| Title: | Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN! |
| Notice: | INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.* |
| Moderator: | VIDEO::PULSIFER |
| Created: | Mon Oct 10 1988 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Jun 03 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 942 |
| Total number of notes: | 6016 |
Hi! My name is Linda and in March I adopted a harlequin budgie named
Millie. She is going through her first molt now. She is very playful.
However, I'm worried that Millie may have a respiratory problem. When-
ever she flies a few laps around the room she has to take a break and
pant for awhile. She also holds her wings out from her body while she
is panting. I have read this makes it easier for the bird to breathe
but she does it much more often than my last budgie did.
What makes me worried is that Millie's chirp has changed recently (in
the past week or so) from that clear loud sound to something softer
and higher pitched which makes her sound like she is congested. Other-
wise she is very active. My roommate thinks she is just imitating the
sound that her bell toys make but I'm not so sure. I know that birds
are experts at hiding their illnesses so I want to make sure I do
something before it is too late. Is Millie just aerobically out of
shape? I'm considering taking her to the vet to make sure she is OK.
Millie eats a fairly balanced diet although I'm sure it could be better:
"Vita-vittles" bird seed daily, bird biscuits about once/twice
a week. The seed is distributed by L/M Farms; I don't know how
good it is but it sounded more nutritious than plain bird seed so I
bought it. Brocolli, carrots, and greens are her favorite foods but
I am not sure if I am giving her enough.
She drinks plenty of water but it often seems to go down the wrong way
because she slurps really loudly (she is a sloppy eater in general
and routinely gets carrot and brocolli stains on her white feathers -
it is pretty cute). Is it possible for budgies to get water in their
air sacs? Maybe I seem paranoid but I want to catch any problem as
early as possible. My last budgie was diagnosed by the vet as having
a "ruptured air sac," one of the symptoms being a reduced ability to
chirp. The vet said that was because a budgie's "vocal chords" are in
it's trachea. Anyway, I am very sensitive to changes in Millie's
chirping. Luckily there is no rumbling in Millie's breathing.
The droppings on the bottom of the cage are dark (somewhere in this
notesfile I read that dark droppings are normal for budgies) but the
fresh ones are dark green and have some tiny black spots. Is this
a bad sign?
Thanks...(I hope I have not rambled on too long)...Linda
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 559.1 | Check with a vet if you are that worried... | CLOSET::COMPTON | Linda DTN381-0687 ZKO1-2/C21 | Thu Jun 06 1991 16:50 | 2 |
Do you have an avian vet close by? Your first instincts are right on,
IMHO. Get some expert evaluation and advice. /Linda
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| 559.2 | The patient seems to be feeling better... | MNBEAM::BEACH | Tue Jun 11 1991 14:42 | 6 | |
Yes, there is an avian vet a couple of miles away. I took Millie there
first thing Friday morning. The vet said she had a slight infection and
prescribed tetracycline, which seems to be working pretty well because
Millie is dancing and chirping again. He also gave Millie a manicure
and told me that Millie is a boy, not a girl. (oops!) Thanks for your
reply...LindaB
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