I wrote this on the health boards on 25th April called 'constipated? straining, colourless and yellow 'poos''

 

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I'm new to budgie's and their care but I can tell my budgie isn't very happy today. Although she was okay this morning, now

she's sitting on her perch with her eyes squinted and her feathers fluffed up a little bit. She doesn't seem very interested in me when I'm looking at her and moving around her cage she just sits there. Normally her poos are green and white, I've heard this is normal for a budgie who's only fed seed (?). Today though she seems to be constipated. I had a look at her back end and it looked like she was straining then I saw there was some thick yellowy gunk coming out which I wiped away. I checked her a little while after that and held her again, she wasn't chirping much, then suddenly she pooed in my hand but the 'poo' was colourless, slightly more viscous than water, with bits of blackish coloured stuff in it. I cleaned that up and again the yellowy gunk came out.

Whats happening? I haven't had her for that long but I'm really worried about her!

People in the forums keep mentioning avian vets, does that mean I should find a specialist avian vet or could I take her to my usual vets? Don't all vets learn about all animals?

Sorry if I sound dumb, I've never kept a bird before!

and LATER...

Well I left the house for a little while and covered my bird's cage and when I got back she seemed happier. She had a fly about a couple of times then walked around the bottom of the cage picking up seeds she'd flicked out. There was some poop on the floor of the cage that hadn't been there before so I guess she must have managed to 'relieve' herself. I'm still a bit worried though, I'll be contacting the vet tomorrow probably.

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After posting those posts my bird was sort of back to normal.

 

However, today I got home and my mum said she'd taken the bird to the vets. My budgie had fell off her perch then slid down the bars of the cage, she was on the ground standing and trying to look through the tray of the cage. Then she put her head in the corner and 'collapsed' with her legs splayed out at the sides. She moved over to another corner of the tray and was flapping her wings but her legs were still out, she was breathing slow and shallowly. My mum covered her cage and took her to the vets (my budgie's never been to a vet before and as it was an emergency mum just took her to the normal vets we go to). During the 20 or so minutes it took to get to the vets, the budgie was standing up and when they got to the vets she was back on her perch again. The vet said it could be due to stress. My mum mentioned the bird had been licking the paint on the walls and the vet said if it was toxic, she'd be dead already but try to discourage her from licking the walls. (My rabbits lick the carpet to show me indirect affection when I'm looking at them, is this what my budgie is doing?) I've LIGHTLY wiped Vaseline (petroleum jelly) over the walls where she licks but it hasn't made an effect! My mum told the vet that we have the bird cage near the window, she can see out of the window at least, the vet said to move her to a darker quieter place in the room. The vet said if it happens again, cover her cage (I thought that was pathetic/obvious), he said it was "bizarre" behaviour.

 

The vet gave her 0.1ml of Baytril antibiotics to put in her seed for any underlying problem. I've put it in her seed and shes eating it. I've been getting Baytril for my rats for years so I know about it, it seems to be the only antibiotic prescribed for animals smaller than a rabbit these days!

 

When my mum and the bird got home, the bird was fine and she was flying about for quite a while, chirping loudly and just being how she normally is around dinner time.

 

I got my bird from a friend of mine. Most of the time she was in a darkish corner of their dining room and wasn't seen to much except to change her food and water. They moved her into the hall way, which is also quite dark as well but people walked past her cage more because the stairs were in the hall.

 

When she came to my house we placed her quite near the television and she has a good view out of the window. I thought maybe the television and cars, people and lights going past the window may have frightened her. I've had her about two months. She had this one episode where I found her sitting on the floor of the cage, I didn't know what to do I just watched her and after about 20 minutes - half an hour, she was back sitting on her perch again. Since then shes been okay, except from another half a day of quietness and just not being herself and then of course what I posted up there.

 

I've never kept birds before, I really hate not knowing much about them but I'm trying to learn as fast as I can. Maybe she's been too shocked by changing houses and her previous house she was kept in the reasonable quiet and nothing much happened around her (for the over two years that she was there) but now shes at my house.

 

Whats happening? What am I doing wrong? I've been looking up vets in my area (North East of England) and I've found some posts on another board that mention a vets nearby (Morpeth, north of Newcastle), but that vet is for all animals, the man who posted just takes his birds there he said they're good.

 

This has got really long! Sorry theres a few questions sort of in-built into the post.

