I decided to make an appointment for Dolly at the Vets. He sleeps a majority of the day, and he has been fluffed up all morning.

 

If he is not sick, then I figure its a good check up to see if he is healthy. Because I am going to start working on my mom to convince her that its not fair to keep dolly sole (ie. need new budgie). That way I also know if he is healthy for when they get put together after quaranteen.

 

Also, Dollys poop does not always drop off normally. So this will give me a chance to discuss that with him as well.

Edited July 2, 200520 yr by zoeandkiwi

Excellent way of thinking and acting Zoe! Take some fresh-ish samples of Dollys works of art, the vet can tell a lot from faecal smear testing. Dolly dosent sound quite 'right', and you are doing the very best thing. I hope she bounces back quickly and easily, please keep us informed, and very best of luck to you both!

Anne

Good Luck at the vets and hopefully she will be back fit and healthy.

Julie

Thanks all, I will let you know how it goes!

 

Ps. Dolly is a Boy, (Laughing out loud)

He was named when he was a baby and we did not want to change his name so he is "Dolly Boy" and Dolly for short. (Laughing out loud)

heh, thats okay, I have a huge pink and grey cockatoo called Queenie, who speaks in a marilyn Monroe voice, but she's a BOY, (Laughing out loud)! And he says ''Queenies a GOOD girl'' bless him

Keeps us updated on how Dolly goes at the vets.

 

 

Haha...where'd Queenie learn to say that???

okay, Dolly Had his vet appointment today.

 

The vey examined him, and he says he looks healthy. He is also going to examine some fecal samplings to check for any bugs that might cause his poop not to drop.

 

As far as his behavior, the Vet said that he looks healthy but the only way to check to see if he is healthy on the inside would be a blood test. He told me that he feals that the blood test would come back fine and that Dollys behavior is due to lonlyness.

 

I agree, so now the next step is convincing the parents to get him a budy.

 

Also, I asked the vet about grit. I explained to him that I had heard that they do not need it because they hull their seeds, and also that it caused cropt impact/problems.

He told me that even though they hull their seeds, it would benifit them in digestion. Also that problems arise when a bird eats too much grit. I think I am going to put a tiny little pinch in the cage every now and then.

 

Do you know of any good articles I could get my mom to read about keeping a bird by himself?

That's great news. I'm sure someone will come up with some things for your Mum to read. I think you are doing a great job of being as mature and sensible as you can! When your Mum's in a good mood, point out to her that you didn't say 'I want, I want, I want', but that you have done lots of research, and this is the best thing for Dolly. If you were mine I'd be seriously tempted to say yes! My fingers and toes are crossed for you.

(Laughing out loud), hmmm

Im not sure how well that will work, Im 19

Dolly is actually my sisters budgie(1/2 mine, I pay the bills! (Laughing out loud)), and then Zoe and kiwi are mine.

 

I have asked before and she just gets mad.

However if I explain it well and tell her that I will help to take care of it (my sister is not prompt at cage cleaning) then It might be a yes.

 

Ill let you know how it goes.

 

(Laughing out loud), you said if I were yours you would let me get it.... In the past few months I have asked to save a budgie, get a parrotlet, and senegal! Still though, Dolly deserves a budgie friend... Even if it means no senegal or parrotlet for me

Edited July 4, 200520 yr by zoeandkiwi

Well, good luck. I must say, my kids have only ever asked for a dog, which we just recently got. They've never had to ask for an animal before, they tend to roll their eyes at how many cats I bring home, or how many birds I rescue! Poor things, they keep saying that I'm meant to be the sensible one! (Laughing out loud)

Thats Great!!

Thats how it will be with me and my kids. I cant wait to have my house and be able to have any bird I want!!

Well, expect your kids to roll their eyes at you, and say 'oh mum, not another animal' (Laughing out loud) There's also the 'Whne are you going to grow up Mum' one, that I love! Their friends think I'm great, but, luckily, I am just one huge embarrassment to my kids! (Laughing out loud)

okay, Dolly Had his vet appointment today.

 

The vey examined him, and he says he looks healthy. He is also going to examine some fecal samplings to check for any bugs that might cause his poop not to drop.

 

As far as his behavior, the Vet said that he looks healthy but the only way to check to see if he is healthy on the inside would be a blood test. He told me that he feals that the blood test would come back fine and that Dollys behavior is due to lonlyness.

 

I agree, so now the next step is convincing the parents to get him a budy.

 

Also, I asked the vet about grit. I explained to him that I had heard that they do not need it because they hull their seeds, and also that it caused cropt impact/problems.

He told me that even though they hull their seeds, it would benifit them in digestion. Also that problems arise when a bird eats too much grit. I think I am going to put a tiny little pinch in the cage every now and then.

 

Do you know of any good articles I could get my mom to read about keeping a bird by himself?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Your vet said he thinks the only way to know the bird is completely healthy is for a blood test but then he said that he feels the blood test would come back fine? (There's no way to know it would be fine until it's done and comes back fine.)

