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Post by mona on May 23, 2021 9:10:13 GMT
Not sure if these videos and photos will give some insight.. He perches like this all the time: Some pics of his feet - If these are not clear enough, I can try again for photos with flashlight on.
I'm wrapping these perches with thick and thin variety of jute today. I'm not deliberately delaying it, but I had fixed those with cable ties and they are afraid of loose jute rope. So, I need to take all those perches out and wrap it. However, Breezie was very anxious & panting out of fear on seeing my hand in cage, after I had grabbed and moved him.. so delayed it for a day. He is settled today, so will do that. This video below was when he was out - 3 days prior to feet issue again (around 2 week after he recovered last time from the same state). He was running & navigating cage bars., which confuses me at this point of time. PS: Please don't worry about the pedestal fan: it was under supervision and replaced with a cooler the next day.
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Post by Hezz on May 23, 2021 21:19:11 GMT
He is a sweetie, reminds me quite lot of one of my past hens. The photos and videos show very well how he is (or isn’t) using his foot, poor love. Regarding your question of neurological damage, it can seem to come and go, if there is something pressing on the nerve rather than nerve damage in itself. Even damage to the nerve can be turned around to a certain extent with a little of their own rehab. I’m sure there are circumstances where damage can’t be improved but I have seen recovery happen, and heard of it many times. It is not always total recovery but enough for the birds to behave and function normally. The unfortunate thing with nerve issues is that they do often recur at some stage. I’m hoping Breezie’s problem is injury rather than nerve damage, with Cookie being the brat of the cage and pushing him around. I guess only time will tell. Is he able to land comfortably when he flies, or is he inclined to do a bit of a stumble? It is good that he is using the foot to some degree, such as trying to stretch out his other wing and leg. This sort of activity is really good for him to get that leg strong again. I had something similar with my little Sparky when he wasn’t that old - a weak foot and droopy wing - but no one told him he was disabled. . He behaved as normal and his foot strengthened to as before and his flying got back to normal although the wing did always have a slight droop. Good luck with his rehab, and hopefully he is taking his incarceration in good spirits.
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Post by mona on May 24, 2021 13:37:51 GMT
I could find one more thick natural perch.. I have replaced the central thin one with a thicker perch. He stumbles most of the times, when landing. Sometimes he doesn't. He isn't able to balance on 3cm wide side of perch. He cannot walk at all on flat surface and limps/hops. When he tries to walk fast horizontally on the perch, his feet slips a bit. He's behaving his best - all happy, chirping, eating, drinking on his own today, preening and rarely screaming at me. I think he is enjoying his time out, away from cookie, relaxing with his feet at one place. He didn't freak out when I changed the perches too and moved cage away on my bed, but Cookie screamed as if I was going to take away breezie from her permanently.. I have never heard her scream so much, so loud and persistently.
This is from today.. he fell down once on cage floor. Last time I saw him with Cookie in the cage, his feet would bend altogether & he couldn't place it flat. 💔 I do clean all dropped food from the cage base before I take it out after an hour, but he had just thrown it all down & I didn't expect him on the cage base.. 🤦♀️
I haven't been able to get in touch with the vet. Trying to. I'm planning to let Cookie out on Breezie's cage tomorrow, with Breezie inside.. will see how they react.. She is very irritated and frustrated.. I don't want her to stress out too much and develop other stress related issues later. She calms down sometimes when I sing back to her.. but doesn't sometimes. She sits close to breezie during day. I need to be less anxious - they can sense our feelings too I guess. I wasn't this anxious when we had covid ! 🤦♀️😂 Hoping and wishing for the best. I can't do anything else apart from this 🧡
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on May 24, 2021 15:06:29 GMT
Poor little guy - that video is very clear and shows how he's using his right foot. It looks like he either doesn't want to put his weight on it or can't. You're doing everything I would do. Hopefully you can get a consult with the vet and get some advice.
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Post by Hezz on May 24, 2021 22:39:02 GMT
The way his leg swings out to the side looks like a lack of control to me, which I read as a neurological issue. I hope I’m wrong, and hope you are able to show that video to a vet once you are able to get an appointment. He may actually find it easier walking on the grate itself rather than the paper. I see that quite a bit with Mango as well.
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Post by mona on May 25, 2021 5:58:49 GMT
Yes, he can walk better on cage base, rather than paper. It feels bad looking at him like that. But, even if he has neuro issue, I think we both can live with it. Only doubtful about them staying in same cage. Will have to wait to see what it is. I have opened up Cookie's cage today as soon as she started screaming. She is on Breezie's cage. No one's screaming right now thankfully. I'll have to see if that frustrates Breezie, if he can see Cookie out of cage, but not him. I have sent all videos and photos to the vet. I have got an appointment over call after half an hour.
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Post by mona on May 25, 2021 11:30:42 GMT
I could finally connect with the vet and he listened patiently to the entire history.
He said it doesn't seem to be a fracture at least. He has asked me to give a calcium - Vit D3 supplement for next 15 days and a supplement intended to work on nerve damage due to Vit B deficiency (as the med description says).
I read about calcium Vit D3 deficiency causing weak muscles.. even if they have access to calcium, they need Vit D3 to absorb it. At my last place, it was always rainy and it was hardly ever sunny. They would have lacked Vit D3 exposure for sure.
With Vit B deficiency, I had lost sensations in my toes and finger tips and blurry eyesight too a while back. My hubby's maternal grandmom had similar nerve issues in legs too. He said I should repeat the vit D3 and B supplement after 3 months again.
