Hi everyone :-)

 

I'm new here, decided to join to get some advice on a little budgie I found. When I saw him he was hiding under a van, being attacked by some Noisy Miners so I figured some intervention was necessary. Scooped him up and he seemed quite tame (undoubtedly also in shock...) and after a preliminary assessment, other than tail feathers having been pulled out, looked okay. I was on my way home so put him in a box and took him with me. It was evening by the time I got home, so I set him up a cage, put him in and covered him for the night, not wanting to stress him any more.

 

I later came to notice he was having difficulty perching with one foot, and was lame. At fist when I checked, it looked like his ankle (fetlock? I'm not certain of the nomenclature in birds!) was swollen. Then I looked closer, he had been banded, and it had grown into the leg such that it was barely visible. I called Alex Rosenwax's office (he used to treat my ferrets when I kept them) and he advised that just the local vet could probably cut it off. A trip to the vet later, he gets antiseptic cream twice a day, and it is wait and see whether he regains full functionality of the limb. I had also noticed he had a pasted vent, but didn't want to clean it until the band was off and he had some antiseptic for the leg injury (which looks pretty nasty).

 

The local vet took the details on the band, and said he would pass them on to WIRES (? not sure this is the relevant authority?) and that they would be in contact with me shortly. He didn't mention anything about the pasted vent, and I forgot to mention it being caught up about the leg. They are a general dog/cat practice though.

 

When I got him home I used warm water to sponge/massage off as much stool as I could. There was a small injury to the vent underneath but that looked superficial. I trimmed away feathers from around the vent as well as the leg wound. The vent area looks a little inflamed to me, and inside the vent feels very firm- could this be impacted faeces? I applied some paraffin to the area to hopefully soften the skin if he is constipated, and maybe stop further stool from sticking.

 

My concern is, he has been clean for a few hours now and all he has passed is a lot of urine and urates, but just the tiniest hint of green solid (I've given him some Trill budgerigar food I had lying around mixed in with some Passwell crumbles). Could it be that he is constipated (but still passing other things?) or just not eating? I have seen him in the seed cup, but not paid much attention to whether he is actually eating or not...

 

His keel does not seem overly prominent to me and there's a good weight to him, but I'm still worried. He seems to me an old bird, he looks to have some kind of growth on one of the opposing limb's foot pads if that is at all relevant. I've handraised Indian Mynahs before, but they are cropless birds, so I have no real idea what I'm feeling for to feel his crop- though I gave it a valiant effort!

 

Did I do okay? Does he need to see a vet again? I'm injured and so out of work for a while, but if he has to go he has to go... He is not very active, but I imagine his leg is somewhat disabling. He seems to get to the food and water cups okay. I'll try and put some pictures in in case they are helpful... apologies for the awful quality, my camera had an accident with a staircase so I only have my phone :-(

 

First off, this is the little cutie

 

The leg, soon after the band was removed

 

A few hours later

 

And the best I could get of the vent area unfortunately, mid clean. The dark spot to the left is the injured area.

 

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks so much if you managed to read all of that!! On a related note- anyone lost a budgie??

well you seem to of done very well

does the foot seem to be getting worse or staying same

as if it gets worse id try find a avian vet as normal vets dont usually have a clue but if no worse save your money

if you have betadine (not the horse one ) the human one

then id be inclined to water a few drops down in boiled water and apply that and let it sock in this will stop any infection from entering the blood as it will penetrate into his skin

still use your cream

as for vent id pull off any poo and again just dip his bum i betadine its my fix for injured birds animals in general

he seems healthy to visually look at

maybe go get a little bag off canary or finch mix to add to the trill as maybe hes not use to the trill with all its stuff

not only that birds are fussy

if the seed is old

even a week in their container they wont eat it

i personally wont eat anything left over night its same with them

why seed change dayly is recommended

and as husks can look like un eaten seed from just a look

get him a length of millet if you can from pet store

and see if you can find out what the details of the ring were from the vet '

and post here we may know whom breed him and be able to find his home

some breeders although should not do tend to let trouble some birds go or older birds as they dont see the issues with this sadly which their are so many eg sickness and deaths via anything really

hes a lucky boy to of had you find him

did you see colour of the ring ???

Edited February 22, 201114 yr by **KAZ**

You have done very well so far and GB has given you good advice. He is a recessive pied budgie from show budgie stock. His owner may be found if the details on the ring were recorded by you and posted here. At very l;east his breeder could be contacted. WIRES wont help with info on show budgie leg rings at all. Phone the vet back and ask for legring details.

Budgies dont get constipation, but a dirty vent can get blocked by pasty faeces due to an illness. He could have just been ill due to the legring issue.

Anyway he has a hero in you.........well done

I am relieved he looks okay!

 

Honestly to me it looks like the swelling is reducing and it's not as wet and weepy, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I'll get some betadine today, when I was cleaning his vent I was soaking the leg and lower abdomen in warm water with some salt in it, but betadine would definitely be better, good to know it is bird-safe! As the leg is drying out he seems to be getting more active (and noisy! :-) ). It seemed odd to me that he is pretty tame, but has a leg like that??

