My new blue hen has been dropping her head a lot and just seemed to be off-colour. I know I'm really new at this, but I just had a feeling something was up.

 

While I would prefer to disturb them as little as possible in the first few days, it was worrying me. I noticed a bit of green under her and wanted to see if she was messy. I pulled her out of the cage and had a look, and there was a big ball of caked/solid droppings, about the size of a large pea - the vent was completely blocked by this big solid lump, tangled up in her feathers.

 

It was pretty difficult to shift it (mostly because she was scared, not because it was stuck to her skin or anything - once I could get her kicking legs out of the way, I could get the mass off).

 

I cleaned her up as best I could with a bit of warm water and I can actually see the vent now. She is still a bit messy but it worries me to feel their little hearts beating so fast, I didn't want her to keel over from stress (not to mention the indignity of it all!)

 

She definitely seems brighter already, she is chattering, grinding her beak and seems less morose.. but she is still sitting with her head a little low, a bit hunched (not sure if some budgies rest this way).

 

 

 

Is this something that happens commonly? Is it caused by the stress of moving around (from store to home, possibly a change in diet), or a symptom of something more sinister? Is there something else I should do, or just keep an eye on her for now?

 

Do some budgies rest with their heads forward, looking hunched? That's probably a really stupid question but I don't mind looking dumb. I just want to be able to recognise what a budgie looks like when it's starting to get sick (rather than when it's REALLY sick).

 

Thanks again.

Quick update, I covered them and left them alone, just had a peek inside now and she is sitting up much taller, doesn't seem so miserable. She's also sitting next to the water, which is good (nice to know she knows where it is, even if I'm not sure if they have had anything to drink yet).

 

Should I ditch the veges? Increase them? Stick to plain seed? etc to try to regulate her a bit..?

 

 

 

Obviously I will go to the vet if necessary (note: my rats and I practically paid for half of my vet hospital - I'm no stranger!) but I live out of town and don't want to put her through the stress of another trip unless it's definitely necessary.

Edited March 31, 200916 yr by Emma

I'm certainly no expert, but the first thing the experts on here ask when a budgie is under the weather is if they have a messy tail pipe, so I'd personally err on the side of caution and take it to the vet.

Edited March 31, 200916 yr by Hills

The Vet would be your safest bet, an avian Vet would be even better.

Have you got her on spark or an electrolite of some sort as this seems to help them with the stress of changes.

Hope she is better in the morning.

Yeah I agree with the others... a vet check up sounds like your best option... sometimes they can look like they are getting better only to take a steep dive...

Edited March 31, 200916 yr by JimmyBanks

When you get birds with messy bottoms, it is vital that you pull all the soiled feathers out. that way any future poop wont stick again too. If she starts to look fluffed, put a lamp (25 - 40 watts ) on her. Your best bet would be to take her to the vet and have her tested for all the nasties that they can carry.

I checked her first thing this morning, she is MUCH brighter, and she's not blocked up again. Her droppings were fresh, which was a big relief, and they looked good (well, as good as they can!). That made me feel much better, to know that things are working again and she isn't blocked up anymore.

 

Normally I take my animals to the vet anytime I have the slightest idea they might be ill, for a while there I was starting to wear a groove between my place and the surgery. But in this case I have only just brought her home and apparently stressed her out a lot doing that. It would be around about a 2 hour round trip and it's still stupidly hot up here, so I want to avoid putting her in the car if I can, I don't want to stress her out even more. To be honest when I lifted the cover this morning I half expected her to be belly up from all the stress last night.

 

But I will check her again when I get home and take her if she has started to look bad again.

 

I'm really glad I followed my instincts, it was acting like a cork on the poor thing.. apart from feeling wretched I can only imagine she would have lasted for a couple more days (if that) before being seriously ill

 

They (either one or both of the girls) had messy, wet droppings at first when I brought them home (I assumed stress) but I didn't think to check them in the next couple of days to make sure those wet droppings didn't cling to them and start blocking things up.

 

 

 

 

I'm not familiar with "spark" - what is that?

 

Also, I'd like to drop into my vet on Friday (hopefully I won't need to go sooner, touch wood) to load up on any necessary medications. What are the "must-haves" that I should try to keep on hand (other than the basics like Ivermectin)? Which of them are easily obtained "over the counter", and which ones will likely need an actual consultation? I have an excellent relationship with my vet/s, they came to trust my knowledge with my rats and would happily decant Baytril and Ivermectin for me, and hand over tubes of Doxy etc.

 

I have some of the basics but I want to make sure that I have a well-stocked medicine cabinet BEFORE my flock grows any more.

