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administering medication without traumatizing my parakeet

idyl

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help! I have two budgies. One (Spook) pecked at the other (Scully) and wounded her just below her left eye. The vet gave me two antibiotic serums to be administered twice a day for 10 day and a topical ointment to be applied every 8 hours. She is not hand trained yet so you can imagine the scene when i reach in for her. I end up chasing her around her cage until I catch her. We both hate this.This has been going on for three days. I can't subject her to this trauma for another week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a less traumatizing way to do this? And how can I ever regain her trust after this.
 

Shannan

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I don’t know whether your medication can be mixed but Walter takes his in a little applesauce or apple juice. I am working on getting Walter to accept food/ liquid from a syringe (no needle) so I can give him medicine in the future more easily
 

Kassiani

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I’m afraid I have the same problem with my boys. I have tried to syringe train them, but that has not yet worked out. I am still hopeful. Is there something your budgie will eat that you can mix their antibiotic dose into? It would have to be something they would eat entirely—a small dollop of mashed sweet potato, a tiny piece of bread. If your budgie won’t eat something like that, then holding them and syringing the meds into them is what you will have to do.

Perhaps for the ointment, you could get some long, wood handled swabs and use one to apply the ointment while distracting your sweet birdie with some millet.
 

Lady Jane

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Did anyone try to teach a little bird to accept something they may like the taste of from a syringe gentrification is involved? One could also present a syringe as a toy early on so they become familiar with seeing it.
 

Shannan

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I feed Walter apple juice with a syringe sometimes so he has a positive experience with it. I never thought of letting him play with it.
 

Clueless

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I put Secret's meds in food. Ground up carrot, baby food that doesn't have additives like iron, salt or preservatives.
 

Kassiani

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I have tried water in a syringe for the budgies, and apple juice for Opie. Neither of them like it, and will shake their heads if a drop gets into their mouths or on their beaks. :facepalm:
 
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