OK, try this. It will result in some throwaway but worth it if it helps him to get healthy. Go buy a fresh crisp head of Romaine lettuce, the darker green the better. Peel off one big leaf and wash it really well. Leave it whole. If Louie is allowed out of his cage, put it on top. If not, put it on the freshly cleaned and papered floor of his cage. Grate a little pile of carrot, finely, about a teaspoonful and drop it on the Romaine. 

Get  a package of frozen green peas. Take out about 5 or 10 and thaw them in cold water so they stay crisp. Gently pinch each one so the innards start to pop out. Drop them in the Romaine. You can give him a few kernels of corn to entice him but don't give many. Too fattening for the amount of nutrition.

Now scramble an egg with the shell crushed finely and added while mixing it. Use Pam so you aren't adding huge amounts of fat.

After it's cooked squish it between your fingers so the pieces are real small. Give only about a teaspoonful. He's a teensy bird so he shouldn't have much. Cook it to well done, no soupy spots.

You will probably have to throw this whole thing away several times while Louie gets used to seeing the big ole scary thing.

Bag the leftover romaine, keep the veggies frozen, and bag and refrigerate the leftover egg. Toss the leftover egg within a few days.

It takes a while, especially with budgies because they are really stubborn about food changes.

The carrots and Romaine will give good Vitamin A, the egg is good protein and the egg shell is good calcium.

BTW, the eggshell crushes better if microwaved for about a minute or two til it is crisp but not browned.

Other members may suggest other things to try.

Let us know how it goes.

Annie

I like Annie's ideas, but I would sprinkle a few of his seeds over the fresh foods so that they don't look so foreign to him.   di

What I did to get mine to start eating something besides seeds was to put the veggies in the middle of their seed dish.  I use a saucer on the floor for seeds, so it was easy for me to clear a space in the center and put a few cut up peas, corn, sweet potato and carrots.  I only did this in the evenings, since it was easier for me to clean and refill the dish with seeds only before bedtime.  And I did waste a little food, not too hard on the budget since for the most part I used the frozen mixed veggies and then just picked a few of each type out of the bag.  Annie and Di both have great ideas.  You may have to try several different ways before they try it, but once mine started eating one or two types it was easy to put different things in.  Now they eat everything the big birds eat--including small helpings of beak appetit and bean & rice mix.

Ok Annie- I am going to print out your directions and start today.

 

Louie is better this morning going bonkers on his seed.

 

I am going to go to the store today to get the frozen veggies and lettuce.

I am going to sprinkle his seed on the food too! 

 

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

 Elaine

 

 

 

 

Well today is Thursday and Louie was looking better, but yesterday he started sleeping alot again and being a little fluffed up.  The A/C is off as it has been raining and the temperature has gone down. 

 

Well I gave him some lettuce with carrots shaved on the leaf and pieces of a hard boiled egg.  No dice.  He did not go near it, but I took the egg off and he started eating the lettuce and some carrot.  I know he does like lettuce. 

 

I had to bring my cat to the Vet on Tuesday night and I know one of the girls there has birds and I told her about Louie.  She told me to buy corn bread and frozen veggie and grind it all up in the blender with an egg + the shell and bake it in the mini muffin pans.

Then to grind up a muffin and mix it with seed and to put some seed onto the muffin before I took it out of the oven and I did this but Louie would not go near his food.

 

So this morning I dumped all his food and gave him fresh seeds and the little stinker went and started eating. 

 

I bought him mix lettuce that is organic and put some in his cage this afternoon.

I went and bought more seed today, as I was running out, plus a heat blub and reflector dome with clamp.  I have it on him now just to keep him warm if he is feeling cold.  He is very quiet and keeps dozing off and is still fluffed up.

 

I know the vet gave him two shots, one antibiotic, one vitamin and did a fecal check and gave me Metronidoazole liquid that I give him each night.

What else can I do? 

 

I just called the vet to get the results of the fecal and he told me to call him back in an hour.  I will let you all know what happens.

Thanks

Elaine

 

I told you there would be lots of throwaway.  These guys are so hard to switch to different foods. Try weaving a large leaf lettuce thru his cage bars near his favorite perch. I know you bought the salad mix so maybe you can string some on a thin cotton cord. Tie it tightly so he can't get trapped in the string and then cut the ends short.  Maybe he will think it a toy and take a bite out of it.

Stop the egg for now and just keep trying with the carrot and lettuce. Once he seems to be doing really well add just the teeniest bit of egg, just a pinch. If that scares him try again in a few days.

