My Budgie has stopped moving one of his feet

[Martyn]

Oh god, PLEASE TAKE HIM NOW! God damnit, I told you to take him ASAP! From what you're describing, he may be dying as we speak. PLEASE TAKE HIM NOW! Even if it's not an avian vet, take him to a general vet. You need to understand that at the first sign of ANY symptoms or odd behavior, whatever they may have is at a serious point, waiting just guarentees their death!

At this point, you need to go see a regular vet... they CAN treat birds but they just are not as good as an avian vet. It is the same thing as a general doctor and a dermatologist, who knows more about the skin? That doesn't mean that a general doctor can't treat a skin disease... get it??

You are feeding him a parakeet's worst nightmare. I don't know what trill is but millet is HORRIBLE for a parakeet's diet. Millet is like ice cream for parakeets which is why they devour it down so quickly... they love it. Would you put a gallon of high fat ice cream in your body every day? That's what millet does to the parakeet! Fruit does not help parakeets as much as you think either. Parakeets need LEAFY GREEN type veggies. Fruit should only be a treat, not part of the main diet.

So PLEASE TAKE HIM TO A VET TODAY! His life depends on it and it may very well possibly be too late since you waited this long. The fact that he is now sleeping more often and has runny feces is a bad sign. You have waited too long and he may die as a consequence.

I hate to sound like an ass but this is why I stressed it so much the first time I posted. It is a VERY COMMON mistake among many bird owners to wait and see if the bird will get better when they become symptomatic.

Think of it this way, it's like when a human contracts rabies. You will NEVER know that you have contracted rabies until you show symptoms. Unfortunately, by the time you do become symptomatic, it's too late to treat you and you die. Only four people in the world have survived rabies after becoming symptomatic. With birds, it's almost the exact same thing except getting treated once becoming symptomatic from any disease can still save them as long as it's done quickly. Birds are masters at masking their illnesses because it is an instictual thing. Showing illness or sickness in the wild will cause them to be hunted/killed since they are the weakest of the flock.

PLEEEEEEASE TAKE HIM NOW!

First of all, it is not up to me whether we take him to a vet, it is up to my dad. Well anyway we did take him to a vet in the end.

My dad phoned up the place were we got Paulie from some three years ago, to see if could offer any general advice (and it turns out he knows a lot about budgies), and to see if he could recommend any good vets. Well basically, he said it was likely he got his foot caught in something and it had broke. He said that if the foot is black then the blood has stopped flowing in it which is a bad sign, but luckily for us his foot is it's normal colour, nice and warm but he cannot feel pain and that is apparently because a nerve might of been severed.

So the person we got Paulie off gave us the number for a good vet that he thought would be able to deal with the situation. So we phoned them up and he confirmed what the man thought about the leg being broken, he said it is best to wait a few more day's then if there is no improvement we could bring him in and the foot will be x-rayed. He said that the healing of a broken foot in a budgie can be quite complicated, and he may have to have it amputated depending on the results of the x-ray.

All we can do is hope his foot will heal properly as we dont particularly want to see his foot amputated. If it comes to that though we will support Paulie and help him out as best as we can. At least it is nothing more serious.

I shall keep you updated.

Thanks for the help (Y).

[ECEGatorTuro]

So the vet made a diagnosis over the phone? I'm surprised he didn't even try to see your bird.

Did you also tell him that he was sleeping more often, drinking more water, having runny feces? He may have also contracted a bacterial/viral infection also.

I hope he makes it...

[Daninku]

ECEGatorTuro is right. Take him now, why phone? Do you think a doctor can do a check up on someone over the phone? NO!! I broke my finger once, and I stayed with it borken for a couple of days. I didn't go to a doctor, my finger had normal colour. Until later I went to my doctor and recommended me to go to the hospital emergency, urgently. He made a note and I sffered a lot because I've waited to see what happens. I've done an operation and I'm lucky I have my finger now, it still hurts sometime after 6 years or so. Maybe you learn from this and take your budgie to a vet, I have 3 btw.

[Webby]

Take him to the vet. Take him asap. Hope your Budgie feels better.

[Martyn]

So the vet made a diagnosis over the phone? I'm surprised he didn't even try to see your bird.

Did you also tell him that he was sleeping more often, drinking more water, having runny feces? He may have also contracted a bacterial/viral infection also.

I hope he makes it...

Well he said he has seen it happen a couple of times with budgies. We told him about how he was sleeping more, drinking more water and having runny poo. He said he is likely to be sleeping more because he is tired and stressed out, and his drinking more water is causing the runny poo's.

I really hope he makes it as well. Thanks a lot for your advice, I really appreciate it.

How the hell would he tell you? He's a damn bird..

Kill it, eat it, get a new one.

Paulie shouts or scream's if there is something wrong with him, the fact that you can touch his sore foot without him flinching shows he cannot feel pain in that area.

As for your kill it comment, I am going to ignore that, just like I have ignored the other people who posted hurtful stuff like that (those posts have been deleted).

