Urgent Parakeet has noise in lungs

[Jean20057]

Hey everyone. I wish I was back under better circumstances. My budgie Buddy has some crackling sounds coming from his air sacs. He also beeps when he flys. Not the "I'm excited" beep, but the "I'm in pain" type of beep. I'm going to take him in to the vet regardless, but I'm hoping someone else has had this problem too. We had this same problem with our other budgie Pepper, who passed last year 2 weeks after his bestie Peatri. We never were able to figure out what happened to Pepper, so this really is urgent.

If someone has any advice or experience to share, I would really appreciate it. These guys are like our kids, and we love them as such.

Kristen

 

[Garet]

Vet time, now. It sounds like an infection in his chest.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hope all will be well with your budgie and good that you are planning on taking him to the vet.
Keep him warm, cover cage on 3 sides and best to separate him from any other budgies/birds.

 

[Jean20057]

Hope all will be well with your budgie and good that you are planning on taking him to the vet.
Keep him warm, cover cage on 3 sides and best to separate him from any other budgies/birds.

I would separate him, but his literal best friend is with him. Last time I tried to only take one to the vet without the other, I didn't make it out the door before the other started freaking out. That's not an option. And the way their cage is set up, it's always covered on 3 sides. His bromance partner feeds him too. Not that he needs it, but it's something I fear if I take it away, he might get so depressed he might stop eating altogether. That's I think what happened to Pepper and Peatri. Peatri died first and Pepper 2 weeks later, presumably from an englarged liver and broken heart. They had the same tight connection that my Buddy and Perry have . I'm not sure how old Buddy is but he's special to me. He was in Petco for at least 2 months, and I went in every day to visit with him. When I first saw him, he already had a deep blue cere. He's at least 5 years old.

Anyway, I figured a little background would be nice. I know it's been a while since I've been on here, so I'll post an actual update elsewhere.

 

[Jean20057]

Vet time, now. It sounds like an infection in his chest.

He's definitely going in tomorrow. Everything's closed tonight. It's already almost 9pm here. And I'm at work until 11. So right after that he'll be going in. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Lady Jane]

You know how fragile budgie s are. We have 24 hour vet emergency clinics in Maryland. If it were my bird I would be on my way.
Warmth is important, like 90 degrees. He may need to be getting supplemental oxygen.

 

[rocky'smom]

Vet time

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I hope your little one will be okay!!

 

[Garet]

He's definitely going in tomorrow. Everything's closed tonight. It's already almost 9pm here. And I'm at work until 11. So right after that he'll be going in. I'll keep everyone posted.

Lady Jane is right. He might not last until 11. Is there no one else who can take him in for you while you work? Family, friend, ECT?

 

[Jean20057]

Well he's still here, and the only vet that's working even kinda close to us is in surgeries all day. Unfortunately we can't afford an emergency vet. We're in a very touristy area, so everything is pretty expensive, and we don't make much to begin with. Regular vet visits are one thing, but we just exhausted all our vet fund on the two we lost last year, and still don't have emergency vet kind of money. And before I get any responses saying maybe I shouldn't have gotten them, we've had them all for 5 years now and were making more up until the last year or so.

Anyway, I'm hoping to somehow fit him in to the one that's in surgery all day. I'm going to call back and see if they can talk to her and maybe fit him in between surgeries.

We are keeping him warm and the cage is always covered.we JUST uncover them, and nobody likes mornings in our house and it takes a bit for everyone to wake up. So it's hard to tell how he actually is today. It does appear that he is bouncing around a little. But he was breathing a bit heavier this morning. We're doing what we can, but with the vets all occupied and absent, there's not.mich more we can do. We are giving him milk thistle and dandelion root extract in his water to help support his liver. And he doesn't have much space to really go crazy right now. Is there anyone here that has gone through the same situation? I would love some personal advice. I know this is really serious, and we're really worried. They are basically our kids, so losing them kills us. We just need some help while we are forced to wait on the vet.

 

[Garet]

Well, I found this online; x. Hope I put the link in correctly and I really hope the vet can squeeze you in. Have you tried calling local rescues and pet stores? They may know someone who can help.

 

[Jean20057]

Funny enough, that's actually my thread on Pepper from last year. I did give a quick re read over it though.

 

[Garet]

Funny enough, that's actually my thread on Pepper from last year. I did give a quick re read over it though.

Ah, I see. If they came from the same store, it could be an issue with all their budgies. If not, there may be some sort of mold or fungus in your house, then.

 

[Jean20057]

Not from the same store, one from PetSmart and Buddy from Petco. I mean they're still both from places that use bird mills, so I guess either is possible.

 

[rocky'smom]

May sure he is getting some humidity, that will help his rusty breathing. Just like us when we have colds, we need humidity. A steam vaporizer will help.

 

[Jean20057]

That I can do! I got a diffuser last year that I never got a chance to use. I hope that will work. I think we also have some eucalyptus essential oil to put in it.

 

[rocky'smom]

NO NO NO DO NOT USE ANY ESSENTIAL OILS, PLEASE, JUST HUMIDITY

 

[finchly]

No eucalyptus. Only one of the 4 common types is bird safe.

 

[Lady Jane]

As responsible bird owners we should try to set aside a vet emergency fund. Try to build it up so that in case it is needed we can find out what is wrong with our bird, get treatment or have an injury taken care of.

 

[Sylvester]

How is your baby doing? You have gotten some great advice on here.

I personally don't like emergency vets. To me, they are 'over priced buzzards' preying on human emotions.