Parakeet vent blocked?

[catbirdy]

I?ve noticed a few days ago that one of my parakeets?s vent is blocked by parakeet poop possibly. I would?ve take him to the vet at first opportunity, but since I?m a minor and my mom didn?t want to take him I couldn?t really do anything except hope it becomes better. However, it seems as if it?s gotten worse. I tried getting a clear picture of what exactly is going on, please tell me if I need a clearer image!!

A background story, my bird Daisy is currently almost 5 years old and has been healthy and slightly overweight throughout his life. He eats and chirps a LOT and doesn?t really exercise much, but until now we never had any problems like this. He still seems to be eating and chirping, but especially tonight I noticed him breathing heavily, like his whole body moves a little when he breathes.

My mom can?t drive, let alone to the vet who?s very far away, but I think if I can possibly have an idea of what?s going on with Daisy I might convince her to let me Uber with him to the vet. Please any insights will be very useful as I?m not good at diagnosing these things by myself at all!! And any tips to help Daisy out in the meantime to not feel this pain will be very useful too Thank you so much



GALLERY OF IMAGES OF DAISY?s VENT
https://postimg.cc/gallery/2mxprFB

Poor baby I don?t like watching him suffer like this

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Daisy, hope the vent can be cleared and return to normal breathing.

Are you certain Daisy is male? Blocked vent and heavy breathing can be symptom of "egg binding," ie a stuck egg that won't allow waste to pass. Extreme danger if the egg breaks and floods the abdomen with fluid leading to sepsis (infection + shock) and poor outcome.

Other possibilities exist and best diagnosed by avian vet. Other members with parakeet experience may have ideas.

 

[Littleredbeak]

First thing is both are treatable. If her vet is blocked you need to get it unblocked. We a clean rag (clean as to not cause infection) or I scented tissue and gently wipe her vent clean. If you feel something hard it is most likely egg binding. When this happens to me I followed backyardchickens advice. Im going to see if I can find the article and post it her . If her vet is clogged with poop it’s very important to get it unclogged.

Both scenarios she needs a heat source.

 

[Littleredbeak]

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/egg-bound-chicken/

https://cs-tf.com/egg-bound-chicken-causes-symptoms-treatment-prevention/

The only thing did dent I did was give a calcium and magnesium supplement in a sugar water. I also after 3 soaks in warm epson salt baths (at 3 to 5 minutes each) if it’s tree your bird out too much I wouldn’t do it. Then I gently massages the egg out with coconut oil rubbing her vent. If it’s an egg with no hard outer shell you need to gently guide the egg out.

At the vet they will give her a magnesium and calcium shot.

 

[Littleredbeak]

You birds symptoms need to be addressed immediately. This isn’t I hope this will go away scenario. This is very much a life or death situation. If she can’t poop then it backs up and has devastating results. Please show your mom this thread. I’m not tell you this to scary you but to say your bird needs attention ASAP.

 

[catbirdy]

Welcome to you and Daisy, hope the vent can be cleared and return to normal breathing.

Are you certain Daisy is male? Blocked vent and heavy breathing can be symptom of "egg binding," ie a stuck egg that won't allow waste to pass. Extreme danger if the egg breaks and floods the abdomen with fluid leading to sepsis (infection + shock) and poor outcome.

Other possibilities exist and best diagnosed by avian vet. Other members with parakeet experience may have ideas.

Hello thank you so much for answering and helping out. Im pretty sure Daisy is a male, when he was younger he had a pink cere and as he matured it became more purple/blue. This is his cere color currently (we got him four years ago). around five years old)
https://ibb.co/G7GzbQR


I got much more clear video of Daisy?s vent while he was eating a few minutes ago , it seems to have gotten worse
https://vimeo.com/580782377

 

[catbirdy]

First thing is both are treatable. If her vet is blocked you need to get it unblocked. We a clean rag (clean as to not cause infection) or I scented tissue and gently wipe her vent clean. If you feel something hard it is most likely egg binding. When this happens to me I followed backyardchickens advice. Im going to see if I can find the article and post it her . If her vet is clogged with poop it?s very important to get it unclogged.