[The Pink Panther]

What colour is he? Also FYI "screams" shouldn't have an apostrophe.

[The Pink Panther]

But hilarious though!

[metallithrax]

You are feeding him a parakeet's worst nightmare

It isn't a parakeet, it is a budgie

The second quote is what I was going to put as a reply, until I looked at the google images results for parakeet.

In the UK, a parakeet looks like this

A budgie is like this

Is a budgie actually a parakeet?

[ECEGatorTuro]

The second quote is what I was going to put as a reply, until I looked at the google images results for parakeet.

In the UK, a parakeet looks like this

A budgie is like this

Is a budgie actually a parakeet?

There are many different species of parakeets. A budgie is also called a parakeet and when someone typically says the word parakeet, they are really referring to a budgie. There are different types of budgies (such as English budgies which are just bigger versions of regular budgies) but for all intents and purposes budgie = parakeet.

If someone is talking about a specific type of parakeet, they will call it by it's given name like "gray-cheeked parakeet", etc. and they tend to look very different then regular budgies.

So about 99% of the time, budgie=parakeet. :)

[metallithrax]

There are many different species of parakeets. A budgie is also called a parakeet and when someone typically says the word parakeet, they are really referring to a budgie. There are different types of budgies (such as English budgies which are just bigger versions of regular budgies) but for all intents and purposes budgie = parakeet.

If someone is talking about a specific type of parakeet, they will call it by it's given name like "gray-cheeked parakeet", etc. and they tend to look very different then regular budgies.

So about 99% of the time, budgie=parakeet. :)

Nice answer, thanks

[Andy07]

have you got a lil mirror or bell he could play with while hes injured to take his mind of things or maybe a nice honey treat... don't worry it will heal after a week or 2.

[Martyn]

Just thought I would update on the present situation. We all thought he had a broken leg at first, and we even made some changes to his cage to compensate for this (he had a horizontal ladder for his perch, which he had a lie down on and seemed very comfortable). For the next few day's he seemed to be fine, and just resting his foot. Then on Monday he showed a lot of improvement, started chirping at his mirror, went for his own food and seemed generally back to normal (bar the fact that he could still not move his foot).

Then on Tuesday he seemed to rapidly deteriorate, he basically slept all day and was pretty unresponsive. We were pretty concerned at this point, and my sister found the only avian vet in the whole of Liverpool on the internet (it was not even listed in the Yellow pages for some reason). So we took Paulie to the avian vet, the vet took a look at him and basically said that Paulie had a kidney infection. He said that as bird's quite often hide their ailments very well, he would not have been able to diagnose that he had a kidney infection a week or so ago, as we mentioned would he have been able to tell what was up if we had found out about this avian vet when he first had trouble with his foot.

So we left Paulie with the vet for the night, and the vet said there was about a 30% chance of Paulie surviving the night. The vet tried his best, and gave Paulie 100% oxygen, put him in an incubator, give him antibiotics and gave Paulie high energy food all night. The vet also told us that Paulie was half the weight of what a normal budgie should be, we were all amazed and shocked by this as to be honest Paulie eat's like a pig.

The next day anyway at about 10:00, we phoned up the vet's and had been told that Paulie was still alive, but still very sick and weak, but he would like to continue treating him as he believed that Paulie's condition would improve. We were then told to phone up the vet's at about 17:00 for an update, we phoned at about 17:30 and had been told that Paulie had sadly passed away at about 17:25, his kidney infection was getting better but his heart failed in the end.

Our whole family is devastated by the news. I know it sound's sad, but Paulie was part of our family and we all loved him very much and we all cried very much. This morning anyway we went to bring him home from the vet's. My dad made a little wooden box, and we put Paulie, his book and his mirror in the box. We then buried him in our back garden. Paulie was a unique bird and we will never be able to find another bird with his character.

Paulie Junior Fielding (2003 - 2006) Rest In Peace.

[hotdog666al]

:cry:

I know exactly how you feel, my 8 year old rabbit died a month ago, she was so close to us all and I loved her so much.

What you need right now is a big hug.

:cry: :cry: :hug:

RIP.

(To all mean replies, burn in hell, you bastards)

[Sheppard]

Aww im sorry mate, id be devastated if my cat died, at least hes not suffering anymore.

[hotdog666al]

at least hes not suffering anymore.

That's the thing.

Also, Did he have a happy life? If yes, then there's nothing to be sad about :)

[WelshBluebird]

I'm crap at these kinda things (god knows what its gonna be like when I have to go to someones funeral) so all I can say is I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

and please, no one go off on the route of saying its only a bird etc, if you've ever had a pet (or if your like me and havn't, but still like animals) then you'll know its hard to get over a past pet.

[Spyder Veteran]

i'd hate to say it but so basically everything ECEGatorTuro ended up being true. waiting is what did the poor guy in.

RIP

[macro]

Sorry to hear that it ended that way, but at least he's not suffering anymore.

