Dani are you around today?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
Dani are you around today?
Mon, 12-13-2004 - 5:15pm

Hi Dani,

This is off-topic but I know you keep birds and I have a dilemna. I've posted a long version of this on the Birds board.

Anyway, one of my two remaining budgies took a turn for the worse yesterday. Until then she had a faint "click" in her breathing. Yesterday it became a "clack" that I could hear from across the room.

I had her treated with a 2 week course of antibiotics from the vet in Oct. 03 for a dreadful noise she made when she flies, but that didn't help. I treated them with pet-store antibiotics in their water (erythromycin) in late Sept. but that obviously hasn't helped. I will take them to the vet if I get suggestions of what might help, but I can't really afford more antibiotics that don't work. I've got the dilemna of she's an old bird and I probably should just accept that she's old and dying, and not try the heroics with medicine, but the problem is that my other budgie is starting to exhibit the same faint click in his breathing if I hold him close, and I will do anything at this point to keep him healthy--It's NOT time to "let nature take its course" with him. He's not terminally ill at this point, but in order to keep it that way I will have to treat both of them...

My cousin is a vet (far away from me) and she suggested it could be air sac mites or air sacculitis...she sneezes with no discharge and rubs her head alot, and has the terrible clack in her breathing. Have you had any experience with this? I would do anything at this point, but I'm looking for suggestions to discuss with the vet since she's had a difficult time in the past deciding what the problem might be. And I will have to face my mother's disapproval since she knows I can't afford to go to the vet (and I'm going to her house in a week)...Thanks for reading.

Rebecca