# giving medicine to budgie



## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

hello, i brought my budgie to the vet 2 days ago and she was prescribed some medicines to be given through a syringe for the next few weeks. so i was just wondering, when giving the meds do i have to give it through a specific side of the beak (i.e. deliver the meds into the right / left side of the beak) or are both sides fine?

and are there any tips to deliver the meds such that she doesnt sneeze them up afterwards? i already deliver them very slowly but she still sneezes for awhile after that and i feel bad and also worried that she might choke .. will holding her upright after each drop help it go down better? 

also, out of curiosity, if 2 budgies share the same stick of millet will one pass its sickness to the other? for example my budgie had coccidia in her poop and if she had shared millet with another budgie would it have gotten it too? or is the bacteria spread through poop only?


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## bur (Nov 7, 2021)

The side of the beak does not matter. 

Call the vet and ask him about the coccidia. If you did not discuss with the vet that:

you had another bird
whether you should keep them separated or not
whether you should treat both of them or not
you should really talk to your vet about that. 

My avian vet was very specific on these things when one of my chickens had coccidia. I don't know if the advice would be the same in your case, so call your vet and ask.


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

bur said:


> The side of the beak does not matter.
> 
> Call the vet and ask him about the coccidia. If you did not discuss with the vet that:
> 
> ...


hi ! thanks for your reply ! my vet does know that we have another budgie and we have kept them separate since we got it, as we only got it recently. however i was too nervous and forgot to ask more. we have another appointment in 2 days though, and i'll be sure to ask her then. but just in case i think i will throw away the old millet and use separate sticks of millet for the both of them for now !


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Birds have what is called a choanal slit in the roof of the month that connects to the nasal passages, if the bird is sneezing after you give the meds it is likely that some of the med is getting into that slit. The esophagus in on the right side of the neck, some people go into the mouth from the left and aim to the right in the mouth when giving the meds, when I give them I try to make sure that the bird is positioned so that I do not get the meds in the choanal slit. Try having the bird on a level surface when giving the med.


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

Cody said:


> Birds have what is called a choanal slit in the roof of the month that connects to the nasal passages, if the bird is sneezing after you give the meds it is likely that some of the med is getting into that slit. The esophagus in on the right side of the neck, some people go into the mouth from the left and aim to the right in the mouth when giving the meds, when I give them I try to make sure that the bird is positioned so that I do not get the meds in the choanal slit. Try having the bird on a level surface when giving the med.


is it okay if i hold my bird tilted at a 45 degree angle?


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## bur (Nov 7, 2021)

I was told it did not matter. Maybe that has to do with the amount of medication you need to give. One I have to give is 0.02 ml and the other one 0.04 ml. One drop of water is 0.05 ml, so the amount I have to give is really small.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I do not do that, and it may be why the medicine is going into the choanal slit if you are tilting the bird back.


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

Cody said:


> I do not do that, and it may be why the medicine is going into the choanal slit if you are tilting the bird back.


ohh i see so its better if i hold the bird upright ?



bur said:


> I was told it did not matter. Maybe that has to do with the amount of medication you need to give. One I have to give is 0.02 ml and the other one 0.04 ml. One drop of water is 0.05 ml, so the amount I have to give is really small.


ah that makes sense. i have to give 0.12ml + 0.10ml + an optional 0.10ml of multivitamins ..


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

That is a lot at once , what medications are you giving?


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

Cody said:


> That is a lot at once , what medications are you giving?


amoxyclav drops (antibiotics?) 0.10ml x2 
nystatin oral suspension (antifungal?) 0.12ml x3 a day 

i had to give her 0.01ml of baycox for the first 2 days, and the above 2 for 10 days. i was also encouraged to give her 0.1ml of multivitamins once a day if possible but my bird has been so stressed with me catching her these few days that i think id wait abit longer before trying to add more stuff.

the vet said it was fine if she spat out some afterwards because she said they only require a small amount anyway


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Is this what you are giving, if so .10 ml is an awfully high dose for a budgie, same for the Nystatin, that is a lot for a
budgie.


