Sick Budgie

[Byrd]

A friend of mine called me to come and look at her budgie, I am flabbergasted, I have never seen anything like it before!!!! The tail is completely gone, the eyes are swollen (about three times their size, he can't blink), the breathing is strained, the poo is pure liquid, and it is just sitting there not moving. The balance is still intact, I had him on my finger. But, I don't know what to do for him (other than to keep him warm, he liked snuggling in my hand). If anyone knows what this is, please let me know, they do have another budgie as well so we don't want him getting sick if it's contagious.

Thanks.

[chico2]

I have no idea what it is,but be very careful if you have birds yourself.
I once went over to a neighbor with a sick budgie,to help her get some meds in him.
He died during the night and just a day after,my own 2 Budgies died:sad:

[cpietra16]

I would keep him away from the other bird if you don't know what it is. Please call the vet.

[Byrd]

My cockateil lives with my mom. I only have Willow with me here, the sick bird is upstairs (it is my landlords/friends)... worried about Chico though (their other budgie).

They are keeping them apart. Unfortunately the only vets open are the emerg vets and they can't afford the $125 + to take him in. If this had happened earlier they would have taken him to a regular vet, but the emerg vets are just soooo much money.

I think there is no hope for this little guy.

[~michelle~]

i dont know what advice i can offer you about the sick budgie. unless you go to a vet immediately there is not much else you can do. Unfortunately birds are pretty hard to bounce back once they get really sick, Ive only seen it a couple of times (maybe this will be another one ) but definately definately isolate it from the other bird. Do they share a cage together?

[cpietra16]

I just found this on the net...

By observing your budgie daily you will learn its normal behavior and anything out of the ordinary should draw your attention. If your budgie looks ill it normally means it is really sick and can deteriorate extremely quickly.

When you detect any of the following signs of illness you should take your budgie to an avian vet as soon as possible - try to visit a vet experienced with birds so a correct diagnosis can be given.

Signs of illness to watch out for:

abnormal breathing
abnormal droppings (note the quantity, color, consistency)
abnormal feathers, feather growth, or molt
abnormal sleep pattern:
- continuous
- both feet on the perch when normally one foot is tucked up
- head tucked under the wing
- head turned towards the wing with eyes only partly closed
any change in normal activities:
- talking or chirping
- playing with toys
- preening
- interaction with other birds
- interaction with humans
- energy levels
- different perching area
black spiky head feathers (except during molting)
bleeding
discharge from the beak, eyes or nostrils
disorientation
drinking a lot more water than usual
drooping head, tail or wings
dull or swollen eyes
excessive feather picking or plucking
face and head feathers coated with mucus and semi-digested seed
falling off the perch
fluffed up appearance
hunched over posture
loss of appetite
lumps or swellings on the body
sitting on the bottom of the cage
soiled vent
untidy appearance
vomiting
weight loss

[cpietra16]

I hope I can paste this

It's a Budgie forum...good luck
http://www.budgerigars.co.uk/forum/

[Byrd]

Yes, they do share a cage.

And, you're preaching to the chior, it's not my decision to make about spending $200 or so at the vet, it is not my bird, it's my landlord's, and I did suggest taking it to the vet. I, personally, cannot birdnap it and take it because I cannot afford that myself (of course for Willow I would, but this is not my pet). I just wondered if anyone had heard of something like this and if it was contagious to the other bird. It almost looks like something like encephalitis or such.

[badger]

Do they not realize this bird is suffering? They could at least take it in to be euthanized, far cheaper than treatment, since money is an issue.

[papillonmama]

The bird should be taken into a vet, treatment might actually be cheaper than they think. Another possibility is that the bird is untreatable but should still go to the vet because it could be infected with something contagious to humans. Keep the bird wrapped in something warm, if neccesary a hot water bottle underneath some towels in his cage, make sure you wash your hands after touching him. Keep his cage at least partially covered so he can feel safe. Has he been drinking water? try giving him some on a spoon or something smallish like that. Then to the regular avian vet ASAP.

Good luck

info on symptoms at the bottom of the link
http://www.freewebs.com/trent101/budgies.htm