 

Also, it sounds like you haven't gotten the results back from the fecal exam so again, we don't know that Dolly is healthy yet. Birds are tricky animals, a vet can't just look at them on the outside and pronounce them free of illness. If that were the case, we could all be vets!

 

I don't agree with him about grit and neither would my vet. Budgies digest seed perfectly well because they hull their seeds. I've never had a problem with not feeding grit. He said that it's only bad in large amounts and that's probably true but why give it to a bird when;

a ) It isn't needed and

b ) It has the potential to do harm.

That's just my take on the grit issue, I know it's just one more thing that could be (and is often) debated. But in my opinion, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

The grit advice put together with the fact that he looked the budgie over and said he "feels" a bloodtest would come back fine doesn't sound quite right.

 

At any rate, if I were in your position I'd wait for that fecal test to come back and go ahead and get the bloodwork done as well. That way you can have the peace of mind that your budgie is healthy before bringing another one into the house.

 

Good luck with Dolly and the new budgie if you're able to get one. Don't forget to post pictures!

The droppings did come back fine. The vet is a good vet, its hard to put into typing words how the meeting actually went. Its not like he said he looks fine, he is healthy. I explained lots to about behavior and we discussed different aspects of it. He more or so said that he could do the blood test no problem, but the is quite traumatic for a budgie. He more so suggested to put him with another budgie to see if that perked him up. From everything we discussed he had the idea that his behavior was due to lonlyness, and that there was not something overly wrong inside.

 

It was not like, he looks fine he does not need like a blood test. It was more of that does not sound like what the problem is.

Was he an avian vet?

 

It just really sends up red flags when a vet suggests giving a bird a friend to perk it up. That's the last thing you want to do when you think there's even a possibility of a bird being ill.

 

I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, I'm not saying you've done anything wrong. On the contrary, you've done exactly what you should have done! I just want to point out that sometimes vets don't always give the best advice (especially if they're not avian vets though any vet is capable of making a mistake). Bird illnesses can be so subtle that there are no signs and any time there are signs they should be taken very seriously. It's great that the fecal test came back okay but since the blood test isn't happening you can't be very sure that the bird is healthy enough to have a cage mate right now.

 

I've had a bird die on me suddenly, without warning, and without signs of illness. He'd seen the vet prior to this and his fecal came back clear as well. It's a hard call to make but I think it's always best to ere on the safe side. Loneliness is your (and your vet's) interpretation of your bird's behavior but there are other things that are far more likely. The bird could be bored. Does he play with his toys? (Some birds have to be taught.)

 

It's good that you took him to the vet, that more than what a lot of owners will do for their pets. Maybe now you should take time to keep a close eye on him and see if things improve. If not, it might be time to go through with the blood test to rule out other illnesses.

 

And there are also some diseases that show up sometimes but not others (giardia, megabacteria). He could be shedding these without you knowing it.

 

Birds are complicated. That seems to be the theme for my day at least! (I can't even get them a normal cage without running into problems. )

Thanks very much for the advice!

 

He is an Avian vet, and I do still really think that he is a good vet... But I understand what you are saying. His work with Zoe was really good.

 

No doubt in my mind that he is bored. He has anabundance of toys that we rotate in and out of the cage. He will play for a few minutes at certain times of the day, but nothing like Zoe and Kiwi. He just sits in the corner for the rest of the day. We have tried teaching to play and that but he still just sits in the corner.

 

I think that another bird would help with bordem as well, they are flock creatures, so it would give osmeone to talk to and play with. (and preen and kiss )

 

His sleepy/bord behavior is not any thing new. This has been going on since we got him.

 

Thanks again,

This is Dolly when Boo stayed with us for a month. Dolly is the darker green.

 

They look so cute together!

I know!

Its sad though, because Boos real owner takes horrible care of her

 

Also.. The new birdie discussion did not go well. I got in lots of trouble. Any ideas on anything else I can do to make dollys day more interesting?

I have a few.

 

Does Dolly like to chew? I have birds that will spend (literally) hours chewing paper or wood. I really should get a picture of the pretty wooden ladders in a couple of my cages. (They used to be pretty at least...)

 

You've probably already answered this one but can Dolly meet Zoe and Kiwi for playtimes? I know that doesn't always work out since they're probably bonded (and Dolly might be in quarantine, I can't remember) but it's worth a shot.

 

If Dolly is tame, can you have him out with you while you're on the computer, reading, or doing homework? My birds absolutely love hanging out at my desk and destroying things (namely paper and various cords ).

 

*Thinks*

 

Piper recently discovered that she loves BASKETS. You can make a basket "playgym" by going to a hobby shop, getting a basket made from safe wood and hanging little toys from the handle as well as putting little toys and things to chew in the bottom. (This idea is stolen from someone else but the budgies seem to love it!)

 

I don't know how tame he is so this might all not work. If you could remind me of your situation with Dolly (can he come out of his cage yet? is he flighted or clipped?) I can probably come up with more.

 

What kind of toys does he have right now? What seems to be his favorite? Mine LOVE little plastic dangly chain toys.