Help! Very sick budgie

[c-mooreca]

Hello all,

I am a new member and am sorry to be posting such a sad story to start with. Wondering if anyone has some advice to help my six month old budgie, Bobby who has now gone off his food completely and appears to be having a lot of difficulty breathing. Some bubbles are coming out the side of his beak and he appears very weak. He is spending a lot of time on the bottom of the cage.

I brought him to the vet yesterday and he was injected with an antibiotic which I am now giving him orally through his water. I have also covered 3 sides of his cage with a towel and some light bulbs placed over his cage to try and keep him warm. I read somewhere that it was good to place a budgie over running hot water when they have respiratory problems. Is this true?

Is there anything else I can do at all?

Caroline

[Amy]

Sorry to hear about Bobby, I hope he's alright!

About this hot water thing do you mean get him wet, with hot water, I don't understand...?

Also, Welcome to the forums!

[c-mooreca]

Humidity is meant to be important with birds who have respiratory problems. On one site I was on it said

"A vaporizer is best, a humidifier will work, and in a pinch, placing the bird in the bathroom and periodically running hot water in the shower is better than nothing"

So I have been bringing his cage into the bathroom when I am having my showers in the hope that it will help clear his passageways.

[bluebird]

hi Caroline,
you did the right thing & took him to the vet,while hes on his antibiotics i would keep him warm. offer fresh tepid water & let him rest.Is he exposed to any drafts indoors ? budgies can withstand the cold but exposure to drafts often results in colds. keep us updated.

[Budgiekin]

I am so sorry to hear that your budgie is ill. It is never fun to see our precious little sweeties in that condition.

You are doing the right thing by keeping your sweetheart warm, and the humidity is helpful, so keep that up. Did your vet do any tests on your sweetie? Respiratory infections in budgies can be difficult to treat, especially if they are caught too late. I hope the antibiotics help him!

Does Bobby eat at all yet? If not, you may wish to consider giving him some millet. Budgies usually love the stuff and sometimes that is all they will eat when they are feeling under the weather.

Also, how do your budgie's droppings look? Do they look small and dry? If so, you may wish to consider giving your little guy some diluted pedialyte to replenish his fluids. :(

Keep us updated with how he is doing! :p

[c-mooreca]

Thanks for the replies guys. It is very distressing to see Bobby trying to eat and not able to. I have millet in the cage too. The vet force fed him yesterday and he ate a little seed on his own last night. Since 5am he has been trying to feed himself but can't manage it. The poor thing has loads of seed all round his beak. I have dropped him back into the vet this morning. Very little droppings in his cage but the ones that are there are more wattery than usual.

He isn't in any draughts in the house. However we were burning scented candles for a couple of nights which i only discovered online can kill a budgie. The vet where i live does not have too much avian experience however they are doing what they can. Must check if they have been doing any tests.

Caroline

[sweetheart]

I hope Bobby is ok its a very hard time when they are sick

[bluebird]

Hi Caroline any news on Bobby ?

[Amy]

Any News? I hope he's alright!

[Mistyoriline]

This breaks my heart let us know something soon.

[c-mooreca]

Unfortunatley Bobby passed away yesterday afternoon at the vets.

The poor little thing was gettting very stressed out at being handled and this probably did not help. They did not do any tests on him as there is no avian laboratory in Ireland and the sample would have had to be sent to the UK. They were treating him for a respiratory infection however he had lost a lot of weight.
At least his suffering is over now and I did the best I could for him.

[c-mooreca]

Unfortunately Bobby passed away yesterday afternoon at the vets.

The poor little thing was getting very stressed out at being handled and this probably did not help. They did not do any tests on him as there is no avian laboratory in Ireland and the sample would have had to be sent to the UK. They were treating him for a respiratory infection however he had lost a lot of weight.
At least his suffering is over now and I did the best I could for him.

[avril]

:( :crying2: :ohno: :crying:

so sorry to hear that little Booby died my heart goes out to you.
You did everything you could and it was not your fault

[bluebird]

:( sorry to hear the sad news about bobby,you did all you could caroline.

[sammy2850]

im very sorry to hear that best wishes to u

[Amy]

Oh no, how terrible.:crying: No I dont believe it. :crying2: Here I play my violin for you. :violin: