Help needed on wee mans Breathing

[weemadbirdie]

Hi folks

New ti this forum, been looking for one for a while as am becomin a keen budgie fancier.

aroond September last year we bought a wee female opaline budgie shes fit and healthy.. a week or 2 later we got a wee male budgie fi a different pet store, kept him in a cage next to the females for 2 month then put them together they got on like a house on fire instant preening..

when we started letting them out the female flys round in circles as if with joy then practices her landing and has a wee wander about inspecting the room, then when its time for her to go back in its simply a case of putting a pen or stick in front of her and she hops on it happy to be transported back to her cage (still attempts to bite fingers tho lol)

As for oor wee male. when he attempts to fly out the cage he just hovers whilst panting, then when he lands he is breathing heavy and wheezing and his chest is moving fast, hes also much harder to get back in the cage he is still over scared of us..

a few things we noticed... im beginning to worry he has possible mutations on each wing there are fluffy grey feathers that dont sit correct they poke out, also his toes are at an odd angle compared with the wee females. he is also far less hyper active than the female, but iv heard this is natural.

could anybody possibly give us some clues on what his condition could be

[Marianne Marlow]

Hi there, welcome!

Do you have some photos of your budgies so that we can see what the problem might be?

Marianne

[Hezz]

Hi and welcome. Yes, some photos needed, videos too if possible. At the beginning of this section there are, or should be, stickies with step-by-step instructions for posting photos and videos. We really to see what the problem is to be able to help in any way. We will look out for your update.

[weemadbirdie]

hi ther, cheers for the replies av took the best pics a could n got a wee vid

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4

here are some pics yous will notice the grey feathers sticking oot his wee wing and his feet dont seem to be the same as his girlfriends

[weemadbirdie]

here is the video this is the panting im worried about

View My Video

[Hezz]

The foot issue shouldn't really be a problem - lots of birds with crooked feet, missing toes or even missing feet can go on to lead happy long lives. Not sure what to make of the little down feathers on the wing, but unless they are a cause of infection or something, I wouldn't worry too much there either. Does he have a full set of flight feathers? It is a little hard to see in the photos. If not this may explain why he has trouble flying but doesn't explain the wheezing and panting that is the major concern.

The video is too dark for me to make a lot out of it, but hopefully someone with better health issues experience can give you some feed back there. If you get the chance meantime, trying shooting another video, with a bit more light. Sorry I am not much help.

[stace]

I'd worry most about the panting. It is not normal. There's definitely something wrong with his respiration. I'm not sure what it could be though. Iodine deficiency, air sac mites maybe? Someone else might have come across it.

I'd also get rid of that sandpaper perch and any other sandpaper sheets you may have. It causes bumbleboot where they get terrible infected sores on their feet, and if they eat it, it can cause an serious obstruction in their gizzard.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Stace is absolutely right. Breathing with this much difficulty and noise is not right at all. When was your budgie last treated for mites?

[weemadbirdie]

We have only had him a couple of months, there is an iodine block in the cage, cant say i have ever saw him eat any of it tho, where as his female companion scrapes and eats at it all the time..

if these mites were the culprit are there any other symptoms to watch for and would they effect the female aswell

I had used the sand sheets intended for the cage floor to wrap round the wooden perch as i read from the packet they wer full of nutrients the budgie needs for digestion, the idea was to counter act the fact they had nothing much to scrape their claws down on, how ever i have now got natural beach twigs which i have treated with bleach/water solution cleaned and am now drying, ill be replacing all perches with these.

one other wee issue we wer confused with, he doesnt seem to be interested in mating with the female what so ever, she keeps rubbing her valve on the water dish we read this was a type of masturbation.. she also tries to chase the male around the cage and pushes her head under him as if trying to get him to mount her but he is never interested, is this normal?

[Hezz]

Get rid of the sand sheets, please. They are a terrible thing for budgies' feet and can be the cause of sores developing on the bottom of their feet (bumblefoot). I would get the bird to the vet pronto. If he is having problems breathing he is not going to be interested in mating. Cocks can be in and out of condition, just the same as the hens.

If mites are the problem, then yes the hen will need to be treated as well, but it is a relatively simple thing to treat.