I went to the Fairfield show on the weekend and luckily only bought one budgie for my wife for mothers day. Her request. I used to breed budgies/parrotts as a teen and young adult but stopped after having kids family etc. I let my wife pick the bird she wanted and paid good money compared to what others were selling for because its was what she wanted. This bird was priced at the higher end because he was split to good breeding and would throw good mutations if i were to breed him.

 

When i examined him at home before i put him in the cage, i noticed the beak was not normal and appears to have a hole in it and distorted in shape and colour. Like a fungal infection we get in our toe nails.

 

I examined his vent and found it all caked up as well.

 

I have attached photos, hope they load as i am new to this forum.

 

He hasnt done one visible dropping on the cage floor in 36 hours. He is eating drinking normal. I believe any droppings are just accumulating around his vent.

 

I cant justify the cost for a trip to the vet for one sick bird but am pretty savvy having lived with a vet for a few years and being involved in birds most of my life. I have in the cupboard

 

Sulphur D, cod liver oil, vaseline and bird lice dusting powder. Could also buy some parraffin oil if required.

 

Can some more experienced folk look and suggest what might be an effective treatment to start him on from what i have at home in the cupboard. I know ivec?? whatever is available from the vet but i really cant afford to spend big bucks on one sick bird. If there were a few i wouldnt hesitate but for a budgie i bought a few days ago, home treatment with whats available is all i can justify. I am really upset with so called breeders who take sick birds to the show and sell them for top dollar and would know the birds are sick. I am tempted to catch this guy at the castle hill show in July and return him the bird (alive or dead) if its not healed by then.

 

The green stuff on his beak is from him picking around his vent and getting waste matter on his beak.

Should i wash his vent in warm water to remove build up???

 

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/p...a/budh_4131.jpg

Edited May 4, 201015 yr by KAZ
edited one picture to link as it was oversized by forum rules

Always look UNDER the bird at the vent and less so at the colour or type of bird. A vent like that is more than just stress of the day. Indicates health issue. The beak is far from normal and may even be diagnosed by a vet as having a beak and feather disease.

This is a bird that should not have been sold in my opinion.

 

Urgently the vent needs washing and removal of buildup as it cannot poop with that plug of cr*p there.

 

Make a phonecall to the organisers of the event and make a formal complaint and send photos.

Edited May 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

to clean him up is a start

i would pluck the feathers off around vent myself so i could see whats going on down their

 

and wash his beak

 

i know you dont want to take to vet

but if you have been around a vet for years and knolagable with birds

how did you miss the first rule when buting a budgie ? bird

 

CHEAK FEET BEAK VENT AND WATCH TO SEE ITS FLYING AND ACTIVE

 

im sorry but its your fault not the dodgie breeder who sold him in first place

as you should have cheaked him thourowly

 

i always ask to hold bird before i buy now

as weaight may look good but it could be all feather

 

either be willing to pay costs needed to have bird or dont have i think your aditude is wrong sorry but one bird come paried to many i dont see the diffrents in paying cost

if it dies you will most probbly go buy another one a good avian vet wont charge a heap

and ever animal desirves the best

even if it is just stuck in a cage in the corner

 

i do hope you can fix him yourself may be simple as cleaning him up makeing sure he eats as he looks very young

sometimes young birds get poo bums because they arnt eatting enough

 

good luck but please if no one her can help you

please consider vet again

 

im sorry im not much help and all mouth but it anoys me people saying a animals life is not justafiable enough to spend money on to save

 

why buy it in first place

im sorry im not much help and all mouth but it anoys me people saying a animals life is not justafiable enough to spend money on to save

 

why buy it in first place

 

Dont get me wrong. I have 5 young kids and a wife and mortgage. We struggle to pay the doctors gap bills. When it comes to priority, the budgie comes after the kids and mortgage. I bought a bird expecting breeders to have more pride. A petshop selling **** i can understand. I didnt check. Yes my fault. So used to dealing with breeders over the years who always take a lot of pride in their birds. Who would never sell such a bird. I dont like handling birds in the open in case they escape and hence didnt think to check it until i got home.

 

FYI i sent hi res pics off (last night) to my vet flatmate friend who works interstate now. She is not an avian vet but was forced to learn more about birds after having my aviary in the backyard to practice on some years ago. She is great with dogs and cats but struggles with birds. She says they really are specialised and need a specialist to deal with them. Regardless i am sure she will either give some suggestions and or send me some medication.

 

A few weeks ago i gave our goldfish an injection of anti biotic in a last ditch attempt to save its life. I wont let any animal die without giving a 100% effort to help it but I do draw a line and have limits to stick to. I will do everything in my power to help this bird but i will draw a line at throwing huge amounts of money at it which could be better spent. Thats why i am here hoping some knowledgeable folks can suggest a diagnosis and treatment. If i went to a vet i wouldnt need your members help.

 

I will go and wash the vent. Should i give sulphur D?. Coccidiosis can be a problem in birds. Might explain the vent excretions. I appreciate all the help you can give me.

