found him dead this morning. But he was fine last night, he's had a little bit of messiness around his vent, but he's been interacting normally with the female and eating and not fluffed up or anything. But today I found him lying at the bottom of the cage, and he had liquid or something around his beak.

 

It was so sudden..

sorry for your loss.

We're taking the female to the vet either today or tomorrow. She seems fine, but overnight she's had something happen to her cere, it's all messed up and bloody? (I don't know if it's blood, but her cere seems to be dented and there's black stuff on it??)

birds hide injuries well, so if they even appear to have the slightest sickness you can see in them, you need to act fast. normally by the time we spot it, it is too late

Hey lilfuzzy, Just started reading this post and was about to warn you of 'sudden death' when I read he'd already carked it.

 

Please let this post serve as a warning to all budgie lovers: pooey vents when not cleaned and meds administered immediately will very often lead to sudden death syndrome within 36 hours, sometimes less.

 

For those of you not familiar with meds or medicating, please take your bird to the Vet asap.

 

Personally I pull the bum feathers and monitor very closely. If the budgie starts sitting on the bottom of the aviary or tucks its head under its wing I remove immediately and place in a hospital cage. I usually administer Sulfa AVS via crop needle and if I can tell the bird is loosing condition I also administer Mini Boost & ER Powder (both Rob Marshall products) via crop needle.

I did clean him off, but the poo which was stuck to him never seemed to cause any problems anyway.

 

How much can I expect to pay at the vet's?

How much can I expect to pay at the vet's?

 

Depends on the vet. Best budget for $50.

I recon more than that. Its $50 min consultation usually (and thats a good price)- its more for the meds etc