Is Rio sick?

[Taikira]

One of our parakeets(Rio) is exhibiting tail bobbing, regular to the point where I might use him to count seconds. I have not seen him eat or drink today but I wasn't staring at him all day so it's likely he did so while I wasn't paying attention. He still chirps but he has also started making other sounds which due to timing I don't know if they are a problem or an attempt to mimic. He doesn't seem to be any more stationary than normal when in the cage- still runs sideways on the perch, rubs his beak against the perch, and at one point he decided to hang upside down. He is the only one of our birds that can't fly so when he decides to jump off my finger he runs off- there appears to be no change in his running. He bobs his head also- but sometimes it seems to involve some of his back to.. not sure how to describe.. sometimes he looks like hes going to give himself whiplash almost.
We called the emergency vet clinic in the area but they do not know what to do with birds. The nearest avian vet is too far for us to get to. We're hoping the nearest vet will be open morrow but last time we walked by it looked under construction... but they mention handling exotics as well as normal so theoretically they should be the most likely to handle a bird...
None of the other three show any signs of tail bobbing.

NOTE: A few nights ago we had a guest who decided to be up all night watching tv, the next day he commented Rio looked like hell cause he looked tired and I nearly brained the guy. I might have bought the birds for my roommate but I have developed 'mama bear syndrome' when it comes to them. The latest people are allowed in the living room/kitchen now is 10/11pm. (no wall separating living room and kitchen) ..and I didn't hit the guy but I did yell for about 10 minutes regarding the birds' right to quiet sleep time.

[Kerry C]

Sounds like he has an upper respiratory infection - noticeable symptom is the tail bobbing/ticking. Your bird needs some medication before it this starts nasal discharge.

Remember birds ALWAYS hid their illnesses. This is something ingrained by DNA - an obviously sick bird will be expelled from a flock, they draw predators.

[maxollie]

I totally agree with Kerry. I also think your bird may have a respiratory infection. If you can't find a avian vet locally to take the bird to, I would suggest you either get on-line to find vets in your area or look in your local phone book. The best thing you could do is to call the Vet, describe the bird's behavior, and hopefully they will have an answer for you. You can buy bird anti-biotics at a petshop, but if it were me I would first want to check with a vet to see if he/she thinks it is o.k. to give them to your budgie. Have you changed diet with your bird lately, or have you had the seed for awhile (if you are using a seed diet). If bird seed gets old or moldy it can also give your birds an infection. I hope my info is of help to you. Keep us posted as to the health of your little budgie!

[Taikira]

First thing this morning we called the nearest vet and they handled birds so Rio was seen around noon. Apparently parakeets count as an exotic pet ($65.00 visit) but the meds werent bad (baytril). The current problem tho is getting the baytril drinking water into Rio. He doesn't want to be out of the main cage and I don't want to poison the other 3 if they arent sick- Im assuming meds for birds are similar to those for humans- if it wasnt prescribed for that person they shouldnt have it.
Loki, Sky, and Angel show no abnormal behaviors.

I'm familiar with the concept of hiding symptoms as I do it myself... trying to break that habit ^^. The tail thing threw us off and my room mate found conflicting information about it-could indicate resp infection but could be normal... like telling me "hey he could be in perfect health or keel over from pneumonia". I flat out didnt like it but the emergency vet told us last night they dont take birds.
The seed is only about a month old if that and I handle it with no problems (I'm allergic to mold).

Anyway, thank you guys for the responses.. don't suppose any of you know how to make a stubborn baby drink his meds?

[maxollie]

Hi Talkira, First of all I must say I love "your" name! It is a very beautiful name. As to little budgies drinking their meds, you might consider going to the pet store and picking up a little baby bird syringe. They are plastic, and you could put water or food in it. Then you could take Rio out of the cage and give him the medicine/water mix that way. In my opinion that would be the easiest and best way for him to get his medication. Just be certain when you give him the medication that you don't give him too much water at a time. You could do this several times a day, or according to the orders the Vet gave you. And also, that will prevent your other budgies from getting any of those meds in their little bodies since they don't need it.

I'm really happy that you got Rio to the Vet, and that he is going to be o.k. It is really heartbreaking when you lose a little budgie. I just lost my little Maxi about 6 weeks ago. He was 5 years old. It was very unexpected. I think he ate too much kale. After he died I researched and found out that giving budgies kale on a daily basis, MAY cause them to have thyroid and espohagus trouble. And when that happens they cannot breath.

Keep us posted on little Rio!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your flock!

[pixibubbles]

If you're dosing orally you don't actually need to mix with water. You can give neat- just call ther vet first to check the dosage and strength of your baytril.

Baytril won't actually hurt the other birds- and if he's sharing a cage it might be a good idea that are given it as a preventative measure- again another conversation to have with your vet. If he's given baytril he suspects bacterial infection- which can be contagious. does your vet know he shares a cage (and therefore has direct contact and probably even feeds, others?)

Make sure you keep Rio warm too- the normal, healthy tempreture for healthy birds is usually a couple of degrees above us, so if it feels cold to you, it's probably cold for him, and if his body doesn't need to worry about staying warm, it can concentrate on fighting the infection.

[Taikira]

I will see if anyone can stop by a pet store but my friend has no gas and my mom broke her foot so not sure how far I'll get but I definately prefer that to watching him for 2 hours straight as he runs around my room climbing things, squeaking and clicking at me, and of course leaving 'presents' on my shirt before he decides to take a single sip of liquid. (But that sip felt like a major victory after last night where he just kept running away from the water)
So far today he's taken two voluntary sips of medication and one of normal water (from maybe 7am-3pm). Is this a normal fluid rate for birds? I've never watched them this intently before. The vet dubbed his issue a respiratory infection and prescribed the baytril, but the instructions only said to mix it into half a liter of water and that it should last 2 weeks ><.
Temp wise he should be good... not quite a sauna in here but its winter outside and I'd be wearing a bikini if I had one. The living room and kitchen (open floor plan) windows have been forbidden from being opened unless someone is cooking(and burning) food. I've requested my mom loan me the humidifier she has (I'd put him in the shower all day but he'd flip out and prob hurt himself trying to escape).
My bedroom currently looks like a giant bird cage, put seed water and millet on the shelf he likes to hop on and have brightly colored birdie stuff sitting or hanging from random places. Just missing standard perches (the others like to land/climb on my wall hangings and pictures).
Kicking myself for not checking things over myself sooner cause the vet is closed for the holidays.
Thanks and Happy Holidays everyone!
I will try to at least keep a daily update on how he's doing... currently he's terrorizing our self-proclaimed alpha, Loki. ^^

[Taikira]

Friend needed backup to meet a new guy last night and she stopped at a pet store on the way.. they were walking out just as we got there! Fortunately it's a family run shop and when I told the man my bird was sick he let me come in and buy a syringe.
This morning I got up and retrieved Rio and put him on his shelf to see how he'd do on his own first. While yesterday he barely picked at the millet and seed I had out for him, this morning he tore up the millet! It kept moving on him so he was holding it down with a foot. He also took several sips of his baytril water. I'm hoping that indicates that the little he'd previously gotten in is starting to help.
Merry Christmas!

[maxollie]

That's great news, Taikira. He definitely has to be feeling better to be eating and drinking as he is. I agree that the medication appears to be helping him. From observing my budgies at play and during the day, they never seem to consume a huge amount of water. They will be what I call sipping some water a few times throughout the day but never consume alot of it. I truly think you are doing an excellent job with Rio! I know how easy it is to beat yourself up so to speak, when they get sick, but don't be hard on yourself. You made a great decision to come here to the forum and post your concerns, and also you called the Vet and got him there in time. And from reading your posts I know you are a very caring "parront" to your babies. Everyone that has posted here has given you some excellent information. And now should you have this situation happen again you will be prepared to know what you need to do. The picture you posted is "gorgeous". What a beautiful budgie!!

Keep us posted on Rio, and Merry Christmas to you too!!

[Taikira]

Thank you, I had grown up around cats (and a few dogs). Until buying these babies for my room mate who missed his birds I had thought of small birds at least as little more than feathered fish- pretty to look at but not that interesting. Not only did they show me that idea was in error they somehow managed to creep into my heart. I had no patience for anyone in this world except my brother and there was nothing that would give my temper pause. These guys frustrate me on a daily basis and I've never raised my voice at them. I hate noise yet they can scream and it doesn't bother me. They apparently get special consideration as anything else annoying me gets an instant rage response.
Thanks and I'll try to get everyone up (in better light conditions) at some point.

Rio is back to his stubborn self it seems. Only took a single sip this morning and didn't take another through the afternoon so we tried the syringe which I'm not sure if much if any ended up IN Rio. He didn't want to open his beak except for split second moments.
Other than not wanting to drink his medicine he has been better about not jumping off my hand today so I brought him up to my ear and noticed that the wheezing sound is gone. He is also being EXTREMELY vocal and I think was telling me off the second time I brought him to his shelf this morning.

On an unrelated note he is still showing no signs of being able to fly. He, Sky, and Angel all appear around he same age (a few months old-ish) and were bought at the same time, but both Angel and Sky can fly (Angel circled my room a few times earlier). All thier wings were clipped and the first day we had them no one did more than flutter-hop. Angel and then Sky pulled off short flights a day or so later but Rio has never progressed beyond flutter-hops and 45degree descents. Angel in particular does exasperating but impressive feats with her clipped wings. Angel is showing some new feather growth on her wings. Nothing on Rio or Sky.
Currently the he/she references are based on interactive behaviors as only Loki shows any visual clues(bright blue cere). Rio and Loki seem to argue/compete with each other, Sky and Loki are usually glued to each others side, and Sky and Angel scream at each other.

[Taikira]

Well I now have an album on here if anyone wants to see them, tho the pic quality sucks on the larger images (prob need to use something other than gif cause the original image looked WAY better).
Today Rio has been very cooperative- he didn't sidestep me a single time when I was retrieving him from the cage. He even joined in when I was raging about someone (he was on my shoulder mimicking me when I went off). Except of course for his medicine which he has yet to touch today despite two seperate attempts. While he was out I did notice some new feather growth on his left wing which I am thrilled to see- I just hope it means his wings WILL eventually grow back and he'll be able to fly like the other three. Though I'll probably miss my miniature roadrunner ^^
Unless something drastic goes wrong this is my last update for this thread.

Prob won't be posting between now and then so... Happy New Years!

[britany]

Lol