Urgent Budgie fluffed up feathers & lethargic after trip to vet

[meheartbirds]

So I took them to a new vet today. They ran the cultures and found that they both have a bacterial infection! Good thing I got them in.

Now I have to give them antibiotics two times a day for 14 days. Then they go back to the vet to retest for bacteria.

I’m so relieved to have definitive answers and to have found a good vet.

I am so glad you found the reason for their illness! I am also glad that you found a good Avian Vet!! You can buy them Bene Bac for birds to sprinkle on their food/seeds while they are on the antibiotics. Bene-Bac® Plus Bird & Reptile Powder | PetAg

Also start them on beneficial foods for reducing bacteria and inflammation. I use the mixture of organic Ceylon Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, Turmeric in a 2:2:1 ratio with a sprinkle of black pepper that you can sprinkle on the food/seeds and make birdie Bread and add this to the batter. My birds are thriving on all the nutritious foods/ Spices/ herbs that I have learned are very beneficial to birds. They are loving the presentation of foods I give them more and more..and now they eat food as much as they do seed. ALL natural.

 

[Polly101]

I am so glad you found the reason for their illness! I am also glad that you found a good Avian Vet!! You can buy them Bene Bac for birds to sprinkle on their food/seeds while they are on the antibiotics. Bene-Bac® Plus Bird & Reptile Powder | PetAg

Also start them on beneficial foods for reducing bacteria and inflammation. I use the mixture of organic Ceylon Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, Turmeric in a 2:2:1 ratio with a sprinkle of black pepper that you can sprinkle on the food/seeds and make birdie Bread and add this to the batter. My birds are thriving on all the nutritious foods/ Spices/ herbs that I have learned are very beneficial to birds. They are loving the presentation of foods I give them more and more..and now they eat food as much as they do seed. ALL natural.

They gave me some probiotic paste. I was looking into getting the powder, but they told me on the phone that they had paste. I was glad to hear they they recommend probiotics with antibiotics. The other vet said nothing about that.

Are you able to post a link for a birdie bread? I’m going to try that.

Pee-wee and Dart will only eat spinach and carrot. They are skeptical of all new foods, but maybe they will go for birdie bread.

 

[Polly101]

May not need to use the Humidifier.

Instantly pointing to one or both birds being scared of you. All they've experienced with you since they came home is stress and fear (not a criticism and not your fault)
But don't worry, it won't be permanent. Keep them in a separate room for now. Keep an eye on them without them seeing you looking at them. Calmly talk to them when you do need to go to their cage to change their food or water. Tell then what you're doing. While at the cage check their poops for any bad signs (like diarrhea). If they eat the egg and the poops come good then all's we'll and good.
Yes, it's a set-back, but not too big to get over. You'll really have to start much slower with these two. Can anyone else sit quietly in the room with them? See if they get scared with maybe your son. If he scares them then you may as well socialise from the other side of the room to start.
Don't be upset, I'm sure it'll all come good.

Yoda got on my finger so I could put him in the carrier, but Phoenix is still afraid of me. He will calmly step on a perch to get back in his cage though.

It’s good that they see me interact with Dart and Pee-wee, who gladly step up and hop on me. We had a nice moment where I was holding Dart and Pee-wee and they started doing the eye blinking thing with Yoda and Phoenix, so I did it too...

They let me feed them millet on the stalk, but not directly from my hand yet. Every time they get medicine, I give them millet so it’s not as bad of an experience. They bite me and I just let them. Eventually they will give up, I hope. It makes it easier to get the meds in their mouth if they are biting anyway.

This is not a great way to start off with new birds. They have to have meds two times a day for two weeks, so I’m a bad person in their eyes... at least they see that I don’t grab the other two birds ever.

They do not flap around the cage nearly as much as Dart and Pee-wee would if I had to give them medicine. Honestly, I’d have to have their wings clipped to wrangle those too, which would make them even more sad, so they better just stay healthy.

 

[Polly101]

Thanks everyone for the advice and support!

 

[meheartbirds]

Lori you are doing great! I have been thru two months of giving meds twice daily and I know the heartbreak you have because you did not want to start off this way..being someone to avoid. However I was reassured that my flock would not hold it against me in the long run and they would start trusting when things get back to normal. Just don't push it like I did at first being eager to let them know I was their friend. But they are forgiving!

Also I found out that for me, catching them was so much easier when I took the cage into the bathroom, eyed where they were perched, and turned off the light so they could not see and catch them with my hand because I could feel them better that way. I got to be real good at that lol. Then have a hand towel ready to immediately transfer them into the towel and lightly wrap them as if they were a burrito. They cannot bite you as easily and I stabilize their head with my fingers on both cheeks and use my other hand to put in the meds. That way their feathers are wrapped and they cannot struggle as much and I think they probably like feeling wrapped though I can't ask them lol. They get used to it especially if you use a soft grip and eventually they didnt fight as much to get free of my hand.

 

[meheartbirds]

One other thing..once I learned how to catch them with hardly any resistance in the dark...the flock calmed down a great deal at med time. They were upset too even though some of them came off their meds before others..but they were much calmer as if they didn't even know I had caught one of their friends once I got the hang of catching them with little resistance.

