# Budgie care until a much needed vet visit



## Nausicaa (Jul 22, 2021)

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well. If all goes well, later today I'll be adopting this little boy here. As you can see, he's got an inflamed eye, a deformed nail and is filthy. He used to be a breeder bird, roughly 2 years old, and initially got in a fight with another male late August. Apparently he survived by pure luck. The breeder puts eye drops in his eye and the swelling goes down, but when he stops, it comes back with a vengence. Right now it's swollen shut. So he decided to give it out for adoption. Unfortunately, all the avian vets around me, a grand total of three, are either unavailable or booked till Monday. I explained it's an emergency and one vet agreed to give a look at the photo. She said it apears like a sinus infection and will need oral antibiotics, but couldn't know which from a distance (respect!). Truth be told, I can't for the life of me spot an injury on the eye, just inflammation and feather loss. According to the breeder, he's otherwise healthy. Now that's the joke of the century, nobody can be healthy in such a filthy enclosure, but anyway, his point is that he's got not respiratory issues. Remains to be seen. I'm planning on grilling him when we meet for the delivery. 

I've put together a hospital cage with plastic perches for easy cleaning, water, food, cuttlefish bone and a plastic toy, again for easy disinfection. Should I add or remove something? According to the first aid kit, I've also prepared clean towels and I'll be going to get a small syringe, saline and a heating lamp shortly. I would appreciate any advice on how to keep his alive and comfortable until Monday. Also, as you can see, he's as filthy as the enclosure. I worry that if he tries to clean himself, he'll ingest his own possibly infected poop and get worse. Should I offer him a bath, should I clean him up with a damp cloth or leave him as is? 

Thank you all in advance.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Thank you for getting this bird out of a deplorable situation, it is very disheartening that a breeder would have a bird in these conditions and choose not to take the bird to a vet. I see some pinfeathers on the bird so the molting is an added stress. Even though you are getting him out of poor conditions the bird may still be stressed because he will be moving to a new home, make sure you keep him as far away as possible from other birds. Find out what the breeder has been putting in the eye, if it is keeping it from getting worse you may want to phone the vet and just ask if you can continue it until the appointment. See how he does once you get him home, if he settles in well then you can offer water to bathe but if the bird is not accustomed to bathing he may not make use of it. Please let us know how things go once you get him home.


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## Nausicaa (Jul 22, 2021)

Just got him settled. It must be worse than it looks, because I cant even tell where the upper and lower lids start and end. Apparently he's had this since August, so a part of me is hopeful that it can't kill him from one moment to the next, but there's a good chance that eye's gone. I mostly worry about sepsis; who knows what's behind the matted feathers and swollen lids. I just hope he doesnt require surgery, I won't be able to afford it by myself and my mother has cancer, so my parents can't chip in either. Plus anaesthesia is very dangerous to small birds. I just hope I haven't bitten more than I can chew. 

The breeder had been using Tobrex, which I suspected, but the vet I managed to get on the phone said natural tears will do it, unless it takes a sudden turn for the worse, because she's like to see the problem in all its glory. 

For now I used saline to flush the area, because I can't really see whats going on, pin feathers and matted feathers are obstructing the view. Apparently he's a half-English budgie, so who knows what else is wrong with him, I've heard really sad stories about how inbred they are. In fact he managed to fly off as I was struggling to open the saline bottle and theres no comparisson between his flying and that of my other budgies. He's too heavy, physics don't want him to fly, which is sad because my two girls love flying about and chasing each other as if it were a F1 race! 

He's a sweetheart, right now he managed to find a perch and is softly nodding. He had panic evacuations in the box (sorry, baby, we had to take the subway, featherless mamma can't drive), but despite how watery they were, which as far as I understand, normal for panic poop, they seemed okay, all parts there, good colour, no smell. 

Yes, I noticed the pin feathers as well, my guess is he was in the middle of moult when the accident happened and his body is so stressed he can't both keep the injury in check and make new feathers. Also, lovely detail, the discolouration on his feathers are not poop, as I thought. They're dried blood from the attack. Tried to clean it off, but it's been there for so long, I'd have pulled his tail out. If he's feeling better tomorrow and it doesn't appear he's got an open wound in his eye area, I'll offer him a bath. There's no tail bobbing and right now he appears a bit more alert, looking around a bit and munching the air, must be hungry.

I don't think I deserve any credit, I mean, sure he's not drinking water that has black mould in it, but I'm wondering if I'm too inexperienced for this. The (amateur) breeder had posted a picture of his normal eye saying he's got eye problems and is given away for free, and I was like there's black mould in the water silo, either change it right now or I'm coming tomorrow at the crack of dawn to take him, and he was like okay, see you tomorrow then. _facepalm_ 

Let's see if he'll allow me a couple of photos. I'l be damned if I knew what that hole next to his eye is. The feathers are so matted, it's not clear whether it;s just skin deep under the floofiness or an actual hole. And my apologies for the christmas vomit in the background.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

That hole is his ear opening, you just can't usually see it because it is covered with feathers, there is one on the other side as well, it is possible that there is an infection in the ear canal as well as the eye if this is a sinus infection, although if it has been ongoing I would expect a sinus infection to appear on both sides. If you are cleaning the eye area make sure you do not get anything in the ear canal. So glad you got him away from that breeder, I feel bad for any other birds there.


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## Nausicaa (Jul 22, 2021)

Omg, you're absolutely right, stress and sadness is making me doubly dumb. I'll be extra careful with the drops, last thing the poor thing needs is ear problems. Idk if it's a sinus infection, he was wounded in the eye by the other male, that's for sure, and probably it got infected, though I see no pus on the outside, there could be pockets under the skin. He's not tail bobbing, has no nasal discharge, no sneezing or anything else. Also checked his claws, they seem fine. He appears hungry, I can see him eyeing the feeder with his single eyeball, so that's a good sign. 

Truth be told, i was shocked when I saw the bird, because the man is a relatively well known amateur breeder of both hand-fed and budgie-fed budgies, to the point I considered buying a bird from him 5 months ago when I was looking for a friend for my other rescue, Iris, who flew into my room one sunny day. I didn't get one because he only had wild ones at the time, and I figured a tame friend would help her, but I've seen plenty of his ads online, and all the birds look fine. Clean, healthy (as much as you can tell from a photo anyway), in clean enclosures. But then as soon as the bird outruns its value it gets sent to a bird dungeon? Unbelievable. I asked the man why he didnt take him to the vet and he just shrugged. Good thing there were police officers on a break close to the meeting point, otherwise I may have said some harsh things. 

Anyway, just saw him shaking his floof around, he looks far more comfortable now. Fingers crossed I guess.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Hopefully it is something that can be resolved with the correct treatment. I am sure he is relieved to be in a clean caring place now.


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## Nausicaa (Jul 22, 2021)

Yeah, I hope so too. Just need to be patient till Tuesday. Easier said than done! Thank you!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*There is definitely a special place in heaven reserved for you Nausicaa. 

Thank you so much for taking in this poor neglected and abused budgie! 
It makes my heart hurt for the little fellow and I'm SO glad you've rescued him. Have you given him a name yet?
Sending love and prayers for his full and speedy recovery.

I hope you will consider reporting the person who had this budgie to the proper authorities. 
No owner should be allowed to have birds if they are going to keep them in such deplorable conditions AND refuse to get them the necessary veterinary care.*


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## Nausicaa (Jul 22, 2021)

@FaeryBee You're too kind. I did what any normal person would. And thank you for the well-wishes, he can use all the luck in the world. 

Yes! I'd promised the parrot gods that if I ever got a male budgie, I'd name him Scrooge, due to the sideburns, plus I grew up with Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, so even though this is not how or the time I imagined getting a boy, we have a name. Well, he's really sweet and docile, for now at least, so we call him Scroogie for now. I just hope he has the stubborness and resilience of the character!  

Funny you should mention it. I was planning on giving me a piece of my mind, but due to the Pope's visit, the city is crawling with police offciers, and there were about 10 right next to the meeting point, so when he said 'let's hope his eye can be saved', I told him that he'd know had he taken him to the hospital. Sadly, we met online and it didnt have his full name, other than Nick... But I've compiled a disgusting collection of photos and am planning on publishing it along with the local admins so people dont buy from him again. Wish he could be prosecuted, but budgies aren;t that highly thought here. Even my mother threw a mini-tantrum when I told her what I was planning to do, but I have to give it to her, when she came over to check him out, she nearly cried. Welcome to my world... 

Anyway, thanks again for your kind words and advice, they mean a great deal! Now I'm off to study up on English budgies.


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