Parakeet advice!

[Terra P.]

Hello all,
I just bought a parakeet from petco the 25th. when i brought him home I noticed that his stools seem to be more watery or loose than my other parakeets. He is always fluffed up, more than the others and seems to be sleeping alot, right now he has his neck turned around with face in back feathers. From what ive read, this means she is sick, (hoping she is a she) should i give her a few days and see if she gets better? Or should i take her back and get a new keet, (i did call petco saturday the 26th and told them what was going on and they said to give her a day and if not better bring her in and thier vet would check her out, they were closed for Easter) They told me to remove her from the cage though so she does not give my other birds what she has if anything. As of today she looks fine like my other keets not sleeping all the time and what not, maybe it was because it was new environment or something, should i still have thier vet check her out? Also i have a green keet that was given to me, an old man had "her" and had to go into a rest home and wasnt able to keep her, im not sure how old she is, she was really skitish and flew away whenever youd get near the cage, i got her a "male" friend and she has kind of calmed down. I do know that she has gone threw a molt, i clipped her wings so i could handle her more and noticed she had some feathers already clipped and she also had new flight feathers. Anywho what im trying to get at is her cere was a brown color kind of crusty ish looking, thats what made me think she was a girl but i noticed today that she has a bluish tent to it, could this be because shes going to mate? Or a new member of the family has arrived? Also i just transfered her to a new cage i just put them into today, could that have anything to do with it? The "male" keet i have with the green "keet" is still quite young i do belive.
In need your advice Pleaseeeeeee.
Anyone have any name idea's?? Im having a hard time finding a good name for my birds. I just call them the green one or blue one or blue with yellow face one :-/ .
Thanks for reading and for any advice
Terra P.

[VeraT]

You got your hands full of budgies dont ya! LOL It may have been just the move for the petco keet, I'd wait and see. taking her(he) back and forth may be more stress and start it all over again. if she'd (he's) feeling better good enough. how many do you have now? I go for exotic spanish names but our son opted for a killer name so our 1 budgie got named Tallon the Terrible. Great name for a little girl bird but she dose try to live up to it hehe :aiwebs_02

[danforth3]

Return the bird. It sounds like you were sold a sick bird. Apparently Petco has a reputation for selling sick birds. I would return it for a different bird. Make sure to keep it quarantined from the rest of your flock so that they do not get sick.

[Monica]

It's usually best advised to quarantine the new birds that you bring home from your current birds so that they will not catch diseases from the new bird if it has any. Quarantine means having the new bird in a differen8t room7 from the other birds for 30-45 days, making sure tat you cleany\ourself inbetween the different handlings of your birds and servicing the cages. They must have no interaction for this period of time. During quarantine, if possible you should take the new bird to your own avian vet, one whom you can trust.

It's also best if you buy from a reputable breeder as most pet stores don't do a great job with some of their animals, more specifically birds, rodents, and occasionally fish. There are a few good ones out there though, they are much harder to find usually. Try shopping around your area, try to find some discount pet supply stores, good reputable pet (or bird) stores, or even try looking for some qualified reputable breeders who could possibly even point you in the direction of a good avian vet. Have you tried looking for a bird club in the area???

I suggest that if it is possible, you get all your birds taken to the vet, especially the older one. The one that you thought was a female though now has a hint of blue may be a male that is malnourished or is having liver problems. If you can get good photos of your birds we may be able to help to tell you a bit more about them, though it's always best to see an avian vet (though prices can be expensive).

[KiwiNme]

hello,

I just got my 2nd bird from petco, and I've had a terrible experience. As others probably know from a previous post, she ended up having pneumonia. I took her back to petco where they treated her for 2 weeks (wouldn't let me give her meds) and she is back with us now, but still not 100% well. I am going to call them today and try and 'make' them pay for an avian vet appt at my regular vet because she's just kinda stopped progressing toward wellness.

If I were you I wouldn't wait too long to take action though. If you're attached to her and don't want her to return then fork out the money for a vet appt for her (and the others if you can manage- a checkup for mine was $45)....Good luck, and if I get petco to pay for my vet bill i will let you know how I did it!

