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izzybpb

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Isabella Burnham
Hi everyone. I am concerned about my 8 year old male budgie. Since this morning, he has been fluffed up and sleeping excessively (or at least trying to). He has also been quiet and strangely docile. I was able to pick him up without any resistance (usually he bites the hell out of my hand or runs away if I try to hold him instead of just offering my finger to step onto). He also seems to have had abnormal poop for the past couple days, but I just noticed it today. Pictures will be attached. He has been hiding behind his favorite bell for the entire day and tucking his head under his wing.

Around dinnertime I took him to the vet. In short she confirmed that he was indeed sick and offered to do x-rays and/or blood tests, which would require him to be put under. Due to the fragility of parakeets, the way my first parakeet died, and Skylar's history of a possible stroke, I declined. I was too afraid that I would be sending him to his death. Unfortunately without diagnostics, there wasn't much they could do other than put him on an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory.

Since coming home, we have given him his first dose of both medications. He seems to have perked up a little - clicking his beak, occasionally preening or giving a half-hearted spin of his toy. However, I'm bothered by how much he seems to be eating. For the past couple hours, it seems that he went down to his seed bowl every five-ten minutes, ate some, then returned to his spot next to the bell toy. Sometimes he'd go down to the floor of the cage and scratch around and pick at empty seed hulls. I haven't seen him drink anything yet. Unfortunately, the breeder I got him from raised him on a seed diet, and for the past 8 years it has been virtually impossible to get him to eat anything other than a few nibbles of a leafy green. I'm worried he might be having a serious vitamin deficiency issue since he's eating so much and seems to be desperately picking around at the floor of the cage. For the past three years or so, he's been getting vitamin drops in his water dish.

As for other physical illness symptoms, his cere isn't crusty or runny and nothing is bloody. The vet said he seemed to be breathing a bit heavy but honestly I haven't noticed a change in his breathing. He also has a history of a respiratory infection in 2016. I believe they put him on the same medications that they did then.

Any advice or opinions are very much appreciated. Thank you!!!

This is how he holds his feathers normally.
IMG_7162.JPG

This was this morning before I realized that something was wrong.
IMG_2903-1.JPG

This is his normal poop.
IMG_2914-1.JPG

These are all the abnormal droppings.
IMG_2912-2.JPG IMG_2913-2.JPG IMG_2911-2.JPG IMG_2909-2.JPG

These are two pictures of him that I took five mins ago.
IMG_2922.JPG IMG_2923.JPG
 

Ripshod

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First thing that hits me is his bell. It looks like he's been regurgitating to it, which will attract masses of bacteria/mould (could be a source for reinfection). Either get rid of it or clean and sterilise at least twice a day. I'd be tempted, no driven, to find an alternative and get rid of the bell altogether.
 

Lady Jane

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First thing that hits me is the all seed diet. He could have problems in the liver because that is what happens with this kind of diet.
Of course without diagnostics its hard to tell. There is an OTC liver support medication on Amazon called milk thistle. @Love My Zons may sell it too.
 

JoJo&Loki

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First thing that hits me is the all seed diet. He could have problems in the liver because that is what happens with this kind of diet.
Of course without diagnostics its hard to tell. There is an OTC liver support medication on Amazon called milk thistle. @Love My Zons may sell it too.
This is very good advice! With his symptoms milk thistle could indeed help. If he eats nutriberries you can also try the Sr. ones, I’ve started giving them to my budgies occasionally for the milk thistle.
Also, you said he will nibble veggies so you can try dandelion greens.

I hope he feels better soon, he’s adorable :heart:
 
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Love My Zons

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Hi there, so sorry to hear about your bird. An Avian Vet can have a blood panel run to show liver, kidney values.

I would start here first and foremost. After you know the results, you can take it from there. The supplement to aid in healing is a liquid form, where the pure ingredients are expressed to make this. It is suspended into a liquid form vegetable glycerin based.
Milk Thistle/dandelion work hand in hand for liver and kidney support.

If you can, by all means seek the advice and testing to conclude for sure before treating on your own. Diet change is a must going forward regardless.

We have alot of budgie owners here who can guide you on fresh foods and small cooked mashes, to a formulated pelleted food.

Wishing you the best! :)
 
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izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
First thing that hits me is his bell. It looks like he's been regurgitating to it, which will attract masses of bacteria/mould (could be a source for reinfection). Either get rid of it or clean and sterilise at least twice a day. I'd be tempted, no driven, to find an alternative and get rid of the bell altogether.
You're absolutely right... that didn't initially occur to me. He does indeed regurgitate on it but I usually clean it after he's done. It's like trying to wash Tupperware after it has held spaghetti sauce. That bell hasn't been shiny in a long time no matter how much I scrub. I've tried to get rid of it multiple times but I feel so bad... it's like his girlfriend :facepalm: He gets so excited when I put it back in the cage. But he'll have to deal with it because I'm sure it's covered with colonies on colonies of bacteria. Thank you!
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
Hi there, so sorry to hear about your bird. An Avian Vet can have a blood panel run to show liver, kidney values.

