worried about Woody

[birdguhl]

Help please....

I have noticed for the last few days that Woody has been taking more naps than usual. They had had a couple of late nights though and I thought it was that, plus since Luee has joined my existing two Woody has been incredibly active and interacting intensely with both of them, so I thought he might be feeling a bit tired for that reason.

BUT yesterday he was definitely less active than usual and spent quite a bit of time just sitting still semi puffed up.

Today he has been the same. This evening his breathing seemed faster and his tail was bobbing.

He has eaten a lot this evening though.

I thought one poo (not sure if it was his) looked a bit softer than usual but nothing else noticeable.

He has been moulting and has a lot of pin feathers on his head. I thought the napping could be to do with this.

Berry and Luee both seem normal.

Should I be doing anything else at this point? I can put Guardian Angel in their water tomorrow. Is there anything else specific I should be looking for?

In view of recent 'confession time' I am feeling sick in my stomach.

Thanks

[Hezz]

birdguhl, sometimes moulting can make them more tired and sometimes grumpy with it. But the breathing and tail bobbing won't be affected by the moulting. If unsure, take Woody out away from the others, small cage, heat lamp and cover the top and sides of the cage to keep the heat in. Put the lamp at one side so that if Woody feels too hot he can move away from the heat source. Isolating him will give you a better idea of him over all, his poos, how much he eats etc.

If you are at all able, a video of him in isolation may help someone diagnosing his illness, if he is ill. Also isolate him away from the others in case there is something going on, not just into a spare cage beside the others. Keep him covered and keep him quiet. I am sorry I cannot suggest anything else.

[birdguhl]

Thanks so much, Hezz - you're a trooper - a list of contributions from you clearly shows up you're doing the 'night shift' from our point of view! (But not much sleep going on here...)

I'll take the suggested action.

One more thing I forgot to mention - he is due is second mite treatment and interestingly I saw him scratching his head quite bit yesterday or the day before. Do you have any idea whether it would be best still to give him it or to leave off if there is a possibility of anything else going on?

Good to hear that Smudge is doing really well.

Thanks again!

[birdguhl]

I have now put him in small cage away from the others.

The breathing thing - and droopy wings - is evident and this morning there have been a few loose droppings, as in not very good picture:



He has usual seeds and Guardian Angel in water.

This is a brief bit of video although getting it was difficult and he was still looking a bit alarmed (i.e.not fluffed up) here: (can't get it to embed)



Any further thoughts very welcome.

[Deleted]

I was just reading this thread budgerigarsforum.proboards.com/thread/5461/iodine-deficiency and thought the symptoms sound similar to your bird. It was the eating loads that made me think.
Just a thought, may help.

[birdguhl]

Thanks for this thought. They have an iodine block so wouldn't have thought would be a problem.

I am feeling a bit happier with him this evening. He has produced some more normal looking poos, eaten a bit and is looking perkier.

[skysmum]

Glad little woody is looking better, can't really add anymore than Hezz has. Moulting can make them feel off, i had a similar scare with my Fern back in the autumn, she was very fluffed up and i brought her inside for a week, she was fine with a bit of R and R. But the tail bobbing and breathing is something to watch. I must admit i cant see anything unusual from the vid, just maybe a bit wary of the camera. Hope he continues to do well.

[Hezz]

If he is due his ivermectin, I would go ahead, unless I got conflicting advice from a member or members who have had (bad) experience with treating for mites on a sick bird.

If the poor soul is eating heaps, he may simply be trying to bolster his energy levels for the heavy feather production he is going through. It takes a lot of energy for the birds to replace their lost feathers, so add a bit of protein to his diet - dry eggfood over his seed (won't hurt the others either), moistened and given separately, or cook him up a hard-boiled egg and feel him mainly the yolk. He won't eat the whole thing in one go, obviously, so keep the rest in the fridge and give to him over a few days.

The only thing I could pick up from the video was he did seem to be breathing rather quickly - like mine do after they have done a few high speed laps of the rooms.

[Deleted]

Mar 4, 2013 22:54:24 GMT birdguhl said:

Thanks for this thought. They have an iodine block so wouldn't have thought would be a problem.

I am feeling a bit happier with him this evening. He has produced some more normal looking poos, eaten a bit and is looking perkier.

That's good news, it was just another thing to rule out. Glad he's felling better.

[sarah*glittergirl2212]

I hope he is ok now x