[SweetPea]

I guess with those big chains, it really is a hit or miss.

My petsmart is not too bad! I can't complain too much about them!

I got Sweet Pea from them, and he's WONDERFUL!

I also just got Chickadee from them, and besides from the smell she emits, I can't complain! (I figured why she smells so bad though! In case anyone is curious, it was because Sweet Pea was caged on top where there was plenty of air circulation,whereas Chickadee was on the bottom, where it is mostly closed in to prevent little kids from sticking their fingers in there!)

I saw a beautiful Sun Conure at Petsmart too, even though she was sold. They wouldn't let the new owner take her home yet because they wanted to make sure she was fully weaned. She was so adorable. She came right up to me and was licking my fingers! The employee watched first, and then asked if I wanted to play with her. I did while being watched like a hawk. Some little kid came up and wanted to pet her, but instinctively, the employee became very protective, and told the kid to be extra careful with her!

He did not force the bird out, but rather told her to "step up" gently a few times, until she did.

So there's my two cents of some big store chain! :) I'm somewhat pretty satisfied with my Petsmart. :)

[CACPioneer]

Yes, it is hit-or-miss. Both my budgies came from Petco, and they have been quite healthy (a few little scares here and there, but nothing major...no vet bills as of yet...knock on wood!!). I went to Petco for the past couple of weeks to look at the birds, but they all have signs saying they aren't for sale. I finally asked, and they said that one bird tested positive for some sort of bacteria and so all the birds were under quarantine for a total of 5 weeks and were recieving preventative meds. So this Petco apparently does care about their animals which is nice to see!

I agree...keep your new bird quarantined. If it is possible, I would take your bird to the vet just to get a checkup. If a vet visit isn't possible, then I would just keep a close eye on your new bird's behavior. Oh, and congrats on the new bird!! :icon_mrgr

[Terra P.]

Thanks for all of your advice. I do in fact have her seperated from my other birds although I also have her in the same room. :aiwebs_01 I used to have parakeets when a little girl but then i moved and my mom didnt care for them very well. I've always had a love for birds. I unfortunatlly have'nt had very good luck with our petco, im also into fish and 99% of the fish i've bought from them have died from ick or some other unknown illness, (thier is one that is hanging on for good) infact I went in today to get more toys because i just feel bad for this little bird being alone, and i looked at the fish, they are just covered in ick ugh! I called petco before i left, and told them the situation again the guy seemed to not want me to bring her back and wanted me to give the bird more time, that they had just been shipped from CA (im in WA) and then not long after that i bought her and moved her again. I asked when the vet will be thier and he told me tomarrow. He sounded as though he didnt want me to bring the bird back. The bird is acting just fine now and is reallyyyyy wanting at the other birds!! But i still would like thier vet to look at him to make sure 100% but it also might bring it back again from the stress as VeraT said. I will call again tomarrow and see if i can bring her in for a check up. I have gotton attached to her and dont really want to return her. Funds are ltight with 2 kids 2mo old and an 2 yr old so i can't really afford a vet bill, but the lady from the other day at petco said if i brought her in during the garentee time that it would be free. We will see and ill keep you updated!

[PyscoFalcon]

Hello there - are you the Terra P that paints model horsies?
I wouldn't use Petcos vet - they have no idea what there doing and rought handle the animals.

I'd take the poor bird to an AVIAN vet.
Please please please never give a bird back just cos it's sick - it'll die otherwise.
What will happen if it get's sick a year or 2 down the line?
When you buy ANY animal you commit to it for life as soon as the money leaves your hands.

Sorry but animals are living breathing creatures and deserve to be treated as such. There not disposable.
I've had many an animal dumped on me for similar reasons.

[The Outlaw]

Frankly, I wouldn't exchange your keet. If one is infected, they ALL are. Exposure has made them contaminated. Many of the budgies and cockatiels sold in chain store will test postitive for pssiticosis or polyoma. Petsmart routinely vaccinates is birds for Polyoma, not sure about Petco.

THE OUTLAW