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Looking for budgie health advice

BlueRey

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Hi! I'm Rey, I just joined today and was wondering if anyone could give my advice about my budgie and if I'm overworrying about her.

Some basic info on my bird: I've had her for about a month and a half, based on her baby stripes and the fact that she just started molting I'm guessing she's about 4 months old. She is currently in a tabletop cage since her wings are clipped (she often forgets she can't fly yet), and I clean the cage daily. It's big enough for now and I let her out to play on top of the cage multiple times a day, but once she molts and can fly I'm going to be getting her a nice big cage. I'm currently transitioning her over from a seed diet to a pellet diet; it took me a while to find one she will eat (roudybush). I've also been introducing vegetables and want to start giving her daily chop. I spend a lot of time with her and she's already very bonded with me and enjoys sitting on my finger/phone and asking for head scratches.

About a week and a half ago she had a throwing up spell in the middle of the night. I was worried it might be her pellets since she had just started to eat roudybush 2 days prior, but she has eaten them since and hasn't gotten sick again. I made a vet appointment and the vet said she's a healthy weight and did a fecal but found nothing in it. The vet did point out that she does this extended neck yawning motion a lot and that was usually a sign of either a bacterial or yeast infection. The vet prescribed baytril to give to my budgie 2x a day for 10 days, and recommended that after the medication I give her a probiotic for a bit. Currently we're on our third day of medication. She also recommended that I only give seed for now to make sure my birds able to keep her energy up. I can tell my baby has been feeling a bit icky from side effects of the medication. She is still eating plenty but the eating is slower than usual, and she does seem to want to rest a bit more. She is still very playful, sings her normal amount, and wants to be around me. Her fecal has been healthy-looking and she has been maintaining her weight (I weigh her daily).

Something I've noticed with her is that she often does this motion with her head that looks a lot like regurgitation, but she never spits or throws anything up. She'll sometimes do it in her cage or if she's perched on my phone watching a video with me. She doesn't have any mirror toys in her cage, so it isn't her trying to regurgitate for a reflection. I don't know if this is her version of a head bob, but I'm concerned since all videos I've seen of budgies doing head bobs appear to be more of a see-saw motion rather than what she does. Occasionally when she is doing this weird 'head bob' I'll hear her breathing once, but it doesn't sound raspy or noisy. If I hold her close to my ear I can't hear her breathing. I've been obsessing over this though and have a tendency to extremely over worry, so I don't know if I'm overanalyzing it and would appreciate any input.

Thank you in advance!
 

Lady Jane

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How long is your bird going to get the medication? It does sound like a yeast or bacterial infection in the crop. One thing you can do at home is to add ACV (apple cider vinegar) with mother such as Braggs to the drinking water. It is not a cure for yeast but rather it makes the crop more acidic which in turn impedes the growth of yeast. Also avoid any foods with sugar as sugar helps yeast to grow. Measure out 2 tsp. ACG into 1 quart of water (32 oz) Fill up the water dish with this daily until the quart is gone. Refrigerate it while using. Some people do this on a monthly bases as budgies are very susceptible to yeast infections. If your budgie is still doing the head bobbing after medication is finished than the vet should know.
 

Zara

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Welcome to the Avenue :)

Glad you got her to the vet so they could have a look at her.

The bobbing could be related or it could be regurgitation. They don´t always let the food back out, especially at first while they are still learning.
It is hard to even comment as we cannot see what this motion is. If you feel it is something wrong, then head on back over to the vet. Record a video clip to show them will help too.
 

BlueRey

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How long is your bird going to get the medication? It does sound like a yeast or bacterial infection in the crop. One thing you can do at home is to add ACV (apple cider vinegar) with mother such as Braggs to the drinking water. It is not a cure for yeast but rather it makes the crop more acidic which in turn impedes the growth of yeast. Also avoid any foods with sugar as sugar helps yeast to grow. Measure out 2 tsp. ACG into 1 quart of water (32 oz) Fill up the water dish with this daily until the quart is gone. Refrigerate it while using. Some people do this on a monthly bases as budgies are very susceptible to yeast infections. If your budgie is still doing the head bobbing after medication is finished than the vet should know.
She is going to be on the medication for 10 days, we're currently on day 3 of it. Thank you for the advice and the information about the ACV, I'll likely do that occasionally after this current issue is resolved.
 

BlueRey

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Welcome to the Avenue :)

Glad you got her to the vet so they could have a look at her.

The bobbing could be related or it could be regurgitation. They don´t always let the food back out, especially at first while they are still learning.
It is hard to even comment as we cannot see what this motion is. If you feel it is something wrong, then head on back over to the vet. Record a video clip to show them will help too.
Thank you! Yeah, I'm thinking of giving it a few more days since it's only day 3 of medication, but if she is still doing the head bobbing by Friday I'll probably call again to see if I can get her in early next week.
 

Ripshod

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Calm down and have a brew.
The vet did point out that she does this extended neck yawning motion a lot and that was usually a sign of either a bacterial or yeast infection
Not necessarily. Budgies to this to adjust their crop and they do it often. You're right about the Meds making her feel icky, baytril is only a mild antibiotic thankfully.
A single episode of vomiting is usually nothing to worry about, she probably overate. It's only a worry when it's a few times in a day.
I think you should just relax, let the meds run their course and just enjoy your little friend a while.
By the way, she's a boy.
 

BlueRey

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Calm down and have a brew.

Not necessarily. Budgies to this to adjust their crop and they do it often. You're right about the Meds making her feel icky, baytril is only a mild antibiotic thankfully.
A single episode of vomiting is usually nothing to worry about, she probably overate. It's only a worry when it's a few times in a day.
I think you should just relax, let the meds run their course and just enjoy your little friend a while.
By the way, she's a boy.
Lol, yeah, I know I'm being an overreacting bird parent. This is just the first time I've personally owned a bird so I want to do everything right. Thank you!

And I originally thought she was a boy when I got her, but her cere is more of a pinkish-lavender color (the profile pic is a bit misleading, it doesn't look that blue on my camera). I recently learned non-mature females can have that lavender color for a cere. The vet also thinks girl, but you might very well be right, I'll know for sure once she/he matures and the cere either goes the pink/brown color or crisp blue. The sex doesn't matter to me though, just as long as they're happy. :)
 

BlueRey

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Update for if anyone is interested or has any further advice:

My budgie was acting completely fine yesterday, but this morning she had another throwing up spell and has been regurgitating seeds and letting them fall out of her mouth a few times today (she isn't regurgitating for anything in particular, just sitting on her perch). She is also acting more tired than usual (but still eating and actually gained a gram from yesterday). I called the vet and they referred me to another clinic that does cytology; I made an appointment with them for early next week. I have no idea how much a cytology costs, I'm hoping it's not an insane amount of money since I lost my job due to covid.

I'm a stressed out mess right now because of that and most people in my life are telling me I'm being ridiculous about getting this level of vet care for a budgie. Even though I don't believe that and am a firm believer of vet care for all pets, it is still getting to me.
 

Lady Jane

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I would have asked why if he is an avian vet you need to go someplace else. Vets here do gram stains to check crop for bacteria or yeast. There is also a test for the droppings, that one usually does get sent out to a lab. Did you get the ACV yet?
 
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