# New Budgie Health



## Tweetsley (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi Everyone. I just came home with two new babies from Petco as an early Christmas gift. They are in a separate cage from my other birds and I've been noticing some fecal issues that I don't recall my original birds having.

One of the birds is more skittish than the other, doesn't have her wings clipped, and I think she's an adult. She doesn't have any baby bars, but she is a greywing and I don't know if they would have them. In the store I was thinking she has a grey ring around her iris, but I think it might be her eyelid. I don't know. Her feces is diarrhea. Is this happening because she's frightened or is there something else I should watch out for?

The second bird is a baby and I was wondering why I didn't see any poop under him on the newspaper. Turns out, it's stuck to his vent. In the store I noticed that when he was preening his bum, it looked red and irritated. But it also looked like he had some pin feathers coming in and I haven't really seen him do it since he got home. He's still afraid, but less so than the girl. He was actually fluffed up on the perch and dosing off.

In regards to quarantine, I think I messed up horribly. When I got home I plopped the second bird cage next to the first because that is what the sales associate told me to do so the birds can get used to each other and eventually live in the same large cage. But after coming and reading these forums, it turns out that quarantine is pretty important.

I don't know. I've been trying to rationalize my mistake by saying that they have come from exactly the same place, only a few months apart so it is highly unlikely that any of the Petco birds have picked up anything in that time. Any advice on how to take care of this? I will be sure to post pictures of the birds tomorrow, when there is natural lighting and they have had a chance to calm down before I stick the camera in their face.


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## Tweetsley (Nov 17, 2015)

Update: I just got done cleaning the vent off. In our little power struggle of you need to come out of the cage because I'm helping you, his bum ended up in the water dish and the problem sorted itself out. I still took him out and wiped to make extra sure. The screech he let out when I took him out though! He acted like I was trying to kill him. But holding him in my hand helped me see that he is a young baby. His skin is still pretty red and it looks like he has pin feathers all over the place. He's also considerably smaller than my other birds and has all his baby bars. His cere is purple. 

I also got a closer look at the female bird because she was in the midst of a power struggle with me too (she did not like my arm in there trying to grab the other bird.) She does have grey around her eyes and her cere is brown and crusty. The first thing that I'm doing tomorrow is clipping her wings. She will have flight back when she is tame and does not draw blood by biting me.


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

I'm sure some of the more experienced members on here will be able to give you some great advice. 
It's great that you've cleaned the vent and that's sorted but I'd be concerned that your budgie is red and sore around it's vent and it might be worth taking them both to see a avian vet just to reassure you that you have nothing to worry about. 

With regards to quarantine, you should remove the new cage and keep it in a room as far from where your current birds are as possible. Even though they have been together, it is still best to go through with full quarantine routines, especially as you are concerned about your two new budgies. 

Also, as you have a female in condition make sure to provide her with lots of things to gnaw on. My hen chewed through a rung on a ladder and has started on another one now. She also destroyed a cuttlebone over a couple of days. 

Good luck and keep us updated.


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## Riovedo (Oct 22, 2015)

Hi congratulations on the new additions!  I'm sure the diarrhea in the one is just that she's scared. I have two budgies and the one I've had for just over a week and that's how he was at first....even now if I over step my interaction with him he'll get a little watery poop. The poop pasted to the vent I've never experienced but I think Therm gave you good advice where both birds are concerned! Good luck!!!


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## Tweetsley (Nov 17, 2015)

Thank you for the advice Therm and Tammy!  I put some shredding paper in that my other birds absolutely love. The new ones haven't touched it yet, but they've been standing on top of it so I guess that's progress. The adult female with diarrhea looks as though her droppings are getting more solid. In regards to the baby bird with the pasted vent, I grabbed him again this morning (which he absolutely loved) and saw that his vent was clear, but the feathers around it were still stained. I'm assuming that the staining is from the poop being stuck to the feathers. He looks like he has diarrhea too, which is understandable because I keep stressing him out to make sure everything is okay.

