Further to my gay budgie

[Shelly]

Hi, this morning we went out and had a look and this budgie 'my daughter named him Fluffy when we got him 3 years ago, and yes it's just a fluke that he's turned out Gay Pierre, lol'.

Anyway he was sitting on the bottom of the cage and looking very very unwell. I put him in his own cage and he honestly looked like he was just going to fall off the perch and drop dead.

We went and got his boyfriend out of the other cage and put them back together, well instantly he perked up and started eating again.

But about 10 minutes ago I noticed the boyfriend 'Robbie' was doing something underneath Fluffys bum.

I had a close look and it looks like Fluffy (the English budgie) has bad diaorrhea (sp?) or something. I think I should separate them again and stop the seed, is this right? And how is it that only one bird gets the runs when there are lots of them in the cage, I thought they'd all get sick or is that silly.

Shelly

[AussieBirds]

Hello Shelly, separate them immediately and isolate fluffy completely form the other birds, it sounds as if this bird is sick and you are taking the chance of infecting the other birds. Birds are very good at hiding ill health right until they are very sick and beyond help and whatever Fluffy has will spread very quickly, I would suggest that you get an antibiotic or a product such as Sulfa3 and add it to Fluffy water as per the directions and then get him to an avian vet asap. I would also dose up the other birds water just in case the problem has passed on to them. Let us know how things go.

John

[lovemytiels]

Poor fluffy, he really is not having a very good run at the moment. I hope he gets better soon, but let him continue to eat his seed. Hope all goes well with him & you get him to an avain vet soon. Let us know what happens. Cheers Anna

[Shelly]

HI guys, Fluffy is still with us, it's funny, he looks like he's going to leave us any minute then has a burst of energy and something to eat and he's fine for about 10 minutes, then he has a nap and the cycle starts again. He's really starting to come good though, has been eating a fair bit of seed today and is preening himself. The time of looking 'sad' are less and less, and he doesn't look like he's going to die any second.

I'm going to keep him by himself for another couple of days at least though 'just in case'. I honestly believe though that he is suffering from anxiety due to me seperating him from his boyfriend and has given himself the runs through stress. Last night I had him wrapped in a face washer and he just sat on my chest and I was rubbing his head, it was so nice (for me too!!). Here's to a full recovery. I need to decide what to do with him if he recovers completely, do I put him back with his friend (who has now found a girlfriend) or keep him a cage on his own thus turning him into a house bird.

Any suggestions?

[lovemytiels]

Hi Shelly, it sure is good to hear that fluffy is getting better. With him eating more seed & preening himself indicts he might be on the road to recovery. I do believe that anxiety could have brought this on from being separated from his mate. If fluffy seems happy inside & getting better health wise with you guys & you continue to give him lots of TLC which I think he is craving, then I think you should keep him inside with you guys rather than put him back with his mate & girlfriend. Sometimes you just can't change their preference of mates LOL, but you need to do what is best for fluffy. Stress can play a very big part on a birds health & the less stress for fluffy the better. Keeping my fingers crossed that he will make a full recovery for you. Cheers Anna

[Shelly]

Thanks for your replies everybody. He's improving still this morning, at least my daughter has stopped freaking out every time he moves or puffs up his feathers (which he's not doing so often anymore). You know I always thought he was a big boy and has some meat on him but when I took him out of the cage the other day it's all fluff and feathers (being English). There's really nothing to him at the moment, but he's certainly eating lots of seed and drinking lots of water, I think he's making up for the 3 or 4 days that he didn't (in a big way). I am keeping a close eye on him still, actually I've grown very attached to Fluffy this week.

Shelly

[ollie]

Talking about gay budgies I have a right lot of confused budgies. My two males have hens in the nest one with 7 eggs and one with 5 eggs. They are due to hatch any day soon. Both males are very attentive most of the time sitting outside the nest. But today would you believe I went to the aviary and there right before my eyes were the two males going hell for leather mating!!!!I am aghast!!! Do I have bisexual budgies or what!!! ;D ;D ;D

[AussieBirds]

There is an old saying in the budgie world "Budgies is Budgies" in a colony situation they will mate with anything that moves, including other male budgies, it's not uncommon for them to mate with a couple of hens in an aviary.

John

[Shelly]

Well, we unfortunately lost Fluffy today at 12.05pm. He just hopped off the perch and laid down and died right in front of my eyes. At least our little man is having fun up there budgie heaven!!!

My daughter (10 years old) was devastated, she had 3 friends over our house at the time who had slept here last night, so we had a funeral for him in the front garden (can't do it in the back, the dog likes to dig). We put him in a tissue box and the girls all placed a leaf in it with him before we buried him. It was so touching to watch, all the girls were crying. I've told her she can post on here later in the 'lost pets' section as she's read the other posts. I was very sad before but at least he's now in a better place and no longer feelig ill or sick all the time.

Shelly