What I have to do? Please help

[hailey]

Hi, I’m Korean and I cannot get much information about budgie’s health, so I write this in here first time. Korean budgie forum is small and even informs are lack..

Recently, I found my budgie is sick.
One of the longest wing feather had weaken and dangled just like middle of the feather cracked or broke.
After days, the feather has gone, don’t know where it was.
And he scratch his head, seems like itchy.
Also he has sculy face I think(http://budgerigarsforum.proboards.com/thread/1737/scaly-face this is exactly what he had got. I can’t know how to upload picture..).

I went to vet, and vet told me that his sculy face is just a wound so apply ointment what he prescribed.
I told hime that wings are unbalanced, but he said okay.
I relaxed it was just a scab, not a big deal.

But it goes worse day by day. Now his right foot is bruised between ackle and toes. He flies unstably. His beak is weaken. He bites or chew his feet..
I cannot go to vet due to financial probs. I am highschooler and my parents does not like to go to vet, they think it is waste of money. And I cannot earn a lot of money, but going to vet’s cost is very high.
What I have to do? I can handle the money about nutrition. Just want to know what disease he got......

My birdy is 7~8 now and came here due to my older brother, when I was 7~8. Now I’m 16. All the counts are for American age. What can I do for him?

This is my blog url, you can see the pictures then and now.
m.blog.naver.com/orbble_bubble/221524073805

[Hezz]

Looking at the photos that are on your link, your budgie does not have scaly face. whatever is causing the beak to fracture and break, it isn't scaly face mites, I'm sorry. I don't know what the problem might be, but I am guessing that he might have fatty liver disease. The bruising on his beak, the crumbling of the tip of his beak and the over-growth of one or two of his claws, are all possible indicators of fatty liver disease. If he is on an all-seed diet, this is very possible. Some things to help him ... lots of fresh vegetables, and some fruits (especially citrus, non-sweet fruits) seeding grasses, all these can help reduce the load on his liver, milk thistle extract is very good, or any human liver detox can give some relief.

[Marianne Marlow]

I would agree that it could be liver disease, obviously it's hard to tell from photos.
One of my previous birds that had liver disease, did get growths each side of his beak, that eventually fell off.

The crumbly beak is quite worrying, I hope he doesn't have issues eating.

If you can get him some dill, it is meant to be good for the liver.

Also alcohol free milk thistle tincture/extract as Hezz said, add some to his water.

[hailey]

Thanks to Hezz and Marlow, it relieved me..
I’m going to feed what you two recommended to him!
But he does not eat fresh things recently.... I don’t know why.
I gave him lettuce often, lettuce is the food he ate well.
Also I gave plenty of kinds of fruits. He bite once but later he doesn’t eat mandarin and orange. For the sweet fruits, he often ate apple before....
I don’t get it what kinds of veggies I can give him.
Thanks for real. I’m moved for your help.

[Hezz]

Fresh vegetables can be any of the Asian greens - bok choy, pak choy, choy sum, etc, any of the herbs (Marianne has recommended dill for a possible fatty liver) if he will eat them, leafy vegetables are usually more acceptable to them. Give less of the lettuce, cucumber, zucchini as they are full of water and not so much food value. They do provide necessary micronutrients and minerals so not all bad. Concentrate on the leafy greens and forget the root vegetables at this stage (potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, etc These need to be cooked for budgies).

If you can find seeding grasses that are not contaminated by roadside pollution you can pick these and feeding to him after a good rinse off.

[hailey]

Hi, thanks for last days. It is late night and I wrote for a hour for this but deleted for error, so I tried to sum up what I wrote before.
I gave him pak choi and tangerin but he didn’t eat and even doesn’t interested about them. I’m scared of tube feeding because he might be stressed out. So I want to change his meal to healthy foods or less fat seeds. Is it good choice egg food for healthy foods?
And every house in here are all besides roads, so I decided to grow it up in inside of the house. I have no idea that it is right to grow seed that I feed him now.
I bought a bottle of milk thistle ( www.amazon.com/dp/B000IRLF68/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_OvT3Cb48E5MNJ ) but I don’t know how to keep it. In the fridge or on the room? Is it right to add some drops in water and change it everyday?

[Shirls]

Just so as not to keep you waiting, (I don't want to steal the post from Marianne or Hezz) the Milk Thistle you have purchased is the correct one. I gave 2 or 3 drops in 50mls of water to my birds. You can't overdose on this, so to start off with I would perhaps put 4 or 5 drops in 50 mls of water, do this every day for a week or so then see how it goes. Change the water every day, and I would keep the Milk Thistle in the fridge, I do.

Keep trying with the vegetables, dill and herbs. Put some in every day fresh, only leave in for a few hours. Hope you have some success.

[Hezz]

By the road in the country would be okay for your grasses, but certainly not in a large city. Growing your own is great, and you can use whatever you wish - some of his own seed, seeds for sprouting for human consumption are all good.

The milk thistle is good, I use a couple of drops into about 50mls of water. You may notice a difference in your bird almost immediately - more energy, more playing etc, but just re-reading your initial post, he is not a young bird any more so I think you have been doing quite well. Of course more greens are good, and the milk thistle should help. I wouldn't give him eggfood unless he is having a bad moult - the eggfood is high in protein and you are wanting to help his liver not make it work harder.