Hi all,

I am about to try posting pics of my budgie Snowy, in the photo bucket site, both before and after the feather loss, my album is..

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/a120/SANDERS58UK/

 

thanks,

cal.

You need to make your account public. otherwise post links direct to the pictures you want to post.

You need to make your account public. otherwise post links direct to the pictures you want to post.

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okay, have just revisited the bucket site and ticked *make public *, I hope this is right ?,

thanks,

cal.

OMG. That looks shocking. Has Snowy seen a vet? A vet may be able to give you some cream or something to relieve the redness. It looks pretty sore.

omg follow bea's advise i never knew the head was so small it looks so unnormal i feel bad for ur budgie...i didn't think it was so bad

OMG. That looks shocking. Has Snowy seen a vet? A vet may be able to give you some cream or something to relieve the redness. It looks pretty sore.

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yes, been to the vets every week for the past month or so, he,s had antibiotics, mite drops and a drastic diet change, but was told it was probably a virus, but nothing more.

was hoping budgie keepers out on the web could advise,

I posted a plea for help in the general chat forum before I spotted a forum especialy for illness.

Sorry , this computer stuff is a little scary, not used to it yet !,

oh yes, I have to paint his head and rump with an antiseptic every other day given by the vet. Snowy is NOT amused !.

thanks,

cal.

I'm glad you've gotten him treated. I never could've imagined just how bad it really was.

Was it an avian vet? Has the budgie been tested for PBFD? That's incredibly shocking, this bird needs to be tested for pretty much everything possible at this point. The skin looks so irritated... has he lost flight or tail feathers as well or is it just the head? His nails look a bit overgrown as well... wow. Poor baby.

 

I would *definitely* seek a second (or third) opinion on this bird and make sure you're going to certified avian veterinarians.

 

Also, I don't know if you're at all familiar with livejournal.com but basically it's a site where you can make an online journal and participate in communities. There is an excellent parrot community there (I've learned more there than I've learned anywhere else including books/websites/etc.) where someone might be able to help you more. They have a lot of people with a lot of experience. If you're interested you can read through the community at: http://livejournal.com/community/parrot_lovers

 

If you need any help with that let me know! I hope you find a vet who can figure this out. I just read in your other post that your vet thinks the bird is too old for the proper tests? Surely he can at least do a fecal or feather tests?

Edited July 13, 200519 yr by eterri

Info from other post :

 

Hi there !,

I have just joined up and am hoping for some advice !.

I have been searching the web for information about feather loss and skin problems in budgies.

My budgie is 12 years old , and called SNOWY. Up until a month and a half ago he was fully feathered and enjoying a normal old age, however, after a hard moult he began to lose the feathers on his head and body.

My vet has treated him with antibiotics and mite drops and he is on a high vitamin/protien diet, but the problem is progressing ( although the feather loss has lessened ).

Is there anything else I can do for him ?. The vet thinks it is a virus , but because of his age cannot carry out the blood/skin tests needed to verify this. He is eating well and behaving as he did before this started.

I would add a few photo,s of himso you could see the problem but I,m new to this computer stuff and don,t know how.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very gratefully recieved !

ta,ta,

 

cal.

 

(i'll now remove the other one)

 

That porr little man, and this happened like over night? I would guess that his cage and toys have been totally scrubed clean so as to rule out transfer from that. Tho I bout it since it's confined to the head.

 

I've never seen or heard anything about it. How old is he?

Cal, there is another test your vet can do, the feather pulp test. If your dear little bird loses a good biggish feather (ie a flight ot tail feather) rush the feather to the vets as fast as possible. They can in certain circumstances tell far more from the feather pulp that they ever can from bloods.

Anne

Edited July 13, 200519 yr by chirpy

poor budgie, i'd definatly get a second opinion for a different practice.

 

Claire

xXx

poor budgie!

 

Hope snowy is better soon.

Was it an avian vet? Has the budgie been tested for PBFD? That's incredibly shocking, this bird needs to be tested for pretty much everything possible at this point. The skin looks so irritated... has he lost flight or tail feathers as well or is it just the head? His nails look a bit overgrown as well... wow. Poor baby.

 

I would *definitely* seek a second (or third) opinion on this bird and make sure you're going to certified avian veterinarians.

 

Also, I don't know if you're at all familiar with livejournal.com but basically it's a site where you can make an online journal and participate in communities. There is an excellent parrot community there (I've learned more there than I've learned anywhere else including books/websites/etc.) where someone might be able to help you more. They have a lot of people with a lot of experience. If you're interested you can read through the community at: http://livejournal.com/community/parrot_lovers

 

If you need any help with that let me know! I hope you find a vet who can figure this out. I just read in your other post that your vet thinks the bird is too old for the proper tests? Surely he can at least do a fecal or feather tests?

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Thank you for your advice, yes the vet is a cage bird specialist, I think she is concerned that he becomes so stressed going to the vets. His normal cage is too big to take him in and I need to use a smaller travel cage.

Snowy is 12 years old and is totally blind in one eye, with only part site in the other. As well as the antiseptic every other day, she suggested t tree oil to reduce the itchiness. This means holding him which causes him real distress.

I will ask about the feather and fecal tests, and will go to the sites you have suggested.

He has lost almost all his facial/head feathers, some thinning on the body, but mainly around his vent and back. He still has all his flight and tail feathers, infact there are new tail feathers coming through.

