Lethargic and stumbling, but eating well and preening
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Thank you for asking. She's recovering well, I think. She's eating, preening, and playing. I've been grating the mineral block until the Morning Bird supplement arrives.
The red tissue hasn't come out again. I thought I saw it come out yesterday for an extremely brief moment, but then a drop of transparent liquid fell out of her vent and the tissue went back in. I've checked her vent since then and nothing has come out. It looks normal right now. I'm thinking that was just a bit of poop that was more watery than usual due to all the stress.
My concern right now is that she might try to lay another egg. Yesterday and today I've seen her ripping up the paper at the bottom of the cage. Right now I'm trying to distract her with carrots, which she loves. If I put a carrot in the cage, she won't even look at the paper at the bottom, she is completely focused on shredding and eating the carrot. I'd like to try giving her broocoli, as she has loved that before, but I'm a bit wary since I've heard broccoli can interfere with calcium absorption. I think it may be a good idea to look into foraging toys, to keep her mind engaged in an activity and keep her mind off of eggs.
The red tissue hasn't come out again. I thought I saw it come out yesterday for an extremely brief moment, but then a drop of transparent liquid fell out of her vent and the tissue went back in. I've checked her vent since then and nothing has come out. It looks normal right now. I'm thinking that was just a bit of poop that was more watery than usual due to all the stress.
My concern right now is that she might try to lay another egg. Yesterday and today I've seen her ripping up the paper at the bottom of the cage. Right now I'm trying to distract her with carrots, which she loves. If I put a carrot in the cage, she won't even look at the paper at the bottom, she is completely focused on shredding and eating the carrot. I'd like to try giving her broocoli, as she has loved that before, but I'm a bit wary since I've heard broccoli can interfere with calcium absorption. I think it may be a good idea to look into foraging toys, to keep her mind engaged in an activity and keep her mind off of eggs.
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Thank you for explaining. I hope I can think of something to discourage Isabel from laying eggs. I know Lupron would be useful. I've been emailing the vet. Hopefully, if he can't get Lupron, maybe he can put me in contact with another clinic that does have it.
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I am surprised that they have a problem getting the Lupron, as it is commonly used, maybe there is a problem because of the pandemic like with so many other things. You would think that of one vet can get it that it would be available to all that need it, at least in the USA. 
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I've been observing Napoleon and I'm very concerned about his feathers. I think he seems to be losing them. Recently he lost almost all of his tail feathers. His tail feathers had looked ragged before, and I thought maybe one of my other three budgies might have pulled at his tail feathers. But recently he lost all of his long tail feathers. And now that I'm looking at his wings, these seem much shorter than before.
For comparison, here is a picture of Napoleon from January 19.
![Blue Product Grille Pet supply Automotive exterior]()
Now, here is a video I took of Napoleon tonight.
Up until a very short time ago, he was consistently doing better. The last time I took him to the vet, the vet said Napoleon was breathing better than at any previous visit. Now, Napoleon did need a break trim at his last check up January 10. His beak had grown very long over December. The beak has kept growing, but it's not long enough for another trim yet.
But in the last couple weeks, he's been less energetic than before. I've noticed him sleep more. I also noticed Napoleon seemed more wobbly than usual, but since the vet said Napoleon might show neurological symptoms for a long time, it seemed like the same problem.
However, I notice that lately, he's stopped even trying to fly. He has the energy to climb all over the cage, but he won't try to fly. If one of the other budgies pecks at him, he'll often fall from his perch and try to climb back up. He can't even jump from perch to perch, and I think it's that he notices that he doesn't have the feathers to fly.
I don't know what could be causing this. I remember when Napoleon had cultures, the vet said they had found a staph infection, and looking at this article (Feather Problems In Birds | VCA Animal Hospitals), it says that staph infections can cause feather loss. I'm scared Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease might be a possibility given Napoleon's symptoms.
What makes me even more concerned is that Isabela also has a ragged tail feathers. I took this picture when she was still eggbound last week.
![Bird Feather Beak Window Wing]()
In looking at them, I'm concerned Napoleon is sick with something causing his feathers to fall out. Because Isabela also has ragged tail feathers, I'm equally concerned that Napoleon has something that has affected the others.
That said, Isabela is so much more energetic than Napoleon. She's been in the hospital cage since last week's procedure, but she moves without the same wobbliness as Napoleon. She's eating very well and preening. She is still tearing the paper at the bottom of the cage, like she does before laying eggs, but so far she hasn't laid any eggs.
