Physical Examination of your Budgie
Unfortunately many people including some vets are afraid or simply do not know how to physically examine a budgie.
A thousand words can never equate to an acutal physical examination of a budgie, yet I've decided to share freely with you and perhaps your vet if necessary, many aspects of what could be the physical examination of your budgie.
Before you read the following, I encourage you to study the videos on Calming Budgies again. If you decide to practise focusing your intent to calm it can make many of the following comments irrelevant and unnecessary.
It is more important to know what is normal than to know what is abnormal, for if you know what is normal you will immediately recognise the abnormal. However correctly interpreting the nature and cause and treatment of the abnormal is something more again, and perhaps one of the most important reasons for paying for the services of a registered bird specialist if at all possible. As a vet or vet nurse or aviculturist you can learn normal by systematically physically examining each of many hundreds of birds that comes to hand using the protocols described below and comparing for bilateral symmetry and asymmetry.
How to catch caged budgerigars That are not hand-tamed
Before starting! · Be sure that you know a budgie’s normal gross anatomy.
· Know how to safely restrain the budgie without wearing any gloves. (See appropriate sections of this book)
· Have all appropriate equipment ready. This should include a clean cloth or paper towel and may include a hand held bird or a butterfly or fine fishing net net modified so that it has a padded rim.
· Refer to the illustrations on the following pages to demonstrate different budgie grips.
· It helps to feel calm, loving and confident. If you feel otherwise, especially if you are terrified that you will hurt your budgie or be hurt, I refer you to an amazing self-help technique described in www.emofree.com.
· Many people have such fears with their pet birds and as a result have never or rarely handled them or got to know them very well. I feel sad for their sake that they have not been helped or sought to be helped to overcome their fears. The benefits of doing so are many.
· I usually take a few slow deep breaths to release any tension of the preceding moments, then invite help through a silent prayer from any servants of God who are happy to help and then imagine saying to the budgie “I am or we are here to help you! Calm, Calm, Calm and at the same time I imagine beautiful calming energy flowing out of my hand(s) to and through the budgie, especially if it is caged by itself or in a room. With practice, I have become more adept at bringing my hand slowly up to and around the budgie. However, if I am uptight, rushed or distracted this doesn’t work for me and I have to use more “traditional methods” of catching our friend.
Remember it is much easier and safer to catch a hand tame bird than one that is afraid.
How do I catch Budgies in small cages?
· Aim to maximise the probability of your first attempt being successful.
· Be calm, quiet and slowly purposeful in your preliminary movements.
· If the budgie is flighty, before you attempt to catch it, clear the cage of swings, surplus perches, seed bells and other obstacles that may interfere with free movement of your hand within the cage or which may endanger the budgie if it takes fright.
· Depending on the budgie, you may find that using your spare hand as a distracter or decoy outside the cage will sometimes help you position the budgie within the cage in a corner and engage its attention while you are getting your other hand ready within the cage.
· I usually catch budgies in a bare hand but sometimes drape my hand within a paper towel , hand towel, or tea-towel for bitey ones.
· If the budgie is not flighty, work it quietly into a corner or to one end of the cage and then enclose quickly within your hand and/or the cloth.
· If the budgie is flighty, move it to a top corner or bottom corner of the cage and then pounce with hand with fingers extended and spread.
· Enclose the budgie with fingers still spread, and palm lightly against its back, and allow it to move around under your palm until it pokes its head out between your fingers and/or thumb.
· Grasp the bird’s neck chopsticks fashion with rigid straight fingers and maintain your grasp while you reposition the bird for a more comfortable grip as per photos.
· If you are using a towel or cloth “simply” enclose the budgie in it, locate its head and neck, and engage a comfortable grip of these while gently enclosing the remainder of the body.
· You now have caught your bird!
How do I catch my budgie in a cage that is taller or longer than my arm can reach? · If possible insert a divider in cage after removing unnecessary obstacles.
· Aim to move the bird to either the roof or the floor of the cage, and then proceed as above.
How do I catch my budgie in a small aviary?