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

Cody said:


> Is this what you are giving, if so .10 ml is an awfully high dose for a budgie, same for the Nystatin, that is a lot for a
> budgie.
> View attachment 259919


mine looks like this 


















i think the appearance differs from country to country maybe ? im not too sure how the rest of the box looks like as the label they pasted covered most of it. im also unable to get a pic of my bottle of nystatin for the same reason. hopefully i can trust this avian vet with my bird though .. she is very qualified and seemed very knowledgeable during my vet visit .. she also owns a few birds herself so it should be fine to just trust and follow her plan right ..


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## bur (Nov 7, 2021)

The antibiotics I have to give has a different brand name, but seems to have the same active ingredients. The vet assistant did say however that they made it more concentrated than normal, so I did not have to give that much. Maybe that explains the difference?

Edit: Mine is a powder that was reconstituted with water at the vet office before I got it. It received it as a liquid in a bottle which has to be kept in the fridge. I did a quick search on the internet and got the impression yours is also a powder that needs to be reconstituted with water. If this is correct, you could maybe ask your vet if it is possible to get a more concentrated liquid version so you can give less?


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

bur said:


> The antibiotics I have to give has a different brand name, but seems to have the same active ingredients. The vet assistant did say however that they made it more concentrated than normal, so I did not have to give that much. Maybe that explains the difference?


that does sound like a possibility to me .. hopefully thats the case ? thanks for your help !!


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## bur (Nov 7, 2021)

I edited my post just now, did you see what I added?


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

bur said:


> I edited my post just now, did you see what I added?


oh ! i just saw the part you added .. i will definitely consider asking that but for now my budgie is actually taking the meds pretty well ! she doesn't vomit or anything like that and im able to get almost the whole required amount into her beak (bit by bit of course) with little spillage. its just the start now though so i will see how it goes the next few times. in the meantime i will try to work on holding her such that the meds do not go up her nose, i think it'd get better after a few more times.

also is it normal for my budgie to be sleepier after giving her her meds ? are the meds making her drowsy ? i think its more likely that she's tired from the running around while i try to catch her and also struggling after that but this has been something i've been curious about ever since i started giving her the meds haha 

i know its likely not a cause of concern as she seems perkier after an hour or two but i just think it would be interesting to know if the meds might be part of the cause too !


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## bur (Nov 7, 2021)

In my topic @Cody wrote a very helpful post about how to catch a bird with the least amount of stress. Maybe it is helpful to you as well. See: That went wrong awfully fast... (but I expect it will...


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

its been about 15 minutes after ive given my budgie medicine through syringe and she's been sneezing on and off. i think the meds got into her nose .. is there anything i can do to make her feel better ? im scared to give her meds now because its so hard seeing her like this  when this happened previously she only sneezed for the first few mins but its been awhile now and she's still doing it ..


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

As I indicated in your other post you must have gotten the meds in the choanal slit in the roof of the mouth, you are going to have to position her in a way so that does not happen. Are you giving the prescribed dose in one squirt, if so you may want to give it in 2 or 3 so there is not too much in the mouth at one time. Take a look at this Giving Medication to Pet Birds - Bird Owners - MSD Veterinary Manual


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## birby (Nov 15, 2021)

Cody said:


> As I indicated in your other post you must have gotten the meds in the choanal slit in the roof of the mouth, you are going to have to position her in a way so that does not happen. Are you giving the prescribed dose in one squirt, if so you may want to give it in 2 or 3 so there is not too much in the mouth at one time. Take a look at this Giving Medication to Pet Birds - Bird Owners - MSD Veterinary Manual


hi, yes sorry i made this post while i was scared and panicking. after i calmed down i reread all the tips given and decided to change my way of giving the meds. i think the problem was that while i gave the drops slowly i didnt wait long enough before giving another, so i was more patient and waited longer the next time. i also put her on my knee while holding her which made her struggle a little less too (at first i didnt understand why putting her on my knee would help but after calming down i could think clearer and understood why eventually). and although it took longer than usual, she didnt sneeze after that anymore ! thank you so much for your help


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The two threads have now been merged. I'm closing this thread as you seem to be able to give the medicine correctly now.*


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