My budgie seems mildly sick.

Anewbudgieowener

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Nov 3, 2020
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My budgie seems sick. I got him from a pet store a few days ago, he is an adult budgie. The first day I got him, his tail was bobbing. The second day he sneezed. Now when I look at him, his tail is bobbing all the time, but a little bit more than slightly. He seems to eat normally, though. Yet, he can sit hours on a bird feeder, sometimes eating seeds. He sits in one place at hours, chirping only sometimes and mostly at night. When I come closer I can see he is puffed up, tail bobbing at times. I can see him opening his beak a little bit, it's not visible much how he is a little puffed up. I don't know if my bird is just scared in his new environment, or if he has mild respiratory problems. I don't want it to get worse. I've already started taming him, but if I take him to the vet, he will probably get grabbed again and lose his trust. On top of that, I don't want to annoy vets if there actually are no problems.
My parents are saying he looks healthy, my budgie is taking care of his feathers and eats from my hand, sometimes putting legs on my finger. What should I do with him? What could the problem be, and how to fix it?

P.S.: He sometimes does a small noise that isn't chirping or sneezing, I can't describe it. I don't know if there are any changes in his behavior. When I went to the pet store the lady told me the budgies recently came, not being here for over 10 minutes. I'd appreciate any help! :greenyellow:
 

LaManuka

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Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums community.

Unfortunately, birds are masters at hiding illness, so by the time symptoms such as tail bobbing and sneezing become apparent, chances are things have become more serious. Puffing up the feathers is an attempt to hold in body heat, and the tail bobbing may indicate your budgie is having respiratory problems.

At this point I would say that a visit to the vet for a wellness check should be the main priority, over and above bonding. It is best to have this performed by a Certified Avian Vet (CAV) who is more specialised in bird physiology. If you don't already know of one, the link below may help you find one......

https://www.aav.org/default.aspx

I really hope you can get some help for your budgie!
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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hello,
You are right to be worried. All sign point clearly to respiratory problem. The sound you hear is a respiratory click or squeak , that's serious,, as is the tail bob with breathing. You are going to need the help of an avain vet.

I'm sorry your new freinds is sick.
You are obviously intelligent, attentive, and compassionate. I hope your parents will support that, and this poor little life , and get him to the vet. His life is probably in danger st this point. I'm sorry to out it tgst bluntly. But from everything You have said I feel this is so.

Sometimes its an infection, sometimes its a respiratory mite , a very tiny tiny mite that lives inside the respiratory systems. Budgies seem to hsve this more frequently than ither partots.
 

Laurasea

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Excerpt from link at bottom:
" Air Sac Mites
Afflicts:
Finches (especially Gouldians - it is in fact the number one killer of Gouldian finches.
Canaries
Budgies
Cockatiels
But have also been diagnosed in other birds

COMMON SYMPTOMS:
Mild cases:

Birds may be less vocal; canaries stop singing. The feather quality deteriorates. Birds appear fluffed up a lot of the time and are less active.

Advanced state:

Sneezing, coughing, wheezing, squeaking, wet nostrils, and labored / open -mouth breathing. Other symptoms include tail bobbing, weakness, weight loss and sneezing and clicking sounds while breathing. Those symptoms are often more noticeable after a strenuous activity, such as after a flight. "

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/airsackmites.html
 

Laurasea

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I'm really proud of you for reaching out when you noticed your new freind wasn't doing well. And please keep us posted.

This is a grneral link on sick birds . Its really important to provide support with extra warmth for sick birds. Birds burn a lot of energy staying warm , as tgey have sir sacs in their body snd it takes a lot to heat thst inner space. Provide warmth helps them heal and concentrate energy on tgst rather than staying warm. Its not a replacement for veterinarian care, its support they get the right medicine and while they recover
https://www.littlecrittersvet.com/s...of providing,temperatures ranging form 85-95F.
 

CharlieChick

Member
Dec 7, 2020
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2
Hello there, I wanted to tell you my story-

One of my lovebird had the same symptoms as yours, puffed up, tail bobbing, difficulty breathing, inactivity etc.

A visit with a vet is highly recommended (I took my bird to a normal vet who is a bit experienced with birds though not an avian vet, the avian vet is miles away) the vet gave me multivitamins and bayrocin (which is antibiotics) and after all the effort, he's getting better! not completely fine yet, but good.

So I recommend you to take your bird to an avian vet (in cases like mine take it to a normal vet who is experienced in birds). Also provide good amount of heat. I live in a particularly hot region, but still turned my heater on for half of the day. Also give him some steam (don't make it unbreathable inside the cage, remember it's a small bird) also don't give him steam all day long... I gave mine for an hour or two through a cold-cough steamer. Turning it on for 15 mins, turning off and on again after some time.
Make sure food and water is available nearby.

Me and my birds are praying for your birb!

Link to my thread- http://www.parrotforums.com/lovebirds/88047-sick-bird-lovebird-please-help.html
 

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