Buttercup’s lungs are damaged, and after a full recovery from a lung infection she ha

...after a full recovery from a lung infection she has relapsed.

Hi everyone,

One of my aviary budgies, Buttercup, came down with a really bad lung infection about 2 months ago. She deteriorated insanely on the day I noticed, and I took her to the vet as soon as they could see me that same day. She was admitted, stabilised with oxygen, and started on medication. She was discharged after 5 days, and prescribed an anti-fungal for 21 days. After this 21 days, she had seemingly fully recovered. She was breathing normally, she was active, and talkative, just like she was before her illness. With that I let her return to the aviary in a big cage so she could build up her fitness again. The vet did say that her lungs would most likely be damaged, but she would be able to return to the aviary. She did warn me that it would be likely that she would relapse as budgies have very fragile lungs.

Everything was going well, until Friday last week when she suddenly deteriorated again. I caught her and set her up in a hospital cage. I called the vet, and they advised that I come and pick up some medication for her and start treatment at home. The vet believes that she has permanent lung damage, which is just so sad.

She is now on a new course of medication, but I can tell she is seriously suffering. She is still eating and drinking, and she isn’t completely puffed up all the time. She is being kept warm and cosy.

I know that admitting her again will be super expensive, and since her lungs are permanently damaged the chance of another relapse is super high, even if she gets better again. I am so torn. I don’t know what the right move is. I don’t even know if she will survive this latest illness. All my other aviary budgies have been okay recently thankfully.

Should I consider euthanasia? Does that make me a terrible person? I just don’t want her to live a miserable life, and the past few months have been totally miserable for her. I wish I could do more for her.

I am sorry you are going through this.
Do they think it's aspergillosis?
If so, is there a chance she has an underlying issue that made her more susceptible?
They can sometimes nebulize birds with aspergillosis (but it is tough to treat permanently).

If what she has is something else (contagious), I wouldn't keep her in the aviary with the other birds.

If the new treatment helps I would keep her out of the aviary and in a separate cage.

Being able to fly is great but if it brings on this condition or makes her lung function degrade there is nothing wrong with keeping her in a smaller cage.

I find myself having a hard time putting into words what my viewpoint is.
Flying is not more important than life itself.

If the new medication does not work....
If the new meds work but she still relapses when kept out of the aviary...
I would think about putting her out of her misery.

I hope this helps and makes sense.

Im truly so sorry you’re dealing with this

I’ll just gently leave it at this: the decision to humanely euthanize is a very personal decision that should be between you and your vet. Your vet is best suited to guiding you through that decision making process. I wouldn’t be seeking this kind of advice on a forum of people not intimately familiar with the ins and outs of your particular situation.

I would lean heavily on your vet at this time. I certainly wish you the best of luck. Sending you warm hugs!

Oh dear that’s a tough one! Would an aviary bird like Buttercup adapt to life as an indoor bird? Budgies are amazingly tough “never say die” little critters. Maybe give Buttercup another round of meds and see how she goes, and take your vet’s advice from there. I’m sorry you’re going through this

I'd figure out specifically what is wrong first and see if she can't recover. I know their respiratory systems are insanely delicate, but perhaps he/she could recover depending on the root cause.

Very distressing to hear Buttercup has relapsed, very sorry you are facing an ethical quandary.

I recall your vet is superbly skilled, perhaps you can determine the severity of relapse and perhaps type of organism - this will help define a precise therapy.

Wonder if making her a caged bird with plenty of "together" time would be an alternative and have her less stressed?

So this morning she appears to have improved a little. She is no longer making squeaky noises when she breathes, just the lung “click” sound. She is such a fighter. I am going to give her more time and see if the be course of anti-fungals can help out. I do think it is a fungal infection, the vet is pretty certain of that. She was treated with a nebuliser the last time she was admitted. If she doesn’t continue to improve then I will contact my vet and discuss options.

If she does pull through, she will be a caged bird for the rest of her life. I can’t risk her in the aviary, you know. Flying just won’t do get good. I just hope she doesn’t get lonely, she is not tame so I don’t know. I am hoping for the best at this point.

I’m hoping for the best right along with you reeb! Your vet does sound like a very good one who will give you the right advice that is in Buttercup’s best interest. I wish you both well

Hey, reebsie!
Sorry about all this.
Thinking of you...