· Disassemble or move to one side unnecessary obstacles. · If possible use a short handled, wide opening, padded rim bird net to catch the bird against the wire of the cage.
· Then grasp it through the net as above.
How do I catch budgies that have escaped within house? · Most escaped budgies in this situation will voluntarily return to their cage when they become thirsty or hungry provided it is left in sight, contains food and water, has the door propped open and a perch protruding outside the cage just below the door.
· Alternatively use a net to catch them as above.
· Alternatively, if the room can be really darkened with curtains and/or by switching off the light, position your self to catch the budgie by feel once it has settled somewhere, then get someone to switch off the light, and then immediately do it!
How do I catch a Budgie that has escaped outside? · If the budgie escaped from a small cage, position the cage with food and water and door propped open somewhere high and in sight, then wait and pray.
· If it escaped from aviary, place a small cage on aviary and proceed as above. Many budgies can sprayed gently with water until soaked then pressure hosed down with the hose fitting adjusted to its most powerful squirt!
· Consider using another budgie to call in the escaped one.
********************************************
“He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not – he is a fool, shun him;
He that knows not, and knows that he knows not – he is teachable, teach him;
He that knows and knows not that he knows – he is asleep, awake him;
He that knows and knows that he knows – he is a wise man, follow him.”
A fiesty little Budgie in a Hand in a Cage?
These notes are mostly about female budgies that are not hand tame. If they are hand tame many of the following steps are inappropriate.
So I’ve caught my budgie in the cage! What next? In most situations the aim is next to safely move the budgie out of the cage without it escaping so you can examine and/or treat it.
These notes detail some of the traps and dangers of what sounds like a common sense procedure.
Remember it is much easier and safer to catch, examine and treat a hand tame budgie than one that is afraid or that is not hand tame.
What do I need to know Before I attempt to move the budgie from where I have caught it in the cage. · Remember that it is likely to be hanging onto the perch or wire “for grim death”, and that its toes and perhaps its beaks need to be gently released, usually with your other hand, before you pull the budgie away.
· Encourage the budgie to change from its grip on the cage to a grip on one of your fingers.
· If you are using a towel or cloth you can begin to wrap this in under the budgie and often you will find that the budgie will voluntarily release its grip on the cage or perch to take a grip of the towel ... just what you want. Proceed to the other leg, and perhaps with a gentle nudge it will do the same with that.
· Be aware of the position of both wings also before you attempt to move the bird.
· Sometimes you will find that one wing has become poked through a gap in the wire cage and is likely to become broken unless you gently manipulate it back into the cage.
· Always try to secure the wings in folded position against the body of the budgie as soon as you catch it. Again, using a cloth or towel to wrap the budgie makes this step much easier than with bare hands in many cases.
· I usually leave attending to the beak so tightly biting the cage until last ... far better that it is occupied there until I have the feet and wings secure, than having it trying to bite me!
· Obviously, take care releasing the beaks from the wire to avoid a broken beak and being bitten.
What do I Now that I have secured the budgie in my hand in the cage? · The next step is to take your hand with budgie in it out of the cage. Sounds simple but Murphy’s Law says to effect that if things can go wrong they will, so be warned.
· The budgie can struggle and flap a wing loose at the most inappropriate time.
· Many cages have tiny doors which barely fit a hand, let alone a hand with a budgie in it, or a hand with a budgie and a towel! If at all possible avoid these cages in the first place, or modify them as soon as you recognise the problem.
· If it is a tight fit but your hand and budgie can be removed from the cage together, bring the budgie out head first, if possible as this seems to reduce the risk of injury.
· Be ready for the budgie to grasp the cage from inside with one or both its feet as it is passing through the door. If you don’t prevent this or realize that it has happened, you are likely to very quickly have a budgie with a broken leg.
· I usually take the bottom out of those cages with tiny doors then drape a large towel over the bottom as I tilt the cage on its side (after first taking out the water and food containers) and then fold down the bottom and access the budgie under the towel. With some budgie cages it is easier to remove the roof of the cage that the solid plastic “floor”.
