May 21, 2021 3:21:47 GMT
chico
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 39
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Post by chico on Sept 1, 2021 23:05:48 GMT
Hi all, I posted last month about Barney's cere which looked scruffy and i was worried it might have been scaly mites . I hydrated his environment but that hasn't helped.
About 3 weeks ago we went to the vet for his other problem of breathlessness and the vet treated Barney with a drop of kitten Revolution (selamectin) on the skin under his wing. This was to deal to any possible air sac mites as well as any other parasites.
Since then his cere has not improved and he has new patches on his beak. It doesnt look like a healthy beak to me at all. I give him a wide variety of nutrition. Can you all have a look and offer an opinion please ? I think the patches look like they have little lines through them like tracks? Thank you.
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May 21, 2021 3:21:47 GMT
chico
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 39
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Post by chico on Sept 1, 2021 23:22:04 GMT
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Post by Hezz on Sept 2, 2021 0:47:13 GMT
If the damage wasn’t so uniformly even across his beak I would say this time that it does look like mites, but this looks too uniform to me. If it is a weird form of scaly mites, they should be killed off by his air sac mite treatment, anyway, so that is that covered. What is his diet like? Does he eat a good variety of veg? Malnutrition can cause cracks and crumbly beaks. Did the vet not have any ideas?
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May 21, 2021 3:21:47 GMT
chico
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 39
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Post by chico on Sept 2, 2021 16:16:18 GMT
Hi Hezz, no the vet just said feed some supplements but didn't suggest what it could be, altho it didn't look this bad when we were last there. I give Barney a wide variety of foods but he eats little of them. I think that sight must be an important part of a budgies eating and being blind he feels around for familiar foods. He picks the hulled oats and canary seeds out of his budgie mix, as his favourites. I feed extra oats for the protein. He enjoys small amounts ofchickweed, green leafy vege and sweet apple, cooked sweet potato and pumpkin and raw shredded carrot. He eats a little of his supplement boosted mix, and oyster shell but refuses to touch cuttlebone and iodine block. I have started grating those and sprinkling on the floor in the hope he picks some up.
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Sept 2, 2021 17:16:10 GMT
It does look like some sort of mites. Have you tried applying a little tiny, thin layer of vaseline to the beak (not near his nares) this can suffocate mites and may help.
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Post by Hezz on Sept 2, 2021 22:16:34 GMT
It certainly wouldn’t hurt for Barney to have the usual three doses of Ivermectin to treat for mites, as there certainly are some signs that this is what it could be. I hadn’t given too much thought to Barney being blind and his food intake, to be honest, but this is also a possibility - that he is missing certain micronutrients. Supplements added to water aren’t as helpful as those you can sprinkle of food, and something that I’ve seen come up regularly as a good form of helpful fatty acids is walnut, if you can get him to eat them. Also cracking open a Vit E capsule and using this oil on his beak may be helpful if it is a nutritional problem. Will he eat hard-boiled egg or dried eggfood? All of these can offer extra omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
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May 21, 2021 3:21:47 GMT
chico
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 39
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Post by chico on Sept 3, 2021 21:55:54 GMT
Thanks Marianne and Hezz. I do remember years ago using the vaseline treatment, but don't recall the details or outcome. Barneys last selamectin treatment was 13th august. The vet didn't mention further treatment and obviously should have. We are currently in a lockdown but it should lift soon and the vets will be accessible again.
I agree he needs some good fats. He won't eat the special seed bell with the oil seeds. I wonder if the best way to get these nutrients into him is via a cake as he loves cake crumb and will eat it. I had made a cake with 50/50 almond meal, cornmeal and bananas, olive oil and eggs . No sugar. Would a bit of salt be ok to add iodine? Because he won't use the iodine block. I can get walnuts no problem and will get the vit e caps.
To be honest, Barney is not a normal or well bird. I will post about his breathlessness issues separately. Thank you for your help.
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Post by Hezz on Sept 4, 2021 1:09:51 GMT
If you feel you need to add some iodine to his diet the simplest way to do so is to get some iodine tincture from your pharmacy. There do appear to be different concentrations across the board but a single drop into his water once a week will be enough to provide what he might need. Iodine lasts for ages as well so you don’t need to be throwing it out every few months. If it seems that he won’t drink it, have a taste yourself and determine whether it might be too strong, and if so dilute it even more. The concentration of mine is 25mg/ml, (2.5%) to give you something to work with.
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Post by starrymist on Sept 11, 2021 16:01:42 GMT
It’s hard to tell but I think it looks a bit like my bird’s cere?? His beak isn’t affected though, just the cere. He’s had it over a year & the vet said it is just dead skin cells building up - it does flake off & his cere is perfectly healthy (& blue beneath). It started when we moved into a different home, have you changed environments? For a while I was rubbing coconut oil into it & it did help it come off but as he is now failing healthwise, I’ve stopped as he finds it stressful.
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Sept 11, 2021 16:05:01 GMT
starrymist, you may be right. It's hard to tell from a photo sometimes.
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Post by starrymist on Sept 11, 2021 16:05:28 GMT
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Sept 11, 2021 16:07:15 GMT
starrymist Hectors cere went like this as he got older, I think we agreed it was hormonal but I cannot remember. Hector was almost 11 when he passed away.
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Post by Hezz on Sept 12, 2021 6:02:22 GMT
Brodie’s looks like old dead skin cells, whereas Barney’s beak is affected as much as his cere. I don’t think it is the same thing at all.
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May 21, 2021 3:21:47 GMT
chico
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 39
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Post by chico on Sept 29, 2021 23:48:15 GMT
Update. Sad to report that Barney is in budgie heaven now. He started developing neurological symptoms and breathlessness. One morning he had a seizure then couldn't stand up. We rushed to the vet and he was very gently helped to heaven. Barney had numerous health issues in his 6 months of life, starting with being a blind baby. I did my best for him but sadly he had some sort of syndrome and all the love and vet care in the world couldn't save him.
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Sept 30, 2021 0:43:35 GMT
Barney had the best possible care and much love from you. Fly high little guy in budgie heaven free from all your earthly aliments.
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