my male budgie is dying

[tinkand bell]

Hi

My female budgie Tink has been out of breeding mode for a few weeks now. (she laid over 20 eggs in 4 months and broke nearly half of them) She is absolutely fine , unfortunately though I just found the male Bell at the bottom of their cage . He can't support himself, his wings are spread out and his breathing is labored. This came out of the blue! He was completely fine 2 hours ago. I left the house to do some shopping and came back to this. There have been absolutely no signs of illness in the cage. If and when he passes should I fill the cage with new toys for the female (who is extremely active and loves playing with toys and escaping from the cage or go out and get her a playmate?

[tinkand bell]

Hi again
My budgie Bell died less than 10 minutes after my submitting my post. I checked out a few sites regarding budgie illnesses and nothing fit with what happened here.

[Aqueous]

I'm sorry for your loss. I also lost my Buster not too long ago.

I think new toys are always good. It helps to keep them stimulated. My budgie Merlin seemed pretty depressed after Buster died and she pretty much came out of that after I bought her some new toys and rotated in older toys she hadn't used for a while.

You could also get her a new friend, but you should quarantine it for atleast a month to make sure it has no diseases to pass on to the bird you already have.

[tinkand bell]

thanks the quick reply. I've already moved some of her toys and am going out to get a new one tomorrow

[charmedagain]

HI i am sorry for your loss, It did sounds like he may have had an upper respiritory infection, Birds are clever at hiding there illnesses until it becomes to much for there little bodies by then it is usually to late to do anything about it...

I agree with giving your female plenty of toys to keep her occupied, offering little treats see how she gets on.

Also like Aqueous mentioned you could get her a new play mate but he/she would have to be kept away from her for atleast 30day days by then you should notice if there is anything wrong with the new bird,

Again i am sorry for your loss.

Mike

[tinkand bell]

Thanks for getting back to me Mike

I have bought a bunch of new toys for Tink and she actually seems fine for the most part, I wonder though, is 5 years old too old to be introducing a new bird into the cage?

[Zeppy`s mom]

I am so sorry that he died ! I`ve only had my bird for about 4 months now and I would be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad if my bird died . Its hard for me to imagine what it would be like after having your bird for so long .Anyway I am very very sorry that he died

[charmedagain]

I wouldnt say it was too old, Once they evertunally go into the same cage you will find that they do have some squabbles and there is a few feathers flying around but this is normal aslong as there is not blood drawn its best to let them sort it out between themselves but keep an eye on them.

Even if you never get her a new friend she will be fine with plenty of toys and lots of love from you and your family.

Mike

[pollyanna]

If I could ask one question here? You say Tink has just come out of breeding condition after laying a total of 20 eggs? Was Bell her breeding partner by any chance? The process of mating and nesting can cause a lot of stress on both male and female birds, and it's not uncommon for one or the other to suffer a stroke or seizure from stress, which sounds much like the way you described his death. He could also have been epileptic. Breeding time sadly causes a few losses because of many factors: stress, heatstroke, waning breeding condition, etc. I do not recommend allowing so many eggs, only two clutches maximum. And I do not breed birds over the age of 3 years, as its a heavier toll on older birds with more losses.
As for Tink, she will be fine with new toys to occupy her. Budgies are surprisingly resilient creatures! And what a lovely pied she is!
Hope this helps!