Last night was a rough night. In the middle of the night my husband told me he thinks that we might only have 2 birds in the morning. Baby's looking really rough. He wasn't very descriptive. I ran out to check on her and she hardly moved at all to greet me and sat very still on her perch. I told her how much we loved her and kissed at her before I went back to bed cuz I knew there really wasn't anything I could do for her. When I got back he asked me if she was still gasping for breath. She only yawned once, so it was an improvement. We talked more about her condition and he said she was all wobbly and gasping for breath and she was closing her eyes weird. He gave her a little bit of her favorite treat - fortune cookies, thinking that maybe the high sugar content would give her some energy to get better. We went out to visit her some more and she still was very inactive, though she had enough energy to bite my nose (and leave marks! *(Laughing out loud)*), get some water and bite her cuttlebone. This morning she peeped a couple of times, though not nearly as much as usual, and when I came home from class, she was up on her playground foraging, so she's okay. She just rang her bell too, so she's feeling a little better than she was last night.

 

About a week or so ago, she lost ALLLL kinds of feathers, more than I've seen her molt before. I figured she was just molting, but usually we see pinfeathers right away. We didn't. It kind of was worrying me until they started showing up a day or two ago. She hasn't been getting around as well as she used to too. She's still rather active, but has a tough time flying up to the top of her cage from the floor now and she's not as efficient climbing around her cage and on the floor and stuff. She's still eating, but not as often as she used to. We don't think she's really sick, just starting to show her age.

 

It's so sad to see her all ratty and crotchety looking. Jared really doesn't like the idea of bringing her to the vet, and I'm not sure they'd tell us anything more than she's just getting really old at this point. We've kind of agreed a while ago that we'd let her go when she's ready cuz she's so old and has had such a good, long life. We don't need to prolong any misery and create stress trying to treat something. Wait. That sounds *really* bad. Its more like euthanizing the old cat who has kidney and liver failure rather than trying to treat it. If she broke a bone, we'd most definitely get it fixed!

 

Being a vet tech, I have a tough time just standing aside and letting her die though. I feel like if she's not actually sick, we should give her the best care we can (and the same even if she was sick). I'm guessing that this molt is going to be super hard on her and may even be the end for her. What sort of things can we do to optimize her poor little old body? Is there anything we should avoid?

I'm sorry to hear that Baby is doing badly. :bluebudgie:

 

It's a tough call on whether or not the vet would be a good idea. I have to admit, if she looks strong enough to make the trip, I would probably do that. But I'm not you, haven't had this bird fifteen years, and can only say what I would do based on really basic facts.

 

What you can do at home is keep her in a warm, quiet, room (best if she's kept in the room she's used to right now, just keep it warm and quiet there). If she's looking really fluffy it means she's cold and you may have to put a heating pad under her cage (set on low with a towel over it) or a heat lamp on one side so that she has an extra source of warmth.

 

I can't remember if you've quarantined the new birds from her or not? If not, it's quite possible they brought in something that easily affected her due to her age/weaker immune system. A bacterial infection could be the problem and this is easily treated by the vet so again, the vet might just be a good idea right now. In the meantime, if she'll eat fat free plain yogurt (with live cultures, it'll say that on the label) that could help boost her digestive system. Do her droppings look normal?

I am sorry to hear that she is not feeling well. I am not sure what you are looking for here as a response for your post. Personally I would take her to a registered avian vet, though 15 is old it doesn't mean she is done. My grandma's keet lived to be 18 years old. My dog is 18yr and on his last leg and I have take him to the vet quite a bit over the last year and he has rebounded back when they help him out with his pain and inflammation etc...

 

I believe we have a responsibility to our birds. Iif you believe for any second that a vet trip could make her feel better that it is worth it. Just because she is a bird and not a dog doesn't mean we shouldn't give the same care and respect. (not saying you don't or do just putting it out there on the boards - so PLEASE don't take me wrong).

 

In the end you will make the decision and you will need to feel at peace with it. If you are fighting these emotions should I shouldn't you need to weigh all the pros and cons, as you are the only one who knows your bird and situation best.