· If you cannot remove the bottom of the cage, and your hand won’t fit back out while it is grasping the bird, you will obviously have to release the bird and try to get the bird out another way.
· Try tilting the cage on its side with open door upper most, and be ready to throw a towel or net over the bird as it attempts to climb or fly out.
Physical Restraint a Budgerigar with the help of a Towel Changing grip to bare hand restraint This sketch shows a step in changing one’s grip in order to be able to hold the budgie with a bare left hand.
The thumb is pressed firmly against the side of the budgie’s head below its eye and over its ear while the forefinger and second finger press against the opposite side of the head.
About Handling Budgies for Physical Examination
Important “rules”. · Be gentle.
· Be firm.
· Be relaxed in oneself.
· Be systematic and methodical.
· Avoid the use of gloves.
From the veterinarian's perspective much joy can be experienced while doing a basic physical examination on a minimally restrained very tame pet budgie. Such budgies will frequently interact, seeking preening and courting responses. However, a physically secure escape proof room, a relaxed state of mind, and additional time are prerequisites for this sort of examination.
For more detailed examination, and for less tame or proven unpredictable budgies I prefer to use of a thick towel of non-threatening colour and pattern for wrapping the budgie securely with wings folded against the body. The towel is wrapped so as to form a neck brace with some pressure put on the sides of the head in the vicinity of the budgie's ears and jaws and perhaps an index finger securing the top of the its head. Most budgies become very tranquil when held this way.
Talking to be the budgie in comforting tones, making appropriate "budgie sounds" and attempting to calm the wrapped budgie by stroking and "preening" the head with a lightning-quick finger are acquired skills which can calm the bird and render the examination of the bird less stressful for all concerned.
Try to finish the examination with some more gentling.
This photo depicts a budgie that is not used to being handled often. The budgie “Hank” has been calmed yet in an instant could fly “away”, although he is lying motionless in the author’s hand. The process beneath this involves the author calming himself then creating intent and the vision of loving, calming energy flowing constantly through the charkra in his hand into and through the budgie. The photo below is another view of this event.
Feeling Budgerigars
(Neck, crop, pectorals and abdomen)
Budgies have heaps of feelings but these notes are about you feeling budgies!
My purpose here is to help you learn how to become familiar with aspects of the physical examinations of budgies, be they healthy or sick.
Remember if you have to restrain a budgie that is trying to bite you, you must be careful how you hold the bird to avoid harming it, as well as to avoid being bitten.
Allow the budgie to breathe Throughout your examination of the budgie you need to remain mindful of the need to allow the bird to breath and the associated needs to avoid putting any prolonged pressure on the breastbone or keel, and on the soft space in the midline at the base of the lower beak.
Keep the budgies head up at this stage.
Feel the Neck, Crop and Abdomen As soon as you have the budgie in a comfortable grip, quickly run two fingers, one each side, down the front of its neck to its crop, then down the breastbone, and then across the abdomen to the budgie’s vent or “backside”.
This simple procedure, when combined with the knowledge of how to interpret what you feel, will tell you within seconds, a great deal about the health of your budgie and the prospects of it collapsing or going into shock if you plan to do a “complete” physical examination at one sitting. Obviously, if your budgie is sick, this is important to know!
So what are we feeling for in this first step? The simple answer is “Both what feels normal and what feels abnormal.”
However this answer doesn’t help you much if you don’t know what is normal, so first look at the basic anatomy of these areas. Refer to diagrams.
Neck · As you feel down the budgie’s neck, abnormalities you are checking for include the presence of any lumps, scabs and wounds. Lumps in the food pipe can be associated with canker (trichomoniasis) and choking, but could be a tumour, cyst, abscess, scar, or blocked air sac.
Crop What is the crop and where is it?
· The crop is a pouch-like expanded area of the oesophagus or food pipe at the base of the underside of the neck.
· As your fingers come to the crop at the base of the neck, you are checking to feel if the crop feels full of seed, other food, slime or liquid, whether the wall of the crop is thickened, whether there are any hard lumps. The findings need to be interpreted in terms o the time of the day and when the budgie was last seen to eat and drink. A full crop in the middle of the day raises suspicions of heavy metal poisoning, thyroid and proventricular diseases among other things.
