I have a nice Australian male budgie named Ipod (name is courtesy of the kids) who has developed a problem with his feet. Over the past 2 days he has had difficulty perching and is spending most of his time on the floor of the cage. Upon examination (he's such a gentle bird it's easy to have a look) he can't move his toes properly. He's still eating and his poo looks normal to me.

 

A little background first. This little guy is just under 2 years old and has spent most of his life in my aviary with absolutely no health problems whatsoever. I moved him into a breeding cage roughly 7 weeks ago with his mate. The time was clearly right as eggs appeared soon after. Not long after the first eggs were laid I noticed that Ipod had difficulty with his feet, couldn't perch and was clearly uncomfortable standing. I thought he had scaley leg mite so treated him with Avimec and he made a good recovery (after several doses). I also treated his mate as a preventative. As his last Avimec treatment was 2 weeks ago I don't think it's scaley leg mite this time. By the way, his diet consists of seed, egg & biscuit, fresh veg and fruit (spinach, silverbeet, broccoli, corn, celery, carrot, apple) plus access to cuttlefish.

 

I have popped him into a cage by himself with a lamp. (The pair have 2 chicks who are about 3 weeks old and mum is very capable of looking after them herself) .

 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be going on? Could he have a deficiency in calcium or other essential vitamins?

Hi Flip

 

there could be a kidney infection going on which can affect feeling in his feet ....I suggest a course of antibiotic as well as some calcivet and see how he is in a week or so

Hi Kaz,

 

Thanks for your advice. I have now treated Ipod's water and seed with Vetafarm Triple C antibiotic, as per product instructions. I was unable to purchase any Calcivet locally so ordered some online several days ago. It should arrive today. Is it okay to use both products at the same time as the Triple C product instructions say to remove all traces of calcium and grit?

 

The little guy is holding his own and is still eating and drinking, though I think he's missing his mate.

Hi Flip calcivet as well as triple c will be fine. Triple C is very good too

I have heard of someone whose budgie developed problems perching, and it turned out to be a tumor near the hip, that was affecting the nerves. Just thought I'd throw that out as something you might check into.

Thanks Kaz and Finnie for your advice. Unfortunately Ipod quite unexpectedly passed away overnight 2 days ago. He had been holding his own up until that point, though not getting any better, so I am still mystified as to what he condition/illness he actually had.

Aw, that's sad. I'm sorry for your loss.

Sorry you lost Ipod Flip, just one of those things we can't control.