 

Thanks Phil

Edited May 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

Wash the vent and clear the area by plucking a few butt feathers out. Then put white paper under the perches and assess the poops and see what you are dealing with. Dont give supha meds until you know the condition of the poops. First few batches of pooing wont be normal....give it time to settle in and then see what the poops are like after a good feed. Now isnt the time to change its food type either so try and be sure its eating the same as it was before you bought it or what may have been in the cage at the venue.

Wash the vent and clear the area by plucking a few butt feathers out. Then put white paper under the perches and assess the poops and see what you are dealing with. Dont give supha meds until you know the condition of the poops. First few batches of pooing wont be normal....give it time to settle in and then see what the poops are like after a good feed. Now isnt the time to change its food type either so try and be sure its eating the same as it was before you bought it or what may have been in the cage at the venue.

 

 

`kaz is spot on dont give meds as yet all she said is true and correct

 

i was not judging you so im glad you didnt take afence

 

as i said also make sure he is eatting well to rule out not enough in crop he should be full after eatting or he isnt eatting enough

just feel his crop once hes stopped eatting

to see how full he is if hes not full try offer him some week bixs crushed up warm with water not to soggy just so he can nibble it

make sure he has a big shellow dish full of seed to sit in and slowly pick at younger birds scurrage more and eat so solwley this may help to make sure hes eatting well

just remove poos from it if he stays constipated it may pay to just give him a drop of cod liver oil or salt water to drink as will clean him out( enamma )

 

but first see how he is when you remove feathers from around vent and have cleaned him up

if you dont know what seed he was getting just a plain budgie mix or even a finch mix as seeds smaller and softer to brake for young chicks

 

and i understand your situation you just worded it as if it was here or their if it died

 

good luck hope he is okay please keep us updated

and yes most breeders do pride themselves on their quality of their birds

its sad when they sell unwell birds to familys as pets knowing they wont survive cruel

was from a market ????

Thanks for your help Kaz and Generic Blue

 

And yes the bird was from one of Sydneys bigger bird club get togethers held at the Fairfield showgrounds once a year. A friend who breeds other parotts told me to get there if i was looking for budgies.

 

I cleaned the vent and he looks just fine. No cuts, sores, scaley skin or anything i could see. In fact at first glance the vent looked much better than the pics i took yesterday. About half the build up.

 

I have been watching the bird all day and he is lethargic in my opinion. Sits on the perch and preens himself but nothing strenuous. Very quiet in fact and almost sleeping. Never saw him get excited at all.

 

I examined the legs and they look great. I placed some vaseline (with a cotton bud) around his vent to stop any faeces sticking and rubbed his upper beak with a very light coat as well in case he has a mite issue. I am certain the beak has an infection or mite damage. Maybe someone can figure it out from the pics. I do have a very good microscope in the attic which i will go and find and take some scrapings to see if it is mites but it may take a couple of days for me to find where its stored.

 

A friend of mine used to take an amoxicillin (human Tablets) and empty a measured amount into the birds water daily whilst they were sick. He bred expensive parotts and often treated sick birds this way. Has anyone here ever done or heard of others doing this?

 

I am feeding him a canary mix which has more variety than the budgie mix. He is eating it but i am not seeing any husks which is unusual. I wonder if he cannot de husk his seed with his beak which looks like it has a crack half way across it.

 

Here are some stool samples taken after his vent area was cleaned up.

 

Appreciate your feedback and what you suggest based on these.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your suggestions.

Phil

The beak does not seem to me to be mite affected.....it literally looks like its rotting or infected, infection eating it away. Nothing like anything mite related at all as far as I would say. I think the vaseline on the vent isnt really a very good idea. Nothing oily on or near feathers ever is as they preen at the base of the tail and over all their feathers. That vaseline is going to spread. Then you are going to have to wash a sick budgie.

The poop doesnt show much food being eaten. Watch him and see if he is actually eating or just pretending.

Put a warm lamp by the cage with a 40 watt globe in it ( not energy saver globes ).......the old kind.

Lets just hope he begins to eat......for real.

If a persons butt was plugged up with gunk and pretty horrid we wouldnt feel like eating either...you'd feel pretty sick.

Edited May 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

i suggest you feed him with a seringe some baby farex or something for now anything thats good for him not greens though oviously till u can get a bit of rearing mix as as i suspected and kaz said he doesnt seem to be eating if he starts to eat he should get better poo in a day if not he will surley die bird cant go 24 hours with out food even the weet bix for now arraroot biskits what ever baby food beef i think kaz said one time to me im not sure though so id wait for her on that but needs something i couldnt see beak well but it wasnt normal looking i i fail to see him eatting propply with it you need to feed him your self

Edited May 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

Also feel his keelbone........The bone running vertically down the front iof his chest and feel if its sharp ?? If so, he has lost bodyweight and is sicker than he appears.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Yes his bone is sharp and he is very very light. After reading your posts i realise he is worse than i thought. I will place him under a light and hand feed him tonight.

 

FYI. I only put the lightest smear of vaseline on him. Just enough to put a shine on the surface. Not enough to spread. I didnt want him to ingest any.

 

 

Thanks Phil

Hows he doing