His nails are a little long, to be honest, with all the handling stress I,ve put him through , I,ve held back doing his normal trim.

At my last visit to the vets, she suggested "that I shouldn,t let this go on too long and when his condition became more intrusive with his normal life I should bring him back " I know she,s talking about putting him to sleep, but I decided to hunt on the net for a last chance for him.

The last thing I want for him is a life of painful itchiness, stress and fear.

I am just heartbroken to think I could lose him, but, don,t want to put him through more suffering......

I,ll scoot over to those sites and see what I can find,

thanks again,

 

cal

Sounds like you're doing everything you can for him, he's one lucky (much loved) budgie. I really hope that you find something or someone that can help him soon. I'll have him in my thoughts.

I really hope he starts improving. You sound to be doing everything in your power to get him well.

I feel for you, when a vet utters those dreaded words, its very hard to absorb. I do hope there is a cure, or at least some form of ease for your precious budgie. I have the feeling that if such ease or cure isnt forthcoming, you will return with your bird to the vet. Its a horrible decision to make if you become faced with it, but often, the kindest final act of love that yu can give your bird.

IF it comes to that, when I have faced this in the past, I always insist on a whiff of anaesthesia for my animal first, so the creature is sleeping and totally unaware of any injection in its last moments. It makes it a lot easier for both you and the bird.

My thoughts are with yu both

Anne.

Thank you all for your help and kind words, you can be sure that it is the quality of his life that will decide when I need to take him back to the vets. He doesn,t deserve to suffer , but I will miss him terribly.

I bought him 12 years ago for my aunty who lived alone. (He was just out of the nest along with four of his brothers and sisters .) Four years later she was taken ill and I took Snowy home with me , with a promiss to return him to her when she was well again. Sadly, she passed away and Snowy became my *adopted babe*.

While he still enjoys his toys, a cuddle and his treats ,and isn,t suffering he deserves the best I can give him. I know, after reading some of your posts that you all feel the same too. ( he is currently munching on shredded egg and carrot, a treat I read about on this site !).

I will keep you posted , thanks again for all your very kind wishes,

take care,

 

cal.

Wow-12? What a brilliant budgie owner you must be. All the best to you both.

Julie

Poor Snowy...I did a little research for you, and found that hypothyroidism will cause feather loss, as can diabetes. It mightn't hurt to have your vet rule these out in Snowy. Both conditions are treatable, and since the feather loss appears to have happened quickly and recently I would think the cause would be medical in nature. Low thyroid sounds very plausible, given his age. He looks plucked, but since you don't have any other birds you know that is not the case, and he can't reach those feathers himself. Does he rub the area on his cage and perches alot? Could he have been exposed to anything that would have given him contact dermatitis? That is what it looks like to me. It sounds like you have a good vet though, so hopefully between you both you will find out the trouble. Snowy looks like he is in good health and feather otherwise. Please don't give up hope on his treatment, and let us know how things go. He's obviously very well loved.

Poor Snowy...I did a little research for you, and found that hypothyroidism will cause feather loss, as can diabetes.  It mightn't hurt to have your vet rule these out in Snowy.  Both conditions are treatable, and since the feather loss appears to have happened quickly and recently I would think the cause would be medical in nature.  Low thyroid sounds very plausible, given his age.  He looks plucked, but since you don't have any other birds you know that is not the case, and he can't reach those feathers himself.  Does he rub the area on his cage and perches alot?  Could he have been exposed to anything that would have given him contact dermatitis?  That is what it looks like to me.  It sounds like you have a good vet though, so hopefully between you both you will find out the trouble.  Snowy looks like he is in good health and feather otherwise.  Please don't give up hope on his treatment, and let us know how things go.  He's obviously very well loved.

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Hi there,

thank you for the research, that was very kind of you.

The vet ruled out a thyroid problem after feeling his neck/chest , (although when he was younger he would nibble at his iodine block, as he got older he went to it less, so I started grinding it up and adding a little to his *treats* food every day).

As to diabeties, his droppings are fine, no excess white or fluid and he isn,t drinking any more than usual.

He did have a lava block which he recently began to rub his head on, but that was well after the feather loss had started. I had to remove it and replace it with an unbreakable christmas tree bauble on a chain, which he can safely rub his head against and it is too light and smooth to do any damage to his skin, same goes for his bell...........although, he,s always liked a head rub, even from young, so I can,t even say he is doing that excessively.

Yes, he is well loved, I tend to only have one bird at a time because as I am home every day, we keep eachother company. His cage is next to where I sit, he hitches a ride on my shoulder as I go around the house. The last few years I,ve had to adapt to his getting older, for example, he has a ramp rather than a ladder down to his seed and grit, his perches although different thicknesses are all on one level and connected by a cross perch so he doesn,t have to jump from one to the other. As his sight got worse, he learnt to shuffle along and tap with his beak to search for his different perches. Recently, I made a smooth patio area on the front of his cage so he can rest his feet and doze with his beak resting on his bath.

He,s my little OAP !

I,ll post some more pics of him in the photo section, I don,t intend to give up on him, although he doesn,t talk now, and his trips around the house are rare these days, he is still so lovable !

take care,

cal.

You're doing so much to make him happy!! Good on you!! :bluebudgie: