Normal Droppings or Illness? (1)

Budgie droppings are not merely a heap of dirt. Sometimes, a closer look may reveal useful information about your bird's state of health. In this, not only consistency and color play an important part, but also the position on the cage floor. Normally, budgies stay on the same spot while they sleep at night. As a consequence, there should be a pile of droppings in the same spot. If the droppings are spread around on the floor, it's possible that the budgie has been disturbed by mites or other parasites while he was trying to get some sleep.

Photo © littleedenphoto on tumblr

What should we look out for?

Normal consistency: A normal dropping of a budgie consists of a dark, firm range and a white urine portion in the center. The urine portion can be a bit more creamy if your budgie recently drank or ate fresh food.


Sometimes the consistency varies a bit, depending on what your budgie ate or drank. There could be signs of indigestion (that go paired with retching or vomiting). If the consistency of the droppings is different from the normal consistency for a period of over two hours, it could indicate the start of an illness. Be careful with this.
 
Abnormal consistency - please take your budgie to the vet ASAP

Photo © Birds Online

The picture above shows the droppings of a budgie that has diarrhoea. The color is greenish and the consistency is rather wet. Wet droppings are never a good sign. If the urine portions contain more water than firm portions, your bird might suffer from a kidney problem. In both cases, you should not be afraid to take your bird to the vet because these illnesses are not taken lightly.

Photo © Birds Online

If your budgie's droppings look like the ones in the above picture, you should definitely be alarmed. The droppings have a rather voluminous consistency and the colour of the edge and the urine portion are the same.This points to a pancreas infection. You have to go to the vet immediately because this can be cured and save your budgie's life!

Bless you!

It's that time of the year again: cold and flu season has arrived in Belgium! Alas, I'm one of the unlucky ones.

Budgies are more vulnerable to cold and flu bugs than humans. Budgies can seriously suffer from what humans describe as a simple cold. Be extra careful when you have the flu, that can actually kill them when they are left untreated, or when their resistance is low.

Photo © imarocket-man

Stop your sniffling! How do I protect my budgies?

Rule 1: give them the right food

Let them eat their way to health during the Winter, with the right food and supplements

• brocolli and oranges strengthens their immune system
• a mineral block is also high on the list
• millet is also an immune-boosting snack. Use it wisely and don't overfeed them!
• daily vitamin supply to drinking water

Rule 2: keep your hand in front of your mouth

If possible, ask a healthy person to take care of the budgies for you. A veterinary once told me that a lot of budgies catch an illness through hand contact from humans. In any case, you always have to wash your hands with antibacterial soap before you handle the budgies. It's a good habit and reduces the chances of passing on your germs to the birds. Also keep your hand in front of your mouth if you have a cold, don't come too close to them unless you have to (don't touch them with your mouth) and don't sneeze or cough on them!

I know it's tough to keep a distance from your birds, but you have to do it for their sake. 

Photo © throughmycameraseyes

Rule 3: warm, cozy home

Budgies hate to be in a cold, moist climate. They thrive much better in warm and dry places. That's why I recommend you to keep them in a sufficiently warm room during day and night. You can also buy an Avian Sun, which is a lot like a UV-lamp, but for birds. It partially makes up for the absence of sunlight and vitamin D during the Winter.

Mites are Monsters (2)

As you may have read in my last post, mites can be a serious problem to budgerigars. I have collected some information on how to get rid of them, which I hope will be useful to anyone experiencing this problem. It's also a good reminder to all budgie owners that they have to look out for this parasitic infestation, as budgies and canaries are by far the common victims.

Treatment: the "safest and healthiest" options

Several veterinarians provide drug-based options, like Ivermectin. Vegetable oil has proven to be a safe and good non-medical solution. Avian Web offers a breeder testimonial in which the cage was filled with vegetable oil-soaked seeds that coated the budgie's legs and feet. This sticky cover suffocated the mites. Alternatively, Budgie Place recommends rubbing the vegetable oil on the infected area twice a day, in addition to disinfecting the cage thoroughly before starting treatment and again when the infection clears up.

Image © Greener PRactices

Simple common household products, such as either Benzyl Benzoate, Paraffin or Petroleum Jelly, have also been successfully used to treat birds with initial or minor infection. Similar to the vegetable oil treatment, the bird's legs are soaked in an oil or cream to suffocate the mites. This procedure is repeated every 3 to 4 days for 2 weeks. Even when the infection clears up, you have to remember that mites are easily eradicated by washing and changing perches, feeder cups and toys frequently and by keeping the cage clean and washed. If there is no hygiene, the parasites will come back in no time.

Controlling scaly face and leg mites

According to Avian Web, the big problem with Scaly Face is not how to treat an individual bird. The concern is how to stop the problem from affecting other birds. Scaly face mites are quite contagious and if left untreated, other birds will succumb to the disease.

Image © Cliff on the Talk Budgies Forums

In addition, because the infection only becomes obvious after six to twelve months, it can have quite a toe-hold on a flock of birds before the problem becomes obvious.

The mites also seem able to burrow into wooden perches in the cage. Avian Web recommends strongly to replace perches in an infected cage weekly, using natural perches instead.


