[Lilybearrr]

Hello,

I have three beloved budgies who are all currently unwell, displaying symptoms such as sneezing, runny stools, and regurgitation. However, the regurgitation seems abnormal as I do not hear any crunching sounds as I normally would with seeds and pellets and they shake their heads to the side as it happens. One of my budgies, who happens to be the only male, is causing me the most concern as he was the first to fall ill. He is exhibiting worrisome behavior such as spreading his wings out and shaking them (I have attached a picture). Additionally, he feels much hotter to the touch than the other two.(the other two are of normal temperature) I have taken all three birds to both the emergency and avian vets, and they have been given fluids and antibiotics to put in their water. I even did a droppings test at the vets' suggestion, but it has been four days and I have not yet received any results. I am incredibly worried for my feathered friends and have been providing them with Pedialyte, as recommended by other budgie owners, in addition to their antibiotics and fluids. While they still have hearty appetites and are playful at times, they have moments where they stop and vomit, shake, and sit still. Every time I reach out to the emergency or avian vets, they advise me to continue with the antibiotics and fluids and wait for the results. Despite their reassurances, I feel helpless and anxious, and I am desperate for any advice, similar experiences, or even just words of encouragement as I try to help my little guys...

 

[Cody]

Didn't the vet indicate how long it would be before the results would be available? Without those results you don't really know what you are dealing with. A usual course of any antibiotic that I have ever given has been from 10-14 days so depending on how long you have been giving them you might not see any results just yet. Also when you put an antibiotic in the water instead of giving a dose directly into the mouth you can't be sure if the bird is getting enough of the med to deal effectively with the bacteria. If the test on the droppings does not reveal anything then I would have gram stain test done on crop and or choana swab of the birds, this should reveal if there is an infection in those areas and if it is bacterial or fungal. If you can find a vet that can do these tests in house without sending them out to a lab your results should be fast, a gram stain test can be done in 30 minutes or less with the proper equipment. How long have they been ill?

 

[Lilybearrr]

The vet told me it can take up to five days to get results back which is really frustrating. (and I don't even know if that counts weekends..) It has been 4 days since I saw the vet and they have been sick for a little over a week. They are on day 4 of their antibiotic. In my province, there is only 3 avian vets in a 5 hour's radius of me and none of them has any sort of in-house analysis. Where I live avian vets are rare so they lack most in-house diagnostic equipment, unfortunately. In regards to the medication, this was the vets instructions and they never offered alternatives. All 3 drink every day and if I don't see them drink I syringe them some of the antibiotic water if need be as well as Pedialyte.

 

[Cody]

I hope you get some answers soon, just keep up with the medication.

 

[ChickWas]

For what it's worth, that stance (wings spread and standing tall) is usually due to one of these reasons:

1) Your bird is hot and is trying to cool down
2) Your bird is posturing and trying to show how big and bold he is, because he's the man of the flock
3) He is stressed or worried about something and is doing this in a threatened way

Best of luck with the results, I hope everything works out for you. Thank you for being a caring and considerate owner.

PS: The vomiting can be a side effect of the antibiotics, unless they were vomiting before they started their treatment. I know my two became very ill on antibiotics due to the side effects and it's one of those awful things you just need to get through. Fingers crossed they make a full recovery or the stool sample comes back with a definitive answer.

 

[FaeryBee]

It usually takes several days before antibiotics begin to work when your budgies are ill.
I would suggest you call the veterinarian on Monday and discuss any change in symptoms with them at that time.

Please be sure to update us on their condition. 💜💜💜

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