Please confirm my budgie's gender for me!

[Katie]

Hi everyone, it's been awhile since I posted, but I'm hoping that someone can help me.

I've been looking after a budgie that I believe to be female for about 2 years. I took her to the vet today, and the veterinarian said she may be a boy. My bird's cere has always been brownish and crusty when she was well, but now that she's sick, it's a whitish-blue colour. I know blue is typically the colour of a male budgie's cere, but I thought an avian vet would know that the cere sometimes changes colour.

My bird's diagnosis was really bad, but I'd still really like to know what gender he/she is before he/she passes away. Can anyone tell from the photo? I'd be very grateful if you could confirm it for me.

Thank you in advance!

--Katie

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[Hezz]

Hi Katie, so sorry the diagnosis for your little friend (Misty?) was not good. Is this a recent photo, or an older one? Regardless, I (and I am no expert - there are many who get it right more often than me) would say she was a she. Whitish-blue, to me, still fits with her being female, as she is now sick and therefore will not be in breeding condition.

Again, so sorry the prognosis is not better for her, but if your vet is wrong about the sex, what else could they have gotten wrong? Maybe a second opinion wouldn't hurt?

[Deleted]

Nov 20, 2012 0:44:24 GMT Hezz said:

Hi Katie, so sorry the diagnosis for your little friend (Misty?) was not good. Is this a recent photo, or an older one? Regardless, I (and I am no expert - there are many who get it right more often than me) would say she was a she. Whitish-blue, to me, still fits with her being female, as she is now sick and therefore will not be in breeding condition.

Again, so sorry the prognosis is not better for her, but if your vet is wrong about the sex, what else could they have gotten wrong? Maybe a second opinion wouldn't hurt?

hezz i have to agree with you 100% on this ...

Katie is this pic up to date or a old one.....
as she looks well in the pic ....
what did they say is wrong with her ??.
what are her symptoms ??

[Katie]

Thank you both for replying. I'm so relieved to know that she's a girl. I would've been embarrassed if I had been calling her a "pretty girl" if she had actually been a guy.

This picture is from about a year ago. I just used this one because it's a nice, clear picture of her. Should I take a recent picture to show you?

I had taken Misty to the vet today because her tail has been bobbing and I can kind of hear a clicking noise when she breathes. I didn't think much of it, but the veterinarian only gave me the options of either euthanising her or taking her back home for palliative care. She didn't take any x-rays, but she said there's a tumor or hernia that's causing her to breathe like that, and that it'll only get worse.

I couldn't bring myself to euthanise her today because she still looks so active and playful. When I look at her, I feel sad because I don't think she knows she's going to die soon. Did I make the wrong decision though?

[Hezz]

Two possibilities that should have been looked into, in my amateur's opinion. Air sac mites - treatment being simply a drop of 0.1% ivermectin directly onto Misty's crop skin, is number one. Number two is a thyroid malfunction or goitre. If Misty has a malfunctioning thyroid, this can be easily treated by adding iodine to her water. You will need Lugol's iodine or also called Iodine tincture - 25mg/ml is the concentration. Add three drops to 100mls of water. Give this to her for a week to start with, and see if there is any improvement, this can then be dropped back to twice a week. Unfortunately the vet seems to have latched onto a goitre being the cause - I would have thought any vet with any kind of empathy would have given either of the other treatments a chance too. There can be no cure for Misty if she does have a goitre, unfortunately, but giving her the other treatments cannot cause her any harm - especially as the vet has given you nowhere else to turn. I am quite shocked ........ but maybe this vet felt/saw something they didn't let on to you about - if it were me I would want to know why they arrived at this conclusion!

Katie, I don't mean to give you false hope, but give the other things a try - you may see some improvement. I certainly hope so. All fingers and feathers crossed this end for a positive outcome.

[Katie]

It was hard to ask her anything because I was so close to crying. Perhaps she could feel a lump or something. I haven't seen or felt anything, but I'll look tomorrow when I give Misty her medicine. She prescribed her some painkillers in case it becomes painful to breathe. She still climbs, sings and eats (a lot), so I don't think they're necessary right now, but I'll give them to her anyway.

What should I expect over the next little while? Will she eventually stop doing things? When should I take her back to put her to sleep?

[stace]

I absolutely agree with everything Hezz says. It could be air sac mites or her thyroid, unless the vet is certain it's a hernia or tumour. You would need to get on to this straight away with the meds Hezz has suggested to have hope of saving her, if this is the case.

And she is definitely a she. It concerns me that your vet couldn't see that.

[Katie]

Which should I try first? I know she supposed to die soon anyway, but I don't want to harm her with too much medication.

[stace]

I am not certain if you can use both together, although I can't see that they would be dangerous to use at the same time. Maybe someone else can answer that??!!!!

ARe you in the UK? If so, you can get Ivermection 0.1% from here online. If your vet is an avian vet, they will have it. See Hezz's instructions for use for air sac mites.

www.animalmedicationdirect.co.uk/ivermectin-spot-on-drops-01-pharmaq-brand-10ml-pr-5786.html

Lugol's Iodine can be bought online or in pharmacies. Oral treatment: Make stock solution of 2 ml Lugol’s iodine in 30 ml water. Mix one drop of stock solution in 250 ml drinking water. Use daily for treatment, 2-3 times per week for prevention.

[Katie]

(>_<) Unfortunately, I live in Canada. I'll have to try to find out where I can get some here.

[stace]

Nov 20, 2012 4:28:53 GMT Katie said:

(>_<) Unfortunately, I live in Canada. I'll have to try to find out where I can get some here.

From memory, small bird ivermectin is a vet-only prescription in Canada. You'll need to speak with the vet.

[barrieshutt]

Good info Hezz and both can be used together, the lump the vet found was possibly the enlarged goiter........scatt is availble in CANADA and will be okay to use for the air sac mites

[Deleted]

is your vet a avian vet ??
if not thats where you should be going ....a avian vet ...

[Marianne Marlow]

Totally agree with all of the advice given. Not sure that your vets advice is very good. But then I always try and explore all of the options.

Good luck and can we see a recent photo please?

x

[Hezz]

We don't even know whether the vet could feel anything!

I completely understand you were upset, Katie, and therefore didn't necessarily take in everything she told you, but any decent vet should have made sure you were okay with it all, understood what she was telling you, even providing you with a fact sheet to take home! And she calls herself an avian vet?!?! The iodine and ivermectin will not interfere with each other - one is for a parasite; the other for a thyroid condition. Barrie has already mentioned that, I see.

What to expect? I think give Misty the ivermectin and iodine, see how she is at the end of a week. Not sure whether the treatment should be repeated for air sac mites (the ivermectin), Barrie will advise on that. But I wouldn't start giving Misty heavy duty pain killers until she is showing signs of distress.

Lugol's iodine or also called Iodine tincture - 25mg/ml is the concentration. Add three drops to 100mls of water. This is the correct dilution to be given to budgies. I have it in my budgie box. Unfortunately Lugol's iodine comes in three different concentrations but if you have the concentration needed (25mg/ml) a pharmacy/chemist should be able to give you what you need.