The baby loves to follow the adult female around the cage and do everything that she does, which is absolutely adorable. He tried to groom her face this morning, but she wasn't having it. The budgies are having a wonderful time tweeting back and forth to each other.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I think you should still observe quarantine for the new birds and keep them separated from the other ones  Although they've already been introduced, I think it would be beneficial for them to get some "alone time" with you and each other so they settle in to their new home. 

Also, both runny poop and sticky poop are signs of stress. If your baby is moulting, that will probably add to his stress. When you handle them, you should use gloves so they don't associate your hand with fright, which will make hand taming easier 

You're doing great by keeping them clean and keeping an eye on them. If the symptoms persist, an Avian Vet visit is certainly in order 

It's very sweet that the two new budgies are learning to play and hang out with each other 

We'd love to see pictures of them when you get a chance and congratulations on your new budgies!

After you read over the articles in the forum, if you have any questions, please do ask as we'd love to help :thumbsup: 

Hope to see you around! :wave:


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## Tweetsley (Nov 17, 2015)

Thank you for the advice, Starling!  I'm glad to hear that the poop issues are stress related and not anything more sinister. I will definitely have to use a glove when grabbing the birds in the future. I know it's a silly question, but should I get a special bird glove for the rare instances that I have to grab my birds instead of letting them perch on my hand? Or is a winter glove sufficient. My worry is that a winter glove might not be as clean and the nails or beak may get stuck in the fabric.

I don't think a visit to the avian vet will be necessary because it seems like the new budgies are doing a lot better. Plus, I went to Petco to pick up some "fruity pebbles" (which are the Zupreem fruit thingies), and I expressed my concern about introducing my budgies to each other too soon and the potential of spreading illness, and I was told that if my budgies get sick within 30 days of purchase, that I have to call them and go see an approved vet through them. That made me feel a lot better, because I have a tendency to over-worry about things, and in my particular store the budgies seem very well cared for and I doubt that the store would sell sick birds in fear of paying large vet bills. As a precaution, I did look up some avian vets in my area, and the closest one is 15 minutes away, which is not bad at all. I don't think I need to make it a priority to get to the vet right away since everything seems fine, so I will most likely wait until after the holidays to get my little guys in for a wellness visit.

Now for some pictures!



This is Charlie. I am thinking that he is a male. I really hope that I'm correct so that I can keep an even ratio of male to female budgies.



This is Ginny. She is still terrified of me so she's sitting on the topmost perch in the cage. I keep going back and forth between thinking she's an adult and thinking she's a baby.

I know their current cage is pretty small (I didn't go crazy since I knew it was temporary), but a co-worker is bringing in her old cages and toys for me, which I am super excited about. I hope they work out with my existing large cage so I am able to combine them and make one giant cage.

Once again, thank you for all your help! It is very appreciated. I'm still new to budgies and I'm trying to learn everything I can so all my little Tweetsley's (all my birds are named after the Weasley family from Harry Potter) stay happy and healthy.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi Alyssa --

Charlie is a very handsome little male. 
I adore his cute little face. 

Ginny is a beautiful girl -- I'll let the experts give you their estimates regarding her age.

Using a glove with a tight weave - such as a woman's isotoner glove would be fine. 
I wouldn't recommend using a knitted yarn type glove for the reasons you indicated.

I do have one concern in viewing your pictures and it may be due to the lighting. 
In the second picture it appears as if the cage bars of the second cage back behind Ginny are rusty. 
Is that just a trick of the light? *


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## Tweetsley (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi, Deborah. Thank you for the compliments on Ginny and Charlie!  Also, thank you for the advice on the glove, I believe I have some of the type you mentioned kicking around, I will be sure to wash it before I use it though. 

The second cage where Fred and George live is a lighter brown than Ginny and Charlie's cage. I think the color difference and the lighting is making it look rusty. I assure you that it's not, though.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Ginny and Charlie are beautiful! 

Ginny looks to be about 6 months old, her irises are just barely coming in and her baby bars have faded. 

Charlie is around 4 months, his bars are very prominent still. What a sweetheart--his fluffy cheeks make me swoon!

Also, I'd like to add that if you haven't opened the ZuPreem yet, you should return it to the store and instead get the "Canary" size if possible. The pellets have the same ingredients but budgies have an easier time eating the smallest size. :thumbsup:


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