# Constant regurgitation



## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

Hi all my budgie JayJay who is 6 years old lately is doing some vomiting or could possibly regurgitating. He isnt showing any signs of illness like sleeping a day or being fluffed up and is still highly active. He seems to do this a couple of times a day since iv noticed him doing as i work late shifts and come back home late at night and he is fast asleep so the only time iv noticed this is when im on my days off. He does this at the window and at his toys. I plan on taking him to the vet tomorrow if i can make an appointment for a check up (be the first time he's ever gone there as he has never displayed any signs of illness). Iv owned budgies for a long time now so i know what to look out for when things do get serious but this one just stumps me as im typing this out right now he is singing away really loudly. It almost feels like he does this just for fun because as soon as i go near his cage or pick him up he stops. Would be great to hear your guys thoughts on this.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

It sounds like he is regurgitating which is a controlled motion of bringing up food to an object, vomiting on the other hand is not controlled and you will often find it all over the birds face and cage bars as it gets flung out of the mouth. It is not uncommon to see a budgie regurgitate to toys or other objects, it is a courtship behavior.


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

Cody said:


> It sounds like he is regurgitating which is a controlled motion of bringing up food to an object, vomiting on the other hand is not controlled and you will often find it all over the birds face and cage bars as it gets flung out of the mouth. It is not uncommon to see a budgie regurgitate to toys or other objects, it is a courtship behavior.


Thing is tho is that he does it in his cage and sometimes it does get stuck on some of the bars, certain places on the bars where some of his favorite toys are which also seems rather coincidental. Sometimes the seeds that he brings back up get stuck on the ceiling of the cage as i assume he shakes his head when he is doing it as iv not actually caught him doing it.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I would not expect regurgitated seed to be stuck to the ceiling of the cage because there is not usually any shaking of the head with regurgitation because the bird is controlling the action and trying to place the seed in a particular spot, in essence the bird is feeding an object when regurgitating whether it is another bird or a toy.


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

Cody said:


> I would not expect regurgitated seed to be stuck to the ceiling of the cage because there is not usually any shaking of the head with regurgitation because the bird is controlling the action and trying to place the seed in a particular spot, in essence the bird is feeding an object when regurgitating whether it is another bird or a toy.


In that case them it seem to be vomiting but not sure if he has a infected crop or something then. Even tho all signs are looking normal as in from droppings, him being active and doing everything a normal healthy budgie would do.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Best to get it checked out and have the vet do a crop swab and test it, birds are masters at hiding any illness until it becomes so bad they just can't hide it any longer.


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

Cody said:


> Best to get it checked out and have the vet do a crop swab and test it, birds are masters at hiding any illness until it becomes so bad they just can't hide it any longer.


I just caught him in the act of what looked like to me regurgitating on one of his toys and at the very end of it a shook his head lightly. I recorded it by it wont let me upload it onto here for some reason


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*How to Display a Video in your Post (FAQs)*


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *I tried clicking on your link but it simply takes me to Facebook. Even when I'm signed into FaceBook I cannot get to your video.
> Click on the video in FaceBook, find the actual URL to that video and post the URL. I'll see if I can get to it that way.*


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You got the video uploaded correctly. I'm going to go back and delete all the superfluous posts now!

The video is so far away from the cage it's hard to tell much.
I see the budgie bobbing his head. Is he think trying to feed one of the toys? What type of toy is it?*


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *You got the video uploaded correctly. I'm going to go back and delete all the superfluous posts now!
> 
> The video is so far away from the cage it's hard to tell much.
> I see the budgie bobbing his head. Is he think trying to feed one of the toys? What type of toy is it?*


its just a toy rattle that he likes to smack around every now and then


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I agree that it looks like he is head bobbing and therefore regurgitating to the toy.


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

As the title says my budgie jay jay for sometime now has been doing a constant regurgitation I believe as he sometimes flicks his head at the end causing the seeds to stick to the cage. I took him to the vet a week ago and they said they couldn’t find anything wrong with him as he had all the vital signs of a healthy budgie. They weighed him and everything else and he was all in the normal area. Sometimes at night I hear him shake his head and hear the seeds hit the bars hours after he has eaten. His droppings are all normal the odd runny one as im not entirely sure if that’s due to him drinking or not as that can last up to an hour or so. I’m starting to debate whether if he is doing this our if bordem or something because as soon as I go pick up him or something he stops completely.
I’m at my whits end here really as I’m not sure if he needs to go to the vet again and to be told that they can’t find anything wrong with him. He has just recently started a molt but this whole situation has been going on for a 3-4 months now and he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it whatsoever as he still acts like a happy playful bird that he always has been.

Any advice please


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*If Jay is flinging seeds then he is most likely vomiting and not regurtitating.

Regurgitation vs Vomiting

Was the veterinarian you took him to an Avian Vet? If so, then I'd find a different Avian Vet for a second opinion.
If not, then I highly recommend you look for an Avian Veterinarian near you.
Locating an Avian Veterinarian

Did the vet do both a crop swab and a fecal gram stain?

