Posted February 7, 200718 yr Hi all, I am new to this site, and new to owning a bird. I bought an untamed budgie a little while ago now, maybe a couple of months. Anyway when I put my arm into him he will fly madly around me, sometimes hop on, and sometimes let me give him a little rub on his belly. Well I have just come home today and his feathers were all fluffed up, thought he must have been sleeping, put my arm in, he hopped on walked out of cage, and started to wander around the house. Thought maybe he is ready to be trusting with us, but he just kept falling over like something was wrong with his feet, then I thought maybe he is just getting stuck on carpet. He is now in my lap sleeping, very lethargic I think. The only thing I have done different is give him some fresh corn, which the guy I bought it off told me to do. i am really hoping someone can give me a clue of what could be wrong and what to do, as I have no money to take the poor little fella to the vet.
February 7, 200718 yr HI and welcome first of all Could you check to see if the little man has a poopy bottom ? also feel his keel bone ( chest ) and see if it feels like he is thin....i.e. is it sticking out ? Both signs of illness and loss in bodyweight. Falling over is a sign of weakness and something to be concerned about. Have you noticed him eating properly and drinking ? Let us know, but I would be making an appointment with an avian vet based on what you have said so far. Check him over and get back to us.
February 7, 200718 yr HI and welcome first of all Could you check to see if the little man has a poopy bottom ? also feel his keel bone ( chest ) and see if it feels like he is thin....i.e. is it sticking out ? Both signs of illness and loss in bodyweight. Falling over is a sign of weakness and something to be concerned about. Have you noticed him eating properly and drinking ? Let us know, but I would be making an appointment with an avian vet based on what you have said so far. Check him over and get back to us. Thanks for your reply, he does have a smear of poop on his bum, and I do feel a chest bone, but i don't know how he looked or felt when I first got him as I have not been able to pick him up before. This bird eats all the time, hasn't appeared to be different, when he was walking around the house he kept eating crumbs etc off floor. Not sure on the drinking though, don't really see him drink a lot, but I do fill his water up so he must drink it at some stage.
February 7, 200718 yr Budgies are notorious for pretending to eat when they arent really. If you watch some sick budgies carefully they shell the seed and let all of it drop from their beaks. They pretend... as, in the wild, a sick budgie is easily a meal for a predator...so they try and seem well even when they are not. A poopy bottom is a sign of a sick budgie. A protruding keel bone is a sign of a thin budgie and staggering about is a sign of severe weakness and really something to be worried about. I know it can be hard to afford vets at times, but I would really suggest a visit to an avian vet (bird vet) as it sounds serious to me. Also, to consider...when a budgie is walking about the house "picking up crumbs" he may be ingesting something harmful to him that has made him ill. Other household things can make them ill....like vapours from teflon pans used for cooking, burning scented candles and air burners. Household cleaning products. One of my beautiful baby budgies went to its new home and was dead in weeks as they burnt scented candles next to his cage. Another from crop impaction due to unwise advice to give the youngster grit.
February 7, 200718 yr I'm sorry that your little one is sounding ill. Call a avian vet near you and tell them the problem with the money, they may organize a payment plan or willing to take payment the next week. Also to help your budgie make him warm. Put a bed lamp or desk lamp as close as possible to the cage and cover about 3/4 with a blanket to keep the heat. Giving an outside heat source means the bird doesn't have to work as hard to keep themselves warm and can use that energy to fight the illness. I don't think the corn would be at the cause of this, i give it to mine all the time and by the sound of thing the breeder had given it before.
February 7, 200718 yr I called the avian vet, they wouldn't help without payment upfront (not caring vets obviously), they put me onto the vet hospital in Nth Melb which offer payment plans, I went in they put me at the top of the emergency list but I still had to wait an hour and half, only to be told that the bird specialist had gone home for the night and will be looked at in the morning. I have left him there because they have warm cages etc, but I have been doing a little reading and found out that by the time budgies look like there is something wrong, it is generally too late, and my little boy prob won't make it thru the night.
February 7, 200718 yr I called the avian vet, they wouldn't help without payment upfront (not caring vets obviously), they put me onto the vet hospital in Nth Melb which offer payment plans, I went in they put me at the top of the emergency list but I still had to wait an hour and half, only to be told that the bird specialist had gone home for the night and will be looked at in the morning. I have left him there because they have warm cages etc, but I have been doing a little reading and found out that by the time budgies look like there is something wrong, it is generally too late, and my little boy prob won't make it thru the night. You have done all that you could. You have followed some good advice and now its in the hands of fate. Try and think positive and send some positive thoughts his way. We will too. Let us know how he goes once the vet has looked at him. :angel1: Big hugs ..Karen
February 7, 200718 yr I will be praying for your baby too. You were right to take bubbles and nerwins advice they are very wise.
February 7, 200718 yr It's good that you managed to get him ot a vet. Good luck. We will be thinking of you.
February 7, 200718 yr Hi, I am wishing all the best for your Budgie. Send loving and positive thoughts his way. Feathers.
February 7, 200718 yr Glad you took him in, he is the best possible place for now and will keep my fingers crossed for you. :greenb:
February 13, 200718 yr Hi Everyone, I am very sorry for taking so long to get back, have been extremely busy. Well my boy beat the odds and is on the way up, the vet honestly thought he wouldn't make it, but he did. He was at the vets for three days, they have given me anti biotics to give him daily for a week, they are not hundred percent sure but really just guessing he had picked up a virus. When i first brought him home he still appeared quite week, shaking a little, and just not chirping like he normally does, but yesterday he started to chirp and fly around, today he seems right back to normal. He's a fighter. Thanks for everyones hopeful thought's
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