Hello everyone, I'm new to posting on the forum but have been a lurker on occassion. I have two pet budgies, Elmo is my boy and he has his girlfriend Beaky. They are both around five years old and are indoor birds who have free flight during the day. They do have seed but their diet is mainly a wide variety of fresh and cooked veg' on occassion some pasta or brown rice, they also have seed grasses picked from my garden, cuttlefish and a mineral bell.

 

My boy Elmo has megabacteria, he is losing weight quickly and not eating as much as he should. He has been visibly unwell for over a week. He has had two vet visits the second being yesterday where megabacteria was diagnosed. I have Funglin (Amphotericin B 10mg in lozenge form. I am to crush one lozenge in 2ml of warm water and mix in a bit of Crittacare and syringe 1ml into each bird once in the morning and again at night.

 

My problem is that I cannot seem to get much if any of the medication into the birds. I gently put a drop onto the tongue but they don't seem to swallow, they fight me and most of it ends up down the front of the bird. I'm worried and frustrated and I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice. Any and all advice is welcome. Am I doing something wrong? Is there an easier or better way to medicate the bird? What are my chances of healing the sick bird? I've never had a sick bird before so I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to illnesses. The bird is being kept warm and has plenty of food on offer although he doesn't eat much, I've been able to tempt him with millet sprays and a bit of cooked mixed veg' but that's all. He shows signs of being ravenous and goes looking for food but tends to ignore all his normal food, apart from the millet sprays he won't touch any seed. He wants to eat excessive amounts of shell grit, I have removed this for now because that was all he would eat, was that the right thing to do?

 

Thanks Joanne.

Edited August 9, 201113 yr by austoz

hi and first welcome

best advice i can give is go back to vets ask if you can either buy or borrow a crop needle to medicate them with or im sorry but your birds will slowly wilt away if they dont get the correct dosage crop needles seem scary but are infact quiet easy to insert and use so long as you go in towards the left but thevet should show you exactly how before sending you home other

im sorry thats the best advice i can give you bar

 

dont give anything but seed as they will draw moisture from it

 

take water away for the whole time dont let them have access to any but the times you medicate them

 

good luck hun

I crop feed the medication to the birds. Corp feeding isn't hard if you have been shown properly. I'd suggest taking the bird back to the vet and geting him to show you how to crop feed.

 

It will come in handy in the future.

Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it.

 

 

 

I will make sure they only get seed but may I ask, why only seed and why do I need to take the water away? I assume there is a problem with them ingesting moisture/liquid?

 

Sorry if I sound like a dunce.

 

Joanne.

If you withdraw the water for a day or two it wont harm them. If you put medicated water in the cage they should then go straight to it.

 

The crop needle however as discussed earlier is the best way to do it. I have used a fine gauge tube on a sysringe which does the same job. That way you can ensure that the bird gets the correct dose.

 

Her is a youtube video on crop needling from a vet.

 

Very good video..

 

 

 

Pet bird - use a 14 guage and a show bird use a 12 gauge for normals and dominants. Show recessives depend on size. I keep both for chicks to adults.

 

Please note that under no stage was the bird discomfort. He did it slow and easy. That is the main trick. If you are crop tubing a bird... DON'T PANICK AND RUSH.... It is best to go slow and easy.

 

 

I have never lost a bird crop tubing. I have crop tubed many birds from unfed chicks to birds that are a bit off to near dead. If you are unsure of how to crop tube.. ask a vet to show you one on one.

 

Don't rely on this video to give you all the answers.

Edited August 10, 201113 yr by Daz

Thanks for the advice and the link.

 

Joanne.

 

If you withdraw the water for a day or two it wont harm them. If you put medicated water in the cage they should then go straight to it.

 

The crop needle however as discussed earlier is the best way to do it. I have used a fine gauge tube on a sysringe which does the same job. That way you can ensure that the bird gets the correct dose.

 

Her is a youtube video on crop needling from a vet.

 

 

Thanks for your help, I have an appointment with the vet today.

 

Joanne.

 

 

Very good video..

 

 

 

Pet bird - use a 14 guage and a show bird use a 12 gauge for normals and dominants. Show recessives depend on size. I keep both for chicks to adults.

 

Please note that under no stage was the bird discomfort. He did it slow and easy. That is the main trick. If you are crop tubing a bird... DON'T PANICK AND RUSH.... It is best to go slow and easy.

 

 

I have never lost a bird crop tubing. I have crop tubed many birds from unfed chicks to birds that are a bit off to near dead. If you are unsure of how to crop tube.. ask a vet to show you one on one.

 

Don't rely on this video to give you all the answers.