I have used the corn muffins like your friend for years. My birds don't love them any more but I used to have birds who adored them. I used baby food sweet potatoes as part of the liquid to increase the Vit A.

How are you doing getting the antibiotic in him? Birds are so hard to medicate orally but it's the only way to get the proper dose in them other than shots.

Glad you updated this. I look forward to the poop report.

Annie

I called the Vet back at 5:30 pm and he said that the fecal was negative.

He said that it would take a while for Louie to get better, as it took four years for him to get sick like this.  That I should continue the Metronidazole liquid once a day and try to feed him the food he had suggested.  So what is he saying, that I did this to Louie?  When I first got Louie, I went to the pet shop and asked the worker there what I should feed Louie, should I give him Veggie,Fruit, etc.  He said, no just give him seed.  He said you don't want to chance him getting a toxic reaction to eating food, if it is not cleaned well then he would get sick from eating it.  So I made sure I bought him good bird food until I took him to the vet when he had a blood feather and he said to give him pellets and whatever I ate. That is when I found out that Louie did not like food or pellets. 

 

I had gone out to the store and when my sister and I returned, Louie looked shakey and I saw that he had not touched the lettuce I put in his cage before I left.  My sister put her hand in the cage to get him to come on her finger and he hardly moved.

 

She called me and when she put her hand near him, he just stood there.  I knew he was in bad shape and I got a small towel and we took him out of the cage and he just passed away in my sisters lap.  It was so sad, and we felt so helpless.  Louie was so delicate and I knew he just wasn't getting better. 

 

From Sunday after the Vet saw him and on Monday he looked like he was feeling a little better but Tuesday on, he then started to go downhill.  Everytime I went to his cage, I would look on the bottom thinking I would see him there. I am glad he was with us when he passed away and that I did not find him on the floor of the cage.  That would have really made me feel worse. 

 

So now, I feel like I just don't know anything about birds to get another one.  I feel that they are such a hard topic and so complicated to keep.  I will miss Louie very much, he was so vocal and imitated me and he loved the dogs.  I hope he is in a better place.

 

Thanks to all who took the time to answer my questions.

 

elaine

 

 

Oh Elaine, I am so very sorry. What a shame.

 

Don't blame yourself. Blame the dope at the pet store. I wish those people had to study and take tests before being allowed to open a store selling any live animal. Many of them have no clue about bird diets and health and don't care one way or the other. 

One guy here told me that he had no interest in telling people about veggies for birds. I had offered to make up a good parrot and budgie diet and make copies for him to hand out with bird purchases. He said right to my face that if the bird dies they will come back and buy another. I threw a fit for him and told him what I thought about his brain.  He lost a lot of business from me. I had 60 birds at the time.

 

Sorry, I am ranting.

 

Bless you. Give yourself some healing time and then go get another little guy. Now you know what to do for them.

 

Clean his cage super good just in case he had a disease that wasn't diagnosed.

Annie

Dear Annie and other Members,

 

Thank You for your post and sympathy.  I am going to try and educate myself so I can find out what happened to Louie. 

 

He was such a happy little guy and sang his heart out so much that we had to tell him to shut up so we could hear the TV.  I will miss that!

 

I have to clean the cage like you said and would like to know what to use?

 

Clorox good?  I'd like to take the cage outside with his dishes and spray clorox and hose it off. 

Please advise.  Thanks for everything.

eab

Yes, diluted Clorox is one of the best disinfectants. (Not for use with a bird in the cage though.) I had really good luck using Tide powder, dissolved in very hot water and added Clorox. Mop it on, leave it few minutes, mop it on again. Leave it for another, maybe 10 minutes, keeping it wet, then scrub and rinse really well, with a high pressure nozzle if you have one. The cage will sparkle. Be sure to get in every little crevice with a brush so there's no stuff left. Nothing will disinfect in the presence of stuck food and poop. The perches need to be replaced and the old ones thrown away. Wood cannot be disinfected enough to be sure it's safe.

 

BTW, the comment from your vet about feeding everything you eat is good except--no avocados, chocolate, high salt food and caffeinated drinks.

We have lists in the sidebar that will help you a lot. They are listed under Bird Care Articles and Links. Read all of them. There are hazards listed for things such as room fresheners and other toxic fumes. There are lists of safe woods for perches and toxic plants too.

Then ask here if you need more help. We are happy to look for information for anyone who has a problem.

Annie

Elaine, I'm so sorry you lost you baby.  di