hello,

im worried about beaker and mabey hen, last night he seemed to be breathing hard, this morning he still is, open mouth , tail pumping when at rest, she has been out of the box ALOT today, ive been watching every minute, he still, eats and drinks like a maniack,screames at the birds and squirrels outside,eats mineral block and cuttlebone,feeds her and checks on clutch,flyes and grooms himself and her,explores his playgym and forages for food on bottom of cage, eating alot of ka,e and broccoli, but when at rest he holds his wings out alittle and quivers and really breathes hard,i thought i saw her do it awhile ago, i have dealt with alot of birds and can usually spot a sick one, but he really seems fine ,i at the vets request did listen to his lungs with a scope and they are clear, no nasle discharge, he kinda clicks when he breathes, but im sure its his beak, do ya think he could have injured himself? hes a great flyer, no crash landings that ive seen, it is 86 degrees in here, but hes free to move free around the room, i cant belive hes hot, but thats what it looks like, im watching her now, shes hanging outside of the box alot today, these chix are to young for me to pull, they all seem fine, man i hate this, any sugjestions to what it could be, is he just tired from working so hard to take care of her,? hope this all makes sense im no typist,

juliet

Budgies can have some symptoms of being sick and not all doesn't mean that they are not sick. They are masters at hiding their illness. Plus he main concern is taking care of the hen so even if he is sick he won't stop until he drops.

 

I suggest removing him from his mate and put him in a hospital cage and your choice (as everyone is different) I personally would take him right up to the avian vet to be exam so they can swap his throat, test his dropping and do a physical to see what is going on. Then if he is sick they may also have you treat your hen since budgies sickness can spread.

 

Here is one of our articles form our FAQ section, the clicking of the beak is a sign of sickness.

 

Birds are susceptible to an avian cold virus. If not treated the condition could develop into another condition, especially pneumonia.

 

They can not catch a cold from a human being but they can get sick from our salvia or salvia from other animals. So sharing food that you bit into or giving kisses directly on the beak is not recommended.

 

Symptoms: Nasal discharge, sneezing, listlessness, difficulty breathing, lack of appetite, eyes watery, feathers ruffled, tail pumping when breathing.

 

Treatment: Isolate the bird from the flock and place in a warm cage with temperature at 80 to 85 degrees F. Apply inhalant to keep nasal passages clear. Monitor that the bird is continuing to eat. Aureomycin will sometimes help but is not always effective.

 

Make an appointment with your Avian Vet. Finding an Avian Vet

 

Respiratory infections are not always detected. Budgies are masters at hiding their illness until it is too late. Always observe your budgies habits on a daily basis such as eating, respiratory, activity level, you can check your budgie over with your eyes by looking at nasal passages, their dropping, eating behavior and more.

 

Click here for more information Signs of a healthy budgie AND Signs of a sick budgie

Edited November 14, 200717 yr by Elly

thanks, i have talked to a vet this morning, he is a great vet for exotics,only recentley the owner of the clinic decided not to see any exotics anymore, this vet is calling me back after hours today, im in the boonies here, hes 1 hour away. not to far for me, he keeps me set with antibiotics and supplys for the animals i have, i have an injectable antibiotic here for respiritory infections in birds, hes trying to find me a doesage for such a small guy,inbetween clients, i also have meds for the water, but was afraid for the chicks, i will removw him if ya think the hen will be able to take care of the babys, should i let her continue since he is feeding her?i thought i saw some of the behavior from her awhile ago, im with these guys all day right now, not working this winter, i can pull the babys but the 2 youngest are very smal, ahhhhhhhhh, okay im taking beaker out now, thanks, we did have a sick kid here 2 days ago, but she didnt handle the birds, and they dont eat from our mouths, why????????

juliet,

All the breeders that can answer this are sleeping but I do know this if he is sick yes he can be pulled and the hen will continue taking care of the babies on her own. If she is sick though this can run her down so make sure the babies' crops are filled and keep an eye on them and be prepared to hand feed if necessary.

 

If they are both sick the best thing is to get an answer ASAP so you can get them both treated. Pray that the babies haven't gotten sick from the parents.

 

I hope that all goes well and this is a very minor problem.

 

You may try PM'ing Norm he does have experience and maybe able to help you too.

