[niteowl]

Kiwi is Sick - Need Advice - What Can I do to Help?

One of my two budgies (Kiwi) seemed to be sick. We just arrived back from a two week vacation and Kiwi just finished molting. However, I started to notice the following:

-Tail bobbing, very apparent.
-Always sleeping (with head tucked in wing).
-Less vocal. Used to be VERY vocal.
-Less active. Used to be VERY active.
-Increased apetite.
-Poop seemed off. Very yellow rather than white and diarrhea with a large water spot. They recently started to eat pellets (Zupreem) which was the only diet change.

So I took Kiwi to the vet (avian). Kiwi has a slightly enlarged liver, round cloaca (supposed to be long, not round (?)), and the gram stain showed a large amount of gram (-) bacteria. And kiwi also had a bit of discharge from the cere.

She prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic. What worried me is she said the infection it could be systemic. She said I'll know in about 4 to 5 days since thats when the medicine should start working.

Is there anything else I can do? This truly breaks my heart and just brings me to tears. Kiwi is still so young, just lost his baby bars. I'm providing extra warmth and made sure its low stress environment (as much as possible). I want to make these 4 days the best days for Kiwi.

If anyone has any suggestions, or maybe has an idea of whats happening to Kiwi, I would be so very much appreciative.

 

[JRS]

Sorry to hear this. It sounds as though you’re doing all you can.

What’s happening?:
Kiwi has a bacterial infection as evidenced by the gram stain. The discharge from the cere could be due to an additional infection with a different microorganism, or it could due to spread from the gastrointestinal infection causing the diarrhoea. As there are two different systems that appear to be infected (GI and respiratory) your vet is concerned that the infection may be systemic, as in septicaemia. The vet doesn’t know which bacteria it is exactly (or whether it is multiple) and has therefore prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic to try to cover all bases.

Keeping Kiwi warm & stress free is great. Adding a millet spray may encourage him to keep eating.
I’m assuming that your vet is aware that you have another bird and has advised you regarding possible cross infection - if not, I’d telephone and ask advice. You could also ask your vet if also offering guardian angel could help but I wouldn’t add this whilst taking antibiotics without the vet’s knowledge.

Why Kiwi has this infection, you’ll probably never know. Don’t blame yourself or the person who cared for them whilst you were away. Whilst good food/drink/cage hygiene obviously helps avoid this, often it’s just bad luck. Maybe Kiwi isn’t genetically very ‘strong’. Maybe the infection coming at the end of a moult when he was feeling a little run down, allowed it to take hold. Maybe the person caring for the birds didn’t know them as well as you and so didn’t realise that he was sick. We just don’t know.

Big hugs :hug: hope Kiwi pulls through.

 

[Cody]

Sorry to hear that Kiwi i so ill. Is the antibiotic you are giving being put in the water or directly into the mouth? When put in the water you can never be sure if the bird is getting enough of the medicine to effect a response so if that is the method I would ask the vet for something that can go directly in the mouth. If you are not comfortable giving meds then perhaps it would be best to have Kiwi hospitalized. I have a bird that had a similar thing happen to her, she got sick during a molt, she had a very severe bacterial infection in the GI tract and in her throat 80% gram negative bacteria which is really high. I am ok with giving meds at home but because of the severity of the infection the vet hospitalized her, she was in the hospital for 4 days, they were giving her antibiotics, anti nausea drug, and something to boost her immune system. She pulled through and is fine now so there is certainly good reason to believe that Kiwi will be fine, but if you see he is getting worse notify the vet immediately. The vet can also give the antibiotic by injection if needed. As JRS has said it is important to keep Kiwi warm and quiet.

 

[FaeryBee]

I'm very sorry Kiwi is so sick. :hug:
As mentioned, birds are just like humans and some budgies have a weaker immune system than others.
Hopefully, the antibiotic the vet prescribed is being administered twice a day orally by syringe?
When a drug is administered in the water, there is no guarantee that enough of it is actually being consumed.
Many prayers and healing thoughts for your little one during this very difficult time. :hug:

 

[niteowl]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Thank you Julia for helping me better understand whats happening to Kiwi. I do my best to keep everything clean for them. I clean food and water dishes with mild soap and then vinegar. I spot clean their home (cage) daily. And I deep clean their home every week (take it apart, use soap and water, rinse, then vinegar. I even bought a air purifier (Honeywell - C300 I think) to help with the air quality. And thank you for your response.

Thank you Cody for your response and much needed optimism. I'm administering the antibiotics orally twice a day. I don't want to take that chance of trying other methods (through food/water). I want Kiwi to have the best chance at getting better, even if that means temporarily losing trust. And if anything changes, I will definitely contact my vet.

Thank you Deborah. And yes, I am administering the antibiotic orally twice a day.

I took apart both cages and completely deep cleaned and separated them. They are both in separate rooms. Hopefully this doesn't stress Kiwi out more. Luckily, Birdie hasn't shown any symptoms yet.

 

[niteowl]

One more question. What can I do about the toys they were sharing?There is quite a collection (which really adds up). Some would be difficult to clean (the sheddable kabob, toys with popsicle stick like parts ect). Would they have to be thrown away?