Petes Feathers

[ross82]

Hello Everyone,

I’ll try keep it short; basically we were looking for some new
toys for our boys when we saw this little fella hiding away in the back of a
pet shop cage by himself. Now we have been in this shop before and to be honest
the way it has kept birds is suspect. But that a side as soon as we saw
this little guy we had to get him out of there…. So basically he is with us
quarantined away.

Now this is the second full day we have had him and he is
eating plenty, chirping, playing, and generally seems in a much happier mood. Well as you can see from the photo (if the upload has
worked) our concern is the tail and wing damage. We could not get any information
from the pet shop to how this has happened, be it distress, boredom, fighting…
we’re not sure.

He does not appear to be in pain; he is mobile and tries to
fly/jump as best he can. We have seen one of the feathers that came out with a
clot of dry blood on the tip.

We have not handled him heavily to inspect the full extent
of injury as we want him to settle in and feel comfortable; however we will be
taking a trip to the vet next week.

Again he does not seem to be in pain, and is in a much
happier mood than what he was in that bloody horrible shop!!!

We happily welcome any advice/comments..... lol having issues uploading... 4th attempt

[columbo]

The poor little fella. Its great you saw him and saved him from that pet shop .
I don't know what that could be? Maybe he did it out of boredom or was depressed? I now birds in distress pull at their feathers. I really hope living with you and being cared for will bring his feathers back to tip top condition.

[ross82]

Hi Columbo

Well today was our second full day with him and if we had a picture of him when we got him you would be amazed how much better he looks now in such a short time.

Will keep everyone posted 

[Azurei]

Hi Ross, I'm glad he seems to be looking much better, I was quite worried when I saw him (thinking french molt/beak and feather etc, but then, I always panic, having a feather panic atm in fact!), I think I would still be inclined to test for feather diseases to er on the side of caution though for your other budgies, you have him quarantined so no worries there

This site can do the testing for you without having to mess around at the vets, as long as you are comfortable taking samples:

www.avianbiotech.com/

They do have a uk/europe site too, I'm not sure where you are based but it's easy to find on google.

I hope the little fella comes good quick, with his caring new home I'm sure he will thrive now to try and figure out my own feather panic

[Hezz]

My first thought was french moult. It looks like he has quite a few pinnies all over his body, yes? Whether these feathers moult out and are replaced by healthy ones only time, or vet tests, will tell, I guess. He has some lovely colours going on there.

[ross82]

Hi Azurei

Thanks for the info, I had a look at the site and it would be the UK office in Truro (based in midlands), I hope you can get control of your feather panic, how serious is it?

You are correct Hezz from the visual inspection I have caught a glimpse of what looks like a hemorrhage in the quills.

Although from what  understand if it is a french moult and it is sporadic and noncontagious, should he be kept completely separate from my other birds post quarantine (they are 3 years old) .... may be being too overprotective

[Hezz]

My understanding, and I think this is what Azurei was referring to, is that french moult and beak and feather disease are very similar, both caused by a virus, but beak and feather can be contagious, whereas FM is considered not. So, a bird with FM can happily be kept as part of the flock, whereas B&FD is more of a risk. birdguhl has a budgie who has been diagnosed as B&FD, and still is integrated; she may well be able to explain this way better than I ........ not having been in this situation.

[tinker]

Well keep your hopes up. It could be nothing - ratty tail and wing feathers are not unusual for pet shop budgies. I've seen worse. Get the tests done at your vet and keep him separate while you await the results and hopefully it will all sort itself out. Despite that, he looks like a lovely bird.

[birdguhl]

Hi Ross82

Wee soul - glad you got him with you now. Do you have a name yet? (Duh - Pete) Here's hoping this is just physical damage to his feathers, but to be sure I would recommend you get him tested either through the suggestion above or a vet.

As Hezz said, I have budgie, Berry, with confirmed B&FD (clinical signs apparent for about 16 months now) who is otherwise doing fine and very happy. He can't fly of course but he is very active and has a good quality of life. Here he is:



As regards infection risk, as I understand it other birds in contact can pick it up. Berry's original partner, Woody, had obviously been exposed for as long as they were together (came from same pet shop), and Berry had already spend a couple of months with Luee, his devoted partner now, when he was diagnosed so that was that. I then needed to get a new partner for Woody, and I rehomed an older bird, Charlie. They are now all together. There was no point in trying to keep them separate as all had been exposed (Charlie via Woody) by the time it was confirmed. It is not possible to eliminate virus particles in a domestic environment. So far, so good - no signs of the others being infected. I keep them all on what many (not all) regard as the highest quality nutrition (Harrison's High Potency pellets) + germinated seed and fruit, veg and herbs - I don't know for sure, but this may be helping.

In any case, the virus particles are said to be able to survive outside the body for up to 5 years. In effect this means that a large proportion of birds, especially from pet shops, will have been exposed at some point. I am not sure whether more intense exposure - i.e. from living next to a bird who is constantly shedding particles - increases the risk.

As I say, I really hope your new guy hasn't got it, and all this complicated info is redundant!

Keep us posted.

[ross82]

Thanks for the comments and info, really helpful stuff

We knew they would be a risk involved with introducing a shop brought bird to our current two but im a sucka for it .... when buying new toys we like to look and feel them in the shop to make a judgment if there safe, the downside is I see these little guys and just want to bring them al home.

[tinker]

Feb 9, 2014 11:21:12 GMT ross82 said:

Lol.. that's exactly how I ended up with Smokey - oops!

[ross82]

Hi Everyone,

An update on Pete, We spent a very long hour in with the vet and the short and curly of it is that the feather damage showed patterns of the other cage birds having a go at him. The vet wasnt concerned about that but more concerned about the lack of development of his feet.

His right foot has his two inner toes that are flat, and do not curve facing downwards, also his left foot is quite low sitting to the joint. Now this could be poor diet, fighting for food, genetic, or illness. What this came down too was that we had several decisions to make. We could keep him but in isolation and not join the other two, we could have a blood test done to be sure there is no disease, or we find another home for the little guy.

Although the vet could see our intentions were true he said the best thing to do is if you see a bird in a condition like this you just have to speak to the local council.

[starlingqueen]

Have you got any pictures of his feet? I rehomed a bird recently and her feet were odd. One back toe on each foot curled round to the front and the other didn't seem to bend round the perch. It was caused, I think, by having the wrong size perches and sanded perch covers. Her feet are so much better now but not perfect. The other bird that I got with her had red sore feet caused by the sanded perch covers.

[ross82]

[starlingqueen]

They are a bit twisted aren't they. How old is he? He seems to have quite long claws, which could be another indicator of B&FD.