FINCHforum

My sister wakes me up saying there's some thing wrong with Ralphie! I know how to treat and diagnose finches, but hook bills are foreign to me. I asked if he had been given anything odd, she said a yellow bell pepper. My finches eat it, would it affect him? We don't know his age he was a rescue and has been fine on a healthy diet of life enhancing parrot alfalfa pellets and a mix of Volkman's soak n cook beans with pasta. When we work with him he gets millet. Could this new treat affect him? His front throat area seems soft and sore, maybe even a little swollen. He is fluffed, and doesn't move much, and stays on the bottom of the cage he nibbled a couple bites of millet, I thought he might be on a millet streak again and was starving himself like when we converted him to the beans n pasta. But he didn't perk up with food. Could this be sour crop like chickens get? He is in a hospital cage with warmth, water, and some millet as I got him to nibble it a little. What do I do?

the first thing that came to mind was a yeast or fungus. How long do you leave the cooked soaked food down for?

Budgie Ailments and Diseases
http://talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=4109
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In general Budgies are healthy little creatures and most live their whole lives without suffering from any disease, but as with all livestock, they are subject to a number of ailments and,because they are such small creatures, they do not have a great deal of resistance to illnesses. Prompt attention is very important.
The first sign of trouble is often finding the budgie roosting on both feet with its head tucked under its wing.
Pet owners should be aware that it is normal for a budgie to perch on one foot with its head tucked under its wing.
If the plumage is fluffed out and the droppings are loose,watery or green and slimy, it is a sign that all may not be well. The budgie should be caught and examined for injury, if none is obvious then the budgie should be placed in a seperate cage away from other budgies, and placed near heat e.g ontop of a boiler, infront of a fire or anywhere where it is free from draught and fume free,gas appliances are not recommended, obviously ensuring you do not put the bird anywhere where they will be too hot. A dish of water needs to be placed near the cage to provide humidity. If the illness is only minor then this is most effective. If the droppings are loose and green, very often the condition can be cured by using strong cold tea instead of water, this is soothing if the alimentary system has been inflamed for any reason.

Anal prolapse ( egg binding) is another distressing condition from which breeding hens can suffer, this very seldom occurs if the seed you are using during the breeding is mixed with a very small amount of cod liver oil emulsion. This is usualy caused by the bird trying to pass a soft shelled egg or a large egg. Very rarely can it be the result of constipation. The symptons can be fluffed feathers,tail held high, swelling around the vent, which in severe cases part of the intestine may protrude from the vent.

CoccadiaThis is a parasite which lays eggs in the intestines and penetrates the mucous lining. The eggs, called oocysts are passed in the droppings and can be picked up and swallowed by another bird. They multiply in the gut and eventually produce more oocyts, because budgies eat their old droppings this makes the disease very infectious within your flock.

TrichomoniasisThis is a disease which is caused by vomiting, the vomiting is far more violent then regurgitating seed, and can cause feathers to be matted, this disease can be transmitted to other birds by beak to beak contact. An effective treatment is the antibiotic soluble emtryl, at the rate of one level teaspoon per 3.8 litres. The solution should not be kept longer than 3 days, excess dosage can be dangerous and the medicine should be taken for the full seven days to prevent a resistance being built up to the antibiotic.

CandidiasisThis usually occurs in the mouth or crop, mixed with dead tissue and partially blocks the birds organs, birds are usually treated with a fungal antibiotic but very often the diagnosis is not made till the infection has progressed to far for a cure to be effected.

AspergillusThis affects the air sacs and lungs of the bird, but if the bird is fit and vigorous then it will overcome the disease before it reaches dangerous proportions.

Also this site is very helpful regarding budgies' health and cures

http://www.officialbarrieshuttbudgeriga ... lments.htm

thanks for replying,the food is frozen then ran under warm water to thaw, they usually eat it all, and she cleans and refills the bowl every morning. He is worse now, his eyes are huge and his movement is less. Liquid came out his nose. I'm afraid she noticed it too late, I think within the hour poor little Ralphie will be gone. His eyes show a lot of pain. But thank you for helping, and any other suggestions would be gratefully accepted. Our female is going crazy.

Seed normally does not effect birds in this way. I have and raise English budgies, they get a pellet diet mixed with seed. The sprouted foods, beans, greens and cooked foods are a supplement to the seed and pellets.

Are these the pellets you use http://birdsupplysales.ashopcart.com/ca ... .php?cat=9, they look nutritious, is he eating it? Check his keel/breast bone, if it is sharp he is going thin, if the breast is full and meaty then he is eating.

Keeping a heat lamp on him 24/7 will help reserve his energy supply, allow him to eat what he wants if it is millet and make sure he has water down/close by to get to.

Hey Cindy, the pellets we give him are the alfalfa ones from the same company. He did eat them ,in fact, he liked them a lot. Although we don't know what caused it, we determined it was a respiratory problem. Thanks for commenting though. The insight into the budgies is helping.

Is he wheezing? Hope he gets better soon!!!!!

I saw the pellets you are using and considered them at one time but the cost for the amount of birds I have was a bit high. They look really good!!!

How is Ralphie?