AHH! Can you please help?

[flowerpixie]

Noooo! I'm starting to get scared! I think my poor little parakeet is sick or something. :S :S Her feathers are fluffed up, so I know she isn't feeling that well, and she seems sooooo tired all the time. She must be weak too, because she can't fly very well anymore-- and I do not clip her wings or anything.... She seems to have lost interest in the things she loves, and is falling asleep near nice, warm cozy places constantly (like right now, near my neck... She never has stayed in the same place for more than five minutes-- well, until now... :( ). Some of her poops are very runny, while others seem small, and exceedingly dry... Now for the part that really has me worried... Her breathing seems... odd... and it seems as though there is a grinding noise that goes along with it. I dunno if it's her digestive system acting weird or what.... Also, she has developed an odd hole on the side of her beak. At first I thought it was just a little mark or something and that it would just go away, but instead, it got worse... I need to see a vet, but I was just wondering if anyone here might have the slightest idea what is going on...it would really help! Thanks! :budgie:

[Amy]

Oh dear! I'm sorrybut I can't help you here, but maybe Budgiekin or someone can?

How old is she?

[~*Brittany*~]

Well I cant help.
Im sure, Like amy said, Budgiekin will have some idea.

How long has she been sick like this???

And YES, get her to an avian vet A.S.A.P

[Budgiekin]

I am so sorry that your little sweetheart is not feeling well. How old is she?

Since you mentioned that she is breathing differently and it sounds like there is an odd noise as she breathes, it is quite possible that she has a respiratory infection. Aspergillosis may be a possibility, although I would certainly not know for sure. In that illness, which is actually a fungal infection, birds can be infected by inhaling dust-laden air containing spores or by ingesting those spores while feeding on or near the contaminated sources. The inhaled or ingested spores can lodge in the air sacs and begin to develop. If the large air sacs become infected, the walls become thickened and pneumonia can develop. Traditional treatment has been with itraconazole given orally. Usually this only has to be given once a day, but some vets may treat until 1 month after the white blood cell count returns to normal, generally about 3 months.

I know you already know, but please take her to an avian vet. She definitely sounds like she needs more help than what you can give.

Your vet may want to do a complete blood count. This is probably the most important single test that can be run on a bird, as it helps the avian vet determine if a bird has a bacterial, fungal or viral infection, and it shows if a bird is anemic, dehydrated or suffering from a myriad of other problems. If the vet suggests it, I would encourage you to go for it.

If you don't know of an avian vet in your area, you can look one up on this site:

http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/

[Amy]

That's a really good site. They have worldwide avian vets on there!