 

If you were writing a shopping list of "standby meds" for a brand new budgie owner, what would it be?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Edit: oh, thanks Liv, you replied while I was writing. I actually trimmed some of the feathers away last night, I think it helped a lot. I will check her again as soon as I get home and then go from there. I have a spare lamp, I'll grab some 25watt bulbs.

 

Edit2: I just phoned my mum and got her to go check (heh). She is moving around and chirping and seems animated. I've asked her to check her a few times today and keep me updated. Mums are great!

 

Will keep checking and if she starts looking sad again, I will take her in. She wasn't fluffed up by the way - just sitting, which makes it very hard to tell the difference between "I'm confused and scared about this new place and I'm going to sit in one spot for 2 days" and "I'm sick and I'm going to sit in one spot in 2 days". She didn't look unhealthy really, not puffed up or anything - I just had a hunch that something was up.

Edited March 31, 200916 yr by Emma

A vet visit is always a good thing and if you think she needs to go take her.

 

However I have one hen that does this, she gets a poo ball and then when I remove it a large amount of poo comes out at the same time. The vet has told me it's the way she sits on the ground (she like bunkering down in the shavings on the floor of the cage). Basically if you picked a bird up in the heat and they sit in the box they could cause the blockage. You just have to keep checking them and make sure that they are going to the toliet on a reg base and also check the colour of the poo. It also could be caused by the fact that she might have an egg coming so the poos are always bigger if this is the case. I would add extra calcuim to the water (or even if you feel up to it a few drops on the beak) and just keep and eye on her. Warmth is also something that will not go astray.

 

Good luck and keep us updated.

Thanks

 

I called my vet and found out that their avian vet moved to Brisbane >_< So I am going to make some calls today to see if there is an actual avian vet in town.

 

Very good point about them sitting in the box on the way home and making a mess of their feathers etc.

 

I will put some paper towels down when I get home so I can keep a better eye on things. I know she had done some normal droppings this morning (which was a huge relief), but I'll keep watching.

 

I'm not sure if they've had anything to drink yet, but it's not saying much really, the cage isn't sitting in my line of sight and I keep it mostly covered anyway. When I cover them entirely I hear them moving around - I take that as "phew, she's gone, now we can relax!"

 

I'm still ready to take her to the vet if she is still poorly this afternoon. Just want to minimise the stress if possible.

poopy bottoms is common in newly homed birds. Its normally caused by not eating. The poo will be runny a green if its caused by lack of food and will return to normal with in 12 hours of eating well. If they are eating and still have the yucky poo, then there is possibly something more sinister going on.

 

Sparks is like redbull for budgies. Well its more like gateraide, as its full of electrolytes etc, but it perks them up and helps them deal with stress. I use pure raspberry cordial with mine

What you have in your first aid kit depends on how far you want to go. it can get quite costly and some stuff will expire without even being used.

 

Budgie first aid kit should include:

Sulfa meds (for diarrhea and coccidiosis)

Calcivet (calcium )

Probiotic ( general well being)

Broad spectrum antibiotic (for emergency bacterial infection - still need to take them to the vet though as it might be the wrong medicine, but it should give you time to get them there)

Crop needle (ask your vet to show you how to use it)

 

There are more too, but the diseases they treat are getting quite serious and you would be better off going to the vet as you could be wasting money on medications you may never use.

Emma you didn't manage to get any high quality close up pics of the poop did ya??? thanks for not showing them if you did

Emma you didn't manage to get any high quality close up pics of the poop did ya??? thanks for not showing them if you did

:rofl: :rofl:

No, I'll spare you all photos

 

There's nothing unusual to see, anyway - it's the normal colour/consistency (sorry if that's tmi ).. just that it is getting stuck.

 

I checked her last night - it was starting to stick and dry again. Removed it all and trimmed away some more feathers (I really need to get some nail scissors or something).

 

Checked again this morning and some had stuck to her again but this time not to the feathers, like it is just sitting there and not dropping, grr. Clench, you silly bird, clench!

 

 

Is there anything I can do (other than trimming away the feathers) to stop it happening? Or do I just keep checking her and cleaning her up? Will it stop?

 

She does look much better and brighter though, which is good. Much more active, not as droopy or miserable looking. So at the moment it's just the frustration of having to keep checking to make sure the problem isn't happening all over again.

 

Tips appreciated

Pluck the feathers, it doesn't hurt them and it stops the poop sticking. you are aiming for a bald spot big enough to completely expose the vent and some skin around it. .

okay, I'll do that later - although she already has a big bald spot from the trimming I have already done - it's quite bare. But I can finish the job.

 

The last one was actually sticking to the skin, not to the feathers. Well, not really stuck, just sitting there on the vent rather than dropping to the ground.

 

 

 

 

PS I don't think she likes me much now