Some sort of liquid coming out of her mouth, moving head up and down really fast

[Monica]

Did they even do a fecal gram stain???

 

[miba55]

Did they even do a fecal gram stain???

No, they didn't do any testing. Kept telling me there was no need, that her droppings looked fine. He said that budgies sometimes regurgitate onto a mirror thinking they are feeding another bird. I told him that she didn't regurtitate onto the mirror, still said she was okay.

 

[iamwhoiam]

My vet doesn't always do testing, depends on visual exam and symptoms. However she will ask me what I want to do and we will go from there.
Even though she might feel testing isn't necessary I might request something and then when the results come back more often than not they are negative.
You may want to talk to the vet and share your concerns and that you might feel more comfortable if some diagnostics were done.

 

[Begone]

It was a veterinary hospital and they had a certified avian vet. I explained everything to him. I told him that Daisy vomited twice in the span of 2 months and the nature of the vomit.

I told him that I read about Avian Gastric Yeast and that maybe they should test Daisy for it. He said there was no need.

He took Daisy into his hands and examined her for like 30 seconds. Again, said everything was okay.

Right before leaving the examination room, I again asked if he was sure it wasn't Avian Gastric Yeast. He said yes.

You where getting your budgie their for a reason and the vet didn't do a proper examination IMO. To be honest, I wouldn't pay for it, he was not doing what you wanted.
I hate when they not listen to the owners..

Should I take her to another vet and force them to test her for AGT? Please advise.

Yes. If it's something wrong with her it's better to know now. But I hope that she is healthy.

I also lost a budgie for fungal infection. But he was hiding it so well and when I realize that he was sick it was to late.

 

[Lady Jane]

Wow I would not go there again. There is no was he could be sure there was no yeast unless he did a gram stain of the crop. He would put the swabbed material from crop on a slide and look at it through a microscope. I would observe her closely to see if she does any head bobbing, unusual beak and jaw movements or vomiting. Meantime check into finding another avian vet.

 

[Monica]

Vets like him are the reason why I avoid at least two vets in my area if at all possible. Neither one are avian certified, but both will see birds. I lost one budgie to AGY because the first vet said that he had a bacterial infection (without doing any tests!) and sent him home with antibiotics. The second and third vets that saw him actually *DID* do testing, but unfortunately, the tests came back negative each time... it wasn't until necropsy that we discovered the infection.


That said, the closest avian certified vet near me is 2+ hours away... and apparently, they're retiring soon... (but there are others in the area just a tad further away... and others yet 3-4 hours out)


I haven't gone to one of the certified ones yet, since there is a great local vet with a ton of knowledge when it comes to birds! And I visit her whenever I can. (well, I use her for *all* of my pets!)

 

[miba55]

How do I make sure that a vet is avian certified? I mean, they can just say "Yeah, we are avian certified" and examine the bird just to make an extra couple of bucks. Do I ask for an official document, certification?

 

[iamwhoiam]

They should have a certificate showing that. However a certified avian vet is not always better than a regular vet who is knowledgeable when it comes to birds. I had a very bad experience with a certified avian vet. You want a vet who knows about birds and even though they don't feel that any tests need to be done based on a visual exam, if you have concerns or there are symptoms then they should do more than just a quick visual once over.
Find an ABVP Specialist | American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
Association of Avian Veterinarians Go to resources tab and find a vet. Not all of the members of AAV are board certified avian specialists

 

[miba55]

They should have a certificate showing that. However a certified avian vet is not always better than a regular vet who is knowledgeable when it comes to birds. I had a very bad experience with a certified avian vet. You want a vet who knows about birds and even though they don't feel that any tests need to be done based on a visual exam, if you have concerns or there are symptoms then they should do more than just a quick visual once over.
Find an ABVP Specialist | American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
Association of Avian Veterinarians Go to resources tab and find a vet. Not all of the members of AAV are board certified avian specialists

Thanks, the second link was very helpful. I've found an avian certified vet in my city.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Here's an article that might be of interest to you. May be a bit outdated but still worthwhile reading:
Why an Avian Vet ? | Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

 

[Lady Jane]

Just a quick note about testing for AGY. Sometimes the test can be clear of yeast and a few weeks later be positive. That happened with the budgie I lost. Some budgies have the yeast but are symptom free. It is confusing at times and can be difficult to treat effectively. Hopefully you bird is one of the lucky ones that does not.

 

[karen256]

My GCC occasionally gets crop yeast infections (3-4x in the 18+ years I've had her).
It's never been enough to make her really act sick, in fact one of the times it only showed up in fecal testing from a checkup, there were no symptoms; other times she was vomiting occasionally but basically active and normal, like your budgie.

When it was milder, my vet had me just give her apple cider vinegar in her water for 2 weeks, and that was enough to clear it up (she was retested after). It didn't even require medication.
Now, I would never recommend medicating a bird without a vet check, but the ACV is safe and healthy and may help, at least until you can find a vet who is willing to do a proper test to check for an infection.
For the vinegar, it must be the raw, organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar (any health food store and many reg grocery stores should have it), and I was adding a teaspoon to a cup of water.