Shann_rk

Hi guys, Firstly this might be in slightly the wrong place, but its more a diet question than a health question... I posted a little while ago about a sick little bird I have called Annie (who we only just found out is a girl, she's a recessive pied so it was a bit hard to tell). She has heavy metal poisoning (the vet thinks its zinc). We finished the chelation therapy 2 weeks ago but she's started to go downhill again despite me going over the cage thoroughly looking for anything that could be causing it and finding nothing. I've started giving her her meds again because I'm thinking that we didn't quite get rid of it all last time. I rang the vet and that's what he thinks too. I know it sounds callous but I really can't afford another xray for the little one, I've already spent a lot of money and am on a students income She's been having seizures the last 12 hrs so I'm starting to think it might be time to consider having her put down. I really don't want to do that but if I can't fix this I don't want her to suffer. I've been reading up on other remedies for heavy metal poisoning and some pages have suggested B1 prevents further nerve and tissue damage so I'm looking to supplement her diet with this. Does anyone know what kind of budgie-suitable foods contain high levels of this vitamin? I also want to feed her something that is likely to help her pass any pieces of metal that might still be in her digestive tract. I was thinking psyllium husks might help? Any advice would be appreciated, I really want to give her the best chance. Cheers, Shann

I didn't personally see the xray so I'm not sure but from what the vet said it seems it didn't knit together properly and the hip joint is a bit arthritic, so it will probably never be right. The chelation seems to be working well, he's much better although always looks a bit off after I give him his meds (I'm guessing it gives him a sore stomach). I'm glad we persevered though, because he's such a lovely bird!

So, an update. We took him to the vet again because he seemed to be going downhill really fast. They took another xray and picked up that he has had a fractured hip at some point in the past, so that's what has been bothering him in his leg. But on top of that he had heavy metal poisoning! Who would have thought? We worked out that because his leg bothers him he always holds onto things with his beak and so had accidentally ingested some metal (still not sure exactly where its from but I'm thinking it was from the aviary so we're doing a big revamp while he stays inside). He was at the vet for a week receiving chelation therapy twice a day and now we're giving it to him twice a week for the next 6 weeks or so. So after a MASSIVE vet bill he's looking much better, even if the leg is still bothering him a bit (it was worth it though, I couldn't let the little guy die now could I?). The vet said to come back once we've finished this lot of meds so we can put him on painkillers once he's recovered. Thanks for all you help!

He can perch using both his feet, but he doesn't grip as hard with the left foot, and he's quite wobbly when he perches. I've had him for about a year but the leg has been getting worse over the last 2 months. The anti-inflammatory helps a bit, but if I can avoid it I'd rather not keep giving it to him because of the strain it will put on his kidneys etc and because it stresses him out when I have to force a dropper into his beak (he doesn't seem to like the taste of it). I just don't want him to be in pain

Hi guys, So I have a little budgie who was given to me by a friend who worked at a vet. I've probably posted about him before... the vet wanted to put him down because they couldn't be bothered to rehome him and it was going to be too much effort to look after him! Needless to say I was appalled and got my friend to bring him home. He's a gorgeous little recessive pied who I'm fairly certain was hand reared because he's so friendly. He's always seemed to have a bit of trouble with his left foot/leg. I noticed when I got him that its a bit smaller than the other one and is always slightly swollen. I was worried about it when I first got him but couldn't feel any breaks/sprains in the leg and the vet said she couldn't find anything physically wrong with it either, so she gave me some pain killers and anti inflammatory drugs so that if it got worse I could treat the symptoms. Anyway, so I left him with my parents over summer because I was on holidays and when I got back his leg seems to be getting worse. I'm fairly certain he's lost feeling in the back toe and he's been sitting down a lot, he's still perky and is eating well, but because the foot's not working properly he's struggling to move around properly and he always looks like he's extremely frustrated (I know I'm anthropomorphising this but its the best way to describe it). His droppings are normal but he does seem to be chewing his beak more than usual, I'm not sure whether that's a reaction to pain or not. I've read that gout causes little white bumps in the joints but the photos on google seem far more serious than anything he's got, plus the whole leg is swollen, not just the joints... The skin on his feet also seems to be shedding much more than my other birds, I've treated him for mites etc. so I don't think its that. I've cut down on his seed (thats all mum was feeding him) and increased his greens but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any ideas about what I can do to help the little guy? Cheers, Shann

It was about the same I think... 1/4 teaspoon per 500 ml of water.

Hi everyone, About a month or 2 ago several of my budgies (at my parent's house) were diagnosed with megabacteria (or macro or whatever its being called these days) and the vet prescribed sodium benzoate in the water for about 14 days. I also started treating Archimedes, the baby I hand reared over summer about a week or so later as she had had some contact with her mum and dad before I pulled her from the nest and the vet said if one bird had it, it was likely all the birds that came into contact with them had it. After about 10 days or so all my birds started to go through a pretty heavy moult, some of them to the point where you could see the skin through their feathers. About half of the birds started to look depressed around this stage as well. Archimedes started to moult roughly 10-12 days after I started her on the treatment (she's about 3 or so months old at the moment), but is still happy and active. I realize its coming into winter (for all of us in Australia) and so the birds usually moult around this time of year but I've never seen my birds moult so much and all at the same time. Basically I was wondering if anyone else has seen this happen? ie. Sodium benzoate prescribed for megabacteria which seemed to lead to excessive moulting... Now that I've stopped the treatment all the birds seem to have bounced back and are growing their feathers again. I guess I should also note that while they were being treated they were limited to a seed only diet as I couldn't give them anything with water in it. I'm asking because I think this is a fairly new treatment and I'd like to discuss it with the vet when I see her next. Thanks Shannon

Have you considered that it might be the result of avian leukosis virus, or something similar? Especially if you sourced the birds from the same breeder. Because it seems to be happening so quickly I think its unlikely that the deaths are due to radiation (although I'm not an expert, so I wouldn't rule it out). ALV has mostly been studied in chickens but there is some evidence that it can cause lymphoma and other cancers in budgies... if thats the case it could either be endogenous (already part of their genetic make-up) or exogenous (from a recent infection). Unfortunately I'm not sure there are currently any effective treatments, but it might be worth looking into? Good luck

This is a video of Archimedes' first attempt at flight. He clearly didn't realize he needed to let go of the blanket to get into the air, he's now flying fairly well, with only the odd miscalculation leading to bumped heads. Also, could I get some opinions as to whether Archimedes looks like a boy or a girl? I'm thinking hen, but going by personality alone I'd go with boy. I also just found out that my budgies at my parents place have Megabacteria So I've now got to keep an eye on Archimedes for any signs seeing as his mum has it. Mum took three of them to the vet yesterday and she's prescribed sodium benzoate for 14 days. The vet also told mum to put Jack and Ria (Archimedes' parents) on a diet after we've taken care of the megabacteria, as they are morbidly obese, which I've been telling her to do for the last 6 months, I even wrote her up a weekly schedule with what and how much to feed them. She calls me yesterday and says "Why didn't you tell me to put them on a diet???" I felt like screaming! Ah well. Now that the vet has told her what to do maybe she'll listen...

That may help, but only if the bacteria (assuming it even is bacteria) is susceptible to that particular antibiotic. The discharge from the nose is worrying as it may be a sign of psittacosis, are his eyes puffy or is there any discharge around them? Doxycycline may help, but the treatment goes on for a long time from what I can remember from my own experience. I would definitely be trying to get the little one to a vet ASAP for a proper diagnosis though... Good luck and hope everything turns out okay

I tried him with a bath today and he loved it! Until he tried to fly afterwards, he didn't get very far I give him water at night because he gorges himself with seed and his crop is hard as a rock so I just worry that he won't be able to produce enough saliva to digest it properly. But I saw him drinking after the bath today so its all good

Blood from the beak could be a sign of a number of diseases, the vast majority of which are not zoonotic (ie. they can't be passed on to humans). If he wasn't showing any signs of illness before this point it is likely that it was a seizure/stroke or is it possible he ingested something toxic? As Robyn said, keep an eye on Cosmo and I would be keeping him away from the baby, washing hands etc just in case (because you can never be too careful). Sorry to hear about Piccolo and hope Cosmo is alright

I've read the FAQs etc before but I just wanted to check it could be the egg and biscuit before I went to the vet... Yeah, the droppings were the colour of the formula originally but the urine was clear, and now its yellow, that's what I was worrying about. The vet still hasn't been able to get the original formula in and Archimedes is now cracking seed pretty well. I'm still offering formula about 3 times a day but he only takes a significant amount first thing in the morning, he finds everything else too interesting during the day/night and only takes a few drops. I noticed today his crop was full of seed/greens/cuttlebone/anything he can get his beak on and so only offered 1 feed and a syringe full of water (because he still hasn't quite worked out what the water bowl is for yet) today because he seems full. He still begs if he sees the syringe but that's the only time. He's 6 weeks old today Oh! and the beak thing turned out to be fine, the swelling has gone down and there's no more redness.

Hey guys, Sorry to keep asking questions like this, but I ran out of the hand rearing formula I was using to hand raise Archimedes and couldn't find the same brand anywhere (The vet said they'd try to get it in for me but it would take a week), even the place I got it from had run out So I bought some egg and biscuit mix and have been using that to wean him, I mixed the other formula with the egg and biscuit for 5 days gradually increasing the E&B so his digestive tract would get used to it. He lost a bit of weight (about 3 g) when I cut down to 2-3 feeds a day but is now putting the weight steadily back on as he gets better at cracking seed. He's still active and chirpy but the watery component of his droppings have gone yellow since I switched onto the egg and biscuit and the solid part is a darkish brown/white (not old blood dark brown, it looks as if he's been eating tree bark or something, which he may be chewing on in the cage...) I read that yellow urine (or whatever its called) is a sign of anorexia/liver disease. I was wondering if it is possible for the food (because E&B is yellow) to stain the droppings or whether I should be taking him to a vet. Any advice would be appreciated

