Picasso is...still sick

The poop was actually a morning poop, her regular poops are normal!
Budgie+Meds=STRESS
Tell me about it :(
The rescued budge we had was completely wild, and giving meds was dredful.... Had to give the meds for 4 weeks... But I was happy to hear that he got cured. (It was some sort of awful bacteria/yeast type that needed a very special medicine..)
I hope little artistic Picasso gets well soon ❤️
 
Tell me about it :(
The rescued budge we had was completely wild, and giving meds was dredful.... Had to give the meds for 4 weeks... But I was happy to hear that he got cured. (It was some sort of awful bacteria/yeast type that needed a very special medicine..)
I hope little artistic Picasso gets well soon ❤️
Aww, I'm sorry, but I'm glad he got better!
 
Emailed my dad, who is checking up on Picasso until he has to leave to tune a piano. Said she doesn't look any worse. I can't wait for the weekend when I can stay with her all day :)
 
Hi, disposable syringes come in 1.0 ml (cc) and 0.5 ml (cc) size. Any smaller would be a special type. Sometimes you can get syringes with a “slip-tip” which is a little plastic tube or nipple about 1/6 inch long. ( But I don’t know if you can get tiny (insulin) syringes with a slip-tip.—oops. Yes you can get insulin syringes with slip tip).

How many mls/ cc’s is the syringe you have to give Picasso her medication?

Meds can sometimes be added to drinking water if the bird is impossible to medicate. Since your birds are in close contact, that might be a good thing(to treat them all). Baytril can be added to drinking water.

Can you call the vet and ask for the smallest syringe available, or ask for suggestions? I’ve not hand medicated a budgie, but I can tell you my secret for success with a lovebird or Quaker was to get the syringe tip up over the stumpy little tongue.

I’ll answer any questions you pose. I hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
She aspirated a bit today. She was also having trouble flying away from me when I was trying to catch her (I put her on the floor, throw a light, breathable jersy over her, pick her up, give her millet, give her meds, then put her on my hand and give more millet).

The syringe tip is SO BIG for such a little bird, it forces her mouth open (which stresses her out even more). Is there any sort of small syringe attachment I can use?

She's fine now, btw. She just got some in her nostrils because I sqirted too hard and it hit her beak. She did get most of the meds, though, and I'm going to be practicing depressing the plunger slowly (with water in it), so that doesn't happen again.
Hi Ollie,

A tonsil tip irrigator works very well for small beaks!

 
Hi Ollie,

A tonsil tip irrigator works very well for small beaks!

My only question is, do those irrigator syringes come in 1 ml sizes? I can’t find those in 1 ml. Picasso is likely getting a tiny dose of Baytril and 12 ml is much too large.

The vet may have slip tip syringes. I am guessing she was given Luer-lock syringes which would be clumsy for a budgie. ??

I see cvs has 2ml oral dosing syringes with a long thin tip.
 
Last edited:
My only question is, do those irrigator syringes come in 1 ml sizes? I can’t find those in 1 ml. Picasso is likely getting a tiny dose of Baytril and 12 ml is much too large.

The vet may have slip tip syringes. I am guessing she was given Luer-lock syringes which would be clumsy for a budgie. ??

I see cvs has 2ml oral dosing syringes with a long thin tip.
She gets 0.5 ml, so I REALLY need something with small measurements.
 
A 1 ml syringe is small enough if she gets 0.5 ml. 2 ml would be ok too. That’s a good sized dose for a budgie.

Can you ask the vet or pharmacist for a slip tip syringe? Look up luer lock syringe vs. slip-tip syringe to see what you have.
Sure, I'll try to go to rite-aid after school, would that work?
 
Hi, these tips (above, syringe feeding tips) won’t work for accurate administration of small amounts of medication. It’s a good idea, but the volume would be lost in the tip. They are cumbersome and would make things more difficult.

If stormypica is trying to use a luer- lock syringe, not a slip tip syringe, to administer the Baytril, she will be better off to get a slip tip syringe which has a small plastic tip or nipple (a needle slips onto the tip which is why it’s called a slip-tip). She can get that at rite aid or cvs or another pharmacy, I think.

I think purchase of the syringe would be allowed if she shows the pharmacist the prescription from the veterinarian. But I’m not a minor nor do I live in her state. I’m sure Mom or Dad could buy the slip-tip syringe.

I am wondering if stormypica has called the vet to tell him she is having trouble using the syringe he’s given?
 
Hi, these tips (above, syringe feeding tips) won’t work for accurate administration of small amounts of medication. It’s a good idea, but the volume would be lost in the tip. They are cumbersome and would make things more difficult.

If stormypica is trying to use a luer- lock syringe, not a slip tip syringe, to administer the Baytril, she will be better off to get a slip tip syringe which has a small plastic tip or nipple (a needle slips onto the tip which is why it’s called a slip-tip). She can get that at rite aid or cvs or another pharmacy, I think.

I think purchase of the syringe would be allowed if she shows the pharmacist the prescription from the veterinarian. But I’m not a minor nor do I live in her state. I’m sure Mom or Dad could buy the slip-tip syringe.

