HELP

[AcaciaWattle]

My poor boy Blue, is very sick. He is sleeping constantly if not on a perch on the floor. he is also all feathers and bone. I have taken out of the cage all other young males because I thought it might be competition for food. I put more food than usual in and mainly all over the floor because he seems to be eating there as well as egg and biscuit. He looks as though he is eating but I haven't seen him break seed. I have wormed him by beak. I'm just in the process of feeding them all F&V which I'll double in that cage. Their cage is spotless and they always have seed and water. He was mature when we got him so it might be old age. His mate is still with him and she is preening him while he is sleeping. If his head isn't in his feathers he is sitting with his head lowered. Classical signs of illness. Is there anything else I can do or give him to help?

[billspets]

i think the best corce of action would be to take him to the vet
regards
bill

[AussieBirds]

The best advice we can give at this time is as Bill has said take him to a vet. Birds are very good at masking Illness so if he is showing all the signs you are saying he is a sick little boy.

Good luck with him

John

[AcaciaWattle]

Well none of the vets specializing in birds were available today, got an appointment tomorrow. It's going to cost me my last $75 for this fortnight...
They were going to put me in emergency, then I asked how much that was. That was my first mistake, if I had have known the price I would have had an ambo on standby.....$125
They asked the questions is he eating?, does he move in the cage? etc etc etc.

But he is eating, and sleeping but the silly bugger only wants the seed treat that I threw in there as extra food. All this loose seed on the floor and he wants the hard one in a log shape
We'll see how we go.

[AcaciaWattle]

Well I just spent $75 for "He looks starved, have you been feeding him?"
I'd get a second opinion if I had the money. What do you all think it might be and any tips for a high energy food?

[billspets]

did they give you any information at all
regards
bill

[AcaciaWattle]

Not really, no. They asked about his recent behaviour, has he been wormed, is he eating/drinking, who does he live with, his age. Basically what they think is he is being bullied and doesn't get to eat and he's old, keep him by himself with lost of food and water on the bottom of the cage and that was it! No smears for a microscope nothin! NO meds, no opinion on problem, no look for signs of ...... Yeah

[fischer]

Hi AcaciaWattle, I would suggest you do a couple of things, If possible put him in a cage by himself, with a totally new seed supply in the feeder and on the floor and a some fresh water, nothing else, just these things.

The reason I say this is a sick bird may appear to be eating, but may be just rolling the seed in its beak without actually cracking the husk and eating it. The only way to tell if he is eating, is in a cage by himself and new seed to see if there are fresh husks.

I would suggest to that you get some glucose, mix it with water, and give this to him by the beak, just to make sure he dos'nt de-hydrate, he may not be getting enough fluid if hes sick. Put the cage in a warm spot so he dos'nt chill.

How old would you estimate this bird to be in age ?? How recently was he wormed?? Does he have a dirty vent??

Hope this helps...Tony

[AcaciaWattle]

He is in a cage with his girlfriend, I din't want to stress him too much. He has fresh water, food and he drank this morning when I changed the water. They get wormed once a month and I wormed him by beak yesterday. He is eating but from what I can tell it's only the seed treat he is eating. He was mature when we got him and we have had him for approx 3 years. He doesn't have a dirty vent and has all his feathers. We didn't know he was sick apart from his actions (or lack of) because he has all his feathers. He is feather and bone, there is nothing to him.
I'll try the glucose, even though he'll hate me! How about Lorikeet nectar, I have a bottle of that or is it too much?
Thanks for your help Tony, I should have sent you the $75!

[fischer]

Hi, If he is skin and bone he's not eating much at all, I suggest you remove the seed treat so that he eats seed. Yes the Lorrikeet mixture will do, dissolve a little sugar in water and use this to make the mix, it will have the same effect as the glucose. Make the mix fairly runny or a thin mix.

You will have to give the mix to him by the beak so you are sure hes getting something in his crop, keep him warm and see how this works.

Worming a bird every month may be a little too much, every 3 months is sufficient to keep worms under control. His illnes, I think may be a reaction to the wormer, but there could be other underlying reasons for his skinny condition, you have to try to build up his condition a bit so keep feeding him the mix for a while, and when you can, get some probotic to mix with it
he will get used to the feeding fairly quickly,

Hope this helps some more...Tony

[AussieBirds]

AcaciaWattle birds are very good at making illness as i said and the fact that the little fellow is apearing to eat doesnt mean a thing Tony has made the correct suggestion about putting him in a cage by himself.

To be honest with you I wouldnt worm a bird every month in fact I worm my aviary birds every three months and they are out side, an inside bird would only require worming perhaps every 6 months.

the Lori nectre will be just fine and the probotics is also a good Idea. You said you were not sure how old he was when you got it may just be old age but if you take all the precautations that have been listed here he at least has a fighting chance, keep us informed of his progress.

John

[AcaciaWattle]

i worm them a fair bit because of the feral birds, i cant keep them away. I put the solution in their water and sometimes not everyone drinks it. I'll take the treat out in the morning, he is asleep on the perch and i don't want to distrub him. At least he is making an effort to eat and drink and sleep high in the cage, if he was beyond it he wouldn't be doing any of these things.
thanks for your help guys, next time I'll pay you.

[billspets]

AcaciaWattle said:

i worm them a fair bit because of the feral birds, i cant keep them away. I put the solution in their water and sometimes not everyone drinks it. I'll take the treat out in the morning, he is asleep on the perch and i don't want to distrub him. At least he is making an effort to eat and drink and sleep high in the cage, if he was beyond it he wouldn't be doing any of these things.
thanks for your help guys, next time I'll pay you.

Hello AcaciaWattle
in your post you state that you "" worm a fair bit ""
can you tell us more on this like how often you do it do you give it into there beak or in the water bowl what birds are you refering to as well
and what product are you using
regards
bill

[lovemytiels]

Hi Amanda, I am no budgie expert but I do breed them. I have know of a condition called " Going light". The bird eats & eats but just seems to loose weight. It is usaually caused by a bacteria infection. Bacterial diseases are usually food or water related & please do not take offence to this. There are several types of bacteria that can cause the wasting symptoms. Bacterial diseases such as salmonella, E.coli and other forms of enteritis (inflammation of the gut) & it may require antibiotics. I might be barking up the wrong tree but sometimes when a bird gets ill their gut just closes down & they will not get the nutrients they need & they will get thinner & thinner & eventually die. The vet ready should have done gram stains. my thought only. Cheers Anna

[AcaciaWattle]

That's what I thought! Seeing as though there are no real visual signs of illness apart from being thin that some tests like microscope smears of blood or poop would have been done but he barely even looked at him. I use a poor worming liquid (so I've been told) its just the regular stuff from the pet store. Elliott's bird wormer. I do them every now and then, not really once a month. I do worm them all if one has an outbreak of lice/mites too and use ivomec for that. I use it in water because some bird's (Awnan mainly) Cannot be caught. I tend to do the ones that have the most contact with feral birds like sparrows and indian minah. One poor bird caught lice from rodents climbing into the bottom of his cage through the tray gaps at the bottom. I thought it might be bacteria too. I don't know if anyone else has this problem but budgies are the grottiest birds I've ever owned!!! They throw everything in their water and poop in it constantly at night. I change it daily and rinse in hot water but maybe I didn't get to it in time.
Can you get a broad spectrum antibiotic that doesn't involve a vet? I know you can for fish but I've noticed that a lot of things aren't available up here. I might ask a breeder who works at the pet store and see if he can recommend a vet or someone who could help us. Its really scary when you haven't experienced anything like this before. I may only be 25, but I've had birds nearly all my life and I've never ever experienced anything like this. I think what makes it more weird is that he is interested in food and moving around, and that he is still alive. I'm absolutely worn out I haven't slept properly and I'm getting up all night to check on him. I think I got some decent sleep at about 5.30am when I saw that he made it through the night. I'm a wreck at the moment, and so very stressed and to pay good money for no help
What makes it worse is that he is my favourite

[AcaciaWattle]

the ones that get the most contact are my rosella's and my budgies but I sold most of them.

[AcaciaWattle]

Blue died in my arms at 2.23am while staring at me. I had spent his last hours with him lying in my hands.
It makes you want to give up.

[fischer]

Im So sorry Amanda, If it's the slightest consolation to you I'm sure that its nothing you did to bring this sad event on. As Anna has said and I mentioned, I think there were underlying reasons for Blues decline in health.

I feel the same about my birds and have spent many sleepless nights nurseing them. And I feel exactly the same as you must feel every time I loose a bird.

Yours Tony

[hillcresttiels]

I,m very sorry to hear Amanda that you have lost Blue you have done everything possible to help him and now he is a happy little chap in Bird Heaven where there are no sicknesses!

Frank

[billspets]

Sorry to hear that AcaciaWattle
it is a shame that he has passed on but as frank has said he will be in bird heaven with all our loved ones
regards
bill