Breastbone (Sternum) What and where is the breastbone?
· The breastbone is also known as the sternum or keel. It is located in the midline on the front of the chest of the bird as a long thin bone that should be perfectly straight.
· As you feel the sternum or breastbone and the pectoral muscles on each side you are checking to feel where the keel is protruding like a knife blade (a “danger sign”), and whether the pectoral muscles are convex (meaning rounded out)(they should be), flat, slightly concave or very concave (severely chronically ill and weak bird). You are also feeling for any overlying crop, lumps or scabs.
In this photograph the feathers overlying the sternum have been moistened and parted so that excessive fat and a large bruise can be more easily seen. The next photograph shows a closer view of the fat and extensive bruising of an obese budgie on an inappropriate “all-seed” diet that had probably crash landed like an overloaded plane and done itself much damage.
Breastbone to Vent What and where is the vent?
· The vent is also known as the cloaca, and in colloquial English as the “backside”, although in budgies that perhaps should be the “underside”! It is located in the midline behind the legs under the base of the tail. · From the rear end of the breastbone to the vent the abdomen should feel concave or caved in. A flat abdomen, or especially a bulging “pot-belly” abdomen is usually a sign of a serious health problem. See notes on abdominal swelling. A fluid filled abdomen is a major “danger sign”.
Vent · Be sure to feel the budgie’s vent (as much as you might dislike the thought ... be grateful it’s probably only once in a blue moon ... I do it many times a day!) and make sure it is not pasted over with dry or slimy faeces or poop! If it is pasted over, we call that “external constipation” and the budgie needs urgent help ... first aid is to pluck or wash away the mass of poop and matted feathers.
· If you recognise any of the “danger signs” or if the budgie is distressed or laboured in its breathing, put it quickly back into its cage to stabilise and rest.
A thousand words can never equate to an acutal physical examination of a budgie, yet I've decided to share freely with you and perhaps your vet if necessary, many aspects of what could be the physical examination of your budgie.
Before you read the following, I encourage you to study the videos on Calming Budgies again. If you decide to practise focusing your intent to calm it can make many of the following comments irrelevant and unnecessary.
It is more important to know what is normal than to know what is abnormal, for if you know what is normal you will immediately recognise the abnormal. However correctly interpreting the nature and cause and treatment of the abnormal is something more again, and perhaps one of the most important reasons for paying for the services of a registered bird specialist if at all possible. As a vet or vet nurse or aviculturist you can learn normal by systematically physically examining each of many hundreds of birds that comes to hand using the protocols described below and comparing for bilateral symmetry and asymmetry.
How to catch caged budgerigars That are not hand-tamed
Before starting! · Be sure that you know a budgie’s normal gross anatomy.
· Know how to safely restrain the budgie without wearing any gloves. (See appropriate sections of this book)
· Have all appropriate equipment ready. This should include a clean cloth or paper towel and may include a hand held bird or a butterfly or fine fishing net net modified so that it has a padded rim.
· Refer to the illustrations on the following pages to demonstrate different budgie grips.
· It helps to feel calm, loving and confident. If you feel otherwise, especially if you are terrified that you will hurt your budgie or be hurt, I refer you to an amazing self-help technique described in www.emofree.com.
· Many people have such fears with their pet birds and as a result have never or rarely handled them or got to know them very well. I feel sad for their sake that they have not been helped or sought to be helped to overcome their fears. The benefits of doing so are many.
· I usually take a few slow deep breaths to release any tension of the preceding moments, then invite help through a silent prayer from any servants of God who are happy to help and then imagine saying to the budgie “I am or we are here to help you! Calm, Calm, Calm and at the same time I imagine beautiful calming energy flowing out of my hand(s) to and through the budgie, especially if it is caged by itself or in a room. With practice, I have become more adept at bringing my hand slowly up to and around the budgie. However, if I am uptight, rushed or distracted this doesn’t work for me and I have to use more “traditional methods” of catching our friend.