 

The seed was left over from maybe a year ago, no wonder he doesn't seem too fussed! I'll grab more of that today too. I do have millet husks, but they'd have the same problem of being a year or so old.

 

The ring was so covered by flesh it was barely visible. I want to say it was blue, but am not certain. I know that it was shiny and metal, beyond that I'm not of much use, hopefully they will disclose the details to me. I still haven't had a call from WIRES in any case. I was pretty skeptical when they said WIRES...

 

Thank you for your input, hopefully we will get this little guy right again! I'll post the ring details if they'll give them to me :-) Interesting that he is from show stock!

I am relieved he looks okay!

 

Honestly to me it looks like the swelling is reducing and it's not as wet and weepy, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I'll get some betadine today, when I was cleaning his vent I was soaking the leg and lower abdomen in warm water with some salt in it, but betadine would definitely be better, good to know it is bird-safe! As the leg is drying out he seems to be getting more active (and noisy! :-) ). It seemed odd to me that he is pretty tame, but has a leg like that??

 

The seed was left over from maybe a year ago, no wonder he doesn't seem too fussed! I'll grab more of that today too. I do have millet husks, but they'd have the same problem of being a year or so old.

 

The ring was so covered by flesh it was barely visible. I want to say it was blue, but am not certain. I know that it was shiny and metal, beyond that I'm not of much use, hopefully they will disclose the details to me. I still haven't had a call from WIRES in any case. I was pretty skeptical when they said WIRES...

 

Thank you for your input, hopefully we will get this little guy right again! I'll post the ring details if they'll give them to me :-) Interesting that he is from show stock!

not really i sell / tame quiet a lot of my show stock for companion ship they seem to make really good pets less rowdy and not so intent to fly around house as a pet sized pet bird

also has advantage of ring so if lost can find again :}

your doing really well with him

im sure he would love to stay with you if you asked him lol

as for tame all my flocks tame to point

different breeders treat their birds different so depends on what stud he comes from could have been really loved

i have lost a few that i wish did not get away :{

through my own stupidity

Bravo, unshun

 

I love good news stories. I always feel so sorry for both the people and their birds when they (the birds, not the people) go missing. Must be one of the worst feelings. One of the only things you can hope for, if that happens, is that the bird finds someone like you!

 

The experienced members will give you wonderful advice; I'll give you wonderful encouragement!!

Keep up the good work and hopefully you'll both get better. Sometimes someone/thing worse off than you can make you count your blessings, and rescuing a little bird from certain death would have to make you feel good.

 

Updates on his progress please,

Hezz

Good work in saving him.

okay, have betadine and fresh seed. What kind of dilution should I use? Vet closes from 11-4 so will give them a call when they reopen.

 

Hezz I figure if it was one of my animals, I'd want whoever found it to do whatever they could. And he is a very obliging patient to boot!

Edited February 22, 201114 yr by unshun

Please post a lost and found notice in our LOST AND FOUND section. It may help.

 

Also Gumtree in your location as well as Petlink and other places.

Edited February 22, 201114 yr by **KAZ**

Done.

 

Called the vet and asked for the details he said he had taken down. He said only the council or pound is allowed to track down strays and that he threw the band out and it would be good if I would keep him. I asked him to please look for it, and I was told he had taken the information off it anyway. I'm to call back later. I don't think he remembers me or the situation at all... It's not that I don't want to keep him, but if he belongs to someone he should go back! This is not the vet I use for my other animals, sigh...

 

Faeces still being very persistent in sticking to his vent. Hopefully this will resolve itself soon?

Good on you!!! Bravo for all you have done for this poor boy. You could offer him some warmth, via a lamp at one end of the cage (needs to be the old school globes though) If he wants it he will sit under it, if not he will move. Some times if your not feeling 100% this can help. As to his vent, good job on the feather trimming. I'd keep an eye on it and if he doesn't mind you handling him, keep it clean. His leg looks very sore... I hope it heals quickly. They are pretty tough birds and adapt very well to injuries/deformaties once healed. He'll learn to perch and get around his own way.

 

You could advertise him in your local paper. Our local paper lets you post 'Found' items for free... Pity your vet didn't keep the info

 

Good luck to you both, and please keep us updated.

I called the vet back, he now says he threw the ring out because it was unreadable by the time he removed it. This I understand, but why say you'll pass on the numbers if you don't have them? I think one or the other of us have our wires crossed! I asked if he remembered what colour, he said blue too.

 

We have signs up around the area he was found in, no calls yet :-( I'll ask the paper.

 

I don't think I have a lamp... My mother breeds bettas, I think she has some to light up her show tanks, I may go steal one and repurpose it :-P

This is an amazing thing you are doing, and it is so great to see people will still care for animals and do so much for them. I hope everything works out for the little guy.

blue ring is only either going to be a 7 year old

or a 2010 bird

 

and looking at your picture again

i dont know why i didnt see it at first

he is only breaking his cap

he still has bar head so is a young bird

most probably why so well behaved too

you will have a friend for life their

also if you can id check him for mites as most probably what caused-leg ring to swell

could of gotten away if breeder was trying to look at his leg themselves as i cant see his full body but looks not a bad bird for a rec pied

Sounds to me as though the vet wasn't going to do anything to help find where he came from, or am I just being a cynic?

