How to care for my parakeet?

Help! Found an injured parakeet, how can I take care of him/her?

• Poor little fella, my brother found an injured and wet parakeet on the street this morning and brought it home. We have lovebirds as well so we gave the parakeet lovebird food. I think this bird has stopped bleeding, because there seems to be no blood on the tissues lining the bottom of the cage we put him/her in, but it keeps pulling its own feathers out. It's the saddest thing. For now, We've put in a mirror in the cage, hoping it will make it less lonely and I guess that seems to have worked for now. The situations not dire anymore But what can we do to help this poor parakeet? And help it heal? It can fly but its limping on one foot. (Can't take it to a vet, called 10 vets around the area. Only 3 help birds and its going to cost 130 at least) Would you recommend buying this bird a parakeet companion or waiting till its fully healed? And from here, how can I get this parakeet to trust us after all its been through? Please help, I really want this poor guy to live.

• Answer:

  Do not use any kind of sprays/aerosols on or near this bird. You would not be able to see the mites. As for "...a few dots on its forehead..." if you mean black color on the feathers this is a common marking on budgies but they are not mites since most mites are microscopic or if larger they are difficult to see. None appear as black dots that don't move. Let me try to address all your questions/concerns one by one. By the way, if the bird has mites they will not get on you as long as there's a nice juicy bird to suck on. Furthermore most mites are species specific. Quarantine the bird by keeping it in a separate room from any birds you already have. If the new rescue does have parasites or any type of illness keeping it away from your other birds will keep them healthy. Wash your hands before doing anything w your resident birds after working at the new birds cage, even consider wearing a top that is only for when you care for the budgie. Quarantine for a minimum of 30 days. For the moment don't worry about the bird being lonely, do not buy another bird---this one is stressed to the max and doesn't need a pet of its own. During the quarantine time feed the bird healthy seed, lovebird mix will do but 'keet mix has more of the smaller seeds that they prefer. Offer hard boiled egg (w the shell) and spray millet. For right now I wouldn't offer fruits/veggies until you are familiar w what the normal droppings look like. Soft foods can make the droppings loose & you need to be sure the bird doesn't have loose poop due to illness. Do not let it out to fly, the bird needs to rest, stay warm & eat well. As for the feather pulling, for the next 24 hours pay close attention & yes, that can be a sign of mites but it's not time to panic yet because it can just as likely (even more likely actually) be a symptom of stress from all it has been going thru----the equivalent of people who twirl their hair, bite their lip or inner cheek or fingernails. As for the blood & the limp: A vet could save his life and an exam is not $130. That being said, I don't know where you live or the going rate in your community for an avian vets services. My vet charges about $48 to examine the bird and if it needs treatment that cost is additional. An x-ray could certainly up the price to over $100 but you are under no obligation to have that done, the bird may not even have a broken bone. A cut can easily become infected in a bird, esp an already debilitated one. If it was caused by a cat it will most likely die since cats have toxins & really gross bacteria in their saliva that birds have no resistance to. Antibiotics for this (fr the vet) are not very costly. If the bird were to have mites you need to know the type so you can treat effectively. The cost for the medication is not expensive. But if there are no mites there should be no treatment, after all it's poison. Intelligent info on mites: http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/mites.html Knowledge is power. So---quarantine (for the health of your other birds), warmth, rest, food/water and reconsider a vet visit. Time will help the bird settle down and begin to trust his new family.