Status

Birdie was 9 years old in February or March of 2001. He's slowed down a little the last couple of years. Specifically, he spends more time sleeping and at times is a little grouchy. That is he has less patience which manifests itself in biting. As discussed below, he landed awkwardly for a time.

PROBLEMS: In November of 1998, he developed a crop infection which normally is simple to cure using antibiotics. His eating seemed to be off for about 24 hours. He clearly wanted to eat but couldn't eat much. Towards the end of that period, he stopped producing waste and could barely fly. He was found on our bedroom floor too weak to fly. We took him to a bird knowledgeable vet (very important). The very nice vet, gave him a battery of tests and diagnosed the crop infection as the only imminent problem. The hypothesis is that the something disease may have been brought in on the coins he plays with.

She also determined that he is covered with fatty tumors. This is not unusual in a senior bird, although his seem to be unusually plentiful. Such tumors are normally benign but eventually crush vital organs or prevent the ingestion of food. As a result of having the tumors, he weighed(s) 50 grams; 35 g's is a high normal weight.

While the vet knew a great deal about birds before we got there, I hoped she learned that one never pets a budgie on the head. This was one indignity that put Birdie over the edge.

TREATMENT AND TREATMENT DIFFICULTIES: A drop or two of antibiotics placed in his beak three times a day was prescribed. Manually giving him the antibiotics was extremely traumatic for him and us. Prior to this episode, he has rarely been caught, wings never clipped, and his cage has always been a sanctuary. Initiating physical contact has been his choice. We tried everything. Grabbing him, dropping a t-shirt or pillowcase over him to catch him, and I forgot what else. All only worked once. For example, after using a T-shirt to catch-him, every time I picked up a T-shirt he would take off. Turning my back to him produced the same result as he knew I was positioning myself for a capture attempt. When I finally gave up, he knew within hours he was safe from articles of clothing and towels and became the old friendly birdie. It is difficult to over estimate either his intelligence or learning abilities. It is also difficult to overstate the trauma he felt when grabbed in his sanctuary, his cage. For a while he was incredibly angry and then he seemed to give up.

We switched to plan b which had a lower promised probability of success. The vet prepared an antibody mixture that is added to his water and seemed to control his infection. Several times we thought he was cured, but each time, when the antibiotic was discontinued, the infection recycled. There has been some experimenting but as things stand, he may be on a lifetime regiment of antibiotics. On the regiment, he is fine.

He is also taking L-Thyroxin, a thyroid medication in his water to treat the fatty tumors. Some days he gets the antibiotics, others the L-Thyroxin. Because of bad Maryland winters, he won't reappear at the Vets until spring when he will be checked to see if this medication has reduced the size of the tumors. We are hoping for the best. Placing him on this medication has acted as a fountain of youth. His activity has returned to what we think is a more normal level than the year or so before treatment.

May 1999

Birdie was taken back to the vet about January or February of 1999. He was suffering again with a crop infection and his weight, when measured, had increased by 10 to 15%. While he seemed to fly okay, his landings were often short of the mark or very awkward. I had great fear we were near the end.

His level of medication was increased significantly. This seems to have worked. He is on a lifetime regiment of antibiotics, Thyroxin and Iodine and is doing really well. The number of days per week he takes the antibiotics have been reduced. He looks thinner but hasn't been weighed. He has lots of energy and is in good spirits. He seems to molt more than we remember him doing before he got ill. In any event, by George, I think we have it. Now, if only we could get him health insurance.

October 1999

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Jerold H Feinstein saftyrma@yahoo.com
Copyright Jerold H. Feinstein, PE 1999-01 All rights reserved; contact for permission to use
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