About diseases of budgies it is important to know each owner of feathered pets. Under good conditions of keeping and feeding, these birds rarely suffer from various pathologies. Most diseases are associated with violations of the rules for caring for parrots. You need to know your pet well in order to notice the slightest changes in its appearance and behavior in time. This will help to start treatment in the early stages and save the bird. Many diseases of parrots are characterized by a rapid increase in pathological manifestations and lead to the death of the pet.
Signs of bird health
The appearance and behavior of the pet can determine how well it feels. Metabolism occurs very quickly in these birds, and signs of budgerigar diseases are usually clearly visible. A healthy pet has a good appetite, is active and mobile, makes chirping sounds, it does not show excessive drowsiness. There are other signs that indicate a bird's well-being:
- smooth and shiny plumage without ruffle;
- the beak and cornea do not exfoliate and do not peel;
- eyes are clear and shiny;
- the parrot is sleeping, resting on one foot;
- the area under the tail is clean, without any litter;
- bowel movements do not have too thin or too dense texture.
If the parrot has no changes in appearance and behavior, then you can not worry about its health.
Signs of Pet Disease
Only a veterinarian ornithologist can determine exactly what disease a budgerigar can have. After all, each pathology has its own clinical picture. However, there are general symptoms that indicate a pet is unwell. You should immediately show the bird to the veterinarian if it has the following symptoms:
- refusal of food;
- lethargy;
- prolonged sleep, during which the parrot rests on both legs;
- cloudy eyes;
- noisy breathing;
- excessive silence or mournful sounds;
- loss of plumage, not associated with molting;
- lameness;
- cramps
- the bird is constantly frowning;
- liquid or tight droppings;
- sneezing
- scratching;
- a change in the condition of the beak and cornea.
These signs indicate various diseases of budgies. Their symptoms and treatment will be discussed later.
Types of diseases
Bird diseases can be divided into 3 groups:
- non-infectious;
- infectious;
- parasitic.
Non-infectious pathologies most often arise due to improper bird care. These diseases can be triggered by poor nutrition, untimely cell cleaning, hypothermia. Budgies are thermophilic creatures, they are extremely sensitive to all adverse factors. Such diseases can be easily treated if you take a closer look at keeping and feeding birds.
Non-infectious ailments include injuries. Birds most often receive bruises and damage during molting. During this period, their body is poorly protected by plumage.
Infectious diseases at home are difficult to cure. In this case, specialist consultation and diagnosis are needed. Infection often occurs if the house contains several parrots. Avian infections spread very easily. Insufficient and rare cell cleaning can become a provoking factor.
Like other animals, parrots can suffer from parasitic diseases. The invasion is transmitted from one bird to another. In pets, both external parasites (downy-eating, causative agents of scabies) and internal (roundworms, coccidia) can be observed.
Next, we will consider the most common budgerigar diseases and their treatment.
Obesity
Budgerigars can be overweight. Obesity greatly complicates the life of feathered pets. It becomes difficult for them to move and fly. The most common cause of obesity is a malformed diet. To get rid of this ailment, you need to transfer the bird to a diet with a restriction of fats and carbohydrates. Do not overeat. The pet needs to leave such an amount of food that corresponds to its age. You need to regularly release the parrot from the cage and give it the opportunity to move.
Sometimes obesity in birds develops due to a malfunction of the thyroid gland. If excess weight is not associated with excess food, then the parrot should be shown to the veterinarian. He will conduct the necessary diagnosis of the endocrine system and prescribe treatment.
Bowel disorders
Budgerigars often have diarrhea. The reason for this is usually a stale drink or an expired poor-quality feed. Also, diarrhea is noted in birds if there is a lot of fresh green in their diet. If the pet does not have weakness and lethargy, then it is enough to change the diet, as well as give the parrot twigs of fruit trees and crushed activated carbon. Cabbage, herbs and greens are excluded from the diet. If diarrhea is caused only by malnutrition, then these measures will help.
However, diarrhea can be a symptom of budgerigar diseases caused by infections. They can cause death of the bird. If diarrhea is accompanied by a deterioration in well-being, you should immediately consult a specialist.