Both scenarios she needs a heat source.

Hello I thank you for your help and reply!!!

I may be wrong but I was told my whole life Daisy is a male since when we got him four years ago he had a pink cere which has now became more purplish blue.

https://ibb.co/G7GzbQR

Also I got a clearer video of his vent while he was eating. Thank you for your advice to take him to a vet, I will show my mom these responses and hopefully she gets convinced to find a way to take him there.
https://vimeo.com/580782377

 

[Scott]

Thanks for video! I must admit knowing nothing about parakeets and visual sexing, that is why I suggested egg binding as most serious and timely potential cause. Totally different scenario if male. If worsening, I'd urge avian vet care if possible, please try to get a ride if possible!

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Catbirdy,

It is indeed a male budgie you have there.

Why do you think he is blocked? Can you describe the feces? If the bird can not poop, he/she will feel heavy and often fall from the perch when trying to jump from one perch to another.

Sometimes, budgie can have a featherless cloak region caused by diarrhea, which can be quite serious too!

Is he drinking water more than the usual?

Can you describe his diet? Sometimes budgies can express slight diarrhea if they have a only seeds diet or if they are lacking grains of sand in their craw (that they use to smash the swallowed seeds).

 

[catbirdy]

Thanks for video! I must admit knowing nothing about parakeets and visual sexing, that is why I suggested egg binding as most serious and timely potential cause. Totally different scenario if male. If worsening, I'd urge avian vet care if possible, please try to get a ride if possible!

Thank you very much for your advice!! My mom has agreed to take Daisy to the vet this afternoon so hopefully things work out well.

 

[catbirdy]

Hi Catbirdy,

It is indeed a male budgie you have there.

Why do you think he is blocked? Can you describe the feces? If the bird can not poop, he/she will feel heavy and often fall from the perch when trying to jump from one perch to another.

Sometimes, budgie can have a featherless cloak region caused by diarrhea, which can be quite serious too!

Is he drinking water more than the usual?

Can you describe his diet? Sometimes budgies can express slight diarrhea if they have a only seeds diet or if they are lacking grains of sand in their craw (that they use to smash the swallowed seeds).

It?s not fully blocked, there just seems to be feces surrounding his vent area and it seems to be widening a little OR it looks as if he?s losing feathers in that area. He doesn?t seem to be drinking any extra water, but today he ate a lot. He can still use the bathroom, since I saw him earlier today doing, but it looked as if he was really straining. His diet is about a 70% mixture of Harrison?s pellets with 30% seeds and a vegetable about once a day.

Thank you very much for your advice!! After seeing these replies my mom has decided to find a way to take Daisy to the vet later this afternoon and hopefully all goes well

 

[Kitekeeper]

It?s not fully blocked, there just seems to be feces surrounding his vent area and it seems to be widening a little OR it looks as if he?s losing feathers in that area. He doesn?t seem to be drinking any extra water, but today he ate a lot. He can still use the bathroom, since I saw him earlier today doing, but it looked as if he was really straining. His diet is about a 70% mixture of Harrison?s pellets with 30% seeds and a vegetable about once a day.

Thank you very much for your advice!! After seeing these replies my mom has decided to find a way to take Daisy to the vet later this afternoon and hopefully all goes well

That sounds as a good diet, nice!

Of course, sometimes budgies can develop intestinal problems even with a good diet.

I had similar problems in the past with budgies retaining part of the feces near the cloak and the region was slighlty featherless. The situation was controled offering grains of sand that they stored in their craws. That helped to crush the seeds after swallowing them.

I am really glad you were able to convince your mom about the potentially hazardous situation. You might just have saved Daisy.

Good luck with the vet visit.