[djesteban]

wow... I was about to tell ECEGatorTuro to STFU.... but damn... he was right all along. So I think I need to apologize (even if I didn't say anything, but was thinking it). It is insane how he said the bird was already in a very bad shape when you see external sign like this and to take him to the vet ASAP.

well, now it's too late for excuse and you at least took care of him and brought him to the vet.

I feel sorry for the lost of your bird. peace.

[illicit]

I am sorry to hear that, mate.

RIP

[ECEGatorTuro]

:cry: :no:

This is what I was trying to avoid!

Birds mask their illnesses VERY well. Even though a bird is eating a lot, with the wrong diet they may be underweight or overweight. A good indicator of a bird's weight is to feel his breast bone. You should feel a small ridge but it should not be pronounced or protuding out. If it is, the bird is severely emaciated. A typical parakeet will weigh between 32-50 grams (regular budgie, not an English budgie).

The only way to tell if there is something wrong with your bird is to be very paranoid. If you see ANY behavior change whatsoever (no matter how minor), get the bird to an avian vet immediately.

This is why I may have sounded like an ###### before but I was trying to get you to take him as soon as possible. I have seen this happen countless time to bird owners because of the "wait and see" attitude that most people have. Hell, even us humans have the "wait and see" mentality when it comes to our own health!

This is an unfortunate and tragic loss that could have been avoided. I can feel your pain and I hope you get through this quickly.

I myself lost two parakeets about 2 years ago because they fell ill very quickly (although one of them had a neurological problem). It was the most heart wrenching thing to go through so I know how you must be feeling right now.

If you do choose to get another parakeet when you're ready, I suggest you learn his/her every behavioral quirks so you can watch for any changes. Everyday I sit down and watch my three parakeets for a good 10 minutes before I take them out just to see if they are behaving differently. Also, if you do get another parakeet, you might want to get two. It's a lot of fun watching two parakeets interact than watching one play with the mirror.

Once again, my condolences... :(

[snyper]

Poor bird...

Life is tough. :/

[Martyn]

Aww im sorry mate, id be devastated if my cat died, at least hes not suffering anymore.

Paulie was not suffering, we made sure of that otherwise we would have had him put down as that would be the kindest thing to do. The vet said that all he would be feeling is tiredness, and eventually he would just slip away peacefully, which is what happened in the end...

That's the thing.

Also, Did he have a happy life? If yes, then there's nothing to be sad about :)

I think Paulie had the life of riley. He had us all well trained, sometimes I thought he was smarter than us! Paulie loved us and we all loved him, he knew that. The only thing I am sad about is the fact that he was only just three, and he was took away from us to soon.

:cry: :no:

This is what I was trying to avoid!

Birds mask their illnesses VERY well. Even though a bird is eating a lot, with the wrong diet they may be underweight or overweight. A good indicator of a bird's weight is to feel his breast bone. You should feel a small ridge but it should not be pronounced or protuding out. If it is, the bird is severely emaciated. A typical parakeet will weigh between 32-50 grams (regular budgie, not an English budgie).

The only way to tell if there is something wrong with your bird is to be very paranoid. If you see ANY behavior change whatsoever (no matter how minor), get the bird to an avian vet immediately.

This is why I may have sounded like an ###### before but I was trying to get you to take him as soon as possible. I have seen this happen countless time to bird owners because of the "wait and see" attitude that most people have. Hell, even us humans have the "wait and see" mentality when it comes to our own health!

This is an unfortunate and tragic loss that could have been avoided. I can feel your pain and I hope you get through this quickly.

I myself lost two parakeets about 2 years ago because they fell ill very quickly (although one of them had a neurological problem). It was the most heart wrenching thing to go through so I know how you must be feeling right now.

If you do choose to get another parakeet when you're ready, I suggest you learn his/her every behavioral quirks so you can watch for any changes. Everyday I sit down and watch my three parakeets for a good 10 minutes before I take them out just to see if they are behaving differently. Also, if you do get another parakeet, you might want to get two. It's a lot of fun watching two parakeets interact than watching one play with the mirror.

Once again, my condolences... :(

The vet told us bird's mask their illnesses very well, because if they are seen to be ill then a predator would easily pick them off in the wild. Again, the vet also told us that a way to tell if they are underweight is by feeling their breastbone, but he said that many owners dont do this because they dont know how.

I know you said to take him to an avian vet straight away, but the thing is we did not even know there was an avian vet where we lived. We looked in the Yellow Pages and everything, and my sister only found this avian vet (the only one in Liverpool) by using the internet.

Also, the avian vet said that if we had took Paulie to him a week ago then it would been unlikely that he would of been able to diagnose that he had a kidney infection, but when we took him later it was pretty obvious. Maybe we should of took him earlier, but like I said before he was starting to get better and showing a lot of sign's of improvement.

Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's help through this. Especially you ECEGatorTuro.

Me and my sister still talk to Paulie where we buried him, and I am sure he is happy where he is now :).