Remember it is much easier and safer to catch a hand tame bird than one that is afraid.
How do I catch Budgies in small cages?
· Aim to maximise the probability of your first attempt being successful.
· Be calm, quiet and slowly purposeful in your preliminary movements.
· If the budgie is flighty, before you attempt to catch it, clear the cage of swings, surplus perches, seed bells and other obstacles that may interfere with free movement of your hand within the cage or which may endanger the budgie if it takes fright.
· Depending on the budgie, you may find that using your spare hand as a distracter or decoy outside the cage will sometimes help you position the budgie within the cage in a corner and engage its attention while you are getting your other hand ready within the cage.
· I usually catch budgies in a bare hand but sometimes drape my hand within a paper towel , hand towel, or tea-towel for bitey ones.
· If the budgie is not flighty, work it quietly into a corner or to one end of the cage and then enclose quickly within your hand and/or the cloth.
· If the budgie is flighty, move it to a top corner or bottom corner of the cage and then pounce with hand with fingers extended and spread.
· Enclose the budgie with fingers still spread, and palm lightly against its back, and allow it to move around under your palm until it pokes its head out between your fingers and/or thumb.
· Grasp the bird’s neck chopsticks fashion with rigid straight fingers and maintain your grasp while you reposition the bird for a more comfortable grip as per photos.
· If you are using a towel or cloth “simply” enclose the budgie in it, locate its head and neck, and engage a comfortable grip of these while gently enclosing the remainder of the body.
· You now have caught your bird!
How do I catch my budgie in a cage that is taller or longer than my arm can reach? · If possible insert a divider in cage after removing unnecessary obstacles.
· Aim to move the bird to either the roof or the floor of the cage, and then proceed as above.
How do I catch my budgie in a small aviary?
· Disassemble or move to one side unnecessary obstacles. · If possible use a short handled, wide opening, padded rim bird net to catch the bird against the wire of the cage.
· Then grasp it through the net as above.
How do I catch budgies that have escaped within house? · Most escaped budgies in this situation will voluntarily return to their cage when they become thirsty or hungry provided it is left in sight, contains food and water, has the door propped open and a perch protruding outside the cage just below the door.
· Alternatively use a net to catch them as above.
· Alternatively, if the room can be really darkened with curtains and/or by switching off the light, position your self to catch the budgie by feel once it has settled somewhere, then get someone to switch off the light, and then immediately do it!
How do I catch a Budgie that has escaped outside? · If the budgie escaped from a small cage, position the cage with food and water and door propped open somewhere high and in sight, then wait and pray.
· If it escaped from aviary, place a small cage on aviary and proceed as above. Many budgies can sprayed gently with water until soaked then pressure hosed down with the hose fitting adjusted to its most powerful squirt!
· Consider using another budgie to call in the escaped one.
********************************************
“He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not – he is a fool, shun him;
He that knows not, and knows that he knows not – he is teachable, teach him;
He that knows and knows not that he knows – he is asleep, awake him;
He that knows and knows that he knows – he is a wise man, follow him.”
A fiesty little Budgie in a Hand in a Cage?
These notes are mostly about female budgies that are not hand tame. If they are hand tame many of the following steps are inappropriate.
So I’ve caught my budgie in the cage! What next? In most situations the aim is next to safely move the budgie out of the cage without it escaping so you can examine and/or treat it.
These notes detail some of the traps and dangers of what sounds like a common sense procedure.
Remember it is much easier and safer to catch, examine and treat a hand tame budgie than one that is afraid or that is not hand tame.
What do I need to know Before I attempt to move the budgie from where I have caught it in the cage. · Remember that it is likely to be hanging onto the perch or wire “for grim death”, and that its toes and perhaps its beaks need to be gently released, usually with your other hand, before you pull the budgie away.
· Encourage the budgie to change from its grip on the cage to a grip on one of your fingers.
· If you are using a towel or cloth you can begin to wrap this in under the budgie and often you will find that the budgie will voluntarily release its grip on the cage or perch to take a grip of the towel ... just what you want. Proceed to the other leg, and perhaps with a gentle nudge it will do the same with that.