 

As for the moult it could be nutritional disorder and this is why she is loosing so many feathers or it could be a bacterial or virus that is afflicting her because her immune system is down. But you will never really know unless she is take to an avian vet - we can't determine why her molt is so bad this time around. When a bird molts their immune system can decline so a good balance diet of veggies, fruits, seed and supplements may be what she needs. I am not saying run off to the pet store and by her vitamins (I think a vet should check her over first) and help you in that decision.

 

I wish you the best - your baby has lived a wonderful long life. Keep us updated please, we care.

Thank you... I'll try the yogurt and veggies and fruits, though who knows if she'll eat them cuz she has only been offered fresh food since July and she's pretty picky about what she'll try.

 

Her poops do look normal.

 

Actually, she's been lifting her wings like she's warm fairly often. Our place is pretty warm cuz we have the reptile heaters and we're on the top floor of our building. It just occured to me that maybe she's running a temp...!

 

I'll continue to give a vet trip some thought because you do bring up good points. I'm not all that familiar with bird health as I've only had them since July when Jared's parents moved to Florida and we got her. I grew up with dogs and cats.

 

I'm an old pro at knowing when to let animals go, so i don't need much advice there. Baby still has some life in her yet, so I'm wanting to do what we can to keep her around as long as we can and she wants to.

 

Here's a thought.... the new birds seem pretty healthy. Could they pass something on that isn't affecting them? Maybe its different for birds, but I would think that all the birds would be showing the same symptoms if it was something like that. Looking at the calendar, we actually have had the pair since the end of October if that helps.

It's very possible for them to pass on an illness that they're showing no signs of.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that birds hide their illness until they just can't any longer. It's one defense they have against predators in the wild. A sick bird quickly becomes a meal whereas healthy ones don't stand out as much.

 

I would definitely at least given an avian vet a call, bird health is a tricky thing and the more I think of it, I do have to agree 100% with lovey in that if there is something that can be done, you should try for it. It sounds like you feel this way as well and that's good.

 

Another thing to consider is that if you find something wrong with her that is contagious, you'll know to treat your other two budgies for it as well.

excellent point at the end Terri, I agree with that. Even if you are unable to help her it could be saving your birds that are healthy . Keep us updated.

Edited December 5, 200618 yr by lovey

yeah, that's a good thing to remember too Terri!

 

After talking more with my husband, he did agree that taking her to the vet would certainly do no harm. I reminded him that we can choose what treatments she'll get too. He told me that over the years there were two times where they thought she might die and they thought about bringing her in, but she pulled out of it on her own. She's a fighter, rather stubborn too, and we kind of sense that she's like those little old people who just refuse to die. If she does have some sort of bug, it wouldn't be fair to her NOT to treat it.

 

So she has an appt at the vet tomorrow afternoon. I've heard nothing but good things about this place from friends at school who have brought their small animals and reptiles there and there seems to be a lot of good information about birds on their website too. They're part of the ***'n of Avian vets, so I think they'll be good. Luckily, they're just down the road from us, so it won't be a long trip - just 5 minutes or so. Baby's a pretty hardy bird, so we don't think the trip will be too stressful on her either.

 

I got her to play with a carrot today. I'm not sure how much she actually ingested, but she did get a few good stabs at it. She seems to think its a fun thing to attack. *L* I'm sure its better than nothing. I'm gonna get some yogurt and other stuff to feed her tonight. She's been up and around a bunch today, even flew a little bit, so for a bird that's under the weather, I think she's doing pretty well. It will be interesting to find out what the vet thinks.

glad to hear please keep us updated

Good Luck to you, I feel better already knowing she is being checked out.

thanks!

 

She's already made leaps and bounds at looking better. I'm now having fun trying to get her to eat new things. *L* She took a beakful of yogurt and a small taste of an orange pepper, but she was getting irritated at me shoving things in her face. *(Laughing out loud)* I don't want to push it TOO much, but if I keep at it a little bit several times a day, she just might get a little bit of what she needs.

Sounds good. :ausb: Make sure she's still got plenty of her seed too, wouldn't want her losing any weight since she's ill. But that's great that she's trying some new things!