stace

Why not try her on some ivermectin scaly/mite treatment, just in case. I think you can buy it online in Aus now without vet prescription from vetafarm.

I'd try asking on a USA forum. Brands are different in each country. If you don't mix your own and are looking for supermarket brands, Trill is good in the UK and Australia. Versele Laga in the UK. Not sure if these are available in the US. I found this below from an American owner. I have no idea about these brands myself, so you'll have to look into them. You want one with a good mix of canary and a range of different millet seeds. Look on the pack. It should say it contains something like: Canary, French Millet, Japanese Millet, Panicum millet, hulled oats (grouts) and maybe niger seeds. Some may also have iodine and other mineral supplementation. I know Trill does. "The best dry seed mixes though are in my opinion and research Dr. Harvey's Best Parakeet Seed and Goldenfeast Basic Parakeet Plus. I also like Totally Organics for soaking and sprouting, with plenty of supplementation. Other ones that I would recommend are Noah's Kingdom's Parakeet Seed Mix and New England Bird Farm Parakeet Mix. These in my opinion are the highest quality, but I would also consider Kaylor's Rainforest mix (only the rainforest, not the others) or Volkman Avian Science (not the featherglow or any other).

LeRoy needs to get to a good avian vet quickly. It may not be liver disease at all. A number of things could cause his sickness - a blocked gizzard/intestines comes to mind perhaps.

They are stunning photos, Birdlove. Allen is beautiful. I love the flight shots especially. They are hard to do.

Not sure, but try these. Sometimes a special toy will distract them on and off for hours. Try to observe which toys or items Chip really likes, and play with him and those items so he learns to play alone with them as well. Start trying to buy or make those types of toys to keep him occupied. Different birds sometimes dig different things. If not a mirror, some toys have reflective stainless steel surfaces that work in the same way as a mirror, but aren't so reflective so as to make them obsessed. My bird loves this fruit spear, with a reflective stainless apple at the top for him to peek at and a washer thing at the bottom which he has skilfully learnt to spin around like a top. I think he gets satisfaction from controlling and mastering it, like we would when we learn to skim stones or play a dextrous game of skill. Another thing to maybe try is just reassuring him that you are not in the room, but are still around. My bird calls for me to see where I am, sort of a loud "biddle de deep! Biddle de deep!". When I'm downstairs away from him for a while and he calls out like that, I answer him back with my own Biddle de deep. It seems to just give him reassurance that I'm still in the vicinity and everything is okay, without having to physically be with him.

Both are gorgeous.

Poor Buddy Boy. It's possible he is still around. Leave his old cage out and up somewhere high enough in the garden, and you never know, he may come back if he sees it.

Chip is gorgeous! I love the little yellow guy. For the moulting, just up Chip's protein while he's growing new feathers. It takes a lot from their energy reserves, so it's good to put some back in. Hard boiled egg is good. There's a lot of protein in it. You can mush it up, alone or with other things, as well as using the crushed shell. Or feed it by hand if you want. Chip looks like he's enjoy that. Mine also likes to nibble on whole bits of eggshell (cooked on the hard boiled egg, not raw) fed by hand. It's like a shredding toy he can eat. Keep the veges and seeding grass going as well, for the vits and mins.

I have a bird recovering from a blocked intestine along with all the meds and reduced immunity. Avian vet Rob Marshall put him on a program which included a lot of Rob's own product line. However, it included some regular stuff as well. Weak camomile tea twice a week, substituted for normal water. Apparently it helps the bowel against staph and strep infections. Make sure it's camomile only, not with other additives or flavours. Sunshine, daily if possible, for Vit D immunity. Swiss chard as a main vegetable. Swiss Chard apparently has a lot of immunity boosting stuff in it. It's hard to get though.

Penny, that's very sad. It's really hard to say what happened, but it really sounds like something like a seizure. As terrible as it is, it's good that you were there with him when he passed.

I've never heard of giving budgies green tea, and never had an avian vet recommend it. You need to be careful with things like tea, as they could contain plants harmful to budgies. You can give budgies weak chamomile tea and weak black tea. Make sure they are straight up chamomile or black teas, and not with any additives like jasmine or flavours or anything else. Chamomile is good for stressed budgies as it calms them down and makes them sleepy. It also works as a bowl stimulant - helping to protect against strep and staph infections. I'm giving my budgie weak chamomile twice a week as part of an immunity boosting treatment, as he's been ill. Weak black tea with a little sugar in it, can be used as a temporary energy booster if a bird is ill and you need to buy time before getting it off to the vet.

Hey well done, Captzork. Just watch out for those bits of loose string and cut them off pronto. Chicken-hawk could easily get either her feet or neck tangled up in there in a flash. It's a sure strangling hazard.

So sorry, Birdluv. I know how much you love your birds. Any idea why? I'm just thinking about the wellbeing of your other birds.

My neighbour's new hen has just died this afternoon with lots of very wet vomit down her front, and a slightly claggy vent. He says she was fine this morning. Any idea what it could be? There's a cock bird also in the cage. He looks okay at the moment, but also has slightly wet green droppings and not as clean a vent feathers as I would like. I've given them a transport cage, told them about warmth, and to clean everything the birds are in touch with, including their current cage. I've also given them some of Rob Marshall's Quick Gel to put in the cock's water. I'm hoping they'll see a vet tomorrow. Don't know for sure though. Any ideas? Tricho? Does that come on that fast? Anything he can do for the remaining cock bird in the meantime? He bought them as a pair only one week ago. According to him, both fine up until now. I've showered and washed all my clothes before going near my bird, just in case.

Is that Toggs as in cossie or swimsuit? It does look like she's wearing swimmers - or undies. How about Knickers?

Take him to an avian vet, not a normal vet. General vet are a waste of money for birds. I see you are in Haberfield. There's Rob Marshall's clinic at Carlingford - very good reputation. And Alex Rosenwax's in Waterloo.

any luck finding budgies in the Melbourne area? I was sure there were breeders from there on the site. Hopefully someone will get back to you, if they haven't already.

Nice pink feet!

Poor thing. She/He's probably injured himself in a fall. Also, ring around the avian vets in the area. (not the normal vets). Tell them you've found the bird and they could check their patient/customer records to see if an eclectus meeting the description has been treated by an avian vet so they may be able to trace who it belongs to. An avian vet office may also be able to advise you where to place a Found Eclectus notice online. When I found my budgie, my local avian vet's receptionist gave me a list of things to do to try to find the owner. Ask the local shopkeepers if they would place a Found Parrot note in their windows, especially if there's a corner store nearby where you found him. If you do that, make sure any caller can describe the bird. There are a lot of crook people out there. Hope he gets back home.

Just a quick update! Tonight I found an ad on gumtree for three budgies. Guess whose budgies they are? (Yep, it's him. I can tell because the mobile number is the same). Here is a link to the ad: http://brisbane.gumt...QAdIdZ349922152 I was considering buying the remaining three, not that he deserves any money for them (just like Finnie said!) but I do need to consider my other budgies. I'm only really looking for one more budgie rather than three, otherwise my aviary will be too crowded. Anyway, I just thought I'd pop this on here in case anyone in Queensland/Brisbane feels like attracting some good karma or adopting some budgies. :-) Thanks for reading! How depressing. There must be so many budgies out there living awful lives. Hope someone kind and knowledgeable buys them.

I think there are a couple of members on this site from the Melbourne area who breed. Sometimes people don't log on for a few days, so just keep checking back.

That's a difficult thing to happen to anyone at any age, but it must have been hard being still relatively young. Hospitals are not a great experience when you feel helpless to help or defend yourself. Some nursing staff are awful. I hope you continue in your recovery. You sound like you are doing really well.

Oh, that's sad. Rest in peace Quiche.

Good grief. How can anyone let an animal get into that state. The ivermectin should clear it after a while of treatment. As Kaz says, rubbing in a tiny bit of olive oil on the feet and beak may help. I've also heard of putting a drop of dettol or betadine into the oil to medicate it a little to help with any infection. Vitamin A rich supplements or foods also may be useful. Apparently Vit A lifts resistance to infection and some parasites. Carrot, sweet potato, chickweed and rockmelon have a lot of Vit A.

Thanks guys. He's just a darling. Just the right mix of cheeky, funny, lively and affectionate, all rolled into one. I had never had anything to do with budgies before, being more of a dog person. I never knew what little champs they could be, if you put the time into training and caring for them. Thank you, too, for all the advice I received here when I first found him and didn't have a clue what to do. The FAQs were invaluable.