I have a young-ish female fallow budgie. I recieved her from a family member last Thanksgiving, and that family member got her from a family who didn't want her because she bit the children.

She's always been a really spunky keet (she does enjoy biting!), but sometimes she acts really under the weather for reasons unknown.

She lives with a male budgie who is a couple years older than she is. Right now he is moulting and has been a little aggressive. That leads to question 1:

Is it budgie breeding season?

We just moved from Florida to North Carolina. The other budgie and our cockatiel seemed to have taken the move really well and are active and perky.

Sammie, the female, however, seems very meloncholy and possibly sick.

A few months ago, she had an inbound egg (her first egg ever). We took her to the emergency vet and it was removed without much incident.

I can never really tell if Sammie is sick or not. She seems to always have her feathers fluffed out at least some. Today she was sitting at the bottom of her cage, which I've never seen her do. This really worried me and I took her out. She layed down very peacefully in my hands, and then on my neck, where I placed her for warmth.

I hate to take her to the vet for nothing, since we've already spent about $300 on her for the ER visit.

I was wondering if anyone had had experiences like this with their budgies. She seems like she may be a little bottom heavy, but I do not feel a hardness in her vent as if there was an egg there.

Is it possible she is pregnant?

If she is pregnant, how do I prevent her being egg bound again?

I could use any information or advice that you can give me. She acts like this every so often. Perhaps she has a non-contagious disease? What disease would do this?

I know this is a really long post, but I am very concerned!

Thanks for your help.

:bb:

I don't know much about that. I guess the vet is always better in checking the budgies out.

The worst part about budgie diseases is that most of them have similar or exactly the same symptoms. The only way to properly diagnose her would be to get her to a vet and have tests run. It really sounds like this is past due though I understand the hardship since you've already had to pay so much. Still, her life may depend on it and it shouldn't wait. Please let us know what you find out.

I think a vet visit is necessary. Please let us know how she gets on.

I think a vet visit is necessary. Please let us know how she gets on.

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Today she went from her cage into the cockatiels cage and seems a little better. Its possible his recent aggressiveness was stressing her out.

Or it could be that she is sick and thats why she didnt want to be around him.

right this moment she is eating and looks okay, shes just not as perky as she usually is.

To be on the safe side you should probably separate her from any other birds and have her seen. Budgies show such subtle signs of illness it's definitely worth looking into.

To be on the safe side you should probably separate her from any other birds and have her seen. Budgies show such subtle signs of illness it's definitely worth looking into.

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I'm pretty sure at this point that she is pregant. I think I will have her taken to the vet when I get some money. We just moved from Florida to NC and have spent most of our money getting all set up. We just had a pretty big mishap with our washer/dryer so thats even more money gone.

I'm really broke, but my first paycheck will go to her vet visit. She may have gotten a disease when she was in the pet shop, or even when she was loose outside for four days earlier this year.

Right now though she is looking very bottom-heavy and her vent is very messy. It looks like last time she had an egg.

But now I'm worried even more because her last (and first) egg got stuck and she was egg bound.

HOW CAN I KEEP HER FROM GETTING EGG BOUND AGAIN?

Im very concerned that this may happen.

If she's eggbound she needs to see the vet - NOW. By the time budgies start to look ill, they are very, very ill. This isn't something you can deal with, she needs proffesional help. Can you borrow some money?

If she's eggbound she needs to see the vet - NOW.  By the time budgies start to look ill, they are very, very ill.  This isn't something you can deal with, she needs proffesional help.  Can you borrow some money?

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How do I tell if she is eggbound? She just started to look bottom-heavy yesterday. I want to know if there is a way to prevent her being egg-bound, since it happened once before.

It sounds like she might possibly already be egg bound. It happens in older and younger hens. Really, she needs a vet because a messy vent is a sure sign of illness...egg bound or not.

It sounds like she might possibly already be egg bound. It happens in older and younger hens. Really, she needs a vet because a messy vent is a sure sign of illness...egg bound or not.

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I suppose I'll take her tomorrow. Then maybe they can run some tests at the same time to see if she has any illnesses. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sammie went to the vet this morning and got a calcium injection and some pain relief and antibiotics. She had an infection, according to the gram stain.

She handled it all over very well. The doctor was very knowledgable, but not very personable.

It ended up costing about $106, but now Sammie is in a warm spot and the swelling has gone almost completely down. Her vent looks good too. She desperately wants to come out and be part of the action out here.

Ive got to give her medicine for the next 10 days, but I think she'll be fine and won't need a follow-up visit. (hopefully)

 

:redalbino: :yellowhead:

Ugh, I hate vet bills! Glad to hear she's on the mend, though. Good work!

That's great news! What a lucky bird to have such a caring owner.

Oh, that's great news! Vet bills are horrible aren't they? Just shows how much we all love our birds!

Glad you took her and taht she's on the mend!

Sammie seems much better now. She knows what time her medicine is coming and will avoid my hand in the cage ONLY at those two times of day. How very clever she is! Even thought I know how very smart they are, they always surprise me!