Am I being weird...

[Alisana]

... or just paranoid?

We've just recently moved the budgie's cage from the left hand side of the porch to the right hand side of the porch.

Since then the budgies have been perching on the lower to mid levels of the cage - normally they used to perch at the top! It's very strange.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[lene1949]

They're probably just afraid, what might be above them.. They'll settle there, as long as you don't keep on moving them...

Your Hahns is also going to be outside?

Congratulations on him... He looks stunning...

 

[lene1949]

They're probably just afraid, what might be above them.. They'll settle there, as long as you don't keep on moving them...

Your Hahns is also going to be outside?

Congratulations on him... He looks stunning...

 

[Alisana]

They're probably just afraid, what might be above them.. They'll settle there, as long as you don't keep on moving them...

Your Hahns is also going to be outside?

Congratulations on him... He looks stunning...

They're content to sleep at the top at night, which is the weird part. Unless they can't "see" anything, so forget about it at night.

I'm keeping an eye on them regardless though - one of the warning flags I've read about/come across in avian medicine literature is when birds change "favourite" spots before something happens. >< Hence my paranoia...

Yeah, the Hahn's will be outside next door to their cage as well. I'm keeping him indoors currently until I get the cat netting installed outside, so I don't have to worry about him flying away. (He's fully flighted - but hasn't mastered landing/stopping yet with his flight. I'm working on teaching him how to fly properly currently ) And thanks! He's very handsome and cute!

 

[BirdyShanna]

There's very very probably SOMETHING that scares or spooks them. Try standing behind the cage, or on the spot itself, squat until you're at their eyelevel, and look closely around. Look for anything unusual, something they're not used too, a mirror -because they can see stuff moving about in it-, a reflecting window etc.. Also take a birds-eye-view look at where their old cage stood, and see what the differences are.
Good luck!

 

[Alisana]

There's very very probably SOMETHING that scares or spooks them. Try standing behind the cage, or on the spot itself, squat until you're at their eyelevel, and look closely around. Look for anything unusual, something they're not used too, a mirror -because they can see stuff moving about in it-, a reflecting window etc.. Also take a birds-eye-view look at where their old cage stood, and see what the differences are.
Good luck!

Sorry, I've been off for the past week. >< I found a tennis racket that was out of my eye level, but directly above them that I've moved, yet they still are there.

Turns out though, my fears were right; Luna was sitting on the perch all fluffed up (and we're hitting temps of 37C - so it's not due to cold!) and had faeces on his foot and vent. He was given a laxative to clean his system and is now in solitary confinement (now in a vet cage that has been completely sterilised) on a strict non-seed diet. Trying to work out if it's diet related or bacterial.

He's not allowed to eat for 24 hours until his system clears. He's still stepping up for me, but that's about it. Don't think he's happy with being caught and treated..

 

[Alisana]

(Also to clarify, Yuki and Pocket are fine - Pocket is kept in a different room to the budgies now to avoid any risk of infection)

Yuki is pretty healthy apart from being a bit overweight. >_> So yeah, no seed for him either. (Both budgies have been weaned onto pellets, BUT they don't like them that much. Normally give them a seed/pellet mix and offer veggies. They don't like to touch their greens and pick out the seeds and the corn from their food)

 

[MonicaMc]

When feces are stuck to their vent feathers, that's typically a sign that they are sick. Starving the bird is not the answer... they need medications.

 

[Alisana]

When feces are stuck to their vent feathers, that's typically a sign that they are sick. Starving the bird is not the answer... they need medications.

I am well aware of that, on both accounts. The removal of food for 24 hours is on vet recommendation.

I know you are pointing out the obvious, but this is rather stressful for me. Neither I, nor a vet can just prescribe medications without knowing what the cause is and until blood work is back.

I don't mean to sound snappish, but I am very, very well aware that he is sick. It is even more so frustrating for me because I AM familiar with avian medicine and KNOW that these symptoms COULD be. I am trying not to freak out and jump to conclusions. He will be back in on Monday for a followup.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've never heard of an avian vet telling a person to stop feeding their birds... in fact, when they are sick, you want them to eat anything they are willing to eat! So that recommendation alone sounds counterproductive...

Is a fecal gram stain out of the question? Because if an avian vet has the right tools on hand, that can be done in house without having to wait for it to be sent out to a lab, and you'd know same day - and thus, you could treat immediately rather than waiting for results.

To me it sounds like a bacterial or fungal infection, and I've never used blood tests to determine cause of infection as I was led to believe that blood tests wont tell you the kind of infection the bird has, when the infection is in the birds digestive tract...



I hope you figure out what Luna has and can get him treated immediately, so he can be on the mend!!!

 

[Alisana]

I've never heard of an avian vet telling a person to stop feeding their birds... in fact, when they are sick, you want them to eat anything they are willing to eat! So that recommendation alone sounds counterproductive...

Is a fecal gram stain out of the question? Because if an avian vet has the right tools on hand, that can be done in house without having to wait for it to be sent out to a lab, and you'd know same day - and thus, you could treat immediately rather than waiting for results.

To me it sounds like a bacterial or fungal infection, and I've never used blood tests to determine cause of infection as I was led to believe that blood tests wont tell you the kind of infection the bird has, when the infection is in the birds digestive tract...



I hope you figure out what Luna has and can get him treated immediately, so he can be on the mend!!!

I think the removal of food was when it was initially thought to be constipation, so it was thought that he might have been given too much grit. Basically purging his system of anything and giving him plenty of fluids. As it turns out, it seems like it could be diarrhea related.

The good news is that he is now bouncing around his cage and chirping happily - a stark contrast to how he appeared a few days ago when he was sitting all fluffed up on his perch and scaring the hell out of me.

The closest avian vet we have is 600km away, and the closet avian lab/analysis place is 1000km away. Kinda hard to get immediate results. I'd much rather the vet get confirmation from a lab rather then "guess work".

I am extremely skeptical about cat/dog vets treating birds and I'm very wary about the recommendations they make... I checked the airline and they won't let me bring a budgie on the plane, HAS to go in cargo and I don't want to put him through that stress.

The vet that he is seeing has come highly recommended from a fellow bird owner - he has a one-winged Ekkie that had been attacked by a dog. The first vet wanted to euthanise his bird, but this vet opted for surgery instead.

 

[Alisana]

He has first appointment Monday morning*, I'll update then when I get back from the vet. Fingers crossed its nothing too serious.

* - the weekend vets that are available are mostly emergency vets. =\

[Edit] I'll ask about the Fecal Gram Stain; thanks for the suggestion

 

[MonicaMc]

Ah, I see. I wasn't thinking that you might live in a remote area where there are no close avian vets. My apologies.

My avian vet can do gram stains in house without having to send it off to a lab. She has the equipment to do so and it's pretty simple and quick for her to do. From the time the sample is taken to when I find out the results, it's 10-15 minutes, if that. It's not a skill I'd think a farm vet would be able to do, however... especially since bacteria in birds can be different than in mammals.


I hope he continues to improve!