Budgie "retching"/advice needed

[SamAlexandra]

I'm hoping that someone who reads this might be able to offer some advice. My 7 year old female budgie has been doing a sort of retching or gasping motion every so often for a number of months. I barely noticed it at first, but it's beginning to happen more often. Sometimes multiple times in one day. I'll add a link to a video I managed to get, though the quality isn't very good. (It improves slightly towards the end.)

It happens completely at random, and can last just a second, or go on for.. maybe up to 1 minute (from what I've seen).
She doesn't make any noise when it happens, but she does look distressed.

One of my other budgies passed away about a month ago (he was roughly 12-14yrs old), and he had been doing the same thing.
She seems fine in herself, eating/drinking well, flies well, etc. She is moulting a LOT, and I think that, plus her little mate passing away recently, has made her more subdued than usual.

I've taken her to my vet, and they have no idea what is causing the issue/how to treat her. I even emailed an avian vet (unfortunately it's too far to travel to see them) and they said the only thing they could think it might be is a crop or throat infection. She was on antibiotics not too long ago (because of something unrelated) and clearly it didn't solve this problem. (Though I know there are different types of antibiotics for different things.)

I'm not sure what do to next, and I definitely don't want to be forcing medications on my little one if she doesn't need them.

If anyone has any thoughts/advice they could share, I'd appreciate it a lot. Thank you

 

[gibsongrrrl]

thinking it sounds like it might be avian gastric yeast

 

[rocky'smom]

time to see a avian vet

 

[SamAlexandra]

Thank you for your replies

Gibsongrrrl, I've been researching Avian Gastric Yeast, and it seems likely that is what my girls have. It's overwhelming how many things it could be, but the symptoms I've read about seem to match up. I'm waiting for my vet to call me today, and I'll talk to them about it.

Rocky'smom, unfortunately there isn't an avian vet close enough to where I live. I have been emailing the nearest avian vet, asking for advice, as they don't do phone consultations.

 

[Macawnutz]

Did you do a fecal gram stain? Even if this is a crop issue if she has been doing it for months it should show in the gram stain. AGY is tricky to find sometimes as its not shed in every poop. I would collect a poop sample every morning for a few days and bring it to the vet if they don't find it the first time.

 

[SamAlexandra]

Macawnutz, one of them had a fecal sample tested very recently, though nothing came back. That was with 3 days worth of droppings. I read that even with multiple testings, it still doesn't always show up.
I'm worried about leaving them much longer (to collect more samples, waiting for results, etc) as I know how quickly things can go downhill. The budgie that passed away recently suddenly started vomiting before he died (I had him put to sleep as he was suffering so much, my poor baby) and I can't bear the thought of that happening again.

 

[Macawnutz]

Macawnutz, one of them had a fecal sample tested very recently, though nothing came back. That was with 3 days worth of droppings. I read that even with multiple testings, it still doesn't always show up.
I'm worried about leaving them much longer (to collect more samples, waiting for results, etc) as I know how quickly things can go downhill. The budgie that passed away recently suddenly started vomiting before he died (I had him put to sleep as he was suffering so much, my poor baby) and I can't bear the thought of that happening again.

The treatment for AGY is one that you want to be sure it is the cause before treating. It's not a simple antibiotic. It's quite an expensive medication and is not tolerated well by some birds. We did more than half a dozen testings before it showed up, even then it showed up in a crop swab and not a fecal sample.

Was it an avian vet that did the sample? Have you done a CBC?

 

[SamAlexandra]

It wasn't an avian vet, no. There isn't one near enough to me that I could take my birds there.
Excuse my (probably silly) question, but what is a CBC? And is a crop swab simple to do? Maybe that'd be better than more fecal tests.

 

[Macawnutz]

http://nilesanimalhospital.com/files/2012/05/Understanding-Avian-Lab-Work-Updated-version.pdf

Avian Articles | Niles Animal Hospital & Bird Medical Center

You can overnight your fecal samples to an avian vet but it would be best to make the drive to one. I drive almost 2 hours to mine.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

they can find it in the vomit sample also. My little bongo had it and was very ill when I got him. had to be in a hospital box and get meds for 3 weeks, but he's fine now. took him back for several rechecks just to be sure. I have heard it can be very hard to get rid of, but we were lucky.