Colds
In nature, budgies live in a warm climate. These birds cannot stand the cold. They need to be protected from drafts and maintain the temperature in the room at least +20 ... + 25 degrees. When hypothermia occurs, there are signs of a cold: the bird becomes lethargic and sleepy, discharge from the nose, sneezing is observed. The parrot often rubs the wax with various objects.
A cold bird needs heat. An incandescent lamp with a power of 60 watts is placed above the cage at a height of 35-45 cm. Such heating sessions are carried out for 1 hour 3-5 times a day. The other half of the cage is hung with a dark cloth so that the bird can go into the shade when it warms up. In a drinker you need to pour a decoction of chamomile and add 3 drops of lemon juice and honey to 50 ml of liquid. If these measures do not help, then you should contact your veterinarian.
Gout
This disease of budgies is associated with an excess of uric acid in the body. Gout is always the result of malnutrition. It occurs in birds, which are often fed human food. White nodules and red veins appear on the paws. They cause severe pain to the pet. In addition, lethargy, increased thirst and diarrhea, alternation of increased and decreased appetite are noted.
This disease requires immediate treatment by a specialist. A parrot can die from gout within 3-4 days. With this pathology, damage is observed not only in the joints, but also in the kidneys. In a veterinary clinic, puncture and opening of nodules is carried out, drugs that reduce uric acid are prescribed. A special diet is required, with the complete exclusion of animal proteins.
Hyperkeratosis
Hyperkeratosis is a disease of the cough of parasites. Pathology occurs due to a lack of vitamin A. In this disease, the waxwort (formation above the beak) grows, darkens, begins to peel and exfoliate.
It is necessary to include bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce and dandelion in the diet of the pet. They are rich in vitamin A. It helps in the initial stage of the disease. In advanced cases, the waxwort grows so much that the bird has difficulty breathing. This stage of the disease requires treatment by a veterinarian.
Beak curvature
Beak diseases in budgerigars include different types of deformities. This may be an innate feature of the bird. Beak curvature occurs in parrots that have had rickets or sinus inflammation.
Sometimes in adult birds, excessive growth of the upper part of the beak is observed. This is dangerous because the sharp process can injure the goiter. In such cases, the beak is cut. This procedure should not be carried out at home, it is necessary to contact a veterinary clinic.
Injuries
Most often, budgerigars have injuries to the head, legs and wings. The bird may strike during flight against windowpanes or furniture. Very often, limb injuries occur when the parrot claws in the curtains. With trauma, the following symptoms are noted:
- The bird is losing balance.
- The pet can not directly hold its head, it throws back on its side.
- Damaged wing down.
- A parrot drags a sore foot, avoids stepping on it, is lame.
- The damaged area is bleeding, redness or blueness of the skin is noted.
The pet needs first aid. With bleeding, you need to press on the damaged area with a swab dipped in hydrogen peroxide. If there is a suspected fracture of the wing, then the damaged limb is bandaged to the body. When injuring the paws, a tire must be laid on it. After first aid, the bird must be taken to a veterinary clinic.
Salmonellosis
One of the most dangerous diseases of budgies is salmonellosis. This is an infectious highly infectious pathology. Its causative agents are Salmonella bacteria.
Pets become infected with this disease through dirty food, infected water or droppings from sick birds. Salmonellosis causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. The parrot becomes sedentary, lethargic, losing weight dramatically.
Sick birds must be immediately isolated from their cage neighbors. It is necessary to show the pet to a specialist as soon as possible. Salmonellosis is deadly for parrots! Help the bird is possible only at the initial stage of the disease, antibiotic treatment is carried out. Unfortunately, most pets die from salmonellosis. Even with a successful outcome, the disease often becomes chronic, and the bird becomes a carrier of infection.
It is very important to remember that salmonellosis is a common disease of budgies and people. A person can become infected by cleaning the cage through the droppings. Therefore, care must be taken when caring for a sick bird.
Psittacosis
Psittacosis (ornithosis) is a parasite disease caused by chlamydia. Such a pathology can be transmitted from birds to humans by airborne droplets through dust from litter. In humans, ornithosis occurs in the form of severe pneumonia, with an atypical variant of the pathology, meningitis occurs. Therefore, when caring for sick birds, extreme care must be taken.
