2 budgies dead. Possibly a third... HELP!

Hello,

Last August I got 2 budgies (Bob and River) as a gift, they were very happy and the three of us had a good bond. 1 month and a half later Bob died due to an unknown cause, we noticed he slept a lot but we thought that was just his personality. A couple of weeks later we decided to get River a friend since he was kind of depressed. We got him a friend and they enjoyed each others company a lot, they would sleep together and talk a lot. A few weeks later we noticed the new bird started acting strange and suddenly became slumped at the bottom corner of the cage. We took them to the vet and we're told that he is sick. They gave him antibiotics and told me to give him a very tiny amount of sugar water when we got home. We got home, I gently layed him on my lap, and and as I was going to give him the water, he died in my hands... A month later River became really depressed and didn't talk much or interact with anything. We decided, once more, to get him a new friend. We got a new budgie named Luna, she is happy and they get along fine. However, she has been acting strange, she has been puffing up her feathers, sleeping a lot and sneezing in a very weird way which I can't really describe. I will take her to the vet as soon as possible. My question is, why did two die? I have come up with the theory that River is ill but he is immune to it, however the other budgies were not. We told this to the Vet once however hey said that it is really hard to take blood samples from birds to check for any diseases. I am stuck in a situation where if River has no friends then he'll become depressed and problems will arise but if he does have friends then he'll kill the other without wanting to... what should I do?

Without a necropsy, there is no why to even guess as to what they might have died from. Sorry.

Sounds like you need a new vet. Have you tried these two sites to find an avian vet?

https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

First, my deepest condolences for the deaths of your budgies. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Yes, I agree with Monica. You definitely need a new vet. A certified avian vet, to be precise. A blood test should have been taken. And your theory about River being a carrier is a solid one. May or may not be the case, but worth investigating.

Please do not get any more budgies until you have had River checked out by a CAV... And until you have thoroughly cleaned every inch of that cage and everything within with a bleach solution (properly washed off and dried before bringing birds back in, of course). Any cloth type materials or rope perches should be tossed as irretrievably contaminated. And this cleansing extends to any play stands and such that they have frequented as well. Also, said cleansing should be done even if River tests negative for any diseases, as there are false negatives... not to mention that she might just have been lucky or in possession of an especially strong immune system. The contagion could still be alive and lurking in that cage in such a circumstance.

As Monica said, without a necropsy there's no way to know what killed your first two budgies... unless River tests positive for a known contagious disease. But in the meantime, you have to act under the assumption that it was a contagion that killed them. You can't expose any other birds to that risk until you have done everything possible to sanitize the cage and anywhere in the home where they might have come into contact.

Also, for future reference, you should always institute a quarantine period of 60-90 days where these birds are kept as far away from each other as possible. I'm talking separate rooms that can be closed off from each other. This is not only to protect the other birds from whatever River may be carrying, but also to protect her from any contagions from which she may not be immune. Quarantine is always a must when taking in a new bird to join existing ones.

I am very sorry for your losses. Heartbreaking!

You’ve gotten excellent advice so far!

Anansi said:

And your theory about River being a carrier is a solid one. May or may not be the case, but worth investigating.

Click to expand...

That’s exactly the first thing that came to mind. River must be a carrier of something.

I hope you can get this resolved quickly!
Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted. :heart:

Certified Avian vet. Certified Avian vet. Certified Avian vet. Certified Avian vet. Certified Avian vet.

Have I gotten the point through to you? Budgies are not throw away parrots.

I'm sorry this is happening, but you obviously have some kind of illness/disease in the cage, the room, or more likely in the remaining bird that hasn't died...DO NOT GET ANY MORE BIRDS UNTIL YOU FIGURE THIS OUT!

Have you been quarantining every new bird you have brought home for at least 30 days, in it's own cage and in a totally different room? You should never bring home a new bird and just put them together with your current birds due to possible disease and illness from the pet shop or breeder they came from.

Also, have you sanitized the cage since the birds have been dying? Totally cleaned it out, soaked it in very hot water and bleach, along with everything in it like the toys, dishes, etc.? If not, this is imperative that you do it now...

Most likely your remaining bird is very sick, and as already mentioned you need to find only a Certified Avian Vet immediately, and they need to TAKE FECAL CULTURES to properly diagnose what is wrong with him...That vet you already saw didn't know what they were doing...You can't just give a bird an antibiotic without diagnosing what microbe is causing the illness...Say he has a fungal infection that has been causing all of this, then the antibiotic would not only not help at all, but would actually make the fungal infection worse...And sugar-water is not a treatment either...

Please find only a CAV immediately and explain to them what has been going on, and that this current bird has survived all this time but is now also showing signs of illness. Ask them to take cultures to diagnose the issue.

And please, never, ever bring home a new bird without having it's own cage for it and keeping it inside it's own cage in a different room from any current birds for at least 30 days to make sure the new bird isn't sick...

Also, all birds possess an innate, natural instinct to hide all outward signs of illness, injury, and pain for as long as they can. It's a survival instinct, and they're very good at it. So by the time we notice any outward signs of illness, such as them sleeping a lot, being puffed-up, no energy, eating less, vomiting, sneezing, etc., they have already been sick for a long time and are extremely ill by then, and must go to only a Certified Avian Vet immediately upon noticing any of these signs/symptoms...

It sounds to me like your current bird has some type of Upper Respiratory Infection due to the sneezing...But it could be fungal, bacterial, or something very serious such as Aspergilliosis, and the only way to find out is to find a CAV and get him to them immediately, and have them take both Fecal Cultures (poop) and also a swab/culture of his nostrils and test then test it. Only then can they prescribe the proper medication...