Budgie has hyperkeratosis and lipomas

[AubieBird]

One of my budgies, Merry, has developed a deformed cere. I took her to the vet on Tuesday. (This vet is not strictly an avian vet but she does treat birds. The closest avian vet is 80 miles away.) The vet tested her for mites but the test was negative. The vet said Merry had hyperkeratosis caused by a lack of vitamin A. It also appears that Merry has 2 lipomas (fatty tumors). All of this is probably caused by the fact that she eats mainly seeds with an occasional pellet and does not get out of her cage. She, along with the other 6 budgies, were rescue birds who were already "grown" when we got them.....they don't like us, getting out of the cage, any kind of fruit or veggie....you get the picture.

Anyway, all this to say....the vet wants us to give her vitamin A orally daily until she gets better (which could be many weeks). We cannot find vitamin A in liquid form in our city. The vet said it would be difficult to find. She also wants us to start putting liquid vitamins in the other birds' water to help prevent this from happening to them. Does anyone have a recommendation of where I can find liquid vitamin A or any kind of bird multi-vitamins which include vitamin A? (Our local PetCo and Pet Smart had multi-vitamins, but I don't know anything about the brands. One of the vitamins even had ethoxyquin in them!)

Any other words of wisdom for me on how to help Merry? I do NOT look forward to capturing and giving this bird vitamins each day. She is the most skittish bird and hates us even coming near her cage. She shares a cage with another budgie, Pippin. I am afraid all of the budgies may eventually suffer from this or something else because of their poor eating habits and lack of exercise. :(

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Guthwulf]

Cant advise you on what products are best as i dont know whats available in your area. Most budgies love to chew, so wedge a couple of carrots inside the cage and hope that one bird starts to chew on it. They will all start copying as long as one does it. Carrots are a huge source of vitamin A.

[Kate C]

Vetafarm Australia have an extensive range of products for birds. They do mail orders internationally. The products are designed by Avian Veterinarians and are very good products. They have a water soluble vitamin supplement called Soluvet. Below is the direct link to this product. It contains Vitamin A as well as 12 other vitamins and trace elements.

Good Luck

http://www.vetafarm.com.au/categories/BIRDS/SUPPLEMENTS/?page=2&sort=featured

[AubieBird]

Cant advise you on what products are best as i dont know whats available in your area. Most budgies love to chew, so wedge a couple of carrots inside the cage and hope that one bird starts to chew on it. They will all start copying as long as one does it. Carrots are a huge source of vitamin A.


I've tried putting carrots in their cage bars to no avail. I've also tried grinding up veggies and fruits (budgie sludgie) and putting seeds on top to get them to eat some. They make a huge mess and consume very little of it. Today I bought sweet potato, broccoli, spinach and will combine with carrots in the grinder tomorrow. We'll try the sludgie again.

Thanks for your suggestion!

[ronsig]

Have you tried giving the budgies cooked carrot or sweet potatoes, mixed with seeds? That works for us.

The only other product I know, is this one:
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AVXSSF1

I wonder if the vet can get the vitamin A for you:S

Sigrid

[pal0m1n0]

Have you tried putting in dark leafy greens. Just clean and clip in whole. Start with a little parsley and then try beet greens, kale,.. Also try putting in brocolli. All of those are high in vitamin A. Do you also have a mineral block in the cage?

[Nika]

[QUOTE=AubieBird;492481]the vet wants us to give her vitamin A orally daily until she gets better (which could be many weeks). We cannot find vitamin A in liquid form in our city.


I do NOT look forward to capturing and giving this bird vitamins each day. She is the most skittishUOTE]

First all all, I am glad you took her to the vet and I am sorry she was dx'd with hyperkeratosis and 2 lipomas :(

After reading your post, however, I am a little confused. If the vet suggested the liquid form of vit. A, did he tell you to buy it in a store? Because a medication that is supposed to treat something should be prescribed by a vet. None of the meds pet stores sell treat a disease.

You need a certain, precisely calculated, dosage to ensure it will work for a given bird. Budgies drink so little, any vitamins/supplements added to their drinking water won't work. They might prevent something but they will not treat an exsisting condition.

The vet you saw was not an avian vet, which is OK. It is always better to see a reg. vet than none at all. If he could not prescribe a liquid vit. A for your budgie, shouldn't he call an avian vet he knows for the prescription?

I understand that she is skittish and you'd rather not handle her, but this would only be for her own good to receive a prescribed dose.

[AubieBird]

Have you tried putting in dark leafy greens. Just clean and clip in whole. Start with a little parsley and then try beet greens, kale,.. Also try putting in brocolli. All of those are high in vitamin A. Do you also have a mineral block in the cage?

I have tried all of those veggies fresh and as sludgie. They won't go for any of them. I tried several times in fact. There is a mineral block in all of their cages.

[AubieBird]

[QUOTE=AubieBird;492481]the vet wants us to give her vitamin A orally daily until she gets better (which could be many weeks). We cannot find vitamin A in liquid form in our city.


I do NOT look forward to capturing and giving this bird vitamins each day. She is the most skittishUOTE]

First all all, I am glad you took her to the vet and I am sorry she was dx'd with hyperkeratosis and 2 lipomas :(

After reading your post, however, I am a little confused. If the vet suggested the liquid form of vit. A, did he tell you to buy it in a store? Because a medication that is supposed to treat something should be prescribed by a vet. None of the meds pet stores sell treat a disease.

You need a certain, precisely calculated, dosage to ensure it will work for a given bird. Budgies drink so little, any vitamins/supplements added to their drinking water won't work. They might prevent something but they will not treat an exsisting condition.

The vet you saw was not an avian vet, which is OK. It is always better to see a reg. vet than none at all. If he could not prescribe a liquid vit. A for your budgie, shouldn't he call an avian vet he knows for the prescription?

I understand that she is skittish and you'd rather not handle her, but this would only be for her own good to receive a prescribed dose.


The vet weighed Merry and told me that I needed to give her 60 IU of vitamin A. She also gave me a mL syringe. Whatever product I end up giving her will have the number of mL and IU on the package. It is up to me to calculate how many mL to give her which I can do. Vitamin A does not have to be prescribed by the vet. I will be able to get it over the counter or through the internet.....I hope. I have not tried a vitamin/health food store yet. Maybe they will have it.