plucking feathers from rear end..

[jenni]

I have 4 budgies in a cage... 2 are about 1 year old.. the other 2 about 3 years old.

One of the 3 year olds... has started plucking his feathers out around his rear end and scratching.. he has poop that's getting stuck to him... and he's puffed up.

I'm going to call the vet,, but they're not open on the weekends... so I was wondering if anyone here maybe has any suggestions.... anyone else ever delt with this type of behavior?

Thanks in advance for any replys...

jenni

[Budgiekin]

There are many causes of feather plucking in budgies. Some of them are:

dietary deficiencies (e.g. lack of vitamin A)
exposure to tobacco or smoke or cleaning products
liver, kidney, gastrointestinal or respiratory disease
feather cysts or tumours
bacterial or fungal infections
viruses
parasitesI am hoping it is none of the above.

Are the poops that are stuck to the vent messy? (like watery or unformed?) Sometimes when budgies are trying to remove poops themselves, they end up pulling out their vent feathers.

If your budgie is staying puffed up (rather than occasionally), I would definitely suggest bringing the little guy to the vet. I understand how frustrating it can be when the vet clinics aren't open on weekends or in the evenings. Grrrr.

In the meantime, keep your little fellow warm and provide lots of fresh water and food. Consider covering the cage partially as well to create a secure environment. Please let us know how your little guy is doing.

[Joey]

Well my budgies have had that problem too,but just pluck the feathers auround the vent out.It dosen't hurt them.I did it to mine and they have been fine.Sometimes the feathers get to thick auround the vent and this is why the poop gets stuck.I swear just pluck them-It dosent hurt them,and if you ever want to breed your birds this is a good thing to do so that the eggs could have a higher fertilty rate.I dont thing there is nothing wrong with your budgie its just the feathers overgrowing.

[Bea]

It's not normal for a budgie to be plucking it's feathers. I'm with Budgiekin, see a vet as soon as you can. :)

[jenni]

I should be able to get him to the vet tomorrow.. but until then I've just been watching him. He's still eating... still drinking... and being social to the other birds..

It's like he feels okay some of the time.. and doesn't scratch... but sometimes you can just tell that it's really itchy.... and he'll stop and scratch... and scratch.. and scratch... soooo..... I'm ready to take him...

but until I can.. i'm still glad he's eating and drinking..

hope he'll hang in there.

thanks for the replys..

[Mistyoriline]

Hope he gets better...and hope you get him to a vet:)It's not healthy for budgies to pluck..for any reason:)

[Amy]

Good Luck!

[jenni]

well... Mr. Green went for his checkup today...

Doc said he has mites... so he gave him a dose of -something- to kill them... and he has to go back in 3 weeks for the second dose.. he also gave him some antibiotics that he's having to take twice a day...

He suggested I move him from the cage... but i don't know.. that just seems STRESSFUL.. he's already molting and sick.. why stress him out even more?

He said that I need to bring in the other 3 birds to have them dosed with the same -something-. This is starting to get veryyyy costy.

So far it's been $78 dollars.. $40 for a visit... $18 for antibiotics.. $20 for the mite-kiler...

The other 3 birds will end up being $60 for their first dose..

and for all 4 to have their 2nd dose.. it'll be $80.

a total of $218. Of course we'll do whatever we have to do... and if that's the best option to go then that's what we'll go with... but money is VERY tight right now.. we are about the newly weds... and i'm just starting to look for a teaching job.. so no income for me this summer.

but I've heard you can buy mite-killer stuff at pet stores.. anyone have any experience with these? someone told me we should just doctor the other 3 with over-the-counter meds from the pet store.... I just don't know..

Any suggestions?

[Bea]

Was the mite treatment called Ivermectin? When i had a budgie with mites the vet gave me some ivermectin and all you have to do is put a drop at the back of the birds neck. One treatment and then another in a months time. Easy as that, works really well too. It only cost maybe $10 for a little bottle and that treated all 25 of my aviary budgies. ;) The pet shop products are often much less effective than what the vet will give you and you'll have to apply them more often as well.

[jenni]

Hey Bea,

Thanks for the reply. I had my fiance call the vet back... turns out.. the $20 a pop meds he is giving him is Ivermectin. He wants to charge us $20 for EACH bird for EACH treatment... so when we told him that you had said you used Ivermectin.. and it was so much cheaper he said he'd do it for $15 for EACH bird.. and $15 for EACH treatment.

Sounds like he wants to cheat us.

[Budgiekin]

Hi! I would certainly recommend going with the vet treatment of Ivermectin. Two of my budgies had mites (not a the same time) and we had to treat all of our birds as well. I certainly wouldn't recommend using the pet store treatments. In fact, even administering the ivermectin should be done by a vet as the dosage has to be calculated very carefully.

I realize the vet bills seem expensive, but things like this are part of budgie ownership. What I do, and recommend to others is to start a "budgie care fund". You could put something like $25.00 - $50.00 a month into a bank account. (I have it transferred automatically biweekly). Then when you need vet care, you have the money to pay for it.

Believe me! This was worth it! I started a budgie fund in March 2005 and boy did it come in handy when my little Skyla developed a wing tumour a few months ago. My options were to either amputate, or to just let the tumour grow and euthanize her when it got too big. I chose for her to have the surgery, which cost $700 CDN. Fortunately, I had the money to pay for it, and I am very happy because my Skyla has adapted very well to having only one wing and is as happy as can be. My decision wasn't based on finances because I knew I had the money.

Good luck with your sweeties and let us know how they are doing!! :p

[jenni]

hey budgiekin,

well like I said before... we'll definately do what we have to do... but we are checking around with other vets first.... so far.. no luck.

Mr. Green is looking a lot better..

[Amy]

Yay! I'm so glad he's improving!

[Mistyoriline]

Hope you find a good vet soon poor budgie.....the funding thing is a good idea saving up for emergencies!

[jenni]

Yelp... it's definately a good idea... we'll have to call ours the ZOO fund though.... I have 6 cats, 4 birds, 5 fish, and a flying squirrel. My fiance is so sweet... he's been making room for the zoo.. we bought a new cage for the birds and they've already moved to his place.. and then he's building a new squirrels cage... and making a sump pump for the fish..... the cats are going to stay at my parents.. they are all spayed and nutered.. and are indoor/outdoor... so I think it'd be more tramatic on them to move than to have me move. I'll visit them all the time too. :)

Thank you everyone for the advice.. Mr. Green is getting better and better every day.. we'll be taking the other birds to the vet this week.

[Bea]

In fact, even administering the ivermectin should be done by a vet as the dosage has to be calculated very carefully.

How come? When i used it i was told to apply it like you apply flea treatment to a dog. One drop on the skin at the back of the budgies neck.:S It worked perfectly too...

[Budgiekin]

Ivermectin is a very powerful parasiticide and an overdose may kill your birds.

[Amy]

You don't want that do you.

[Mistyoriline]

Just follow the directions......but be carefull

[Budgie_Birthday]

VERY careful!

[Amy]

Good Luck!

[George101]

is it possible to get insurance or heathcare of some kind on your bird so you won`t have to pay so much if something happens?

[Budgiekin]

From what I understand, it is not possible to get pet insurance on budgies, unfortunately. This is why I recommend having a budgie vet fund that can be used to takecare of unforeseen or emergency circumstances.

[jenni]

Hey.. it's been a while since I posted. Mr. Green (and all other birds) are perfectly happy and healthy... :) Infact, we've gotten two more budgies.. and added them to the cage.. only prob we are having now is getting them switched over to pellets... UGH... Anyways... Just had their family potrait taken by me. heh.. and wanted to show how cute they all are..

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k70/jenni2621/birds.jpg
The green ones.. is of course.. Mr. Green. yellow is Sunny. The one on the cage bars is Captain. The one that's mostly white is Sky. The one that is blue with a white face is not named yet and neither is the one that I'd consider rainbow.. :)

[abel]

I'm glad they're doing well! Congrats on the new babies.:)

[Alfie]

Does this vet run his/her own buissness. sounds like he/she is trying to take you for a ride!

They dont care about treating animals...there only in it for the $. I know i wouldnt be able to afford that sort of money. If i were you i would try and find out if theres a way to treat em yourself.

[Budgiekin]

Very sweet group shot! I love all your budgies!:p

[Lace]

i would really consider getting him to a vet like the other said. Though feather plucking is normal in some cases, puffing up all the time is accually a bad sign. get her to a vet as soon as you can dear.

[HollyT]

Avian medicine isn't cheap...sounds like a decent deal to me...doesn't matter what size the bird is. When we take on multiple pets we must truly consider the financial burden it will bear.

Hope you're little guys get de-bugged soon..poor things.

I also have a vet fund that I save into each month...you just never know!

[clifff123]

How do budgies get mites???? or from what??

[jenni]

actually this was aon old thread... and I just posted the picture to update how he was doing. All budgies are de-bugged and happy! :)