I am looking after a sick budgie for family friends - I have it as I have a hospital cage. This is a 14 month old Aussie budgie hen (actually bred by me). This bird normally lives indoors and has no contact with other birds. My friends noticed she was sick 2 days ago - sitting fluffed up, quiet, some vomiting, wheezy breathing. The took her to their vet who was unsure re diagnosis (not an avian vet). The vet gave her an antibiotic injection, and also made a comment that it could be canker.

 

I now have this little girl in a hospital cage set at 29 degrees. I have added Turbosole to her water as a treatment for canker (in case). Her current symptoms - lethargic, perching on 2 feet, fluffed up at times, audible squeaky, raspy breathing, holding her head angled upwards. Her droppings look normal and I haven't observed any vomiting. She's not really interested in food today. I was also worried about dehydration so I have administered some water via a syringe, a drop at a time.

 

On the basis of the above, can anyone guess what this budgie may be suffering from? Is there anything else I can do?

 

Also, I suspect she doesn't get exposed to any sunshine (I'm a big believer in the importance of sunshine or vitamin D supplement in the absence of that) for birds. Could that be a contributing factor as well?

There are a number of things it could be Flip. Canker, psittacosis, mega bacteria (avian gastric yeast), crop infection and any combination of those plus more. The bad thing about budgies is when they get sick the symptoms are the same.

Did the vet take any samples? Mega bacteria and canker would show up under the microscope.

Any chance your friend fed something poisoned?

So far you are doing the best thing, heat and rehydrate. Possibly crop feed her 1ml of hand raising mix, if you know how.

I don't have much experience with budgie illness. I read that parasites that can infect birds climb up grass where they can be injested also was she in contact with any animals like a dog. I found this article on Trich which infects dogs and cats and even humans. http://www.budgiehealth.com/trichomoniasis-and-canker-in-budgies.html

Keep us informed it's a good thing she has you to look after her and the hospital cage.

Thanks for the help. I doubt that the vet took any samples for testing but I will check. My friends give her salad greens and corn, so I don't think poisoning is a factor. She doesn't look too happy today so I suspect that I may lose her. Unfortunately I don't know how to crop feed. I am continuing to give her water. I do have some other antibiotics available - Vetafarm Triple C - should I try that as well?

It wouldn't hurt her to try the Triple C. To give her some energy, you could add some glucose or a small amount of honey to the water you are giving her.

Unfortunately, when budgies become this ill it is very hard to bring them back.

Is there anymore news about the hen?

Hi Budgie_Mad. Thanks for asking. Unfortunately the hen died yesterday after deteriorating very rapidly. I don't know what she had or how she could have caught anything given that she lived in a house with no other birds. It's a mystery to me. My birds on the other hand, live outdoors and are quite possibly exposed to more than they should be. Maybe that gives them a certain resilience.

Hi Budgie_Mad. Thanks for asking. Unfortunately the hen died yesterday after deteriorating very rapidly. I don't know what she had or how she could have caught anything given that she lived in a house with no other birds. It's a mystery to me. My birds on the other hand, live outdoors and are quite possibly exposed to more than they should be. Maybe that gives them a certain resilience.

You know my daughter just bought a home and they had to have the insulation tested for asbestos. It tested negative. However it made me read up on how many homes are toxic. There is formaldehyde and much other stuff floating around in our homes. We cook in our homes and some have teflon pots and pans. There are so many things to take into consideration.

I heard on the ABC radio that there is more pollution inside the average home than out.

Sorry about the hen Flip, there wasn't anything else you could have done.

Sorry for that news. It is very likely to though that she was born with it, though you did breed her and are more likely to know the genetics of the parents, so that's an unlikely possibility.

Sorry to hear abt the death of your friends hen Flip.

the only thing I may have added would be air sack mites, they cause wheezing and can be fatal if not caught early enough.

Thanks Paulie. I'll look into that. The audible raspy breathing was certainly noticeable with this hen.