# Overreaction or actually ill?



## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

I'm of the mind my birds are definitely ill and should be treated right away. My dad isn't convinced and thinks we should wait until tomorrow to see if what I spotted persists. Given the time I noticed and closing times of aviary vets near me, he won that before I could even find a good one that could take them (more on that in this thread).

My budiges started a light tail bob yesterday when still, which immediately had my somewhat concerned, but I was also freaking them out a tad by being too close to the cage to observe said tail bobbing, so I figured that was the issue. At 4PM today(family coffee time), I changed the food and water and noticed green poop on the perch of the food container. Now, I'm not entirely sure what "normal" poop EXACTLY looks like, but it normally is pretty close to what I see elsewhere, so this smear of bright green poop alarmed me. I checked the cage, and two big blobs of what I assume are morning poops are also green, with one of them runny(already dried up in the paper below, like melted ice cream, except, you know, poop). I wanted to call a vet right away, and after two failed attempts(one didn't take birds despite the website saying otherwise, the other was booked for over a week), I found a place somewhat far away that the second one recommended, and my mom told me to talk to my dad before calling them due to the distance. After a quick look at the birds and an attempt at hand taming I dared not stop(trust me, my dad is not to be tested once he does something. He did not hurt them, just stuck his hand in the cage, tried to get them on his finger, and scared the ever-loving-god out of them), he told me to clean the cage and wait until tomorrow to check the poop again. He said he had birds when he was little and this never happened(more reason to be alarmed???).

It's too late in the day now, I have to wait until tomorrow to call a vet(believe me, despite what my last thread may seem, and the fact this thread implies that I wasn't prepared for this and didn't get them a general checkup before, I'm NOT happy about this, and REALLY wanted to do right by them. Besides, what vet office, aviary or not, closes at 6PM?). Was I really jumping too far, or did I make the right call by trying to act on this right away? I'm really scared they're chirping, eating, playing, and preening each other just to mask the symptoms as birds tend to do. I'm not crazy, am I? They both seem somewhat active, looking around the room, and chirping a bunch today according to mom and dad, but I'm not sure what the masking symptoms looks like, and I'm scared this is exactly what was meant.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Benny8a said:


> I'm of the mind my birds are definitely ill and should be treated right away. My dad isn't convinced and thinks we should wait until tomorrow to see if what I spotted persists. Given the time I noticed and closing times of aviary vets near me, he won that before I could even find a good one that could take them (more on that in this thread).
> 
> My budiges started a light tail bob yesterday when still, which immediately had my somewhat concerned, but I was also freaking them out a tad by being too close to the cage to observe said tail bobbing, so I figured that was the issue. At 4PM today(family coffee time), I changed the food and water and noticed green poop on the perch of the food container. Now, I'm not entirely sure what "normal" poop EXACTLY looks like, but it normally is pretty close to what I see elsewhere, so this smear of bright green poop alarmed me. I checked the cage, and two big blobs of what I assume are morning poops are also green, with one of them runny(already dried up in the paper below, like melted ice cream, except, you know, poop). I wanted to call a vet right away, and after two failed attempts(one didn't take birds despite the website saying otherwise, the other was booked for over a week), I found a place somewhat far away that the second one recommended, and my mom told me to talk to my dad before calling them due to the distance. After a quick look at the birds and an attempt at hand taming I dared not stop(trust me, my dad is not to be tested once he does something. He did not hurt them, just stuck his hand in the cage, tried to get them on his finger, and scared the ever-loving-god out of them), he told me to clean the cage and wait until tomorrow to check the poop again. He said he had birds when he was little and this never happened(more reason to be alarmed???).
> 
> It's too late in the day now, I have to wait until tomorrow to call a vet(believe me, despite what my last thread may seem, and the fact this thread implies that I wasn't prepared for this and didn't get them a general checkup before, I'm NOT happy about this, and REALLY wanted to do right by them. Besides, what vet office, aviary or not, closes at 6PM?). Was I really jumping too far, or did I make the right call by trying to act on this right away? I'm really scared they're chirping, eating, playing, and preening each other just to mask the symptoms as birds tend to do. I'm not crazy, am I? They both seem somewhat active, looking around the room, and chirping a bunch today according to mom and dad, but I'm not sure what the masking symptoms looks like, and I'm scared this is exactly what was meant.


No you are not crazy, you are being a responsible owner. Can you post a picture of the droppings? How long have you had the birds? Sometimes when you first bring a bird into a new home the droppings will be a bit runny and I am wondering if that is the case here, did they just become this way or has it been that way since you got them? What are they eating?


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

I can't get a good picture. I lost my phone between posting photos in my last thread and now, the back camera on my IPAD is glitched, and you can't tell what's going on in the front camera, trust me, I tried.
I've had them for about two months, but the cage was moved closer to the window two days ago, so that could be a stress-related reason.
They only eat millet(I'm not proud of it, I'm working on getting a healthy diet), and they had an apple recently that they enjoyed so much, they almost ate half of the slice.
The change in poop is very, VERY recent. If it didn't start last night, it definitely started this morning.
As messed up as it sound, I hope this is malnutrition, because I was fixing that anyway, and if it is that, it's not an otherwise deadly illness. (I can assure you, I didn't mean to mistreat the things, I'm trying to do right by them now)
The only thing that gets me to think it's stress or malnutrition is I walked over just a moment ago to check on them and they were both playing with a toy I hadn't seen them play with. They did not stop when I came over, but they did do it slower and less gleefully.


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## Lexmacelade (Sep 14, 2017)

Maybe that's because they ate an apple just recently. It's new to them so that might be a reaction as well.


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

I checked this morning, one of them has gone back to normal, but one of the morning poops was bright green again. I haven't checked tail bobbing, but Apple did the fluff feathers to keep warm thing, and they've only been up for half an hour. Also, I think apple is showing signs of an oncoming molt, so there's ANOTHER factor thrown into the mix. Apple's been scratching its head more, against the perches and using its own feet, and I haven't seen the two directly interact with each other, which is odd for them. I'm going to try my best to convince my dad today called a vet is the right choice, so hopefully it'll work.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Benny8a said:


> I checked this morning, one of them has gone back to normal, but one of the morning poops was bright green again. I haven't checked tail bobbing, but Apple did the fluff feathers to keep warm thing, and they've only been up for half an hour. Also, I think apple is showing signs of an oncoming molt, so there's ANOTHER factor thrown into the mix. Apple's been scratching its head more, against the perches and using its own feet, and I haven't seen the two directly interact with each other, which is odd for them. I'm going to try my best to convince my dad today called a vet is the right choice, so hopefully it'll work.


Because birds hide illness very well, if you feel something is not right it is best to have the birds checked out by an avian vet or a vet that has experience with birds. By the time we see symptoms of illness something has usually been brewing for some time. If Apple is fluffed up and listless when you would expect activity then a problem may be beginning to surface and the sooner you can get treatment the better, and faster the recovery will be. Once a bird is ill things can take a change quickly so it is best not to take the wait and see approach. Make sure you take the papers at the bottom of the cage to the vet so he/she can see the droppings.


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

After several calls, I finally got an appointment for tomorrow morning at 7:30, a quick drop-off and pick-up later in the day. I'm so thankful you guys responded, I'll keep this in mind for next time my birds get sick and my dad tells me to wait. 
And yes, tomorrow at 7:30 is the fastest I can do, not anything today. every other place either doesn't take birds despite claiming to or is booked for over a week.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Benny8a said:


> After several calls, I finally got an appointment for tomorrow morning at 7:30, a quick drop-off and pick-up later in the day. I'm so thankful you guys responded, I'll keep this in mind for next time my birds get sick and my dad tells me to wait.
> And yes, tomorrow at 7:30 is the fastest I can do, not anything today. every other place either doesn't take birds despite claiming to or is booked for over a week.


That's good that you got an appointment, let us know how everything goes. If you have a small cage you can use that as a travel cage and transport them in it, keep it covered with something during transport.


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

Cody said:


> That's good that you got an appointment, let us know how everything goes. If you have a small cage you can use that as a travel cage and transport them in it, keep it covered with something during transport.


I have a really small cage my mom bought me a while ago that I haven't used. It's way under half the size of my current cage, though, and the big one is barely adequate(I'm working on it), so they're definitely going to feel crammed in there. will that be okay? I don't want to make this any worse than it has to be.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Benny8a said:


> I have a really small cage my mom bought me a while ago that I haven't used. It's way under half the size of my current cage, though, and the big one is barely adequate(I'm working on it), so they're definitely going to feel crammed in there. will that be okay? I don't want to make this any worse than it has to be.


I am sure it will be fine, they do not need a lot of room to move around during transport.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'll be looking forward to your update after you've taken your budgies to the Avian Vet. Than you for being a responsible pet owner!*


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

Currently at school, the birds have made is safely to the vet, and if nothing else, are alive and very angry at me for being woken up early, put in a tiny cage with no toys, and taken to some random place. I feel bad, but I know I needed to do this. Hopefully this wont make backwards progress with the taming issue going on. They weren't too trusting of me to begin with, and now this?

It was funny, though, that the vet took the cover off the cage and they both whipped around to look at me like WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??


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## Benny8a (Apr 11, 2021)

Last update: I called the vet office, and after some flattery from the receptionist, I found out my birds were perfectly fine, and the symptoms were tied to either stress or changes in diet. I'm bummed that I'm out $150, but I'd rather blow that on nothing than save it and let them die. 

I got a bunch of things from Amazon while I was at school, and the office still has some computer work to do, so I'm going to surprise my birds with the same cage but totally different, and hopefully it'll be a welcome surprise.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Benny8a said:


> Last update: I called the vet office, and after some flattery from the receptionist, I found out my birds were perfectly fine, and the symptoms were tied to either stress or changes in diet. I'm bummed that I'm out $150, but I'd rather blow that on nothing than save it and let them die.
> 
> I got a bunch of things from Amazon while I was at school, and the office still has some computer work to do, so I'm going to surprise my birds with the same cage but totally different, and hopefully it'll be a welcome surprise.


I am glad they are OK, it may be expensive but worth it to know they are not ill.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Thank you for the update. It's always better to spend the money and find out there is nothing wrong than to wait and be sorry. You definitely did the right thing!*


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