Constipated?

[starling]

My budgie, Cookie, seems to be having difficulty pooing. Apparently (as he's living with my parents), he was picking at his bum and they noticed a few hard poos stuck to it. So they've bathed him and cleared those away.

Will he need medication or should they keep an eye on his dietary / drinking habits? I know they give him fresh veg regularly.

Thanks!

[starlingqueen]

My guess would be he just had a few poops stuck to his feathers so was trying to clean himself. How much was stuck?

[starling]

I'm not too sure but, just a few I think, which were irritating him. That was my thought and just to check he's drinking enough?

[birdguhl]

If your bud isn't drinking enough, my vet said you can put a little fresh juice in the water to make it sweeter and encourage increased consumption.

[samwiseg]

I had a similar question once and asked my breeder for advice and he recommended lettuce as an aid to constipated budgies (not a permanent solution) but it can help if it is only temporary thing

[Hezz]

Sam is so right; lettuce is good at moving things along. All the advice is good, actually. But firstly I would be making sure that he only had a few poops stuck, then move onto the lettuce and juiced water if he still is having trouble.

PS For the lettuce, you wouldn't use the really dark ones like romaine or cos, but more the iceberg-type of lettuce.

[starling]

Thanks guys. I think my parents just panicked when they saw his attempts to poo. He is looking a lot better now, apparently.

[Hezz]

Nice one, Starling. It is hard for you to try to describe things you aren't seeing. Glad Cookie is all good.

[starling]

Cookie died a few hours ago :-(

[phoebe]

So sorry to hear about cookie. You didn't get much of a chance to do anything it happened so fast.

[starling]

Thanks Phoebe. I'll put a tribute up for him soon. That's 3 budgies dead in 10 months. I wonder if the second two died from grief. My entire flock gone

[ffiscool]

oh no, that is so sad! I am so sorry, how old was Cookie? Especially as he seemed to be perking up..

Re the others - were they all from the same breeder and siblings?

[starling]

Thanks ffiscool. Actually, it's 8 months (May, August and January). He was 6. No, they weren't related. At least, Maya was from Barry. Cookie and Pebbles were from the same shop, bought a few months apart, so they could be related I suppose. I never really considered they could be brothers!

[phoebe]

Jan 23, 2014 15:48:45 GMT starling said:

Thanks Phoebe. I'll put a tribute up for him soon. That's 3 budgies dead in 10 months. I wonder if the second two died from grief. My entire flock gone

It's so difficult and expensive to figure these things out. We do so much prevention but it only goes so far against our microscopic enemies. I really hope things turn around and you figure out what is happening.

[Hezz]

Ah, Starling, so sorry to see this. It must be so hard for you not seeing them, not really knowing what has happened. And it seemed Cookie was back to good health again ........ how wrong we were.

Rest in Peace, sweet little Cookie.