# Something wrong with Alice's bum



## Teddscau (Jun 27, 2012)

Okay, so Alice has had something wrong with her bum since late January when I got her, I think. She's my "autistic" sky blue clearwing that was rescued from a hoarder. I did some math and she probably hatched around October.

Other than her bum, she seems fine! She's actually come such a long way since I first got her. Before, she'd stand in one spot for hours, crying, but now she actually moves around, plays, and can be quite vocal.

So anyways, there's something wrong with her bum. So, you know those wooden dowel perches that come with cages, right? Well, her vent has a bald spot around that diameter. I can't get that good of a look at it, but it looks a bit raw. She isn't having diarrhea, she isn't plucking, she isn't egg bound, and she isn't rubbing it on anything. Like, the bald spot is a pretty decent size. Do you guys know what could be causing it?

I feed the kids sprouts with powdered dandelion root and sometimes cayenne pepper mixed in; they get a variety of fresh fruits and veggies (at least three different ones a day), such as apple, strawberry, carrot, celery, romaine, chard, arugula, spinach, tomato, beet tops, purslane, chickweed, etc.; fresh RO water twice a day, along with their water dish being washed twice a day with white vinegar and water; their sprout dish is washed with soap and water twice a day; and at night they get Goldenfeast Australian Blend mixed with millet and canary that I get at the Bulk Barn. The sprouts I give them are white millet, porso millet, red millet, flax, canary, spelt, and canola (I'd prefer if there wasn't canola in the mix, but the seeds I buy for sprouting have canola mixed in).

I've also put them on a regiment of Benebac probiotics at least three times, too. Three out of my five budgies seem to have issues pooping. Ju has bad genes, constipation, and testicular cancer; Samantha's skinny and ancient; and Alice often has a stained bum for who knows why!

When I first got her, I put her on my homemade antiparasitic tea for over a week, although I'm not sure how much she drank.

So anyways, what might be wrong with her? And no, I'm not even going to try to get a picture of her bum. If you want a picture of her bum, you're going to have to take the picture yourself


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Robyn,

There are several possible causes of the missing feathers around Alice's vent.

A yeast called Candida Albicans is responsible for an infection referred to as cloacitis or thrush. This is a fungal infection involving the digestive and reproductive systems. The skin around the vent can appear reddened and irritated.

This infection may occur due to an imbalance of the normal occurring bacteria in the digestive system or after the use of oral antibiotics.

Nystatin liquid suspension provided by the vet to be given orally for 7-10 days is effective in treating this condition.

Regular use of ACV is helpful in preventing the growth of Candida Albicans as is regular use of other probiotics.

Other possibilities include:
worms, mites or lice and over-preening*


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## Teddscau (Jun 27, 2012)

Thanks, Deborah! I've been meaning to ask for a while now, but I didn't get around to posting about it until today. I've noticed that her vent will be obviously bald and raw for a while, then a week or so later it doesn't look as bad. I do give them ACV in their water from time to time, so maybe that's what's been clearing it up? I'm going to make note of what her bum looks like tomorrow, then I'll try them on the ACV to see if there's any improvement. The candida sounds likely since she is/was so inactive for such a young bird. I mean, I know she was in a bad situation before she was rescued, but for it to take her this long for her to become active...

Hopefully it's the candida. It's not exactly contagious and I can hopefully treat it with the ACV and other holistic remedies. I know I'm always talking about homeopathy, but I honestly don't want to have to force feed her meds! She's quite vicious  If it comes down to it, I will give her meds.

My mom's had candida for years, but she won't let me treat her.

Man, I really hope it's not parasites!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Robyn,

I believe that since you sometimes give the budgies ACV it's likely that which is making a difference in the severity of the symptoms that Alice exhibits.

My first thought was that Candida was what is causing her problems.

I'll be interested to know how things go when you begin administering the ACV on a regular basis.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. :hug:*


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## Teddscau (Jun 27, 2012)

Yeah, I really hope we've pinpointed the cause of all this. I actually haven't been giving them ACV lately because I've been treating them with probiotics on and off, and I didn't know if the ACV would mess up their treatment. I'll definitely be giving them the ACV. Can I use it with probiotics? It might be worth giving them their probiotics to help compete with the yeast.

Oh, I have a quick question I hope you can answer. Okay, so I'll do my best to describe. You know how humans have their shoulders positioned, right? Well, sometimes Samantha does that, and her wings tremble. Like, it kind of looks like how a bird holds their wings (so I've read) when they're too warm. Today she was doing it, and her eyes were closed and her crotch (?) wasn't close/touching the perch like how budgies normally do. Her wings were really trembling, too. I was quite worried, but Samantha always does random stuff like this, which usually turns out she's just trying to freak me out or something.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Robyn,

You should easily be able to alternate days with the ACV and pro-biotics which will allow your budgies the benefit of both.

With regard to Samanta, it sounds as though she is stressed and/or frightened when standing taller with her wings held out slightly and trembling. Unfortunately, I haven't any other ideas on what might be causing that behavior, I'm sorry. *


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## Teddscau (Jun 27, 2012)

Thanks for the reply . Alice's bum isn't looking bad right now, but it didn't look so good a week or so ago. I've mixed ground bee pollen into their sprouts today for the beneficial enzymes, and I added ACV to their water. I'm probably going to start them on their probiotics on Monday.

As for Samantha, it's weird how she does that. Like, she's the most brave and confident of my budgies, and when she does it, nothing's really happened that should make her stressed out. Then again, she is around fourteen now. I find she sometimes does it after she's been resting. I'm sure it's nothing too serious.


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