So angry

[Coral]

We went to a few petshops this morning to have a look at aviary's, and to top up on some egg food.

We arrived at a petshop that had all of their birds in aviarys outside. We were strolling round having a look at all the birds. In the budgie aviary, there was an old budgie all fluffed up on the floor, and a very young one cuddling next to it. :mad::mad::mad:

I called the owner, and pointed out the birds. He told me that they where fine, and that they were just babies lying in the sun to get warm :S Fruitcake.

I bought the poor little buggers - the older one has a terrible infestation of scaley face, and is deathly thin. The younger one has a vent that is full of poo!!!! :mad::mad::mad:

Resting in the sun - RIGHT!!!!????

They are off to the vet on monday - I am keeping them warm, so one day will not make a difference.

How on earth do you get people this uneducated, or ruthless? I am not sure if he really thought that they were babies just warming themselves in the sun, or that he knew that they were sick, and just didn't care. :mad::mad::mad:

Will post photos later.


And don't worry - they are in strict quarentine :)

[Tigerlily]

How sad!

But how lucky they are to have you rescue them, save their lives, and give them a loving and caring home. You're so kind to have bought them!

[EverLove]

I hope they get better soon! Poor babies! Some people should not be in charge of the care of animals- they simply don't care enough about them. It's disgusting and sad how some animals are treated. D:

[Coral]

Just an update: since I have brought them back, the old one has NOT stopped eating. Is there something wrong? I can understand a hungry budgie eating for an hour, mabey 2, but this one just hasn't stopped...

[Vickie]

The easiest way to tell if they ARE babies would be too see if they have baby bars.

A baby budgie has bars all over its head like this.
http://www.budgerigarplanet.com/images/IMG_0898.JPG

An adult budgie's head looks bald on top like this.
http://www.fedbybirds.com/pics/budgie.jpg

Baby budgies often do rest on the ground because they are not strong enough to stay perched.

However, they should not have scaly face or a dirty vent area! Good catch! Hope the vet visit goes well.

[Shy Bird]

thats sooo sad.:(

[Coral]

One is a baby, vDavis (about a month or two older than the one that you posted - cute bird!), but the other is definitly an adult, and from what I can see, quite an old adult.

The poor baba is resting constantly on the floor, and is decidedly not normal. He seems to be very weak, but is such a cute boy.

I am a real sucker for baby badgie faces :)

[RedFeather]

Aww, so sad. But I'm glad you found the birdies and rescued them.

[riotfox]

aww good luck getting them better again!

[Guthwulf]

While i commend you on your humanitarianism, unfortunately you just fell for the oldest trick in the book :( Pity purchases...

Too often we see sick animals in pet stores, and our heart strings are pulled and we have thoughts of rescuing them. "Aha! Take that pet store!" we think to ourselves, unfortunately, this just tells the pet stores they can keep sick, frail or contagious birds and still have no trouble selling them. Next time they get a sick bird they will just say "its fine, someone will buy it soon".

Hope they get better soon after the vet, but im sad to think what this may mean for that pet shops practices. Such is the way of the world unfortunately.

[Carmen]

Maybe give the little guy some gatorade, if he doesnt seem to want to get up to drink it from his water dish, give it to him with an unused paint brush. The sugar might give him the energy to get moving. Sounds like a vet visit in definitely in order.

[Coral]

Thanks, Carmen. I have been giving him glucose water with a syringe. He seemed to be very dehydrated at first, but is looking much more perky now. I have been giving it to him every half an hour or so.

I had him on my hand eating seed (he is still so hungry I don't think he cares where he sits), and something scared him. He managed to get about 1/2 a meter off the ground, and could not fly any higher. The food bowl and the water bowls in the petshop aviary was at the top of the cage, so the poor thing hasn't been able to eat or drink for a while, I suspect :( :(

The vet is booked for first thing tomorrow morning. The visit to the pet shop owner with a gun and a few sharp knives is booked for just after that ;)

[Coral]

Too often we see sick animals in pet stores, and our heart strings are pulled and we have thoughts of rescuing them. "Aha! Take that pet store!" we think to ourselves, unfortunately, this just tells the pet stores they can keep sick, frail or contagious birds and still have no trouble selling them. Next time they get a sick bird they will just say "its fine, someone will buy it soon".

