Urgent Budgie is possibly going to die

[Cockatoo-Dust]

First off, he went to a vet 10/7/15. It's not a certified avian vet, but he does treat birds. The only certified avian vet is 3-4 hours away, being the closest.
The vet told me that he doesn't know why Link is losing weight for no reason.
Link might be at the end of his life, since we don't know how old he is.
I was told to cover 3 sides of Link's cage to keep the heat in, and give him handfeeding formula to try and get his weight up.

He's been sitting at the bottom of the cage fluffed up, constantly sleeping, which is CLEARLY a bad thing.
He's 40 grams, and flat out will not eat any formula, and won't even eat millet when i offer it to him.
He loves millet.
His poop was normal, but now it's turning black, and he only pooped about 5 times since i changed the paper yesterday.
He seems to be eating seeds out of his food bowl, but he's not gaining weight??

Any advice?? Any ideas what it might be??
The only thing i can think of, is that he might be really really old and his organs are failing. The vet also said that's what it might be.

 

[Chihuahua]

even if it's far away you should take him to an avian vet.

 

[Macawnutz]

Black poop is a sign of lack of eating or it could be blood. What tests did he do? Did they do a set of radiographs? You need to get him to a vet again, even if it is far.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Gosh I am so sorry @Cockatoo-Dust Only thing I can say is that the color of the droppings is probably because he hasn't eaten.

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

even if it's far away you should take him to an avian vet.

You need to get him to a vet again, even if it is far.

I would, but it's not up to me. My parents "don't want to drive 3 hours for a budgie"
Edit: Apparently they see a budgie as less important than a large bird... They aren't really that much of "bird people" so i can understand why they would think like that....

What tests did he do? Did they do a set of radiographs?

He didn't do any tests because "they might do more harm than good", he didn't draw any blood either because budgies are too small and don't have a lot of blood.
I have sent an email to the vet just now asking if we can do ANYTHING to try and figure out what it is, or if there are any other tests we can do.

 

[Birdbabe]

Honey, I'm sorry.. Black poo usually means upper GI bleeding ...has he possibily eaten something like wood , metal, plastic? Can you get him in asap? In the meantime, keep him warm and comfy, keep him hydrated, can you or do you have an electrolight fluid to give subQ or orally? Pedialite would work orally, SubQ only
...(Dex 5/20 or plasma- lyte A ph 7.4)... if you're experienced in this... and only if he doesn't stress out for you.. Hope he is gonna be OK..

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

Honey, I'm sorry.. Black poo usually means upper GI bleeding ...has he possibily eaten something like wood , metal, plastic? Can you get him in asap? In the meantime, keep him warm and comfy, keep him hydrated, can you or do you have an electrolight fluid to give subQ or orally? Pedialite would work orally, SubQ only
...(Dex 5/20 or plasma- lyte A ph 7.4)... if you're experienced in this... and only if he doesn't stress out for you.. Hope he is gonna be OK..

I don't think he's eaten anything other than actual food, as far as i know.
I can't get him in to a vet until tomorrow at the earliest, unless we go to a 24hr vet that charges a ton of money. I don't want to stress him out too much.
We don't have any electrolyte fluids, and i'm not experienced with any of that.

 

[macawpower58]

You can make your own electrolyte fluids, a simple search pulled this up. It might help.

To remedy dehydration use:

• commercial electrolyte fluids, such as Pedialyte; or
• mix one pint of water, one pint of Gatorade, 1 teaspoon of honey or Karo syrup, 1 level teaspoon of aluminum-free baking soda (such as "Bob's Red Mill Baking Soda"), 1 level teaspoon table salt.
• Caution: Measure with care; inaccurate measurements can cause severe diarrhea. Orange or cherry juice helps in hydrating your bird.

Force-feeding is necessary when the energy levels drop so low that the bird does not eat or drink and is in danger of dying. You may try getting fluids into the sick birds using a dropper.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Pedialite, unflavored, can be purchased at any grocery store or pharmacy. It should be given 50/50 with water. You can dribble it into his mouth, or if he will take things by syringe that would be better.