 

Luckily he has found an advocat in you unshun, and we are all well and truely on your side.

Poor little guy..... hope all resolves with the poop side of things, sounds as though the leg won't be his major problem.

 

Hezz

Sounds to me as though the vet wasn't going to do anything to help find where he came from, or am I just being a cynic?

 

The vet did not grasp its importance and sometimes ( like real people ) vets tell fibs too

Poor little fella. About six months ago i rescued a little guy, too. Never found his owner.

 

Just goes to show. If you ever lose a budgie, or any pet, post its details up online ASAP. If it was up in the internoodle somewhere, I would have found it.

No mites.

 

Poop still sticking to his bum tho! He's all a-chatter this morning!

All a-chatter is great news:D . Now you just need a poop resolution!!

 

Goodluck and keep up the TLC

 

Cheers,

Hezz

okay so if all is well but poo

i would pop down to pet store and grab either some

oxy b

or triple c

both these are a broad spectrum antibiotic which you give for only 5 days

its easy just put in water will help stop leg getting infected also in blood stream and hopefully kick the little bug he has

any one of the broad spectrum antibiotics would do it im sure you guy would be back to norm after that

No mites.

 

Poop still sticking to his bum tho! He's all a-chatter this morning!

The mites that affect legs swelling around rings cannot be seen.

 

Hows the leg looking ? Any heat in it ? Any infection ?

 

Photo ?

I'll try and get some more pics tonight, but the leg look pretty good! Compared to what it was anyway. The swelling has gone down a lot. I've been soaking leg and bottom daily and putting the cream on, and his limp is not as severe and he's even using that leg to groom himself, which is great. More bruising has come up though. No heat or redness, he's pretty lucky!

 

Should I just treat for lice anyway?

 

Mum says she has some triple sulfa, but it's for fish.

 

okay, these are from tonight.

 

Before soaking:

 

After soaking and cream:

 

Body shots:

 

He's in much better spirits, just still can't evacuate cleanly! He's asleep on me now after trying to climb in my pants :-S

 

There's this one too:

 

Well done, it's great to hear stories like this.

I have a friend with a hen that has the same problem with the ring as this bird. She had scaly mite under the ring and the leg swelled up worse than your bird.

Ask your vet for some ivermectin, you put a drop on the back of the head, or you can you baby oil it will suffercate the mites, that's only if he has scaly mite. His legs should look scaly if he does.

Sulfa is good for pooey bums too, Bird type though.

Your bird reminds me of mine, When I first started 5 years ago, I had 2 beautiful big danish pieds brothers, they just looked like yours but mine were not flecked. Anyway back then I had a little tiny shed with 6 wooden breeding boxes stacked on top of each other.

I would use a plastic bucket to stand on to see who had eggs and chicks etc, I KNOW A BIT SILLY but I had nothing else.

One day I was standing on my bucket which did have a lid and my hand was in the breeding cage checking on the food etc when my rotten bucket collapse under my weight, well done I came with half the breeding cages on top of me and the door flew open because there was no clip and so out flew my shocked birds, my Danish pieds flew off into the sunset, I was horrified, I had eggs on me all broken th, the hens were still in the cage but shocked.

So the next day I went shopping and purchased a step ladder and a clip for inside and out sie the bird room. So this would never happen again.

I put flyers up all over town with pictures of my boys but I never got them back. They were really good exhibitions birds too, I only got to buy them because the breeder was going out of them and they were his best.

I wish someone had of done the same for these little birds as you have done.

 

My hats off to you. LOL is that the right saying.

 

His leg looks much better, swelling has gone down heaps by the look of it. His legs look clean actually like NO scaly mite.

He has a lovely head, he looks to be of good quality for a recessive pied, (Danish). If I bred him I would be showing him or using him in my breeding program, but the flecking would let him down.

I can't see any scales, but my eyesight's not the best, I might get someone else to check. There is a strange callous-looking growth on one toe, but I can't get the resolution for it to show up on pictures.

 

That is so terrible about your birds, that is my worst nightmare, my horses getting out. Only one of five is branded, they are chipped, but unless they're scanned pretty much anyone could just chuck them in their paddock and no one would be any the wiser. Such a shame the eggs broke! I would be devastated.

 

He's becoming a little attached, chatters back at you and chirps along with the wild parrots outside. Is not overly enthused with the soaking/cleaning/creaming/oil-applying but all he does is exclaim his displeasure (loudly) and scuttle around the bottom of his cage until I pick him up, then he does this little sigh and sits still, lol!

Oh I was very upset for ages, when it happened, It nearly knocked me out, I had to lay there for ages until Greg found me because I couldn't move with all the breeding boxes on top of me.

 

Sounds like he has settled in and you have a friend, That little callous thing could be scaly might. Wouldn't to put some baby oil on it because it won't hurt him. Actually you can put a drop of detol in the baby oil too.

I thought you had horses because of your discription for the birds lol fetlock, hock etc.

Edited February 24, 201114 yr by splat