He also said that the deworming medicines have to be changed occasionally so that they don't become resistant to it. Mine had never been dewormed.. we did it in Feb this year.
I don't know if I had been careless about these things.. I'll make sure to get them access to the sun, whenever it shows up. Vit B deficiency is common with us too - not sure how it can be addressed on a day to day basis. I hope the diagnosis is correct and he perks up with these supplements and meds. The supplement is meant for Cookie too.
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Post by ffiscool on May 25, 2021 11:57:33 GMT
You haven’t been careless. You have been doing all you can and it sounds I think very encouraging that there are these things you can try. A few years back when I was on steroids I had to take the calcium d3. It helps with osteoporosis too etc.
Breezie is getting the best care.
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Post by ariella on May 25, 2021 12:36:11 GMT
Aww, mona, you’ve been doing everything you can to help Breezie and he’s lucky to have you. Poor little chap seems determined to get about and although it’s sad to see him like this he’s not going to let it stop him. I really hope the supplements work and then you know hopefully how to prevent it happening again and Breezie and Cookie can be together. Only time will tell but I hope you see an improvement.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on May 25, 2021 15:15:58 GMT
mona it sounds like you got good advice from the vet! Don't think that you've been careless. There's so much to learn about the care of budgies and the diet that they need. Many of us have been in the position of asking ourselves if we've done or not done something that contributed to an illness or health issue in our budgies. Many vegetarians are deficient in vit B. The legumes and eggs are good sources of vit B so you might increase how much of those you are feeding them. I haven't heard much about deworming budgies. Is that something that is done on a routine basis or should the vet check for that? It sounds like you have a good treatment plan. I hope Breezie starts to see improvement, he seems to have such spirit!
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Post by mona on May 25, 2021 15:46:12 GMT
I hope he gets better too. It's just heartbreaking to see him like that, along with the agony of separation of the pair. Thank you everyone for motivating words & all the advice.
I will start tomorrow with mixed lentils, along with mung beans and chickpeas - also egg. I had been looking at dried egg food for birds too, if I can get a good one. I don't eat eggs and they need so little.. I need my hubby to finish the rest of boiled egg. If I can get good quality dried eggfood, I don't have to worry about the remaining portion. Till then, I will atleast work on boiled egg for them. With bird flu, we had been avoiding eggs for a while (despite WHO recommendation). Now, it should be safe.
The vet said deworming has to be done on a regular basis.. A lady from Belgium told me the same that she de-worms her budgies at a regular interval.. In feb, I thought it's a one time process.. I didn't ask if it's supposed to be X number of times or forever. I'll ask about it during followup.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on May 25, 2021 17:18:51 GMT
mona I also don't eat eggs because I have an allergy to them. Below is a picture of what I feed my budgies. It comes in a 2lb bag. I take what I need for a month and put that in a container in the frig. The rest I seal in a freezer bag and store in my freezer. I get it on Amazon so it may not be available to you. On Amazon, search under "pet supplies" for "egg food". Hopefully your Amazon has something that's not expensive.
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Post by mona on May 25, 2021 17:42:00 GMT
tweetiepiesmom I'm allergic to eggs too! It might be a naive question - what does dried egg food contain apart from egg? The one I can see on amazon has baked whole egg, whole grain bread crumbs and honey. I'm doubtful about honey and bread crumbs.. It isn't costly, but only one company sells it. I'm just skeptical about the ingredients they add. This is the description from amazon. They haven't clearly mentioned which exact products are used! If these can be deep freezed, can the boiled mashed egg be deep freezed too - i can prepare for a week or so and use it, instead of buying it? I had read somewhere fresh egg should be consumed within first few hours of boiling it. I don't remember the reason. Otherwise, I'll go with the fresh boiled egg itself.. How many days a week do you guys give egg? I had recently added egg in their healthy cupcake sized bird bread, but didn't add it separately in the chop or soft food. But I had started using eggs just a month back. Sorry for my naive questions..
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on May 25, 2021 19:11:28 GMT
mona I read the ingredients and I don't think that is the product you want. I contains only 1% egg! The info about consuming hard boiled eggs within the fist few hours is if you leave them out at room temperate, they'll go bad. If you put the hard boiled eggs in the frig, they'll last a week. Interesting, we can buy hard boiled eggs at the grocery store (lazy Americans again ). It looks to me like they seal it with the air evacuated and the directions say to use them within a week once the packaged is opened. I have never tried freezing hard boiled eggs. Here's what Google says: "HARD-BOILED EGGS You can freeze hard-boiled egg yolks to use later for toppings or garnishes. ... Remove the yolks with a slotted spoon, drain them well and package them for freezing. It's best not to freeze hard-boiled whole eggs and hard-boiled whites because they become tough and watery when frozen." So it sounds like its OK. They suggest separating the yolks and whites. After freezing, the whites may be watery but I think if you pat them dry before you serve them (my guys don't like wet stuff) it would be OK. The budgies don't care if the texture is rubbery. Hopefully other people will read this who know more or have tried it.
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Post by Hezz on May 26, 2021 1:33:45 GMT
To be fair, I haven’t found an eggfood, besides the one you have linked, mona, that gives a % for the egg content. Not on the packaging I’ve been able to access. Even my own doesn’t give a percentage. I think your vet has given some very good advice on possible reasons for Breezie’s leg issue and hopefully this can be turned around. Cod liver oil might e easy for you to get hold of; it’s high in omega 3’s, good for Vit A and D deficiencies.
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