floppingfish

okay well reading what you wrote Elly makes me even more worried about what may happen if it is viral. However, she is less fluffed & has been calling down to the other birds occasionally today so I'm hoping that's a good sign. She's never been a very active bird though so it's hard to gage on that one. When I brought her back from the vet I had to uh..wash her bottom for her...and since then she hasn't had anything sticking to her & her droppings look more "solid". I'm trying to take all of these as good signs, but I'm still worried. Thanks for the suggestion...now that you mention it, I haven't really seen Lysander drinking anything...but I'm not home during the day as I'm at work. I will keep that in mind though with the water! Chrissy, the vet said that from the way her abdomen felt, that Lysander's liver felt enlarged. He used this to explain why her bottom was getting poopy b/c her intestines weren't able to work properly..I hope the Baytril does in fact help. How young was your bird when you started suspecting there was something wrong??

Yes the vet I took her to was an avian vet, I have taken 2 other birds to him as well & he has always been very helpful. He asked me to take her back in a week so that he could check her out again to see if the Baytril has helped any. He said if it hasn't then it is likely viral & that is something to be pursued on a different path - I am thinking as you said that it will then mean blood work/x-rays.... :fear I'm just not entirely sure what "viral" could mean..but I know it's not good! This is also my first time giving a bird oral medication...thankfully he gave me extra as I am finding out that it can be tricky! She does seem to be doing a bit better though, she is not as fluffed up as she was & she doesn't seem to be sleeping as much...I'm crossing my fingers.... :mellow:

I had noticed for a while that Lysander was starting to look puffed up & wasn't as active as she used to be. But then she seemed to shake out of it. However when I noticed that it was happening again I took her to the vet. She is around 7 or 8 months old, and from his examination of her he said that when he felt her abdomen that her intestines felt squished to the bottom, which would mean her liver was pushing them down. He has given me Baytril to give her, 4 drops 2ce a day, but said he also worries that if that doesn't help that it might be a viral infection. Has anyone here had any experience with anything like this? Are there any possible explanations as to why she would be having this when she's so young?? Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide.

Lovey, it's always such a hard thing to go through, especially when it is clear to everyone how much you loved Pretty. I hope you could take comfort in my story, and know that one day Merlin will be alright, he's just going through his own grieving process right now, exactly the same as you are. Hugs :angel1:

Alright, thanks for the reply Bubbles. I just find it very weird to watch!! Out of curiosity...what do you mean by "awhile"?? (Laughing out loud)...cause Roxy doesn't seem to want to show any signs of stopping! Poor Atlas, she doesn't mind being preened constantly, doesn't mind being fed but when Roxy starts trying to climb on her she gets this expression like:

I have come to the conclusion that Roxy & Atlas are, most definitely, girls. And I have also concluded that they totally adore each other. Where one goes, the other is beside. Roxy is on the left, Atlas on the right. However since yesterday, Roxy has been trying to *mount* Atlas. Now if they were both boys this would make a bit more sense to me...but I am confused by what "drive" it is in her that makes her think she (as a female bird) should be doing the mounting?? Has anyone else seen this before?? As of right now, Atlas just throws her off & will have none of it...but it still is rather odd to see.... Does anyone have any thoughts or has seen/heard of this before??

I have to agree that birds definitely do grieve. Way back when I just started having budgies (seems so long ago but was really only about 3yrs!) I started out with 2: Jack & Jayden. Jayden became sick one night & was gone by the next morning. Jack was totally lost without him. He went from a budgie that used to chatter non-stop to one who would barely make a chirp, and he spent HOURS a day sitting on the perch in front of their mirror toy. It was heartbreaking. I took Jack to a vet & the vet said he was healthy but recommended I wait...and I did, for a whole month, before I went & bought him a companion. The day I brought Miss Galen home & put her in the cage Jack's first reaction was to be terrified, and once he was done flying around the room in a rather comical panic, he landed back on his cage & SANG his heart out - for pretty much 20mins straight. I remember it all so clearly because, quite literally, the sweetness of it made me cry. I've always claimed that Miss Galen brought Jack back to life...

