I started feeding Booboo (the green and yellow budgie) silver beet for the first time approximately 2 weeks ago. She seemed to love it and was eating a lot of it. Yesterday I noticed she was quiet, puffed up and sleepy looking and she has been doing dark green droppings. Today she is still silent and lethargic so I have separated her from Bessie. She still seems unwell though she has been out of the cage for a fly around and hopped out of the cage to visit Bessie several times today. She is still puffy looking and has tried to regurgitate something several times but just brought up what looked like saliva. She hasn't eaten all day.

 

There is also a toy she is very fond of (a chewy, string thing) which she chews at a lot. I am wondering whether she may have swallowed some of it. I have removed the toy from the cage and I have towels around the cage and she is resting.

 

Should I take her to the vet or could this just be some sort of stomach upset which will get better on it's own?

I would take her to a vet. There's not much in budgies, if anything, that gets better on its own without some form of diagnosis and intervention. Better a vet checks her out as budgies are fragile little things and need our help when they are sick.

I rang a local vet and we will probably get her there tonight. They seem to care about birds which is good. I had a bad experience with another vet last year with my poor Bobby. The vet knew nothing about birds and dropped Bobby during the examination. Bobby died just as we were paying the bill.

Make to ask for an avian vet if possible. Another good tip is to ask how many birds they see on average on any given day. Go with the avian vet who has the most bird experience. I hope your budgie feels better soon and you're doing the right thing in getting her seen. As mentioned, you can't rely on things like this to just clear up on their own as it could be any of a number of problems.

best of luck, you have great advice above and keep up updated

What happened at the vet's last night? Is BooBoo okay?

What happened at the vet's last night? Is BooBoo okay?

 

Booboo is still quiet and sleepy, just sitting there with feathers fluffed and not eating anything but has been drinking. She has regurgitated several times and spat out some clear liquid. I am keeping her cage partly covered, have her in a quiet area and she seems to be resting comfortably.

 

I have booked her into see an avian vet first thing tomorrow morning. I hope it's nothing serious. She's never been sick before.

Aww, I really hope she gets better soon. Make sure the vet checks out her crop and vent and takes fecal samples so he/she can get this diagnosed as soon as possible.

 

I'm not sure what time it is there, but if you can get some plain fat free yogurt into her, that may give her a boost. It can help her digestive system as it has natural probiotics. This won't hurt her if the problem isn't a bacterial infection/digestive issue but if you think it would stress her too much, I'm sure she'll be fine waiting since she's seeing the vet soon.

 

Keep her nice and warm, fluffing means she's cold and trying to conserve body heat. I am anxious to hear the news and hoping that it's good.

If Booboo is only drinking water and the liquid being regurgitated is a clear liquid....chances are that nothing is getting through and dehydration is a huge risk. Sounds like a blockage. Any chance of an urgent appointment here?

It's 4 pm on Friday here. I put some honey in her water earlier and she has been drinking that. She won't go near her millet or seed though. I took her out to the living room and she managed to get out of the cage and sat on top of Bessie's cage looking sleepy. She is still trying to regurgitate something up. It is the middle of spring here and quite warm so I don't think she is cold. As I said in my earlier post I gave her silver beet for the first time two weeks ago and wonder if it has something to do with that. Her droppings had some dark green in them and I also noticed the liquid she spat out this morning had a greenish tinge to it. I have put her back in her cage and she is resting near me now. Her appointment is at 9 am tomorrow morning ... it's the only one I could get with a local avian vet.

Edited October 6, 200618 yr by Eily

Best of luck. Hoping for good things for your appointment. Cheers karen

I have good news ... Booboo seems to be getting better. About half an hour ago she seemed to wake up, became active and started chewing at the wood on her mirror perch and licking it. So I opened up the hatch and she hopped out for a while and visited with Bessie. She also ate some seed and drank some water. After that she got sleepy again and I've put her to bed for the night. I am still taking her to the vet tomorrow.

Edited October 6, 200618 yr by Eily

Please let us know what happens at the vets tomorrow. Poor BooBoo.

 

Forgive me, but what is silver beet? Is it greens, or a beet?

Please let us know what happens at the vets tomorrow. Poor BooBoo.

 

Forgive me, but what is silver beet? Is it greens, or a beet?

 

Silver beet is very similar to spinach. It is a dark green leafy vegetable. I gave her this for the first time two weeks ago.

 

We found a good avian vet and took Booboo in this morning. He did some tests of her droppings and inserted something into her mouth to check her crop. He found bacteria in her droppings and said she has a possible blockage in her stomach. He recommended she be admitted over the weekend for observation where she will be force fed food and water and be given antibiotics. He also weighed her and said she is a bit underweight. We are going in on Monday to check on her and if she is still sick she will stay for the rest of the week.

 

Poor Booboo has to share a room with a large parrot and a loud cockatoo. I gave them her towel and said make sure you cover her up at night. I hope she gets some sleep.

Sounds like you found a good and thorough vet. Best of luck with the weekend. I know you will fret as I would leaving a bird with the vet. Lots of good and positive thoughts heading your way here :hap:

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you posted. We might drop in tomorrow (Sunday) to see how she is doing as the vet is not far from our home. He seemed knowledgeable and caring so I know she is in good hands.

aww poor little BooBoo the vet you have sound like a good one. I hope she is okay.

Not so good news now. We called in to collect Booboo and it turned out she had lost some weight and then the vet told us he actually wasn't a bird expert after all and referred us to another clinic which specialised in birds, fish and reptiles. The new clinic is on the other side of Sydney and Booboo is spending the night there, having a blood test for chlamydiosis, an injection for something and being kept in a hospital cage all night.

 

On the way in the car I was beside her and fed her some millet which she ate ravenously. Then while we were at the clinic talking to the vet and also just before we left Booboo did what looked like a normal budgie dropping, seemed to be getting her energy levels back and the fluffy feathers were smoothing down a bit and she even gave two little chirps.

 

Will keep you posted.

Edited October 9, 200618 yr by Eily

Has anyone here had blood tests or injections done on their budgie? If so, how did it go?

Yes.

 

Depending upon the vet, blood samples are either gotten from clipping a toenail too short or from a vein in the neck. Since budgies are so small, I think the toenail method is probably most common. My bird did not seem any worse for the wear after giving blood, but they are used to being handled.

 

Injections are the quickest way to get meds into sick birds. As long as you are careful giving them, they can make the difference between whether a bird gets the meds it needs or not. Many times an injection will be the first course of action, followed by oral medications. Meds you put in the water are least effective, but a big reason for that is because birds will not always drink water that tastes, looks, or smells funny. If you know your bird is drinking them, they can be effective.

 

I'm sorry your bird has been ill, and hope that she pulls through.

Good news. Just spoke to the vet and she said Booboo is eating and doing normal droppings and can come home today. The antibiotics must have worked. :hap:

That's better than good news, that's great news!

 

Don't worry if you still have to medicate her at home, I'm sure you will do just fine. :hap: Keep us posted on her progress. Did the vet tell you what caused her illness?

good to hear

My husband is picking Booboo up this afternoon and will talk to the vet. If Booboo wasn't getting better we were going to bring her home anyway as the vets bills have cost us hundreds of dollars and unfortunately we can't afford to spend any more.

 

I just can't wait to see my sweet bird and will be home monitoring her for the rest of the week to make sure she's okay.

Edited October 10, 200618 yr by Eily

Booboo is home with a diagnosis of Coccidiosis. She looks her normal self, is eating seed and is chirpy but still a little tired.

 

Long Live Booboo

Edited October 10, 200618 yr by Eily