If your other birds are slumped it is likely they are all deficient in calcium (Ca). Ca has a lot to do with muscle function and if they don't have enough calcium the muscles won't contract properly leading to either paralysis, spasms or just not being able to move properly. While Ca is absorbed passively through the gut animals need vitamin D in order to actively absorb Ca... which is where sunlight comes in. I'm not entirely sure that it works in the same way for birds, but in other animals vitamin D is produced when sunlight hits the skin, so having the birds have access to sunlight is very important. Certain things in the diet (especially phytate, which is found in some cereal grains and corn I think) can bind to Ca and make it unavailable so I'd be wary of this as well. Ironically, Ca overdose has similar symptoms to deficiency in that it can cause drowsiness and muscle weakness, but seeing as you're getting soft shells, I'm more inclined to say its a deficiency. (OR the hen is deficient and the rest are getting too much, but I think thats relatively unlikely) Have you tried seeded grass? Or cuttlebone? I've never encountered a bird that will reject grass, even if they've been raised on seed only... There are some other minerals which could be the problem (Mg, P etc) but I think Ca is likely to be the problem. Hope this helps, and good luck!

They're gorgeous! I love those colours

Thanks Finnie. I honestly hope I never have to do this again, haha. Its so stressful! Plus I haven't had a full nights sleep since I took him from the nest box, even now that he's starting to sleep through most of the night, he still chatters in his sleep and wakes me up . I've also had to put him in a proper cage at night because the other morning I woke up to him crawling onto my chest... He'd crawled out of the box (which is next to my bed at night) and onto the bed .

It may just be that they are different types of budgies. English budgies are bigger than the wild types... What you're looking for if she's underweight is a very defined breastbone. You should be able to feel the bone, but there should also be 'padding' (muscle and fat) on either side of this, and you shouldn't be able to feel the ribs. Its a bit hard to describe without showing you, but if she's eating well and active, chances are she's fine, but if in doubt visit an avian vet If you could post pictures we can help with sexing etc.

okay, so I was cleaning Archimedes's beak and chest this morning (because he's still a really messy eater) and I noticed what look like swollen areas either side of his beak near where they join the skin. I noticed there was some food stuck there and a tiny bit in the top of his beak as well. It would have only been there a day because I'm pretty vigilant about keeping his beak clean. After reading up on possible causes I'm afraid it may be a deformity of some kind... Could it happen this quickly? The top part of the beak still closes over the bottom but there does seem to be a tiny gap where the beak closes. The 'swellings' are a bit pink but now that I've removed the food they seem to be returning to normal. Here are some photos, not sure if they're good enough though. (NB. He looks so bedraggled because I've just given him a wash, he usually looks dry and fluffy) This probably isn't the best photo as he's chewing on his tongue (or something), which he's been doing more frequently since I've been offering seed/grass/partially cooked vegetables (carrot, broccoli,capsicum, celery, peas, corn and a tiny bit of ginger), basically, his beak doesn't usually sit open like this. He's still eating (his weight has plateaued at 44g but I figure its not a major problem as long as he doesn't lose weight. He's also sneezing a bit after each feed and while there's no coloured discharge, a watery substance occasionally comes out... Could anyone let me know whether I've stuffed up by allowing the food to sit there for too long? And if so is there anything I can do?

I have no problem with females, they're nice just as often as males are, but my Nan has her prejudices (she's old and set in her ways, haha). I should be able to sway her though, and if I can't its not like it would be a problem keeping the little one

As far as I know none of the other birds in the aviary are pied, but I don't know their pedigrees so there may be something lurking in the genetics. I was under the impression that clear flights usually have more white on their wings though. Ria (the mum) only has 2 white flight feathers on the same wing, the other side is normal (you can't really tell in this photo), that's why I was a bit confused about what to classify her as. And I'm thinking Archimedes might be a hen too, I was just hoping she'd be a he because my grandma (who will probably be taking her once she's weaned) wanted a male

Here he is now that his feathers are coming through And these are the possible fathers... ironically they're kissing each other here. And this is mum, I wasn't sure whether the dot on the back of her head was quirk unique to her but I'm thinking she might just be a dominant pied??? I don't really know, but Archimedes looks to be almost identical to her. The male in the background of the second picture could also be the father...

All my budgies are pretty big, but they're not exhibition types, most are just a bit overweight... (I'm working on that at the moment, but as Mum takes care of them most of the time its hard for me to regulate how much they eat, I've been hounding her to reduce the amount of seed she gives them and to replace it with greens, but I'm not sure she's limiting it enough). His dad is only little, but his mum's a bit bigger (I'll take photos when I next go to my parents place), both were strays though so I don't know what their parents were like. In fact I've only ever bought about 4 or 5 budgies out of the 15 or so I've owned , the rest flew in or were given to me by people who've found them. Even if I didn't want to have birds I can never seem to manage having an empty aviary... not that I'd want one, haha.

Depends on what time of day it is But first thing in the morning he's about 39-40g... (and between 2 and 5g heavier after he eats).

They're adorable! I love the yellow faces