The Avian Physical Examination*
*Understanding Avian Laboratory Tests*

*Avian Vets have special training to determine the cause of symptoms resulting from illness or trauma.
This is important as "regular" vets will often overlook symptoms that are quickly obvious to an Avian Vet.
When you rely on anyone who has not had training in Avian diagnosis and care, you may be delaying effective treatment.
This can prolong suffering that may be avoidable.
The bird will often require a more intense, prolonged treatment with a poorer chance of full recovery than it would have if you seek prompt professional diagnosis and treatment at the first sign of illness.
If there are no Avian Vets near you, please find an Exotic Pet Veterinarian with experience in dealing with small birds.

Edit to add: I'm going to merge this thread with the one you posted 10 days ago.*


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *If Jay is flinging seeds then he is most likely vomiting and not regurtitating.
> 
> Was the veterinarian you took him to an Avian Vet? If so, then I'd find a different Avian Vet for a second opinion.
> If not, then I highly recommend you look for an Avian Veterinarian near you.
> ...


The vet was an avian specialist and I did ask him to do a crop swab but he said that it would of been unnecessary because while he was getting examined jay jay hates being handled to the point where he does his distress call and so during that the vet was able to look inside his mouth with a tiny LED torch and see down his throat and was in a very healthy colour and no sign of infections. We do not have a many vet clinics where I live and I was on the phone to my uncle the other day who is a retired veterinarian who mainly specialised on horses but before that he dealt with cats, dogs and all that he said to possibly try apple cider vinegar as that has a reputation for helping out small birds


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *If Jay is flinging seeds then he is most likely vomiting and not regurtitating.
> 
> Regurgitation vs Vomiting
> 
> ...


And he does the normal regurgitation procedure by doing the whole neck thing as iv seen him directly place seeds on his favourite toys and sometimes at the end he flicks his head


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*OK -- Thank you for the verification of his process.

Did the veterinarian indicate if Jay is maintaining a healthy weight?

Here is an article regarding Apple Cider Vinegar*
*Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother*


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *OK -- Thank you for the verification of his process.
> 
> Did the veterinarian indicate if Jay is maintaining a healthy weight?
> 
> ...


He weighs In at 44 grams which is 1 gram under the English budgie ideal weight but he said from the feel of his wings they are very muscular as he has long flying sessions whenever he feels like it. I’m currently trying to put weight on him by giving him more millet than normal which he has been very happy about.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Unfortunately, I have no advice on how to stop the constant regurgitation. I'm sorry.
Maybe Cody will have some ideas when she is next on the forum.*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

If this is truly regurgitation then it is a behavioral issue, it seems unusual that he would start it at 6 years old. Did anything change in the household around the time he started doing this like the number of people in the house, cage location, lighting, color of the room, furniture changes, any little thing that might have acted as a trigger?


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

Cody said:


> If this is truly regurgitation then it is a behavioral issue, it seems unusual that he would start it at 6 years old. Did anything change in the household around the time he started doing this like the number of people in the house, cage location, lighting, color of the room, furniture changes, any little thing that might have acted as a trigger?


No nothing has been changed or anything like that he is still doing today and has now started his molt by the looks of it with all the feathers. He is a little bit more quiet as he tends to be when he is going through his moulting period and is sleeping a little bit more. He is still playing with his toys and all that and still showing the signs of a healthy bird. No runny droppings unless he drinks of course. Iv just started today giving him apple cider vinegar with the mother today so hopefully that will do something for him. Iv noticed a couple of times that he he’s been resting on the bottom perches for a few minutes or so until he decides to take himself up higher in the cage. Right now as it’s nearly 11 in the morning he’s been out for a short flight sat by the window for about 20 minutes then took himself back in to his cage and is now currently dozing on the top perch.

I also weighed him today and he is 3 grams lighter than a week ago I’m not sure if that is due to him moulting or something else as he’s been eating all the time


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*He would not be 3 grams lighter due to molting.
This is not a good sign.
Was the budgie tested for Avian Gastric Yeast?*


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## DAREDRIVER (Oct 20, 2015)

FaeryBee said:


> *He would not be 3 grams lighter due to molting.
> This is not a good sign.
> Was the budgie tested for Avian Gastric Yeast?*


Took him into the vet yesterday and he did a complete 180 on me soon as he got out of his box. Started chirping and singing away in front of the vet making me look like a fool when I said on the phone he didn’t look great. I had another avian vet look at him and she weighed him and said that his weight was the same the last time he was there which was over a week ago so my kitchen scales were wrong. They have given me some antibiotics that he has had since yesterday and he seems to have peaked up again but still a little quiet but that’s to be expected when a budgie moults. Iv been keeping a close eye on him and is still eating/drinking playing with some of his toys. He fell asleep by the window when he was out earlier basking in the autumn sunshine then asked me for head scratches. They also wanted some poop dropping samples to check to see if he has no parasites or anything like that but at the moment he seems to be just fine. When he goes through his moult he definitely dosent want to do anything but just sleep and maybe come out if he feels like it as I leave his door open when I’m home.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm glad you took him into the vet and that he has not lost weight.
Please let us know how things progress!

Best wishes!*


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