Hi there, I have in my aviary a sick looking yellow budgie. She's about five years old and a prolific egg layer. For the past week, she's had a swollen looking breast and has had quite a lot of faeces stuck to her vent. When I take this off, her vent is quite red and pulsing. The faeces comes back after a couple of days. She spends most of her day sitting on the ledge that the nesting boxes are on and is still quite alert. She doesn't seem to fly much - I've seen her climbing up the wire of the cage although I have seen her on the seed tray which shows she can fly a little. I would be grateful for any insight into what may be wrong with her. Many thanks

Whilst it is hard to diagnose what it wrong with a bird on line, there are some simple guesses some people may make.

 

You said was a prolific egg layer but she is now 5. I know that being a 5 year old hen, her breeding days are past her. You may know this. Unfortuantely she may not know this. She might be of the opinion that laying eggs is a good idea, however her body is past it. She sees the nestboxes and so she thinks she can still do it. Birds will stop trying to lay egg when there is no where to lay them. Having her in an aviary with nestboxes is not good for her.

 

The pooey vent is a sure sign that something is wrong.

 

What can you do to help her? Well, if she is trying to lay an egg but her body does not form them properly, then she might need some nutiritonal assistance. Put her in a seperate cage inside for a week. Hot lamp, keep the cage covered on 3 of the 4 sides, and in her water put some calcivet. This will help her with the forming of the egg.

 

Is her rump swollen? I am trying to ascertain if she has an egg internally/egg bound?

 

Ultimately, the best way to find out what is wrong is to take her to an avian vet. Everything else is really guess work.

 

I am sure that Kaz or some of our other WA members would be able to recommend a good avian vet in Perth.

I agree with everything Dave has said.

 

Additionally I think a five year old should not be anywhere nestboxes are.

Do you take your nestboxes out or are they always there ?

The nestboxes force breeding whether its birds that are old enough ( over 12 months ) or not ( under 12 months ) and birds too old ( females past four years ).

Best avian vet I can recommend is Tim Oldfield at Wattle Grove

 

 

Dr Tim Oldfield BVSc MACVSc (Avian Health)

Wattle Grove Veterinary Clinic

791 Welshpool Road, Wattle Grove WA 6107

Phone (08) 9453 6655

 

Dr Ray Butler BVSc MACVSc

Avian & Pet Practitioner

Risely Veterinary Clinic

789 Canning Highway, Applecross WA 6153

Phone (08) 9364 2288

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