I would start here first and foremost. After you know the results, you can take it from there. The supplement to aid in healing is a liquid form, where the pure ingredients are expressed to make this. It is suspended into a liquid form vegetable glycerin based.
Milk Thistle/dandelion work hand in hand for liver and kidney support.

If you can, by all means seek the advice and testing to conclude for sure before treating on your own. Diet change is a must going forward regardless.

We have alot of budgie owners here who can guide you on fresh foods and small cooked mashes, to a formulated pelleted food.

Wishing you the best! :)
Thank you for the advice! I've unfortunately tried cooked mashes, pellets, pellets made into dust and sprinkled on his seed... as well as virtually every fruit and vegetable budgies can eat. Cooked pasta and egg yolk were also no-gos. I will of course keep trying till the end but I don't have too much hope that he'll eat anything other than his seed.
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
This is very good advice! With his symptoms milk thistle could indeed help. If he eats nutriberries you can also try the Sr. ones, I’ve started giving them to my budgies occasionally for the milk thistle.
Also, you said he will nibble veggies so you can try dandelion greens.

I hope he feels better soon, he’s adorable :heart:
I didn't know that dandelion greens were good for liver health, I will start offering those again. Will a milk thistle supplement do any kind of harm if it's not needed? like If his liver is actually fine? And unfortunately he doesn't much care for nutriberries ahaha. And thank you :sad2:
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
First thing that hits me is the all seed diet. He could have problems in the liver because that is what happens with this kind of diet.
Of course without diagnostics its hard to tell. There is an OTC liver support medication on Amazon called milk thistle. @Love My Zons may sell it too.
I know... :sad9: I wish so badly that he would stop eating the seed. He eats his own poop before he tries any fruit. Definitely will look into the milk thistle. I read about the potential of liver issues with a seed diet, and some of the apparently liver issue 'indicative' droppings are those that just have urates, like in the few pictures I originally posted. His poops last night were better, with both the urates and feces. Still more liquidy than usual though. Today, it seems that he's been having a mix of the urates-only poops and the semi-normal ones. It doesn't make sense because he's still eating excessively
 

izzybpb

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Isabella Burnham
So here's an update for today: he's definitely more lively, singing occasionally and playing a bit with his toys. He seems to play for a short time, then he returns to sit behind his bell and sleep. Still haven't seen him drink water. Still eating more than usual.
I have two main concerns: why is he eating so much and not drinking, and why is he having urates-only poop when he's eating so much?
 

Shezbug

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I have found my budgies are more fond of things like grasses than most veg but they will now chomp on some of the brocollini, spinach and a few other greens offered since I put them in the same clip as their fresh grasses. They have also decided they love sprouts more than seed, it took a bit but I would sprinkle seed (millet usually) over the sprouts or just lay some millet next to the sprouts and eventually they tried them and now they will happily leave a fresh bowl of seed for a serve of sprouts.
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
I have found my budgies are more fond of things like grasses than most veg but they will now chomp on some of the brocollini, spinach and a few other greens offered since I put them in the same clip as their fresh grasses. They have also decided they love sprouts more than seed, it took a bit but I would sprinkle seed (millet usually) over the sprouts or just lay some millet next to the sprouts and eventually they tried them and now they will happily leave a fresh bowl of seed for a serve of sprouts.
oh! I don't think I have ever tried sprouts with him. Will do. Thank you!
 

Lady Jane

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I do know from personal loss of a budgie that Avian Gastric Yeast in the late wasting stages causes malabsorption of many nutrients but the bird continues to eat but has weight loss. Are you weighing him? Best for you to take this bird to an avian vet otherwise you are guessing at what may be wrong and the bird continues to deteriorate.
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Delaware, United States
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Isabella Burnham
I do know from personal loss of a budgie that Avian Gastric Yeast in the late wasting stages causes malabsorption of many nutrients but the bird continues to eat but has weight loss. Are you weighing him? Best for you to take this bird to an avian vet otherwise you are guessing at what may be wrong and the bird continues to deteriorate.
At his vet appointment yesterday he weighed 32 grams, the same exact weight that he was in 2016
 

izzybpb

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Beasley

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So here's an update for today: he's definitely more lively, singing occasionally and playing a bit with his toys. He seems to play for a short time, then he returns to sit behind his bell
I am so glad that he’s perking up and it sounds like the antibiotics are helping! I had a bird extremely attached to a specific toy too, but if that thing ever threatened his health it’d have been in the trash without a second thought.

Throw out the bell and don’t replace it, antibiotics will do him no good at all if he’s constantly exposed to the source of bacteria.
 

izzybpb

Sitting on the front steps
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Isabella Burnham
I am so glad that he’s perking up and it sounds like the antibiotics are helping! I had a bird extremely attached to a specific toy too, but if that thing ever threatened his health it’d have been in the trash without a second thought.

Throw out the bell and don’t replace it, antibiotics will do him no good at all if he’s constantly exposed to the source of bacteria.
Yeah, this morning I took it out for good. He is NOT happy:rolleyes:
 
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