I sure hope your baby gets better.

 

[Lady Jane]

About all you can do is keep him warm and hydrate if possible. Please tell your parents for me a little bird is as precious as a big bird.

 

[Monica]

Fecal/gram stain - checking his poop for bacterial or fungal infections. That should have been the first thing that was done, and what comes to mind is possibly AGY...

 

[msplantladi]

any updates...thats so sad to just watch any precious creature die. Sending good thoughts.

 

[Pentameter]

Has he vomited or regurgitated at all? When my Nimbus was having symptoms of what we eventually (post-mortem) discovered was lymphosarcoma, she'd vomit/regurge/have seed in her poops.

Thin black stool is usually from not eating; melena, or black stool (from digested blood in the GI tract) may be normal size and has a tarry consistency. Fresh blood in the feces would be red, and would indicate bleeding lower in the GI tract. The lack of poop and eating, as well as losing weight, makes me lean towards dehydration/not eating being the cause of the weird poops.

There are any number of things that could cause these symptoms. Only an avian vet would be able to provide you with the best possible guess, though even then it can be hard to say what's up. Bloodwork might be too much; they can only lose so much blood to begin with, and even less so when they're sick.

Your vet or an emergency veterinarian MIGHT be able to gavage (tube) feed the bird and give him subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids, which is termed supportive care. Sometimes enough of this can turn things around. Sometimes it won't. In my budgie's case, supportive care couldn't overcome her liver failure/lymphosarcoma. But it's worth trying! Ask the vet/e-vet if they can give supportive care including SQ fluids and gavage feeding.

 

[Begone]

He seems to be eating seeds out of his food bowl, but he's not gaining weight??

I don't think he eats, they often fool us that they do when they are sick.
Keep him warm, feed him formula and water with honey. But you must take him to a avian vet!
Tell your parents from me that it's cruel just to watch him suffer and die. And just like Dianne says, a little bird is as precious as a big bird.

And forget! Feed him warm formula and warm water!

 

[firdy num num]

Keep trying Skylar! Above you have all great info, all I can say right now is good vibes and prayers!

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry to read this. Sending positive thoughts for your bird. One of my birds was very ill and had major weight loss but was supported with gavaging and fluids because she wouldn't let me handfeed her. Sometimes she stayed at the vet and sometimes I would drop her off and then pick her up later in the day. This did give her the sustenance she needed and her health improved. I do hope that you are able to get the issues with your bird resolved.

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

I gave him some leafy greens today, he went CRAZY trying to get to them!
Finally i got him to eat something!
His weight is staying the same at 40 grams, as long as it isn't going down he might make it.
His poop is still black though, hopefully that clears up soon.

Has he vomited or regurgitated at all?

No he hasn't, at least not yet.

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

He ate some millet today! Yeah!
Hopefully he'll be okay!

Poop is still pretty black, but there's an increasing amount of them.
He is also spending less time on the floor of the cage which is always good, and he put up a fight when i took him out to weigh him! (he dislikes people, and he's not put up a fight since he's been sick)

He is still 40 grams unfortunately, but at least it's not going down.

 

[Lady Jane]

Still needs to see a vet. Do you have a friend that could take you to one or other family members? Where do you live? Maybe there is a forum member near you.

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

Still needs to see a vet. Do you have a friend that could take you to one or other family members? Where do you live? Maybe there is a forum member near you.

I would most definitely bring him to a vet, unfortunately our other family members are untrustworthy and we never see them..
The only family members we know are trustworthy either live in a different country/state or are unwilling to drive far for "just a bird". All of my friends are minors and do not drive.
I am in Chattanooga TN.
I don't know if my parents would let me drive 3 hours away with a stranger, they are pretty stubborn when i ask them if i can go anywhere- even if one parent comes with me they are still stubborn!