Edited November 14, 200717 yr by Elly

thanks, my vet called before i pulled the male, to tell me he didnt forget me, and that the meds i have are for respiritory infections, ive used the injectable on very small sick chicken chicks , it works well for snotty chickens, he still doesnt have a dose, but he will, i forgot to tell ya the avian vet that is closer [seems knowledgable] is ut of town till monday , i did take a turkey to him with broken wing and he was good with it , i figured till the vet calls tonight ill leave the pair alone, i am ready with the brooder and formula if i need it and have a cage set up for him, i figured sinse hes spitting on her and her the kids, ill be lucky if they all dont get sick, if he is? but big thanks this is killing me,juliet

From your description it sounds like heat stress, but if it’s not hot it could be just exhaustion from feeding the babies. How many batches have they had this time & how many babies in each batch.

 

If he is still feeding well as you say, I don’t think it can be something drastic, as if Budgies get real sick they will sit fluffed up or have signs of diarrhoea around their vent. Some birds can raise many batches without getting exhausted, but others will soon get exhausted & it can kill them. If this batch of young are less than 4 chicks & the hen is well she could raise them herself, but if more it could be too much for her. How old are the oldest chicks in the batch as if they are about 28 days old, they could be removed so that they can start feeding themselves. If you are seeing the vet, maybe it’s best to go by his advise, as he can see your bird.

hello

it is 85 degrees in the house, 4 babys in nest, oldest chick is 7 days old, the vet is going to calll me with a dose for injectable antibiotics if needed, this is the very first clutch for these birds, i feel better, hes a young bird, 2-3 yrs old, so if hes just tired, i imagine he will be okay, ill keep watching him, it looks bad when he gets into the breething thing, he is a maniac eating drinking feeding her so much she has to stop and the gross food just comes out on the ground, then he eats more and starts over, what a guy. thanks so much,

juliet

hello

it is 85 degrees in the house, 4 babys in nest, oldest chick is 7 days old, the vet is going to calll me with a dose for injectable antibiotics if needed, this is the very first clutch for these birds, i feel better, hes a young bird, 2-3 yrs old, so if hes just tired, i imagine he will be okay, ill keep watching him, it looks bad when he gets into the breething thing, he is a maniac eating drinking feeding her so much she has to stop and the gross food just comes out on the ground, then he eats more and starts over, what a guy. thanks so much,

juliet

 

Maybe if he's feeding so much, taking him out of the cage to give him a short rest might be a good idea, then return him later, see how much it stresses him out if it stresses him, it wont do that much good.

sounds good hes a tame bird, ill put him on his plsy gym for awhile after he finishes feeding her, i just banded baby #2 so they are feeding again, thanks so much for careing,

juliet

sounds good hes a tame bird, ill put him on his plsy gym for awhile after he finishes feeding her, i just banded baby #2 so they are feeding again, thanks so much for careing, juliet

My pleasure.What I think would be ideal if you had it, was to put him by himself in another cage with food & water so that he could feed & then have time to absorb some of it for himself. Some birds especially cocks can be mad feeders to the determent of themselves. A rest of an hour or two once or twice a day till he calmed down could be good.

okay i have a cage ready now, small but it will work, i did feel his keel and he doesnt seem underweight, ill take him to the bathroom with his full spectrum light for a couple hours, that will give him time after for a final feed of mom before bed, its a day earlyer and 5 pm, here, thanks so much, the vet should call soon,

juliet

vet called, he does trust my judgement on his lung sounds, he gave me a dosage for the injectable tylasan. and does also agree with you about stress, tired, he said your idea is good since hes doing all hes doing, and to rest him several times a day. call him day or night if i need him at home, and watch, sinse hes a first dad may be going overboard, so ill call him with a report tomarrow, i just put him back with the family and let him do his thing and covered them for bed, im still stressed but feel better, you guys are great, the vet thinks so to,

juliet

Juliet you received excellent advice, I knew Norm could help you out .

thank you all, beaker is calmer today, still brathes kinda hard, tail pumps but closed beak breathing, still the lungs sound good, im going to reat him a couple of times again today, im interested as the day goes on if he will get worse like he was yesterday, the vet said that would help us tell if its him stressing or wearing out, i do have the meds but am advised not to give the shot till were sure hes not just tired, i feel confidant with that, so far all are okay in the nest box, baby #3 gets banded today, i sure dont want to lose these guys, i will update later, thanks again,

juliet

Thanks for the update, I hope all goes well.

you welcome, he is better as long as i rest him, still watching close, thanks all,

juliet