What Could a Blood Test Reveal?

what could be done about what it finds?

A blood test on a budgie isnt particularly helpful. Because of their tiny size, the amount of blood they need to get a good clear result id really too much, and too risky. Faecal tests can prove or disprove quite a few things, but, in a budgie, a freshly moulted (or in an emergency, plucked) large feather is of far more use. Feather pulp can tell a good avian vet an awful lot, a lot more that a teeny drop of blood. If there's concern over a serius underlying problem, the feather pulp test done by an expert in the avian field is your very best bet.

can you tell us more about the problem?

There is some more information in the bird talk forum, its called Zoes trip to the vet.

 

She already had a fecial test and it came back clean.

 

The problem is that she has has consistent diarea (mostly increased urine) since I got her last October.

 

I would really prefer not to give her the blood test. It just sounds horible and risky.

Zoe, this link should hopefully lead to to lots of links containing budgie health. They can be very imformative, but, in my oppinion, should NOT be used as a self diagnosis kit, just a guide. But, it may give yuo some back up information to take to your vet.

http://web.ask.com/web?q=diarrhea+in+budgies&qsrc=19&o=0

 

Anne

Edited June 22, 200519 yr by chirpy

Is it real diarrhea or just increased urine? Diarrhea is an urgent problem, increased urine isn't quite so. Those were good links chirpy gave you. In my personal experience, increased urine can be caused from anything to greater liquid intake (extra veggies or fruit or water ingested during a bath) to hormones (breeding condition will sometimes create a more watery stool, especially in hens) to kidney trouble. Some are temporary conditions, others obviously a bit more serious. Did your vet give you any idea at all what he was looking for in a blood test?

Edited June 16, 200519 yr by Rainbow

I dont really know if its increased urine or if it is also diraea... Here are some pictures:

 

that looks like increased urine to me. it doesnt look like diarrhoea.

 

is it possible that budgies can get diabetes? just a thought. sometimes that can cause increased intake of fluids. or possibly an inflamed kidney.

 

i hope you find out whats wrong

Yeah, it looks like increased urine to me too. The vent area will also become very stained with diarrhea, and there is also no formed part to the stool at all. Other than the liquid stain those poos look pretty normal. Are they always like that, or does Zoe sometimes have regular droppings without the extra water? Did you call the vet and ask about what he would be looking for in bloodwork?

 

Pixie, budgies can be diabetic.

That is not diarhea. There is certainly increased urine, but the actual poop colour and formation looks good. There is no sign of seed in the poops. I would class the stools as 'SLIGHTLY' loose, and I mean slightly. May I have permission to copy these pics to elsewhere? I will return with clearer (NONE veterinary!!!!!) responses.

Anne

95% of the time she has poop like that or sometime diffierent. She has never had a perfect poop like kiwi as long as I can remember.

 

He has not actually sugested doing the blood test yet, I just know that its one of the things that would be used to determine the problem.

I was going to ask him about it when he tells me he would like to do one.

 

One other thing, Im suppose to be trying to feed her only pellets. I felt that she was not getting enough to eat, so I gave them seed as well. DO you think that it could be cause by the seed?

 

Is she overweight? She weighs 38-40 grams.

I don't think it is caused by the seed, but I'm not a vet. Did you know that your bird will not eat as much in pellets as she eats in seed? You said you didn't feel she was eating enough - (and this is probably a dumb question) does she know pellets are food? Or did you just notice she eats less pellets than seed? If she normally eats pellets, I'd keep the seed away from her until you go back to the vet's. Did your vet ask you to not feed vegetables or fruit until the next visit too? He may want to rule out the obvious reasons for her increased urine output.

 

As far as the weight issue, there is a wide range of normal. The average weight of a "pet" budgie is about an ounce, or 28-30 grams. I'd say most of mine are closer to 40 grams some are a little heavy, others are at a good weight for their build. If there is a little bulge of fat around her upper chest, she is overweight. If when she is winded or afraid (whenever she gets 'thin') and you don't notice any extra fat on her front, her weight is probably okay. I've got a heavy hen if you need a picture of the fat roll... :grbud:

Yes He said not to feed her fruits and veggies as well.

I have been weighing her and she lost two grams and I also thought they looked out of sorts without their seed. They normaly eat some pellets on their own, but they a majority of seed.

 

Those are what her droppings look like after the evening, during the day they are a puddle of liquid with a straight line of poop, no formation. Ill try to get a picture a little later today.

 

Chirpy, you can copy the picture to somewhere else.

it does sound very strange, it is possible that budgies can urinate without of with very little poop. i suppose there are quite a few things that could cause the problem. i dont know much about bird health but what i do know is that the urine is expelled by the kidneys and is a waste product resulting from their normal functioning. stress (perhaps diet change), increased blood pressure and infections can all lead to increased strain on the kidneys and *may* result in increased urine.

 

i think if the tests so far have been clean and your budgies behaviour is normal (not drinking any more than normal/any more than any other budgies you have) then it would be best to discuss the further examinations than need to be done to identify the problem. you need a proper diagnosis even if it is stress, because then you will find the best way of treating it and your budgie will probably be a bit happier if there is something that can be done to make her more comfortable.

 

keep us posted, good luck at the vets

 

love pixie x

Hi, just wanted to come in here as looking through your posts and esp the pics of the droppings of your budgie, they are very similar to my birds, only with more white or green and lots of urine. They've been like that since I had him at 6 weeks, 3 yrs ago. He's had blood and faecal tests and the result is that he has a damaged liver. He is well in all other ways, eats and drinks good but was ill the other week with gut infection, I don't know if caused by the liver probs but he had antibiotics and it helped him over that tho the droppings haven't changed. I feel more that it's constipation... just a feeling and sometimes he strains to go and since I've had him (happy little soul) his droppings change from green and wet to white cloudy, from solid and stringy to loose and sometimes solid grey but never really "normal". Reading what others have said I am wondering if he has kidney problem too... my vet doesn't really know what to give him apart from probiotics which doesn't help. As for the blood test I don't think it was a big deal for my baby, he is very good and I just needed to know what was wrong with him so I really had to have it done.

 

I just wish I could find out what's wrong and if anything can be done and with what you show in your pics it seems so much the same as my baby's (silly woman me) problem. I do hope you get it sorted, can you let me know please what they come up with as I would dearly love to find out what's wrong with my baby too. Good luck, I do hope all goes well for your little birdie xx

Just letting you know that I hadnt forgotten to try and gain more information from the pictures. The feedback I got was pretty much the same as here (actually not as good, information wise) Please let us know how you get on, and keep us updated. Anne.