In fact, except Napoleon, the other three budgies seem perfectly fine. I have another male and female budgie, currently in the same cage with Napoleon, who show no symptoms at all. They eat, preen, and fly completely normally.
I may be rushing to conclusions thinking that the others are sick, given that no one but Napoleon is showing symptoms. It's late today, but tomorrow morning, the plan is to isolate Napoleon, just in case, and talk to my vet.
For comparison, here is a picture of Napoleon from January 19.
Now, here is a video I took of Napoleon tonight.
Up until a very short time ago, he was consistently doing better. The last time I took him to the vet, the vet said Napoleon was breathing better than at any previous visit. Now, Napoleon did need a break trim at his last check up January 10. His beak had grown very long over December. The beak has kept growing, but it's not long enough for another trim yet.
But in the last couple weeks, he's been less energetic than before. I've noticed him sleep more. I also noticed Napoleon seemed more wobbly than usual, but since the vet said Napoleon might show neurological symptoms for a long time, it seemed like the same problem.
However, I notice that lately, he's stopped even trying to fly. He has the energy to climb all over the cage, but he won't try to fly. If one of the other budgies pecks at him, he'll often fall from his perch and try to climb back up. He can't even jump from perch to perch, and I think it's that he notices that he doesn't have the feathers to fly.
I don't know what could be causing this. I remember when Napoleon had cultures, the vet said they had found a staph infection, and looking at this article (Feather Problems In Birds | VCA Animal Hospitals), it says that staph infections can cause feather loss. I'm scared Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease might be a possibility given Napoleon's symptoms.
What makes me even more concerned is that Isabela also has a ragged tail feathers. I took this picture when she was still eggbound last week.
In looking at them, I'm concerned Napoleon is sick with something causing his feathers to fall out. Because Isabela also has ragged tail feathers, I'm equally concerned that Napoleon has something that has affected the others.
That said, Isabela is so much more energetic than Napoleon. She's been in the hospital cage since last week's procedure, but she moves without the same wobbliness as Napoleon. She's eating very well and preening. She is still tearing the paper at the bottom of the cage, like she does before laying eggs, but so far she hasn't laid any eggs.
In fact, except Napoleon, the other three budgies seem perfectly fine. I have another male and female budgie, currently in the same cage with Napoleon, who show no symptoms at all. They eat, preen, and fly completely normally.
I may be rushing to conclusions thinking that the others are sick, given that no one but Napoleon is showing symptoms. It's late today, but tomorrow morning, the plan is to isolate Napoleon, just in case, and talk to my vet.
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The feathers in the pictures of both birds really look like feathers look when other birds have been pulling them and picking at them or damaged by constantly being in contact with the bars of the cage during movement. In the video of Napoleon, he looks and sounds like he is annoyed with the other birds, can you house him separately but next to the others, I am thinking that maybe he is under too much stress from the others. There is a blood test for PBFD if necessary. A beak that grows too fast can be a sign of fatty liver, has the vet ever talked about that?
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This morning I put Napoleon in the hospital cage and returned Isabel to the main cage.
I hope it's more an issue of my budgies pulling each other's tails or of the feathers having contact with the bars. About a year ago, I bought a much larger main cage, so they have plenty of space.
Napoleon does mainly climb, so he is always in contact with the bars. But Napoleon's wings are so short now and he is so weak. Isabel jumps around with much more energy. Hopefully Napoleon does better in the hospital cage.
I've mentioned fatty liver to the vet a couple times. While we aren't sure, the vet doesn't think that's the issue.
I hope it's more an issue of my budgies pulling each other's tails or of the feathers having contact with the bars. About a year ago, I bought a much larger main cage, so they have plenty of space.
Napoleon does mainly climb, so he is always in contact with the bars. But Napoleon's wings are so short now and he is so weak. Isabel jumps around with much more energy. Hopefully Napoleon does better in the hospital cage.
I've mentioned fatty liver to the vet a couple times. While we aren't sure, the vet doesn't think that's the issue.
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It's been a couple days since we put Napoleon in the small cage. He was very weak for the first couple days, especially yesterday. He is still very weak. But I notice that a couple feathers that might eventually grow out in his tail. And today he was frequently chirping.
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I was watching a webinar yesterday on heart disease in birds, has the vet ever brought up this subject in relation to all of Napoleons symptoms? Heart issues can manifest neurologically. If you are interested in watching it let me know and I will give you the link.
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The vet hasn't mentioned heart conditions, but I'll definitely ask him and see what he thinks. Yes, thank you very much, I'd really appreciate the link
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