Budgie has no balance/ cant fly

[churchlife18]

My 10 year old Male budgie has been having trouble keeping his balance on the perch of his cage. Hes been switching off between sitting on the floor of his cage, and sitting on the perch. Hes still eating but he is breathing heavily and puffed up. He is also unable to fly and just starts to descend when he try's. I took him to the er but they said they couldn't run tests to diagnose him because of how fragile he was. I brought him home because hes an extremely nervous bird, and I wanted him to be comfortable somewhere he knows. It seems to me like hes dying but then he starts eating and chirping, but theres still a huge difference in his breathing, flying, and balance. Any ideas of what's going on?

[samwiseg]

Hi and welcome churchlife

Am sorry to hear of your budgie being poorly - am not sure what it could be, but definetly know he is unwell. It would be better if you would be able to put him somewhere warm and have the perches low down in his cage so he doesn't have to balance.

If he is losing his balance it may be due to a head problem. Or it could be because of his shortness of breath just the fact he is sick and feeling week.

The best thing you can do is just keep him warm and quiet - cover him up to sleep and rest. Are you in the UK? As adding Guardian Angel to his water may help replace good bacteria in his gut.

As for his breathing he may have a sinus infection as this is common with budgies too - which he would need medication from the vet.

I would advise strongly to get him to another vet really so they can prescribe an antibiotic for him.

Good luck and fingers crossed for you x

[churchlife18]

Hi thanks for the reply. No I'm in the U.S, I just woke up to him shaking uncontrollably on the bottom of the cage and then getting back up as if nothing happened, so I think he may have just had a seizure. I'm gonna take him back to the hospital later today, but I feel like they're just going to ask me if I want to put him down, and part of me keeps thinking maybe he can be cured.

[Hezz]

It does sound like he may have had a seizure, unfortunately. I would set him up in a little hospital cage, with just a perch laid across the bottom of the cage so that he can use his feet the way they are meant to be used. You may have to change the pots that his food and water are in to make it easier for him to reach both without having to climb onto the edge of the container. If you have a heat pad or lamp, I would also make this available to him, giving him room enough so that he can move away from the heat if necessary. Besides another vet visit, this is about all you can do until you see any change, hopefully for the better. Unfortunately once a bird has had a seizure, quite often more follow soon after. At 10 years of age he is not a young bird either.

[churchlife18]

Thanks guys, I was given the option of keeping him in an oxygen chamber for a week to see if he hot strong enough to run tests, or to put him down. I was told that he was suffering and may not make it another week, so we decided to put him down. I feel horrible that I did, i keep wondering if he could have gotten better. 😔

[suesbird]

You will always keep saying to yourself 'What If' You did what you thought was best and did not want him to suffer. He is flying high with all of our passed birds. Fly high sweet guy.

[jellybean]

We all do the "what if" it can sometimes be a tough burden to carry.
But, we do our best for these little guys, and your best is all you can do.

Fly high little one x

[Hezz]

I am sorry.

Rest in peace, little man. xx

[sweetpea]

Sometimes the hardest decision is the kindest. Fly high little man.