Mite poison: the more "drastic" solutions, in case your bird is heavily infected

The area around the vent and the legs can be treated with paraffin; the eyes, however, should not be treated with this oily substance, since there is a risk that the bird won't be able to see anymore.

Image © burgebirdservices.homestead.com

The picture above shows a budgerigar that wasn't treated for a long time. These budgies suffer very badly from itching since they feel the mites burrowing under their skin, into their beak, and spreading down their legs. Please don't ever let it come this far.

If the area around the bird's eyes is full of mites, you should definitely take it to a vet. In the case of a strong infection, the vet will use a medicine containing the ingredient ivermectin. Some time ago, a drug called Ivomec (mostly known in Europe) was usually used. Due to its toxicity, its usage has been discontinued.  

Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent that you might want to use if you have an aviary full of birds, with the infection spreading everywhere. It's heavy poison for the mites and they will die within a very short time.

Important note: just like SCATT, this poison is not without risk for your birds. It's highly toxic and you shouldn't use it without consulting your veterinarian first, as an overdose may kill your birds!!! Your veterinarian will advise you further on its use and on other procedures to control the problem.

Also, do NOT use insecticides or anti-mite-spray. These agents are usually highly toxic and harmful for your budgies! Burrowing mites are harmless for humans; there is no risk of an infection!

All information is © Birds Online and Avian Web.

Read more information on parasite mites on budgies in these articles:

Burrowing mites (scaly face/scaly leg mite) on Birds Online
Scaly Leg or Scaly Feet Syndrome in Birds: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options as well as Prevention on Avian Web
Is Vegetable Oil Good for Scaly Feet in Budgerigars? on Zearticles
Does my budgie have parasite problems? on The Budgie Place 
Budgie foot problems on The Budgie Cage

Neo

I just have to write about him, because I want the world to know how special this budgie is.

Sweet little blue budgie, when I first saw him, he sat close to me without showing any fear. I became friends with him immediately. I often watched how he climbed up to his favourite spot in the aviary and sang there, sometimes communicating with his buddy Wit Zingbeest ("White Singing Beast") who was singing in the other corner. I often made jokes about those two plotting mischief together. Neo is very special because he has never been one of those "overactive enthusiastic" budgies, he is modest and doesn't like to be in the spotlight. But when I come, he always listens to me and sometimes twitters little noises back, as if he knows what I want to say. He is also very fond of millet and has a sweet, caring mate called Enza (named after an apple brand in Belgium - which is a great coincidence because she absolutely goes crazy for apples). Last year, I noticed that Neo started to get ill, and it has been going up and down ever since. Tonight, I fear for his life. I suspect he has got what we call the "crooked-neck illness" and if that's true, there won't be a happy ending. There is nothing you can do to cure it (although some people say that egg food helps, so we're trying with this and also with vitamins and other little things that may do wonders) He doesn't deserve it and it makes me really sad to see him like that. When I went to see him tonight, he was resting on one leg (which gives me hope) but also with his head hanging down to one side - darn illness - he is unable to fly because he has no sense of balance anymore. But when he saw me and my mum coming, he closed his eyes and started to make happy crunching noises. My mum helps him with eating and drinking and Enza gives him all the love and care he deserves. I can only hope that my sweet blue budgie will hold on until the Summer comes and survive this illness. I really hope he will stay with us.
I just had to get it out, because I'm scared that he's going to be gone soon.

Why so Ceres?

The cere (or operculum) is a soft, fleshy swelling on top of the beaks of certain birds. Budgerigars are among the birds that have ceres. Yesterday my fiancé saw a rock pigeon walking past us at the station and asked me if I knew what the actual purpose of the funny-looking thing on the bird's nose was :)

I looked it up, and here is my answer:

Images (c) Wikipedia

The cere plays a part in indicating the reproductive stage of certain dimorphic birds and also has a key function in respiration. It is located at the top of the beak and looks a bit waxy in texture. The colour and shape vary from species to species. The nares (nostrils) lie within the cere. Falcons for example have round openings in the cere where you can clearly see the nares.

Image (c) Raptor Biology

The nares are located within the cere and they connect to the inner beak, which is in turn connected to the respiratory system. Thus, the cere plays a crucial role in respiration and protection of the nares.

Why do budgerigars have ceres?

The ceres are there to give you keep you updated about how your budgerigar is doing. As I said before, the cere plays an important role in respiration. Like most humans, budgies breathe through their nose. When your budgie is in a bad condition, you may be able to detect it when the ceres don't look so smooth and shiny as usual.



Above: a healthy baby budgie with shiny ceres. Image (c) Northern Parrots
Below: a baby budgie with scaly mites. You can detect it when your budgie has a crusty beak and ceres. If you see this, you have to treat your budgie, otherwise it could move down to the legs and do even more damage there. Image (c) Talk Budgies

Budgerigars are dimorphic in a way that the males' ceres turn bright blue upon reaching maternity, while the females' ceres turn tan. During periods of fertility, female budgies' ceres also appear more wrinkled. Young budgies have pale pinkish ceres that are smooth and shiny.