Here are a few pictures I took when I got home from work today, thought I would share. It's great having a digital camera available again - but I can see how it could easily start taking over!! (Laughing out loud) I love the way this picture shows off Sparkle's flight feathers! Roxy & Miss Galen Casper...I always joke he *must* have ADHD - he's all over the place! The "lovebirds"...now I know they're both females but today Roxy has tried to mount Atlas *twice* :offtopic: My parents told me about the first time (I was at work) and I thought they were exaggerating...but then sure enough, just to show me they really weren't, she went & tried to do it again! :hap: cuddling: Roxy & Atlas preening, Atlas thinks to herself "got to look good" kissy kissy Unfortunately for Sparkle, most of the time he tries, Miss Joey just won't have any of it... i wasn't meaning to take this photo on an angle but I sorta liked the way it turned out anyway... I love the way budgies "floof." Even though "he" is now a "she" we're keeping the name as Lysander, I just loved it so much when we picked it out & it totally suits her personality (the name means 'free' and being that she is my only completely untrained budgie she has made it very clear how she would like to be - left alone! : ) I hope you liked them!

So that would make him a YF 2 Opaline?...or does that negate the YF 2? (sorry I feel like I sound clueless...likely because I am! (Laughing out loud)) Wow that's not cool at all Kirby! I only dealt with 2 people when I was there, and they were both rather friendly, but I'm sure that if I was accused of shoplifting I wouldn't exactly find the experience, nor the staff, pleasant either! But I'm also not an expert on what their store is like to begin with, as I've only been there that one time...

First of all, thank you for the response! There were a couple that I knew & some that you added whole new dimensions to! (Laughing out loud) I've also been wondering - is there any chance Miss Joey is an English budgie?? She's always been much larger compared to our other birds, but since we've gotten the bigger cage she has lost a bit of weight so now I'm not 100% sure. Jack is a light green, he's been that shade ever since he was a bub. Can you tell me the difference between YF 1 & YF 2? I'm trying to understand how you could tell Sparkle and Atlas as being YF2 & Lysander (who I think will become Miss Lysa) as a YF 1?? I was thinking Atlas is a dilute b/c his wings have the yellow colouring in them...would I be correct then instead of thinking he is a YF 2 greywing? Thank you! It's from Super Pet in Burlington. I had been looking for AGES & couldn't find one that I liked. My mom found it for me & took me there...the moment I saw it I just *knew* it would be perfect for them! As an aside question...I've tried to have a variety of perches in their cage. One which I have is a cholla perch, but I've discovered that the little scampers LOVE eating (ie destroying!) it...does anyone else have a bird that does this??

It's been quite a while since I've posted any pictures of my little feathered ones. We recently just got a new camera so I tried it out today. I have some questions about exact mutations so any help would be great - for some of them I *think* I know, but it would be great just to have that confirmed by one of the pros on the board! Thanks! Going from oldest to youngest... Miss Joey Jack Miss Galen Sparkle Casper Roxy (forgive her for her moult) Atlas - not entirely sure what his type is?...also, can someone confirm if he's a boy? his cere is very light but he feeds Roxy all the time & he acts very male Lysander - also not entirely sure what his type is? I'm also thinking Lysander's cere is very light as well to be a boy....can anyone let me know otherwise? Budgie Palace - this is their new home...I used to have 3 separate cages when I had 5 of them, but they have since been upgraded & love their new palace! And some group shots... Roxy, Miss Joey & Sparkle 6 of 8: Roxy, Miss Galen, Miss Joey, Jack, Casper, Sparkle Oh forgot a couple more (sorry for the overload of pictures...if I don't do it now I'll likely never get around to it!) Bennie girl - my special needs budgie who is no longer with me, she passed away in October, I don't think I will ever stop missing her ( And I had to include this one of Sparkle...flirting with my hand

Hi Terri, thanks for the input - it's good to know! That was my first time giving the birds corn, and if I do so in the future it certainly won't be from a can again...but as it stands right now, I think we might move onto other vegetables, just to keep Casper's tummy safe!

