Post by wonkeyslug on Feb 18, 2012 20:52:43 GMT
Hi Everyone *waving*,
I'm Sam and I have 8 budgies, currently in a very large cage indoors but will be move into an aviary when the weather improves and they're acliamtised. I've only had budgies for the last month although I had many budgies and other parakeets in aviarys when I way younger. My dad and I used to keep loads until I grew up and moved out. ff 16 years and I'm now getting back into bird keeping. When my dad and I used to keep birds I was given a 'reject' budgie with FM and this is why I know of the condition. That particular bird couldn't live/survive in an aviary as his condition was too bad so he lived indoors ontop of his cage. As he couldn't fly he couldn't spread his mess too far!
*main questions*
I think my new budgie has French Moult, is there anything I can do to improve his symptoms? is there anything that makes the condition worse that I should be aware of?
*history*
I recently (last Tuesday) purchased a lilac budgie from a local petshop and noticed this one on the floor of the same cage, I watched him for a few minutes and it was obvious he couldn't fly. He's lost all his flight feathers from one wing. I had a bugie given to me when I was a child with French Molt so I had a feeling it was the same condition. I asked the man in the shop what was wrong with him and had he realised he wasn't flying and only had flight feathers in one wing and he replied no. I asked what was going to happen to him and he said he'd be sent back to the dealer/breeder. I asked what would happen to him then and he said didn't know but the look on his face said it all...... that was it I couldn't leave him there. Got him home and put him with my other birds (I know not all of you will agree with that but you can't please everyone). The thing that made me notice him in the first place was the fact he was pacing up and down like a loony, you know when you see a really stressed animal in a very tiny cage and they rock? well he was like that. Only when I watched him did I notice the feathers and lack of flying. Now when I put him in the new cage he walked out of his box and immediately started to eat, I though tthis was weird, either he was semi tame or he was totally starved. I refilled the food bowls whilst i had my arm in there and he cam and sat on the bowl I was holding and ate like he'd not eaten in weeks. The lilac one at this point also came over and was eating fromthe bowl I was still holding. At this point I though maybe it was hungry and stress causing him to lose/pull out feathers and not FM. However tonight I have found 4 new flight feathers on the bottom of the cage, all his. I was hoping if it was stress it would stop. He's not stressed now and is a totally different bird to the one I saw in the shop. So I'm going back to the FM theory. How hungry does a terrified bird have to be to eat out of your hand?
*other questions*
I am planning on having all my budgies in a avairy but the summer. Could/would he be able to cope with this if it's only his flight feathers? surely he's better off being with his friends than being on his own indoors? I'm very pro mixing disabilities/able bodied people/birds where possible and I have no intention of breeding from him.
thank you if you've managed to read all this and I would appriciate anything you can tell me to impreove his condition or help him live a normal life
I'm Sam and I have 8 budgies, currently in a very large cage indoors but will be move into an aviary when the weather improves and they're acliamtised. I've only had budgies for the last month although I had many budgies and other parakeets in aviarys when I way younger. My dad and I used to keep loads until I grew up and moved out. ff 16 years and I'm now getting back into bird keeping. When my dad and I used to keep birds I was given a 'reject' budgie with FM and this is why I know of the condition. That particular bird couldn't live/survive in an aviary as his condition was too bad so he lived indoors ontop of his cage. As he couldn't fly he couldn't spread his mess too far!
*main questions*
I think my new budgie has French Moult, is there anything I can do to improve his symptoms? is there anything that makes the condition worse that I should be aware of?
*history*
I recently (last Tuesday) purchased a lilac budgie from a local petshop and noticed this one on the floor of the same cage, I watched him for a few minutes and it was obvious he couldn't fly. He's lost all his flight feathers from one wing. I had a bugie given to me when I was a child with French Molt so I had a feeling it was the same condition. I asked the man in the shop what was wrong with him and had he realised he wasn't flying and only had flight feathers in one wing and he replied no. I asked what was going to happen to him and he said he'd be sent back to the dealer/breeder. I asked what would happen to him then and he said didn't know but the look on his face said it all...... that was it I couldn't leave him there. Got him home and put him with my other birds (I know not all of you will agree with that but you can't please everyone). The thing that made me notice him in the first place was the fact he was pacing up and down like a loony, you know when you see a really stressed animal in a very tiny cage and they rock? well he was like that. Only when I watched him did I notice the feathers and lack of flying. Now when I put him in the new cage he walked out of his box and immediately started to eat, I though tthis was weird, either he was semi tame or he was totally starved. I refilled the food bowls whilst i had my arm in there and he cam and sat on the bowl I was holding and ate like he'd not eaten in weeks. The lilac one at this point also came over and was eating fromthe bowl I was still holding. At this point I though maybe it was hungry and stress causing him to lose/pull out feathers and not FM. However tonight I have found 4 new flight feathers on the bottom of the cage, all his. I was hoping if it was stress it would stop. He's not stressed now and is a totally different bird to the one I saw in the shop. So I'm going back to the FM theory. How hungry does a terrified bird have to be to eat out of your hand?
*other questions*
I am planning on having all my budgies in a avairy but the summer. Could/would he be able to cope with this if it's only his flight feathers? surely he's better off being with his friends than being on his own indoors? I'm very pro mixing disabilities/able bodied people/birds where possible and I have no intention of breeding from him.
thank you if you've managed to read all this and I would appriciate anything you can tell me to impreove his condition or help him live a normal life