Urgent Sick Parakeet! Tail bobbing, dropping stuck, depressed

[Baileybird]

Hi, Hope someone can help.

My mom has an at least 7 yr old female blue Parakeet who just 2 days ago started acting "off". First thing she noticed was that she was strangely quit and her feathers were puffed a little. She turned heater on and that helped, but she has been consistently quiet, and the tail bobbing and breathing hard. Tonight she has a piece of poop stuck it looks like to or in her vent. Not wet looking. Can birds be constipated?

I know how fast things go downhill with birds. We have no Avian vets in our area so we are completely stuck. Weve had her 5yrs and never a problem.

What could this be? - We've never dealt with a sick parakeet.

Thank you.

 

[Baileybird]

Ps. Bird isnt handled so is skittish. We don't touch the birds. I snapped 2 quick pics with cmp camera. See the dropping?

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

I'm so sorry to hear about your sick bird. Could you give us a general location? There may be member who knows an Avian vet in your area.

 

[Familyof12]

If you can, please find a vet immediately. It sounds like a respiratory infection POSSIBLY.

First thing to do is make her as comfortable as possible, which is what I believe you are doing. If a budgie has a tail bobbing, it can be a sign of respiratory problems. Do you have a humidifier in the room? The bird should be kept at a warmer temperature so it's good you turned it up. A bird that is puffed due to illness is usually due to lack of body heat. The tail bobbing is a sign the bird is having difficulty breathing and the bobbing is an indicator usually of the harder breathing or difficulty breathing.

The ideal temperature for a budgie is about 75-80 with a humidity of 40% BUT no one should ever make drastic temperature changes (more than 15 degrees) with any bird. The difference in temperature makes their bodies work even harder. If you can play nice music, keep it a little darker, check temperature and humidity.

Assure she can eat. Whatever you can give her and fluids are available to her. Keep her company, whatever comforts her for now. I've provided a link for the symptoms. Please let us know how she does. I'm hoping she gets better!

Symptoms of Pet Bird Sickness

 

[Lady Jane]

Has she ever laid eggs? Is the vent area swollen?

 

[Familyof12]

Thank you Lady Jane! I almost forgot this happens when they lay eggs but I've heard that they will bob also. Sometimes they will have a big poop, then lay an egg.

Whatever the reason, I agree with Sarah. Finding an avian vet is really important for either reasons. Antibiotics and/or knowing if your budgie is laying (helping with dietary changes) should be handled right away. Please let us know how she is doing.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I hope you can find a vet to take her to, even if it's s few hours away. Please keep us updated on her condition. I hope she will be okay!

 

[Baileybird]

Thank you for the replies.

To answer your questions, I work with my mom running a full-time horse rescue, so we literally cannot drive hours away, ever. She did the research.. we are in Long island. There are supposedly only 8 AV's in the state of NY. - all many hours away from us. Not a lot of bird owners out here.

Bailey's huge cage is in the big bathroom. When it gets in the colder seasons she moves the cage near the warm big window. Lot of sunshine and wild birds to chat to. She has owned Bailey for over 5 years now and she has never had a problem with her.

No she is not alone. Her girlfriend, best buddy bird died a sudden unexplainable death. This happened years ago with another one from the same group from Petco. (she assumed they were weak... like a puppymill dog) (Bailey isnt a petco bird fyi) This may be completely irrelevant, but before we went out and bought 3 new birds from Petco, all seeming healthy and still do she waited a couple weeks to make sure there wasnt something contagious that killed the friend so sudden. Bailey did seem depressed, but possibly cause of the friend (she loved her) or maybe perhaps she did have something coming on. Not sure. The friend never showed any signs, so it was really weird!!

A few things that popped up. Egg binding. 1. There was eggs every once and awhile at the bottom of the cage she told me, but she never knew which bird laid them, so we are unsure about Bailey. I have chickens so I'm familiar with what it looks like and I don't think it's that. 2. Fungus. This she found on the internet. She leaves 3 diff kinds of gourmet food out, but leaves it out for them sometimes for a week or so b4 refill. It was just something we never thought of and sounds def possible being a bathroom. 3. The other birds. We had them about a week. She showed symptoms I believe 3-4 days after. They made her happy but then she got sick. odd. Maybe she was stressed about the friend and then a cold came on?

My mom takes amazingly good care of. All those poor birds out there aren't them.. Toys, 3 diff foods and cuttlebone. Always have clean water. Being a bathroom it's always fairly humid, so I would think that is ideal. Temps can go down, but never more than a handful. When we get home and it is cold heater goes on. It is true, they love being hot and our house isnt ideal in that way. They are pretty clear on when they are happy and when they are not. The biggest issue is the birds have never been handled. She fears the stress alone of being in a box and brought somewhere would be the end.

I haven't looked at her yet, but if anything changed ill post.

Oh and Id have to ask but I don't know if she can be sure if she eats cause shes not alone. again, ill ask

 

[Tara81]

if she has an infection she might need antibotics. :/ Too bad we cannot buy baytril online.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hope that she will be OK. Sending positive thoughts for her. If you can't find an avian vet then try to find a vet who has experience with birds.