 

[meheartbirds]

By the way I forgot one other important thing. I was introduced to an amazing woman who is an expert on parrot nutrition (and budgie and cockatiels) and runs her own website where you can order many amazing things including birdie bread. She and the rescue person who saved my birds also have an awesome cooking forum on Facebook. You will see many amazing viseos as they cook up wonderful birdie food. Let me know if you want to join her facebook site. The website where you can order her stuff is christineschopshop.com

 

[Polly101]

By the way I forgot one other important thing. I was introduced to an amazing woman who is an expert on parrot nutrition (and budgie and cockatiels) and runs her own website where you can order many amazing things including birdie bread. She and the rescue person who saved my birds also have an awesome cooking forum on Facebook. You will see many amazing viseos as they cook up wonderful birdie food. Let me know if you want to join her facebook site. The website where you can order her stuff is christineschopshop.com

Thank you for all the info! I’m getting worse at catching them as they get smarter!

I was using a washcloth, but had a hard time seeing where I’m grabbing. I might try that again. Transferring from one hand to another is usually an escape opportunity.

I’m trying to work on getting my ring finger around so he can grab it with his feet. I get so nervous that I can barely focus on what I’m doing and just somehow do it.

 

[Polly101]

How awful to have to deal with an entire flock of sick birds. Are they all better now? How long ago was this? I hope they are all back to normal!

One other thing..once I learned how to catch them with hardly any resistance in the dark...the flock calmed down a great deal at med time. They were upset too even though some of them came off their meds before others..but they were much calmer as if they didn't even know I had caught one of their friends once I got the hang of catching them with little resistance.[/QU

 

[tka]

How are Yoda and Phoenix today? I'm so glad that you got them to a good vet who was able to work out what was wrong with them.

 

[meheartbirds]

How awful to have to deal with an entire flock of sick birds. Are they all better now? How long ago was this? I hope they are all back to normal!

The sick birds were shipped to me on Oct 16th and they just now are well and everyone finished with their medications and treatments. It has been quite a ride but they are still wonderful and now we work on trust. I just watch and enjoy them without trying to touch them except for my one cockatiel who insists on getting scritches quite frequently because he bonded well with me before all the trauma.

I have noticed my two cockatiels seem to actually LIKE taking medicine and are both trained to step up etc. So they have no barriers to overcome with me..only the budgies.

 

[Polly101]

How are Yoda and Phoenix today? I'm so glad that you got them to a good vet who was able to work out what was wrong with them.

They are both doing great! A few days of antibiotics did the trick! Of course I’m going to keep it up for the full two weeks.

 

[Polly101]

The sick birds were shipped to me on Oct 16th and they just now are well and everyone finished with their medications and treatments. It has been quite a ride but they are still wonderful and now we work on trust. I just watch and enjoy them without trying to touch them except for my one cockatiel who insists on getting scritches quite frequently because he bonded well with me before all the trauma.

I have noticed my two cockatiels seem to actually LIKE taking medicine and are both trained to step up etc. So they have no barriers to overcome with me..only the budgies.

What an ordeal! I’m so glad this is happening over Christmas because I have two short weeks of work. I can’t imagine keeping this up for any longer, as it takes so long for just two.

How many did you get at one time?

I love English budgies and wanted my next pair to be English, but had a hard time finding a breeder that had any available at this time.

I’m getting better at administering the antibiotics, but they don’t like the probiotic gel. It’s verythick and they won’t eat it on their own with seeds on it. I try to get it on their mouths after the antibiotic, but they won’t open up. I got it in Phoenix’s eye because he wiggled and rolled. I must not be holding them correctly because they can wiggle away most of the time. I hold them so gently because they are so tiny.

I’m going to see if the gel is water soluble and thin it down so I can squirt it in their mouths with the syringe.

 

[Polly101]

What I’ve learned is that finding the right vet is crucial. They have to be equipped to do a gram stain and know how to thoroughly examine the bird.

Here is a link to info on gram stains from Harrison’s: http://avianmedicine.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gramstain2.pdf

 

[meheartbirds]

What an ordeal! I’m so glad this is happening over Christmas because I have two short weeks of work. I can’t imagine keeping this up for any longer, as it takes so long for just two. ......you do what you have to do..put one foot in front of another.

How many did you get at one time? ......I bought 4 EB and 1 cockatiel to be friends with my one cockatiel.

I love English budgies and wanted my next pair to be English, but had a hard time finding a breeder that had any available at this time. .....they are hard to find

I’m getting better at administering the antibiotics, but they don’t like the probiotic gel. It’s verythick and they won’t eat it on their own with seeds on it. I try to get it on their mouths after the antibiotic, but they won’t open up. I got it in Phoenix’s eye because he wiggled and rolled. I must not be holding them correctly because they can wiggle away most of the time. I hold them so gently because they are so tiny.

I’m going to see if the gel is water soluble and thin it down so I can squirt it in their mouths with the syringe.... that’s why I switched to powder and sprinkle it in their food.

 

[meheartbirds]

I would like you to see this video of the vet practice I go to..this is taken by the rescue person who is bringing in a sick budgie to be examined. It is on facebook so I think you have to belong to Facebook..not sure.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=285888682111382

 

[Polly101]

I would like you to see this video of the vet practice I go to..this is taken by the rescue person who is bringing in a sick budgie to be examined. It is on facebook so I think you have to belong to Facebook..not sure.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=285888682111382

The link worked. The second vet I found was very through like this one. I hope as knowledgeable.