· Be aware of the position of both wings also before you attempt to move the bird.
· Sometimes you will find that one wing has become poked through a gap in the wire cage and is likely to become broken unless you gently manipulate it back into the cage.
· Always try to secure the wings in folded position against the body of the budgie as soon as you catch it. Again, using a cloth or towel to wrap the budgie makes this step much easier than with bare hands in many cases.
· I usually leave attending to the beak so tightly biting the cage until last ... far better that it is occupied there until I have the feet and wings secure, than having it trying to bite me!
· Obviously, take care releasing the beaks from the wire to avoid a broken beak and being bitten.
What do I Now that I have secured the budgie in my hand in the cage? · The next step is to take your hand with budgie in it out of the cage. Sounds simple but Murphy’s Law says to effect that if things can go wrong they will, so be warned.
· The budgie can struggle and flap a wing loose at the most inappropriate time.
· Many cages have tiny doors which barely fit a hand, let alone a hand with a budgie in it, or a hand with a budgie and a towel! If at all possible avoid these cages in the first place, or modify them as soon as you recognise the problem.
· If it is a tight fit but your hand and budgie can be removed from the cage together, bring the budgie out head first, if possible as this seems to reduce the risk of injury.
· Be ready for the budgie to grasp the cage from inside with one or both its feet as it is passing through the door. If you don’t prevent this or realize that it has happened, you are likely to very quickly have a budgie with a broken leg.
· I usually take the bottom out of those cages with tiny doors then drape a large towel over the bottom as I tilt the cage on its side (after first taking out the water and food containers) and then fold down the bottom and access the budgie under the towel. With some budgie cages it is easier to remove the roof of the cage that the solid plastic “floor”.
· If you cannot remove the bottom of the cage, and your hand won’t fit back out while it is grasping the bird, you will obviously have to release the bird and try to get the bird out another way.
· Try tilting the cage on its side with open door upper most, and be ready to throw a towel or net over the bird as it attempts to climb or fly out.
Physical Restraint a Budgerigar with the help of a Towel Changing grip to bare hand restraint This sketch shows a step in changing one’s grip in order to be able to hold the budgie with a bare left hand.
The thumb is pressed firmly against the side of the budgie’s head below its eye and over its ear while the forefinger and second finger press against the opposite side of the head.
About Handling Budgies for Physical Examination
Important “rules”. · Be gentle.
· Be firm.
· Be relaxed in oneself.
· Be systematic and methodical.
· Avoid the use of gloves.
From the veterinarian's perspective much joy can be experienced while doing a basic physical examination on a minimally restrained very tame pet budgie. Such budgies will frequently interact, seeking preening and courting responses. However, a physically secure escape proof room, a relaxed state of mind, and additional time are prerequisites for this sort of examination.
For more detailed examination, and for less tame or proven unpredictable budgies I prefer to use of a thick towel of non-threatening colour and pattern for wrapping the budgie securely with wings folded against the body. The towel is wrapped so as to form a neck brace with some pressure put on the sides of the head in the vicinity of the budgie's ears and jaws and perhaps an index finger securing the top of the its head. Most budgies become very tranquil when held this way.
Talking to be the budgie in comforting tones, making appropriate "budgie sounds" and attempting to calm the wrapped budgie by stroking and "preening" the head with a lightning-quick finger are acquired skills which can calm the bird and render the examination of the bird less stressful for all concerned.
Try to finish the examination with some more gentling.
This photo depicts a budgie that is not used to being handled often. The budgie “Hank” has been calmed yet in an instant could fly “away”, although he is lying motionless in the author’s hand. The process beneath this involves the author calming himself then creating intent and the vision of loving, calming energy flowing constantly through the charkra in his hand into and through the budgie. The photo below is another view of this event.
Feeling Budgerigars
(Neck, crop, pectorals and abdomen)
Budgies have heaps of feelings but these notes are about you feeling budgies!
My purpose here is to help you learn how to become familiar with aspects of the physical examinations of budgies, be they healthy or sick.
