Left eye balding and abnormal poop

3951 Views 19 Replies 7 Participants Last post by wgerven, Apr 2, 2015

wgerven

Discussion Starter · Mar 28, 2015

Dear TB forum members!

What a great place this is. I introduced our dear budgie Robert in a post some days ago, but will have to turn to you again for some advise on our little friend.

We're afraid Robert has some (hidden) health issue. Naturally, as we only have him now for close to two weeks, we don't really know yet what is his "normal" behavior... But I can say, that in the first three days that we had him, he showed some remarkable aliveness and was quite investigative and vocal for a 'new' bird. We were surprised in fact by how easy he seemed to adjust to his new home.

However, I think that on the night of the third to fourth day (which was suddenly cold) he might have contracted something, due to also maybe lowered immune system because of stress. Since that night, we feel he became less inquisitive, in principle he does not "look" like a sick bird, but he gave us the feeling he is hiding something. He is less vocal, sits more still. More passive. Initially he was interested in investigating his swing, flying towards it, now he prefers to leave it alone. He appreciates us communicating with him, but he is more to himself. He is not fluffed up though, and sleeps on his highest perch. His eating behavior seems normal, and he also lets us feeding him water and seeds by holding his cups close to him.

However, now we have started to see some more indications that indeed something might be wrong with him. Let me include two pictures:

We have grit on the ground, but with some paper we were able to see something is off with his poop:

Wood Pest Metal Rectangle Fashion accessory

This is from one night, so some normal (at least they look normal to me), but then suddenly also some diarrhea.

Also, since yesterday we noticed that Robert's left eye is balding slightly:

So these things quite alarm us.

Perhaps there are some forum member who could shed some more light on his condition? Anyway we got a phone number of a local avian vet, so that is good. We will contact her on Monday. But your opinion would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

-Willem

See less See more

Save

Status: Not open for further replies.

1 - 2 of 20 Posts

HarryBird

· #9 · Mar 29, 2015

I too am wondering if Robert is really Roberta... That would be a lot easier to deal with than a serious medical issue turning the cere brown.

Sweet-looking little budge. I'm glad you are seeing an avian vet for your new little friend. I wouldn't dare speculate what might be wrong, but I'm sure you and the vet will figure it out and I hope it doesn't cost too much!

I had to grab my bird when he was pretty new. He took 3 days to forgive me, and sometimes I think he re-lives the experience at random times when he's trying to punch a hole in my nose, but they do get over it, if you counter the bad experience with enough kindness and gentleness and millet and sweet talk.

Save

HarryBird

· #19 · Apr 2, 2015

wgerven said:
By the way: Anybody every encountered a budgie that is afraid of broccoli??? Well, turns out Robert is. I mounted some piece in his cage bars above his seeds, and he is pretty distressed with the suspicous green look of it..!! :S

Yes, my budgie was afraid of broccoli, too. But now he likes it (or at least he likes destroying it... I can't tell how much he actually eats.)

I would let him befriend broccoli on his own terms at his own pace. If you put it right above his seeds, you're forcing him to approach it in order to eat his regular meal, and maybe he'd rather hang back and watch this mysterious green thing for a while first.

One thing you can try is putting a treat he really likes (like millet maybe) in a certain dish or clipped to the bars in a certain place. Gradually sneak in some veggies in the same place so he gets the idea that whatever is in that dish/place is possibly food. Sprinkling the veggies with a bit of seed at first can help.

Save

1 - 2 of 20 Posts

Status: Not open for further replies.

Top Contributors this Month