I agree Guthwulf, it is a catch 22 situation, and what you say makes alot of sense. And there are so many budgies in the pet shops here that the owners don't care one bit if one or two die off. There is one very notorious pet shop here where there are dead or dying birds lying at the bottom of the cages every day. I went there once, and phoned the SPCA straight afterwards. Whether they will do something or not is another story.

In the future I am going to limit myself to my normal petshops that are clean, bird friendly, and have owners that can pass as human beings.

I have such a soft spot in my heart for budgies, I could not have left the little things there to die, knowing that I could have had them safe.

You point, however, is well made.

[critter mom]

How lucky they were to find a good home with you!

[Carmen]

Let us know how the vet visit went! I hope they are doing well today :)

[Nika]

The food bowl and the water bowls in the petshop aviary was at the top of the cage, so the poor thing hasn't been able to eat or drink for a while, I suspect :( :(



That is just horrible. You are right, he probably did not have enough strength to reach the food and water bowls :(

So very sad.

Guthwulf is right, but I am glad this poor budgie has you to take care of him.

[Schnapperxx]

I wouldn't have bought the bird,
you really are just giving the aviary more chances to get more sick birds.
But it's good that you decided to purchase the budgies and take care of them.

[Coral]

We wnt to the vet yesterday. The old budgie is riddled with scaley face, and has blood in its droppings, as well as undigested seed. It is on a course of baytril, and seems to be getting better, and Ivermectin.

The younger budgie seems ok, but is on a course of Ivermectin to deal with the scaley face mites.


Today the old budgies droppings have not got blood in them anymore :)

I have decided that the old budgie can be called "pretty boy". In anticipation of the way he will look when all the mites are gone :)

[crazygirl22qt]

awww im happy pretty boy and the baby have you :D
... bad pet shop owners need to get shot! hahaha

Hope they keep getting better and better.... where are the pics of them lol

[Coral]

Lol Crazygirl, pictures coming up tomorrow :)

[Carmen]

Thats wonderful Coral! It must be satisfying to know you have probably saved these little ones lives!

[Coral]

Bad news - Pretty Boy died. He went for a second visit to the vet (more of a checkup), he looked good. Then I got up in the morning and he was dead :(

We gave him a second dose of Ivermectin that morning - I think he had just too many worms for his body to cope with.

The baby is in a sorry state. He called and called and called for his mate, and he now is just sitting and looking very depressed. At least he is healthy and still eating, so hopefully he will get over it.

[earlybird]

That is so sad. I'm sorry to hear that Pretty Boy died. RIP Pretty Boy.
I hope the baby will be OK.

[Siobhan]

At least you know that Pretty Boy was loved and taken care of at the end, thanks to you. I'm pulling for the baby to make it. You have other budgies for company for the baby, so with lots of love and care, maybe he'll get over his grief and be okay after all.

While I see the point of not encouraging crummy pet shops by buying a sick bird to try to save it, you have to think of the birds. If you can take it home and maybe save it and give it a good life, how could it be better to leave it there to be neglected and abused? Should you leave an abused child in its parents' care because it's unfortunately highly likely that the state will eventually give the child back to them and the cycle will start again? You have to TRY. Save the bird, report the pet shop and KEEP reporting the pet shop and maybe something will change, and meanwhile the poor bird has a chance at a better life.

[Cassidy]

i want to see the pictures of baby..... If it survives i think you should name it Mircale ( for a girl) and Lucky if it is a male

[Coral]

Hi Guys :)

Been at a conference for a while now, so I have only had time to pop in and read.

The baby is happy now, and is chirping to the budgies in the other room :)

Parakeets, the baby is a girl - I have bite marks all over my finger from her ;). Miracle is a great name for her, Mirri for short. Thanks for the suggestion.

[echub]

You saved a life. In fact 2 lives. :) Isn't that all that matters?
But make sure they don't contaminate your other pets (most concerned, the other budgies)

Budgies get colds and diseases very easily, such they have such a weak body. :( They are very very very delicate and can be broken easily. Make sure that any small pet doesn't get close to those two sick. :) Just be aware and keep your eye open. :)
:budgie: :D :budgie: :D :budgie:

[pal0m1n0]

Umm, budgies, are not exactly that delicate. They are pretty hardy as long as they are not mishandled.