Hey everyone, Well I do think Casper just had a sore tummy from pigging out on the corn. He had been eating quite a bit of it, and although I had rinsed it, I checked the can & there was salt in it so that seems to be the problem. He's about 90% back to his usual self...twittering a ton, playful, and flying all over like the whole house is his There are times when I look at him & he still seems a bit fluffed up, but those have also been when he's been chirping away so i think it might just be him floofing up because he's happy. *phew* What a relief!

Well Casper is being more active today, but he still seems a bit more fluffed up than I would like. Being that New Years is coming up, I'm going to call the vet to make an appointment because I'm not 100% sure when our avian vet will next be available. That way I will have something arranged in case he does continue on in the same manner (though I really am hoping he doesn't). I will keep you all posted. In terms of the lettuce, thanks for the advice, usually what I give them is the dark green stuff, and we've never had any problems with it but I will certainly try them on the asian lettuce that was recommended.

Two days ago I provided my budgies with an addition to their usual lettuce, I added in some corn. And I was happy to see that they actually ate it. Today however, I noticed one of my budgies in particular is rather fluffed up. He hasn't been as active, and he was letting me give him kisses - he's tame, but usually the kisses are a no-go (I've been trying for ages!) so all-in-all he hasn't been behaving normally. I'm going to be giving the vet a call tomorrow, but I was just wondering - could it be from the corn?? It was canned corn - is there something wrong with that? I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid, but the thought of having *two* budgies sick...oh it makes me worry! :mellow: Thanks in advance for any insight.

Well the vet confirmed what was suspected: Roxy does have scaly face. She received one treatment of ivermectin today, and will need to go back to the vet 2 more times after that, each visit 2 weeks apart. He said that within this first week I should start seeing quite a bit of improvement, but to still keep her separated. After her 3rd visit she can be returned with the others, but for now, poor girl is going to have stay alone upstairs. I've had Roxy for 2 months now, and being that she was around 2 months when I got her, judging by the progression of her condition he also told me what I suspected: Roxy had the scaly face when we bought her. Although I realize there's nothing that can be done about that now, I'm going to be in the area of the store tomorrow so I think I'm going to pop in just to inform them of this - and of course to take a closer look at any birds they have there now to make sure they're all in good health. :sport: I spent quite a time with her today, she's doing fairly well, maybe a bit frazzled as it's been quite a busy day for her, but I think I'm just going to cover her up a bit earlier as well so she can get a nice peaceful rest tonight to make up for all the commotion of the day. :angel1:

Hi lovey, Roxy's vet appointment is tomorrow at 11:15am...so I will keep you all posted with what the vet says, I hope everything's okay & it's just a simple treatment that everyone else has described. Oh, after we get back from the vet's, does she still need to be quarantined?? I'm assuming the answer would be yes, but poor girl - she's so lonely! No matter how much company I give her there's no way I can compare to her other friends!

Thanks birdluv & Phoebe. That's exactly what I've done so far - I also found that when putting the baby oil on her today she calmed down considerably quicker than she did yesterday. She really only got in 2 good solid bites today, yesterday she got in about 6 or 7! The scaly face from what I can see has only made it's way onto one of her feet, but it definitely is on & around her beak...poor girl. She's upstairs in my room right now & seems so incredibely lonely without her friends... But I've jsut tried to take advantage of that fact by spending as much time with her as I can, hopefully it will maybe even help get her somewaht more attached to me *crosses fingers*

I treated Roxy with the baby oil today - her feet do have it also :ausb: - I was wondering, how often should I put the baby oil on her. Should it be on a daily basis, more than once a day, or just once today until I take her to the vet? We had family over yesterday so she spent last night with the other birds but I will be quarantining her today, I have to reset up our other cages first though. Thank you to all who have replied, it is appreciated!

Bubbles, thanks for the reply. I guess it could be linked to stress...maybe joining the other 5 overdid it for her?...but I also remember when we first got her thinking there was something a bit different about her cheeks (there just seemed to be fewer feathers there at that time though)...so maybe it was her trip here. Here are a few pictures of her - they're not the greatest, especially as she really dislikes the camera but I did my best. Hopefully seeing these will help with a further opinion. ' In terms of the short-term baby oil remedy, while I know she'll hate me for it (& likely my fingers will get a good solid biting for it too! :hap: ) I will certainly do that straight away. Should I use it on the other birds as well?? Oh and also, what about quarantining her - is she alright with the others for now? Thanks so much, I'd be at such a loss at times without this forum!!