Remember if you have to restrain a budgie that is trying to bite you, you must be careful how you hold the bird to avoid harming it, as well as to avoid being bitten.
Allow the budgie to breathe Throughout your examination of the budgie you need to remain mindful of the need to allow the bird to breath and the associated needs to avoid putting any prolonged pressure on the breastbone or keel, and on the soft space in the midline at the base of the lower beak.
Keep the budgies head up at this stage.
Feel the Neck, Crop and Abdomen As soon as you have the budgie in a comfortable grip, quickly run two fingers, one each side, down the front of its neck to its crop, then down the breastbone, and then across the abdomen to the budgie’s vent or “backside”.
This simple procedure, when combined with the knowledge of how to interpret what you feel, will tell you within seconds, a great deal about the health of your budgie and the prospects of it collapsing or going into shock if you plan to do a “complete” physical examination at one sitting. Obviously, if your budgie is sick, this is important to know!
So what are we feeling for in this first step? The simple answer is “Both what feels normal and what feels abnormal.”
However this answer doesn’t help you much if you don’t know what is normal, so first look at the basic anatomy of these areas. Refer to diagrams.
Neck · As you feel down the budgie’s neck, abnormalities you are checking for include the presence of any lumps, scabs and wounds. Lumps in the food pipe can be associated with canker (trichomoniasis) and choking, but could be a tumour, cyst, abscess, scar, or blocked air sac.
Crop What is the crop and where is it?
· The crop is a pouch-like expanded area of the oesophagus or food pipe at the base of the underside of the neck.
· As your fingers come to the crop at the base of the neck, you are checking to feel if the crop feels full of seed, other food, slime or liquid, whether the wall of the crop is thickened, whether there are any hard lumps. The findings need to be interpreted in terms o the time of the day and when the budgie was last seen to eat and drink. A full crop in the middle of the day raises suspicions of heavy metal poisoning, thyroid and proventricular diseases among other things.
Breastbone (Sternum) What and where is the breastbone?
· The breastbone is also known as the sternum or keel. It is located in the midline on the front of the chest of the bird as a long thin bone that should be perfectly straight.
· As you feel the sternum or breastbone and the pectoral muscles on each side you are checking to feel where the keel is protruding like a knife blade (a “danger sign”), and whether the pectoral muscles are convex (meaning rounded out)(they should be), flat, slightly concave or very concave (severely chronically ill and weak bird). You are also feeling for any overlying crop, lumps or scabs.
In this photograph the feathers overlying the sternum have been moistened and parted so that excessive fat and a large bruise can be more easily seen. The next photograph shows a closer view of the fat and extensive bruising of an obese budgie on an inappropriate “all-seed” diet that had probably crash landed like an overloaded plane and done itself much damage.
Breastbone to Vent What and where is the vent?
· The vent is also known as the cloaca, and in colloquial English as the “backside”, although in budgies that perhaps should be the “underside”! It is located in the midline behind the legs under the base of the tail. · From the rear end of the breastbone to the vent the abdomen should feel concave or caved in. A flat abdomen, or especially a bulging “pot-belly” abdomen is usually a sign of a serious health problem. See notes on abdominal swelling. A fluid filled abdomen is a major “danger sign”.
Vent · Be sure to feel the budgie’s vent (as much as you might dislike the thought ... be grateful it’s probably only once in a blue moon ... I do it many times a day!) and make sure it is not pasted over with dry or slimy faeces or poop! If it is pasted over, we call that “external constipation” and the budgie needs urgent help ... first aid is to pluck or wash away the mass of poop and matted feathers.
· If you recognise any of the “danger signs” or if the budgie is distressed or laboured in its breathing, put it quickly back into its cage to stabilise and rest.
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Gold Coast Bird Vet Specialist Dr Ross Perry, PO Box 520, Mullumbimby NSW 2482 consulting strictly by appointment. To make appointment please ring 02 66795770 or 0419693279 or e-mail drrossperry1@gmail.com. Similarly book your appointment for your long distance phone or Skype (DoctorRossPerry) or iChat (DoctorRossPerry) consultations with Dr Ross Perry.