With this disease, the parrot swells in the parrot, an abundant mucus is released from the anus, and symptoms of a runny nose appear. In severe cases, convulsions and paralysis are observed. Treatment of psittacosis can only be done by a veterinarian. Prescribe antibiotics and special food with medicinal additives.
Mycoplasmosis
Mycoplasmosis is an insidious infectious pathology of birds. Symptoms of the disease of budgies caused by mycoplasmas may not occur for a long time. At this time, the bird can infect its neighbors in the cage, the infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Asymptomatic carriage can be observed for a sufficiently long period, and only with a deterioration in nutrition and pet conditions, the first signs of the disease appear.
With the activation of mycoplasma, the parrot becomes lethargic, inactive, its beak grows dull and pale. If you do not start treatment at the initial stage, then in the future the bird develops a cough and shortness of breath. If the respiratory organs are damaged, it is very difficult to save the pet. An urgent antibiotic treatment is necessary at the initial stage, this will help prevent the death of the bird.
Mycoplasmosis also affects people. However, it is impossible to get infected with this pathology from a parrot. In humans and birds, different types of mycoplasmas cause this disease .
Down-eaters
Papoedoids are parasites that live in the plumage of parrots. They cause the disease - malophagosis. Lop-eaters feed on particles of skin, blood and feathers. The parrot is worried about severe itching; the bird constantly scratches its paws or beak. First, small areas of baldness appear, then a strong feather loss and inflammation of the eyes are noted. A photo of the symptoms of the budgerigar disease caused by down-eating can be seen below.
With the advanced form of the disease, the pet loses its appetite and dies from exhaustion. The treatment of malophagosis is carried out using special insecticidal sprays for birds. Apply drugs: Front Line, Insectol, Arpalit, Celandine Spray. They are applied to the places of the greatest accumulation of parasites. The dosage of sprays is selected by the veterinarian. It is also necessary to treat the cell with insecticides.
Scabies
Scabies (knemidocoptosis) is a parasitic disease that is caused by a mite of microscopic size. The causative agent is most often localized on the extremities of the bird. Inflamed tubercles and growths appear on the paws. Pet agonizing itching. He constantly tries to reach his paws with his beak to scratch them.
Also, places of accumulation of ticks are formed on the wax, it becomes rough, covered with growths. Feathers and combs can be seen on the bird’s head. The beak is deformed and bent, because of this the parrot becomes difficult to eat. Strong exhaustion develops. Damage to the legs in advanced cases can lead to tissue necrosis and subsequent amputation of the limb.
Treatment is carried out with special insecticidal ointments. Additionally, antibacterial agents are prescribed to prevent infection of the combs and immunomodulators.
Ascariasis
In budgies, intestinal parasites can also be found. Most often, ascarids are detected in birds. These are roundworms parasitizing in the small intestine. A sick parrot becomes lethargic, loses weight dramatically, sleeps a lot, painfully responds to touch. Diarrhea alternates with constipation. Roundworms are transmitted from infected to healthy birds through droppings that have fallen into the feed.
Helminth therapy is carried out with special drugs. After completing the course of treatment, it is necessary to disinfect the cage and all bird care items.
Coccidiosis
This disease is caused by protozoan parasites - coccidia. They parasitize in the intestines of birds. For a long time, the parrot may not show symptoms of invasion. And only with a drop in immunity does the disease make itself felt.
The infected bird loses weight, its plumage becomes tousled. Decreased appetite and severe thirst. In the future, there is diarrhea with a bloody impurity and vomiting. A pet may die from dehydration. Infestation is often observed in young chicks.
Bacterial inoculation of litter is carried out to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to antibiotics. Coccidiosis treatment is carried out using antibacterial drugs.
Finally
It can be concluded that proper bird care helps prevent many pathologies. At the first sign of a pet's illness, you should immediately consult a specialist. It is important to remember that in parrots the metabolism works very quickly. Because of this, the symptoms of bird diseases are rapidly increasing, and the pet is not always able to be saved. Going to the vet in the early stages of the pathology will help save the life of the bird.