Hi everyone, For a while I had been trying to figure out why Roxy's face/beak/cheek area didn't look like my other budgies. Part of the problem is that she is one of my untrained budgies so whenever you go near her she gets skittish & goes to another area of the cage. But for the last 3 days I've been getting closer looks at her (it just takes a bit longer...) and I'm starting to think she has scaly face (but hopefully only a mild case of it at this point). The sides of her lower beak are definitely more rough, and you can see some scaly type of bumps that are starting to develop more on her face/cheek area. I have currently made her an appointment to see an avian vet on the 27th (none are available earlier b/c of the holiday season). So I have two questions: the first is whether there is anything I can do for her in the meantime? The second is that I have her with my other budgies - should I separate her? From what I've read in other posts they will all need to be treated so I wasn't sure. I feel that removing her would be very stressful as she has *never* been alone, but if need be I certainly will do so for the health of the others. Also, I was wondering if anyone knew of any other illnesses they may have seen/heard of b/c I read in one of the posts on this forum that scaly face will only show up in birds over 6 months, and at this point, Roxy is only around 4mos so I'm wondering if it's not possibly something else?? I will try to get pictures, but I thought I would first see if anyone could offer any advice just from the description I have provided. Thank you!!

Okay, I really REALLY shouldn't ask this especially as I REALLY do not need to add onto my flock, buuut any idea what sort of mutations you're expecting from this clutch Kirby? :budgiedance:

Okay well it definitely looks like I'll have to get a few more pictures to get some answers! (Laughing out loud) Can anyone help me out with their colourings in the meantime? I know (at least think I "know") that Roxy is a blue & white dominant pied. I think that Lysander & Atlas are both YFII, and possibly opaline? If anyone could fill in the rest of the blanks - as there are quite a few! - that would be great, I'm hardly an expert! Thanks!

Here are some pics of the new bubs we got in October...I don't think they'll ever be properly trained, but I have to say that seeing the way the 3 of them are together is just too cute! Can anyone help identify what colours they are & if they're boys or girls?? Sorry some of the pictures are blurry, I was using my friends camera but didn't want to put the flash on in case I spooked them. This is Lysander - he's the most determined to be "free" out of the 3 - his name means "liberator"! I think he's a boy. This is Atlas - he's sweet. When they came out of quarantine (very recently) he is definitely the 1st of the 3 to take the most interest in seeing how the other birds play on me. He hasn't done too much approaching yet himself, but you can tell he's interested! (he is a boy..right?) This is Roxy, who we think is a girl. She's just all-round sweet. If we had kept her alone I definitely think she would have been fully trained. She'll come pretty easily but is still more into being "one of the flock." Here we have Roxy & Atlas in the wheel together. I actually had to take it out because I was finding the 3 of them would climb in it together & not want to budge! "the trio" i am budgie, hear me rawr "what do you mean budgies only go chirp?!" and one more...(i love this one!) *** I was also wondering if anyone could tell me if our budgie Casper is male or female? We got this little one at the end of July & we've flip-flopped back & forth, so any final resolution would be appreciated! Once more I apologize for the poor lighting, and this really was the only picture that shows his/her cere, but hopefully someone can help. Thanks, I hope you all enjoyed! :dbb1:

Hi there, After a recent loss amongst my group, my mother went out & purchased a new budgie. The following day (b/c the pet store had so many) we went back & I selected another one...then she went back and bought ANOTHER one. So...we now have 3 new budgies. In the past I have trained & successfully bonded with 2 budgies at once, but I'm very concerned that 3 is going to be very very difficult & I have to say I don't have as much time now that I'm working full-time as opposed to when I was going to school & was home all the time in between classes. Is there any advice that can be given on training multiple birds at the same time?? Thanks in advance!