I am wondering if stormypica has called the vet to tell him she is having trouble using the syringe he’s given?
Yes, you are right about med getting lost in tip.

May be this:
 
It's not too difficult to make sure you're giving the right amount of medication with tiny doses. If you're adding a thinner tip, put it on before you draw up the medication. Draw up the medication through the thin tip to the amount you're supposed to give, and when you give it, even though there will be some still in the tip, the total amount given will be accurate.

With the disclaimer that I haven't worked with parrots - only raptors and mammals by mouth, and humans by let's say creative surgical routes lol - My favorite thing to administer small amounts is the flexible catheter/tip of a 14 gauge jelco catheter (what's used for placing an IV catheter in a person) that can be cut down to the length you need but still fits a syringe - the most recent Amazon link posted looks like it would function the same way; flexible enough to sneak past a wily tongue ;)

Keep us updated, Stormy, I bet between all of us we'll figure out something that works for Picasso!
 
It's not too difficult to make sure you're giving the right amount of medication with tiny doses. If you're adding a thinner tip, put it on before you draw up the medication. Draw up the medication through the thin tip to the amount you're supposed to give, and when you give it, even though there will be some still in the tip, the total amount given will be accurate.

With the disclaimer that I haven't worked with parrots - only raptors and mammals by mouth, and humans by let's say creative surgical routes lol - My favorite thing to administer small amounts is the flexible catheter/tip of a 14 gauge jelco catheter (what's used for placing an IV catheter in a person) that can be cut down to the length you need but still fits a syringe - the most recent Amazon link posted looks like it would function the same way; flexible enough to sneak past a wily tongue ;)

Keep us updated, Stormy, I bet between all of us we'll figure out something that works for Picasso!
Yes, a catheter tip would be handy. In this case, I think the EASIEST solution for a young person who needs something to work TODAY and not in a week is a slip tip syringe. Let’s be practical. Those metal tipped feeding needles are an expensive solution for something that doesn’t need to be a big deal. A syringe with a slip tip isn’t a special order and should make things much easier to medicate the budgie. More equipment costs money and is hard to use. It is easy to make an error and not get the meds into the bird. My parents would have said “no” to more purchases so this is what I suggested. Ok?

(A couple of months ago, beak-beak’s Hazel didn’t end up needing my designs for a special cart to get around. That was ok, too. I had fun planning a cart for Hazel but she doesn’t need it. I have medicated various birds, raptors, mammals…whatever works to get the medication into this kid’s tiny bird with less fuss is good.)

Good luck, Stormy and Picasso and I hope something works to give the medication.
 
Yes, a catheter tip would be handy. In this case, I think the EASIEST solution for a young person who needs something to work TODAY and not in a week is a slip tip syringe. Let’s be practical. Those metal tipped feeding needles are an expensive solution for something that doesn’t need to be a big deal. A syringe with a slip tip isn’t a special order and should make things much easier to medicate the budgie. More equipment costs money and is hard to use. It is easy to make an error and not get the meds into the bird. My parents would have said “no” to more purchases so this is what I suggested. Ok?

(A couple of months ago, beak-beak’s Hazel didn’t end up needing my designs for a special cart to get around. That was ok, too. I had fun planning a cart for Hazel but she doesn’t need it. I have medicated various birds, raptors, mammals…whatever works to get the medication into this kid’s tiny bird with less fuss is good.)

Good luck, Stormy and Picasso and I hope something works to give the medication.
“This kid’s tiny bird”
Not sure if you’re joking or mocking our smallness lol. Good advice, though.
 
“This kid’s tiny bird”
Not sure if you’re joking or mocking our smallness lol. Good advice, though.
No, not at all. A budgie is relatively a tiny bird and hard to medicate. Much different from a chicken or a turkey or an eagle or a cockatoo. You would give a much bigger dose of antibiotic to any of those birds. It would be easier to measure and get in the bigger beak although the bigger bird would put up a fuss.

Also, you are about 14. When I was 14 my parents wouldn’t LET me buy anything without an argument. That’s why I thought the special feeding needles or catheters would be more trouble than help.

What do you think?
 
Last edited:
No, not at all. A budgie is relatively a tiny bird and hard to medicate. Much different from a chicken or a turkey or an eagle or a cockatoo. You would give a much bigger dose of antibiotic to any of those birds. It would be easier to measure and get in the bigger beak although the bigger bird would put up a fuss.

What do you think?
No, it was just the way you phrased it, like an older sibling saying 'Hey kid, get over here'.
 
Good luck.
Thanks! Stormy is tail bobbing more heavily than normal I think, but maybe I'm just being paranoid...
He'll still go see the vet if this continues. In fact, they'll all see the vet.
 
when I had to treat my budgies, my vet had me add to mixed up baby burd formula. Because that has a higher viscosity than water. So less likely to choke. Plus benefits of healthy food plus most baby burd formula have added prebiotic . I went very slow with tge 1ml syringe.

But it was stressful on them so we switched to tge antibiotics mixed in their drinking water. After they improved a little from the meds by mouth.

I very much hope for a speedy recovery.
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Back
Top