New Budgie is Lethargic

[BirdLady]

I adopted a rescue budgie three weeks ago and he is currently in quarantine. He has a good appetite and normal poops and preens himself every now and then. He was at the avian vet two days ago for a physical exam and poop analysis, both of which were normal. He also received an anti-mite/parasite treatment just in case, although he did not have any visible signs of mites. The boy has been very passive/lethargic during his time with me. He spends entire days in a corner of the cage mostly dozing. I am concerned that something is wrong with him after all and am afraid to unite him with my other budgie once quarantine ends (16 days to go). That having been said, he does not appear to be deteriorating in any way and may just be depressed in his new environment, all alone in the quarantine room most of the time. He won't leave the cage but does call to my other budgie from time to time. What do you recommend I do? I'm not keen on putting him through a bunch of stressful and invasive tests especially as the vet herself did not recommend it, and am thinking that if he really were ill, he'd be deteriorating by now. Help!

[Loz]

Poor little bud.

Do you know anything about the background of your new friend? Was he part of a flock, been on his own for a long time, kept permanently caged? Any such info might help in working out what is going on.

How are his feathers, are they intact and in good shape?

[BirdLady]

I got him at an animal shelter where he was in a cage on the floor with another budgie and there were multiple other birds in surrounding cages (so risk of contagion). The conditions were not especially bad - no worse than at pet stores - but probably quite stressful, especially as his cage was on the floor and there were also cats and dogs strolling around. He clearly had a companion whom he was separated from (all the rescue budgies were paired but I could only take one unfortunately, and I knew I'd be bringing him home to a new companion). He came to the shelter from a breeder who had shut down their business and surrendered the birds (so the shelter says). Nothing else is known. He is obviously very frightened and does not appear to have had any socialization with people. I believe he was permanently caged. He weighs only 30 grams, which the vet said was still within the normal range. His vocalization is weaker than my other budgie's, possibly because he is young (the vet confirmed he looks like a young bird, probably under 12 months old). His feathers are in very good condition. I am attaching a few photos:

[Loz]

He's a handsome boy.

I hope he is simply closed-down as a result of his lack of good stimulation but hopefully a more experienced owner can comment, based on the info you have provided.

I do hope you can get reassurance and a sign that he is OK to introduce to your established budgie. I'd like to think he just needs budgie companionship but as things currently stand, there's a potential risk, as you have correctly identified, to your other bird. Perhaps the next sixteen days will provide certainty one way or the other.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Do you have a sunny window in the room where he is located - a bright window that doesn't get very hot? Put the cage in front of the window and I'll be5 he'll come alive chirping and singing. If the sun shines in that window, make sure he doesn't get hot or place the cage so part of it is in the shade where he can go if he gets hot.

[ladybird]

I wonder if he is just depressed, he has been through a lot . You say he is alone in a room while he is in quarantine……does he have any music or talking to listen to? It might help .

[BirdLady]

Thank you for your comments, everyone. I really appreciate it. Yes, he is in a sunny room, there is music or water and bird sounds playing all day and the room is my home office so I do spend time in there three days a week, sitting close to his cage, but can't give him a ton of attention while working. I do pause frequently to coo and talk to him which he enjoys. I also check in on him regularly on days when I am not working in there.

I wonder if he might be feeling low because he always had bird companions and is now solo. He is going in for his second round of Ivemectin next week and I will bring his lethargy up with the vet again.

[tweetiepiesmom]

He might like being in front of a window where he can look out and see other birds in the wild. Also, even if the room is sunny, a sunny window is better.

When I brought Tweetie Pie home from the pet store, he was very quiet, hardly moving. Yes, he was scared going from being in a cage with many birds to being alone. The room was bright. I moved his cage in front of a large window that overlooked my garden. He almost immediately started singing and chirping.

If he is depressed and lonely, he'll be better at the end of quarantine when he meets your other budgie.

[BirdLady]

Yes, he is in a sunny room next to a window with a view of the outside. I am bending over backwards for the fellow. He does seem very glad when I speak and coo to him: immediately starts preening and cuddling with his mirror. I spoke to the vet this morning again. She has recommended a crop swab at next week’s appointment for his second dose of ivermectin and we will take it from there. She would like to avoid blood tests and x-rays if possible. He’s a tiny little pea.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Hoping he's ok and will come around to being a happy cheerful bird. Sounds like he enjoys your company, so be with him as much as you can.

[Hezz]

The fact that you have consulted an avian vet and he has been given the all clear should allay your fears quite a lot. Some birds bounce from change to change without missing a beat whereas others are much more affected. Your new boy may be of the latter temperament and come into his own with a new friend in his life. As long as he doesn’t seem to be getting worse, I would try to hold off until quarantine is over and watch what happens when he discovers a new birdy friend. Maybe consult your vet on whether they consider him healthy and illness-free and possibly finish quarantine a bit early. With a bird that you are unsure of, I would only do that in consultation with the vet, though.

[BirdLady]

Grashak was back at the vet two days ago for his secound round of anti-parasite/mite treatment and the vet also recommended a crop wash/gram. The test revealed that he had a lot of bacteria in the crop, which she said could explain his fatigue and lethargy. He's been started on a 14 day course of antibiotics, after which the crop wash will be repeated to determine if further treatment is needed.

I sincerely hope this takes care of the problem. He has been through a lot since I adopted him: two physical exams at the vet, two rounds of anti-parasite treatment, a nail clipping, a crop wash, now 14 days of forced antibiotics morning and night, then another crop wash... How much can a little bird take?!

[Loz]

I hope your little friend can rally and fight through this. With luck he can make some quick progress with a few doses of antibiotic in him and you will see him get stronger.

Thank you for updating us and for trying so hard with him.

[Marianne Marlow]

Poor little thing. I do hope the medication helps him.

[BirdLady]

We're seven days into administering the antibiotic and it feels like a bit of a crap shoot. We always manage to get the meds into Grashak's beak with no spillage, but it's virtually impossible to always position it in the middle of his tongue as the vet instructed. Sometimes, it ends up under the tongue, sometimes it's on the tip, sometimes half on the tongue and half under, and sometimes, yes, we do it like pros... How important is precision for effective treatment? The bud is struggling and we rarely get more than a split of a second at a time to get anything in there. I'm afraid it will all be for naught!

We believe we're seeing some improvement in his overall behaviour (more preening, more frequent and stronger vocalization, bouts of anger and squawking at not being able to unite with the budgie downstairs) but nothing dramatic yet.