Sherylw

Hello, I'm hoping for some advice. We just purchased 4 parakeets from a bird rescue. She said a breeder had them, but passed away from cancer so his parents brought all of his birds to the rescue. She told us they were all in good health and had been vet checked. We have had them one week and noticed immediately after bringing them home that one in particular has a lot of dark brown discoloration above her cere. We had not noticed at the rescue because there were a number of birds in one cage and they were very flighty when being caught. We just stood back and asked for a yellow one, a white one, and the two blue ones. I've been researching this online and it sounds like it could be a respiratory infection. The birds are all eating and drinking and acting fine. The two boys are much more lively and vocal than the girls, but I gather that is normal. I've been watching for other signs, I do not hear any squeaking or wheezing, but I do believe that I see tail bobbing and maybe some heavy breathing. I've called the rescue and she claims their birds are and were all healthy and that they must have gotten sick after we brought them home. I'm a little frustrated because she denies that they left her place with this discoloration even though they did. She had their cage right inside the entrance door to the rescue and I've read that they aren't supposed to be place in a drafty cold area like that. She also told us these were very young birds and should be easy to train. Although I can tell by the iris ring on one that he's not very young as she'd stated. I'm starting to wonder if this rescue even has a clue about parakeets and I'm new at this! Do my birds need to see a vet? The thought of catching them from the flight cage they are in and trying to take them all into the vet is not very appealing to me. But my family would be devastated if anything happened to the birds. The kids especially are already attached. Any help is appreciated! Tweetie is by far the worst, she is active, but I have not heard her sing since we've had her. Just the boys. I'm trying to figure out how to attach her photo. Thank you!

Where can I get Triple C or Ivermectin? It looks like we have a vet that also sees birds about 30 min from our house. Sounds like maybe I should try to catch the worst one and take her in as soon as they have an opening? Maybe they will give us meds to treat all 4. She acts fine, they all do. I have not heard any wheezing yet. But this staining I'm sure is not normal. I have a photo, I'm just not sure how to post it from my phone. Thank you all for the help.

We just adopted 4 budgies from a bird rescue 7 days ago. The birds were very flighty when we were there to adopt. So we stood back and told them which colors we wanted. Once we got them home, out of the box and in their cage, we noticed that one especially had bad staining above her cere. Two of them have this, 1 boy and 1 girl. The other 2 look like they may have it starting. I've been reading online and do see some tail bobbing. I've contacted the rescue and she claims the birds were all healthy there and perhaps this happened after we brought them home. Which is not true, I have photos from their first day with us. Anyway, she also told me they were vet checked but she won't provide me with info to talk with their vet. She suggested I buy some antibiotic drops online to put in their water. But I've read on other bird forums that those are bad and only contaminate the water. They also told us these were young birds, but I can tell by the iris ring on one of them that he's older than the rest. I'm starting to wonder if they even know what they are talking about. I would love input from some budgie experts. Thank you!