Help! Painful molt or illness in budgie?

[editrixlex]

Hi,
I have 2 rescue parakeets--I know nothing about their pasts or their ages. I have a lot of experience with small parrots but this issue is new to me.
One of them is having what I thought was a painful molt--puffed up and quiet, but still eating and flying occasionally. But now we're on Day 4 and he's showing no signs of improvement.
The vet here only sees birds for wellness checks. The emergency avian vet is 90 minutes away, and this parakeet doesn't tolerate being handled. (I suspect he was abused before I rescued him.)
Thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[zERo]

Hi,
I have 2 rescue parakeets--I know nothing about their pasts or their ages. I have a lot of experience with small parrots but this issue is new to me.
One of them is having what I thought was a painful molt--puffed up and quiet, but still eating and flying occasionally. But now we're on Day 4 and he's showing no signs of improvement.
The vet here only sees birds for wellness checks. The emergency avian vet is 90 minutes away, and this parakeet doesn't tolerate being handled. (I suspect he was abused before I rescued him.)
Thoughts?
Thanks!

A puffy and lethargic bird is a sick one. If you can’t get him to the Avian vet, can the local vet do any tests at all?