might seem a bit doom and gloom, but it's something we had to seriously consider and decided still to move even though it can take up to 45mins for an ambulance to arrive (unofficially of course!).

They are so cute and fluffy, very adorable!!!

Sounds like you're doing all the right things, so you're off to a good start. I also sometimes play budgie/bird sounds to my birds which they love. See thread for more info: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=27384 Oops - didn't notice the sandpaper perch, very bad for their feet. You could try some natural branches instead. Not sure if you've got access to any eucalypts but something like that make good perches and it gives them something to chew as well. The key thing is making sure the wood is non-toxic. Duke definitely looks like a Duchess - the guys on this forum are very experienced and certainly know how to sex babies and are a fantastic source of info!

I'd never dream of thinking about taking your Jake Can't have dogs or cats anyway because Hubby is allergic to them . I'll just enjoy hearing about Jake's antics instead!

Welcome to the world of budgies!! He's a cute little fella. I've watched your youtube clip and he seems fine -definitely not a sick bird. He looks a little scared but alert, which is understandable given he's a bub. He's not a lively as in the pet shop because now he's all alone and is adjusting to his new environment. Do you interact and talk to him alot? Given he's an only bird, he needs to know that your part of his flock. Is he tame? Sometimes when you bring a new bird home, it can take a bit of time for them to settle and sometimes they can get sick. My avian vet calls this 'new bird syndrome'. They can become a bit stressed when they arrive (new environment and all) and when birds are stressed they are more prone to illness. It doesn't mean that we've done anything wrong with them, it's just one of those things. They often get over it by themselves, but if they don't then off to the vet they go. My latest two additions got a bit messy in the rear end but they were fine after a few days. Budgies don't drink lots of water because they're wild counterparts live in arid environments and they can go without water for a while. So you won't notice the water container going down unlike a dog. Just make sure that the water is changed daily and that the container is clean. I recommend reading the FAQs on this site, as they are a good source of info for new budgie owners. If you're unsure of anything, just ask and someone here will answer.

Such a lovely boy He really reminds me of Archie in those pics - the facial expressions and poses - its just like he used to be...really missing just him now . Damn I hate losing pets.

I think it depends on the birds. When I introduced 4 new birds (2 females and 2 males) to my existing 2 males, one of the existing males went straight to one of the females and she went straight to him. It was kind of like love at first sight . Given your male has been bonded to you for quite some time and has been an only bird, he may not see her as a potential mate yet. One of my males wasn't interested in the females, he's only got eyes for me and will chase others off me so we can have some 'quality time' together . I'd say as long as they aren't fighting then they should be okay. It'll probably take some time, however breeders here would have more experience in dealing with this sort of thing, so should be able to provide better advice.

Fantastic thread KAZ, this is just what I've been looking for. After the sudden loss of Rosie, I've decided to build a proper hospital cage. What I had for Rosie worked well, but I needed to have a heater on in the room as well, and I don't want to leave a heater on when no one's home in the future. I have some questions regarding the design: What is the height between the perch and the bottom of the lamp? Do you use a thermometer to monitor the cage temp? Is humidity an issue? I've read that humidity should be high so the birds don't get dehydrated quickly. Are there any improvements you'd make to the cage now? Also, if anyone else has built a hospital cage and would like to share their design/feedback/ideas, it would be appreciated :rip:

So am I Finnie, I'm so worried about losing the lot now. The vet rang last night with his findings but they were inconclusive. Her liver was a complete mess but there were no obvious signs of anything else. So he's taken samples and sent them to a pathologist for analysis. I'll have to sweat it out for about a week until the results come in. I hope they come up with something.

Unfortunately Rosie lost her battle this morning. She went down hill quickly late yesterday afternoon. I rushed her to the vert first thing this morning but there was nothing that could be done. Now I'm worrying about the others, but will have to wait for an autopsy to see what happened.

Goodbye my baby Rosie, even though we only knew each other for such a short period of time, you took a large chunk of my heart. I will miss your nibbles and watching you and Sandy being so loving to each other - you two were a perfect match You'll always be my sweet baby girl and we all miss you. Fly free my angel

Thanks KAZ. Despite my efforts yesterday she was a mess again this morning. I think her rear end is quite sore generally from her bug, so I'm reluctant to remove any more feathers at this stage.

Thanks GB, I've had to soak her lower half in warm water to soften things first. It was worse than I thought when I got a close look. She didn't like it, so I take that as a good sign - if she was just letting me then I think it would have been a sign that she didn't have the strength to fight.

Gosh, he's certainly growing! He's going to be a right little chunker when he grows up! The backback's an interesting idea. I used to just carry a bottle for my dog