 

I keep calling my bird the budgie or the bird in this post, truth is I've called her Sherbet but I don't think she suits it and we usually call her 'Little Bird' but I don't know, I just didn't write that in the post! I have a rat called Ruby but we call her 'Little Rat' because she is ((Laughing out loud)) maybe I should just call Sherbet 'Little Bird'

You have certainly had a rough time with this little bird, haven't you? An episode like what your mum described would have really thrown me into a panic. Yellow feces are not normal, falling off the perch is not normal either. I would get her to an avian vet as soon as possible for fecal testing, probably bloodwork too. She could have some low-level toxicosis of some sort, I'd have that checked out. I'm not sure how antiibiotics in the seed will get into the bird since the shells are hulled off and not eaten. Stress may be part of it, but stress shouldn't have anything to do with what color the feces are. Please find a vet that is experienced in dealing with birds, and keep us posted.

 

Has she always been fed a seed-only diet? If so, once she gets a thorough checking out, that is one thing you should try to change as it could be part of her problems.

definitely get a new vet. an avian one will be able to help you. your bird sounds seriously ill and it certainly doesnt sound like a behavioural thing. budgies do not have those types of droppings and they do not fall off their perch unless something is very seriously wrong. baytrill is fine for treating respiratory infections in budgies but it SHOULD NOT be put in the seed. budgies hull their seeds so the medication wont be being digested at all. the only way any sort of antibiotics should be administered is via syringe directly into the mouth.

 

please try to find an avian vet in your area - try looking on yell.com if no luck then take your bird to a different vet and ask to be referred on to an avian and exotic animal vet. they should be happy to refer you. your little bird needs as much help as he can get and very quickly. if your budgie has already collapsed there is the risk that its illness could be fatal if it is not treated correctly in time.

 

good luck and keep us posted x

Hi nash86,

See if this link helps at all.

 

http://www.birdcareco.com/English/Retailer...ailer.html#tyne

 

If not let us know your nearest large town please.

Julie

Thanks very much for your help.

 

Rainbow - Yes she's always been on a seed-only diet her previous owners didn't know much about budgies really. I'm taking one of my rats to the vets this week I'll ask my vet if she can refer me to someone.

pixie25 - I would have thought she'd get some of the Baytril in her mouth when she picks the seed up and turn in with her beak and tongue ? I've just put it in the seed for today, I don't want to stress her anymore by picking her up she isn't hand tame yet.

julie - Newcastle-Upon-Tyne or Sunderland are my nearest large towns, that link was just for a shop wasn't it? Or should I email the owner and ask where he takes his birds?

she wont get any benefit from having it in the seed unfortunately if only it was that simple. also, make sure she is still eating the seeds, sometimes budgies will stop eating something if they dont like the taste. you should be monitoring her eating as much as possible

 

the antibiotics need to be swallowed if they are going to do any good at all. both of my budgies are on antibiotics at the moment and the easiest way to get them to eat it is to get them in a teatowel and let them bite on your thumb. it is much easier with two people.

 

if you go to another ordinary vet then dont let them fob you off with putting it in the water either - the dosage is all wrong as budgies hardly ever drink - especially sick budgies.

 

let us know how you get on finding a vet x

Edited April 25, 200520 yr by pixie25

Hi again Nash86,

if you look on the left of that page there is a button to press which says'avian vets'.

Julie

Hi again Nash86,

if you look on the left of that page there is a button to press which says'avian vets'.

Julie

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Thanks but it says no vets in my selected county (Tyne and Wear)

Hi again Nash86,

if you look on the left of that page there is a button to press which says'avian vets'.

Julie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks but it says no vets in my selected county (Tyne and Wear)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes but it also says to contact them and they will see if they can help?

Edited April 26, 200520 yr by Julie

I know you said you lightly applied vaseline to the portion of the wall where the budgie was licking, but I can't help but wonder if PETROLEUM-based jelly being continually ingested by the bird isn't harming it ? You mentioned viscous yellow discharge, I can't help but correlate that vaseline is also a viscous yellow product. I would scrub that wall until there is not a chance of one vaseline molecule being on it, and even then stop the bird from licking the wall at any costs. I know you said you've lightly applied the vaseline, but these birds only weigh a few grams, and it would take only a teeny tiny bit of anything harmful to cause a reaction. Until someone can verify that it is not harmful for a budgie or any other living creature to ingest petroleum jelly, I am wary that this may be the cause of the problem.

please, do NOT apply petroleum jelly to your bird! it is NOT(in my honest oppinion) a good thing to use under any circumstances. The problem with applying antibiotic to seed is that most of it gets wasted through the hulling of the seed, BUT, .1 ml is a reasonably high dose, so that may be to help conpensate for the waste. A pro-biotic wouldnt go amiss, as anti biotic, whilst good for clearing up none viral infection, can play havoc with a birds stomach floras, and a pro-biotic used side by side with antibiotic counteracts these side affects.

its not a lot of help, but hopefully a bit. Also, your vet can always RING an avian vet for guidance during consultation if he/she is unsure what to do.

Good luck! And dont give up! Push your vet!

Anne