im a little worried about Casper.

 

he has always been a tiny little bird. in fact VERY tiny. but i am worried because his keel bone seems to be sticking out more than normal and he has lots of pin feathers on his head at the moment where he has been moulting. i think he is really under some stress at the moment.

 

he is eating fine. he eats pellets and seeds/eggfood and ive been putting in millet and fresh for him as much as possible to try and make him put on weight.

 

he is going to the vets on monday first thing to be weighed and tested. is there anything in particular i can feed him to help?

 

i dont really know what else to do. also the vet at my surgery has changed and its now a man instead of the lady that used to treat peanut. so im not sure how much he knows about birds. well...we shall see.

How old is Casper, any idea what might be causing stress, if it is stress. You probably don't have anything to worry about, Star loses a bit of weight at every moult, I end up feeding by hand (by holding the pot up) to ensure he keeps his weight up.

he will be 1 on the 13th december.

 

his tummy is usually quite rounded but i managed to hold him today and have a proper feel and it is v- shaped and the bone is definitely sticking out. he is a small boned bird and his weight loss may affect him more because of it. theres nothing of him really. he does eat though - thats the thing. im worried he might have developed megabacteria from when peanut died. i did have him tested and tested (the vet took about 7 samples) but i know there can be false negatives. as he is moulting now it might just have been enough to trigger it.

 

hopefully i am being paranoid and its nothing as serious. i am a worrier, you know that.

How about worms, have you ever wormed him, I doubt it would be megabacteria, but that will always be in the back of your mind.

 

I know of an avian vet in Winchester, Peter Scott and also one near Andover called Mr Chitty who are very knowledgeable and good. They will be in the links which eterri is putting together, the post is a few days old.

there is one near me but i cant get time off work in the week and he is only open a few hours a day. its so hard to get an appointment! i guess he is in high demand.

 

casper was wormed when we brought him home, hasnt been done since though, do you htink he could have caught it being inside all the time? megabacteria can be harboured by seemingly healthy birds until a time of stress and that is whats worrying me. sometimes the only signs of it is weight loss.

 

if i dont like the new vet i will find a way to take him to the one that is further away though - without a doubt.

I really hope he's okay. I think you're doing all you can giving him millet, hopefully he'll put on some weight soon.

I'm glad you're taking Casper to the vets. He shouldn't be losing weight just because he's molting. I hope it is nothing serious. Please let us know as soon as you get back from the vets what they said. For now, I'd just keep seed in the cage at all times, and keep some millet in there too, so he can nibble whenever he gets hungry.

Have you tried pro-biotics?

 

Worm wise I doubt Casper would have them as he's been inside, although check with your vet.

Millet actually isn't all that good for putting on weight. You're better off giving him a honey stick.

Trill, Vitakraft, Johnson's Honey rings & bars etc?

his droppings are very dark this morning. like peanuts were when he was ill

 

hes been tipping his seed pot over, which is unusual for him - but ive given him millet, boiled egg with grated apple as well as his seeds. i dont have any honey sticks at the moment. i will pop to the shops and get one later.

 

everyone cross your fingers for him, i hope it isnt what i think it is.

Oh I hope it isn't pixie. What a downer for you.

Pixie (((((((hugs))))))

I'm sure he's going to be okay! ((((hugs))))

I think he'll be okay.

 

I've had a quick look at the info on the disease http://www.budgerigars.co.uk/diseases/megabacteria.html and I think an avian vets advice will put your mind at rest. Was looking for Megabac-S as Karen mentioned that that product is a good cure for the disease, if in the unlikely event it is that.

megabac s is quite hard to get hold of in the UK. my vet had to order it directly from overseas as the vet supplier in the UK couldnt get it quick enough. it was too late for peanut though. he had to be treated with fungilin instead.

okay (Laughing out loud), apparently it is all in my head because casper is fine :hap:

 

he has lots of muscle either side of his keel bone and the only thing in his poos was veggies! (Laughing out loud)! i guess next to lucky he looks so tiny and i got myself all worried about it. (well id rather be a worrier than miss something really important)

 

so lucky is in with casper today as quarantine is over. i will post some pictures tomorrow probably.

Edited October 24, 200519 yr by pixie25

Aw that's such good news!

What a relief!

*wipes sweat from brow* phew

Great news Pixie, looking forward to the pictures.

i dont think casper likes lucky much! (Laughing out loud). i got them out together and they both went into caspers cage. but LUCKY ate all caspers seeds and casper got pecked away (poor little babe) then LUCKY sat on caspers swing and casper was demoted to dowel perch. (Laughing out loud)

 

im going to keep them separate for a while and hope they get to like eachother more during their playtimes!

I am glad Casper is okay that is great news

Pixie Did the vet say what casper's weight was? You may fine you have a very fit (not fat) budgie?

I have 2 budgies who are thin. Georgy was almost starved when I got him his keel bone stuck out REALLY bad. He has since put weight on but I dont reckon he even weighs 30g, he is perfectly healthly though and Bobby my grey he is small and eats like a pig but he is very active. Maybe Caspy is just a thinny too hehe. Glad he is okay!