Should I be worried?

[Bigtoven]

On sunday morning I noticed that one of my birds(budgies) seemed to be showing some signs of sbs. It was fluffed up, sleeping alot, not eating as much, was breathing heavily, and kept closing its left eye. It also had a little red around it's beak(not blood, it was just red). Since it was sunday, I figured i'd have to wait till monday(today to take it to the vet). On sunday night, I put her favorite treat in the birds cage, just to see if she would try to eat it. Well this morning, I went to check on her, and she was infront of her toy mirror, on the perch chirping happily, the treat was half gone, and she looked healthy again, (there was no red, and both her eyes were open, and clear, also no fluffed feathers).:S Nonetheless, should I still take her to see a vet, or should I just leave her alone?
(Hope I put this in the right section)

[helloyo53]

i would still take her to the vet just in case. budgies are almost professionals at hiding ilnesses until it is too late. believe me, thats how my other one dies. so if i were yo I would still take her to the vet jsut in case. you still should wait till the experts answer, but that is my opinion

[pal0m1n0]

Hard to say. If this has not happened before and you are sure there is no more sign of illness you could hold off, but if it happens again, you should get it checked out.

[helloyo53]

Hard to say. If this has not happened before and you are sure there is no more sign of illness you could hold off, but if it happens again, you should get it checked out.

yeah i really don't know its just i know that budgies hide their illnesses and i thought it might be best if she took him/her (i forget now:D) to the vet. but i dont know.

[lovesbudgies]

I would take her to the vet to be safe, birds are very good at hiding their illness. If you wait and something is wrong you could end up losing her.

[Bigtoven]

I think I will take her to the vet then, it's better to be safe than sorry after all.

[BUUZBEE]

seemed to be showing some signs of sbs. )

bare with me, i'm probably having a major blonde moment... whats SBS?

[Bigtoven]

Sick Bird Syndrome

[BUUZBEE]

Sick Bird Syndrome

LOL...ok... I probably should have known that :D

[Bigtoven]

Sigh, well just made an appt w/ the only working avian vet at this time. $69 for the office visit! That bird is so lucky I love it so much, and value animals lives more than human ones! Well, time to brake out the college fund. Sigh:(

[Bigtoven]

Well just took it to the pet ER because that was the only place to get it checked out. Well, now my budgie is in the icu of the ER, in a warmed oxygenated tank. I'm also not sure if it'll even make it. The vet said that it was in critical, and saying "boo" too loudly might kill it.:( Well, i'm out $300, I just hope she makes it.

[mskimber]

did the vet say what the problem was?

[helloyo53]

Hopefully she comes out okay. Keep us posted. Good luck!:(:(

[SpickyDavies]

Well just took it to the pet ER because that was the only place to get it checked out. Well, now my budgie is in the icu of the ER, in a warmed oxygenated tank. I'm also not sure if it'll even make it. The vet said that it was in critical, and saying "boo" too loudly might kill it.:( Well, i'm out $300, I just hope she makes it.

poor bird, fingers crossed, there worth the cash!

[Bigtoven]

Well, I recently called this morning, to check how she's doing (They kept her over night because they were afraid to do anything until she was stable). They said that she was doing better, but has an Upper Respiratory Infection. They gave her some medication, but they want to keep her a bit longer, asked if I could call back at two to see if she'll be ready to go home soon.

[helloyo53]

Well that's good to hear that she is doing better. It is a good thing you took it to the vet (despite the money). Hopefully she'll be ready to go home soon!

[lovesbudgies]

I am so sorry to hear he/she is so sick. I hope he/she gets better soon.

[missmadison]

I hope your bird gets better soon. Also, well done to you for taking her in...she is getting the best chance because you acted quickly. I hope all is okay!

[Bigtoven]

Well, I got Jade back, I just need to give her some medication every 12 hours, for the next ten days. So, anyone know how to easily(not that much stress on the bird) give oral medication to a bird who doesnt like you? The way i've been doing it is to get her in a corner, then put a tiny bit on her beak, then back up and let her eat it... That takes around 12-20 minutes though. And she freaks out a lot.

[aka.pody]

I'm so happy to hear that she's a little better. She's definitely not out of the woods yet though.
Aww don't say she doesn't like you..:( she's a little scared right now and not feeling good.

You can actually pick her up with a small towel. A wash cloth is good. Try to wait until she's more or less cornered in the cage so you don't have to chase her around.

If there's someone that can help you, even better. You have to open her beak so she gets the medicine far enough into her mouth. Don't worry if some of it drips down and makes her a little messy.
Sometimes they'll try to spit it out too. Just make sure that she gets the prescribed amount.

I wish you a lot of luck. It's scary at first because you don't want to hurt them. And don't worry about her remembering that you had to handle her. They're pretty forgiving. :o

[Bigtoven]

Thanks, I'll try that next time I give her the medication. I just gave her some medication earlier though, and she tried to throw her food bowl at me! Then started trying to toss her water at me too.:budgie:

[Robin's Nest]

:( It kind of bothers me when a vet send someone home with medication but doesn't show them how to administer it, how to hold the bird to prevent aspiration, and let them practice until they are comfortable. That, in my opinion, is just part of the vet's duties to his clients.

But - in any event - do you know what a GREAT sign it is that she tried to throw her water at you?! WOW! That means she's feeling better! Yeah!!! Keep up the great work! :D

[Bigtoven]

Sigh, well, Jade started to get better, but on Saturday she took a turn for the worse. She had started taking her medication willingly, but that day she acted differently. On Saturday night, at around 10pm, I was in my room, feeling unusually apprehensive, when I heard Jade suddenly screech really loudly. I ran into the living room. When I got there, I saw Jade on the bottom of the cage barely breathing. :( I lost her soon after that. The only bright side is that she isn’t suffering anymore.
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/Bigtoven1/Jade.jpg

[Robin's Nest]

Oh, my gosh - that must have been so horrible and shocking for you! We were all hoping she'd pull through... I am so sorry... you and Jade are in my thoughts now as you grieve... you were amazingly strong and courageous to get her help and to give her medicine like you did... that's not an easy thing to do. You were with her to the end... you were the parront to Jade that she needed... fly free, precious sweetie - on the wind of angels.

[helloyo53]

godspeed Jade!!! that is horrible that she took a turn for the worst. it seemed everything was great. but your right, at least she isn't suffereing...