I have had Smudge for about 5 months now and he has always been a fairly timid bird. Since I had his wings clipped I have been working on getting him used to being out of his cage, since without the clipping he flew to the curtain pole when brought out (he never comes out of the cage of his own accord) and stayed there petrified. On one of these first flights he began either regurgitating or vomitting suddenly, so I picked him up and put him in his cage again as it was apparant even without the regurgitating that he was very frightened. The regurgitating/vomitting stopped a little while after and he was fine afterwards. This was about two months ago. Tonight, after being his noisy playful self in his cage, I got him out and sat him on his little play gym, he let me give his head a scratch and suddenly the regurgitating/vomitting was happening again. I have been getting him out every day since his wing clip so I thought coming out was becoming less stressful for him...I put him back in his cage and again, after a little while it passed, he was even trying to play with his bells and eat whilst this regurgitating/vomitting was happening.

 

In all other respects he's been a happy, chirpy, playful budgie....just wanted people's thoughts as to whether stress could be causing these two episodes... it just seems so strange if it was an illness I would have expected to see him looking ill or more frequent regurgitating/vomitting...I have been at home most days and when I'm not around my parents are so I am sure that if he'd been ill in between these two episodes someone would have seen it.

 

Just want to hear some thoughts really as I'm a little puzzled.

first we need to work out if this is vomitting or regurgitating. They do look different once you have seen them both. Reguritating is a gentle bobing of the head and the food kinda dribbles from their beaks. Vomitting does not look like fun, they shake their head around and seed flies all over the place and can also get stuck to the top of their heads, after wards the feathers around their head will look damp.

 

I have a feeling what he is doing is Reguritating becuase of your comment"

he was even trying to play with his bells and eat whilst this regurgitating/vomitting was happening.

Single Males will often try to feed their bells or other toys.

I was thinking that he's just regurgitating also. Vomit is sticky and smelly and awful. As Nerwen said male budgies often regurgitate to feed their "loved ones" whether they're toys, food or people.

Well...this morning Smudge is definitely not his usual self. He's very sleepy this morning, though he has eaten and played a little bit, I've barely heard a cheap out of him. He also slept on his low perch which is not like him, he normally sleeps on his swing. The male budgie I had before Smudge used to regurgitate to his toys, and what I saw didn't look like that really...if he was a cat I'd say he looked like he was trying to cough up a hairball, and he kept shaking his head and flinging seed out. His poops during the night seem to have been a bit on the loose side too. I'm going to ring the vets when they open, but I don't know whether I will be able to get an appointment for today, I had to wait a day and half when I tried getting an appointment for his wing clip.

 

Anything people can recommend for me to do in the meantime to perk the little guy up? I know people often mention heat lamps to keep sick birds warm...we have one of those red lamps you use to ease muscle pains, but it does get very hot and I don't want to toast my boy. A bit of comfort food perhaps? I have millet in the cupboard.

Millet is good if you don't think he's eating enough. You should try to keep him at about 25-30C i think i've read, how hot does the heat lamp you have get?

If the lamp doesn't get much hotter than a normal bulb it should be fine to use, having it on one side of the cage with different level of branches lets him find a comtable spot to rest. This helps them to stay warm which give more energy to fighing the illness.

 

When you call the vet tell them the bird has been vomitting since yesterday, it might help you in getting slotted between others for the day rather than waiting.

 

Wishes and good health being sent your way. Keep us updated.

Smudge went to the vet this afternoon. The vet said he had an infection of some description and gave him an antibiotic injection and gave me some probiotic for his water. I put him in a quiet room but when I went back to him a short while later he was on the floor of the cage. I picked him up and he shook in my hand for about 30 seconds and then was gone. I am utterly devastated at losing my beautiful turquoise boy, especially so suddenly and so young. RIP my little one.

oh kestral i'm so sorry to hear about poor little smudge. He was a beautiful boy and you did everything you could for him. RIP little one.

I'm so sorry to hear of your lost. I don't think I could be as shocked as you but I didn't excect this news at all.

 

Fly free little man. :angel1:

 

The more I hear about injections the more I wouldn't want to use them.

I'm so sorry about Smudge. *hugs*

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I think it was just all too much for him. I'm just grateful that he wasn't alone when he went. My Dad and I are going to lay him to rest with my other bird Pip later today when it stops raining. The house is so quiet again with no budgie chirruping.

yeah thats what i found the hardest when Cheeky passed away. Its when the house is so quiet. Maybe once you feel a bit better you might get another little baby. I really found it helped get over cheeky. Take care

Awww I'm very sorry to hear about little Smudge :angel1:

I'm sure at some point I will end up with another feathered friend....budgies just get you hooked somehow....that endearing, happy-go-lucky, fun loving attitude you just can't resist. I'm so shocked by the way he went from perfectly lively and happy, to dying, in just 24 hrs. I hope he had some comfort from me holding him when he went...obviously somebody up there needed a handsome yellow face angel.

I am very sorry to read about your loss. It's hard to take, a bird dying in your hands. Big hugs from me and mine :angel1: