# Budgie breathing difficulty (food stuck?)



## indigolake (Aug 21, 2017)

Hello, I posted 4-5 days ago regarding my budgie who has been a bit overtired recently.









Help! What's up with my best bud? (video)


Hello! My best bud is nine years old. He doesn't have too many health problems historically. However, he does moult fairly often (he finished moulting a few weeks ago). Over the last few days, he has been sleeping a lot more. He's typically been with his beak tucked under his wing and with two...




www.talkbudgies.com





He's been doing much better since then and has been eating, drinking, and exercising as normal with no signs of illness (no tail bobbing or anything). We believed he was getting much better.

The following may or may not be related:

This evening, I fed him some nut. He really likes it and has it pretty much every day. I think he may have got some stuck because he started doing that opening/closing of the mouth a bit like a yawn. He did that quite often and he also had some liquid around his mouth. I noticed a little bubble in his mouth sometimes when he was opening the mouth.

Anyway, he's started making a little noise when breathing. It comes and goes but when it arrives it's fairly constant for maybe 30 seconds. His tail has occasionally been bobbing as well. Something is bothering him because he won't do his usual things like eating, drinking, playing. He's definitely struggling to breathe a little bit.

All I can find online is the possibility of an infection. However, I'm not convinced that's the case due to the fact that it all seemed to start straight after eating his nut. What should I do? There's literally nobody who can help around here -- certainly not at 9 PM in the evening. At best, I could take him somewhere tomorrow as an emergency appointment but I'm frightened to cover him tonight as I just want to be able to keep an eye on him. He of course needs his sleep though.

Thanks very much for any more advice you can provide.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm very sorry to hear this!
It does sound as if he may have a piece of nut stuck in his esophagus as the action you indicate he is doing is called "adjusting his crop".
Does he enjoy being handled? If so, try VERY gently, rubbing his throat in a very gentle downward motion to see if you can dislodge whatever may be stuck.
If he isn't better by morning, you do need to get an emergency Avian Veterinarian appointment. Tail bobbing is a sign of respiratory problems.
Try to encourage him to drink as well, if he will.*


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## indigolake (Aug 21, 2017)

Hello FaeryBee! Thank you once again for taking the time to reply. It really means a lot. 

Okay, so that's interesting to know about him adjusting his crop. I'm going to read up about that now. Unfortunately, he doesn't like being handled. We got him when he was 2 and I think he'd had a bad experience or two, poor little fella. 

I will certainly be trying to get him to an avian vet tomorrow if things aren't better. 

I keep trying to get him to drink water but he's very stubborn. He doesn't seem to want to despite having his water bottle and me even placing a little tub of water in his cage as well!

Fingers crossed he gets better. I'm sick with worry -- I just want him to be well, bless him!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Sending prayers, healing energy and love for your budgie boy. Hoping he has a full and speedy recovery. Please be sure to update in this thread on his progress. 💜 💜*


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## indigolake (Aug 21, 2017)

FaeryBee said:


> *Sending prayers, healing energy and love for your budgie boy. Hoping he has a full and speedy recovery. Please be sure to update in this thread on his progress. 💜 💜*


Thank you FaeryBee! I think your positive thoughts worked because he has been absolutely fine today! I have to believe that he'd had some nut stuck and that it was causing him some distress. Today, he's been chatty, eating, drinking, and exercising as usual! No sign of tail bobbing or breathing issues whatsoever. Thank goodness for that! Thanks again for your help and well wishes.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*What a relief! I’m so glad he is OK now 💜💜
Best wishes!*


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