Despite having had an abundance of wild grasses to munch on, the toyboys can still find room for some fresh vegetables. On offer this time was baby corn & broccoli. When there is a choice, Bezukhov tends to go for the corn first. Cagney goes for the broccoli, although this would be usurped by peas if they were there. Cagney is the biggest eater. He is often the first to start eating & the last to stop eating.
Here they are dancing around the vegetable kabob….
Atilla enjoys her vegetables too but is currently in a shredding mood, i.e., eat a fraction then shred & throw the rest.
On Sunday there was very little change, if any. Atilla slept fine overnight, but all poop had got caught on her lump. I managed to catch her, wrap her in a tea-towel & remove the offending poop. Once again, I smeared vaseline with aloe vera gel onto her lump to either encourage poop to slide off or at the very least, make it easier to remove poop if it settles again. Fortunately, after the poop-clearing she was able to poop clear of the lump. In fact, during the day, only 2 or 3 poops got caught on the lump.
Red sore on left foot
The next day there was still no change – Atilla was sleepy. Once again, I caught her up & removed her overnight poop from her lump. Worryingly, Cagney seemed quieter & less active. His right foot did not appear to be any better. On closer investigation, I noticed he had a red sore under his left foot. I can only assume this is because he has been using it all the time & has been unable to rest it. He must be feeling very fed up.
About 3 times during the day I offered the seed pot to Atilla & she ate. On one occasion she made her own way down to the seed pot. She also ate some broccoli & of course anything that Cagney was offering.
The day after the Avian Vet visit, Atilla was still very sleepy & weak, in fact most of the time she could hardly open her eyes. I kept her warm in the Manor under the electric blanket. Her lump had got smaller due to the injection to reduce the excess fluid. It now hung down flatly rather than being big & round.
Cagney carried on feeding her. She did not accept any food/seed from me. I boiled up an egg & mixed in pellets that I had crushed to a powder, crushed seaweed, a pinch of Guardian Angel & broccoli & sprinkled a few drops of water that had the antibiotic in. I hoped this concoction would provide Atilla with more vitamins & hopefully more energy.
Cagney eating egg mixture
Despite Cagney gamely keeping up with feeding Atilla, his foot was no better so I decided to call out Mr Exotic Vet for the next day.
Come bedtime, Atilla made her way to the peg & after a little rest there, decided she wanted to sleep on the swing Bezukhov was on (the boys were sleeping on the two front swings). It is possible that she did not even know he was there as she was still barely opening her eyes, but either way, she jumped on it & landed beside a surprised Bezukhov. I offered my finger to Bezukhov who, still in shock, readily agreed to settle on the back swing.
Cagney feeding Atilla
The following morning, I found Atilla had made her way to the ttmss swing & was sitting there quite comfortably. I handed up the water pot & she slurped from it. She also climbed on my finger & walked up my arm, outside the Manor. I moved near the plant pot stand & she jumped on it! I think she appreciated the change of scenery. She sat there for awhile, being fed by Cagney. Bezukhov sat with them… all three on the plant pot stand.
Atilla's outing on the plant pot stand
When Mr EV & his assistant arrived, Atilla was back in the Manor & the toyboys were having a fly around the lounge. Naturally, Cagney did not want to be caught & flew off whenever Mr EV approached. Funnily enough, Bezukhov flew everywhere that Cagney did even though we were not after him. Cagney got a little tired & eventually he was caught when he flew into the Manor to hide.
Mr EV confirmed that Cagney’s leg was bruised. He cut his toenails as some of them were quite long & we assume he must have caught one, causing the bruising on his leg. We were to allow more time for his leg to heal.
Cagney preening a sleepy Atilla
Atilla was still weak so Mr EV had a look at her. He managed to prise off two large crusty poops on her lump that must have felt uncomfortable. I explained all that had happened with Mr AV. Mr EV said he would ring Mr AV & find out if there was any other medication to help Atilla.
It felt reassuring knowing that two vets would be discussing how to make my precious Atilla comfortable.
After Mr EV departed, I left them all locked in the Manor to calm down & rest.
Result of poop clearing
At bedtime, Atilla made her way to the peg & after a brief doze, launched herself at Cagney’s swing. For a few moments, they were sat side-by-side, Cagney looking a bit shocked at her supposed decision to share the swing. Then Atilla launched herself at the back swing where she settled for the night.
Atilla appeared to spend the night fairly comfortably, but by now her poops have turned quite green.
The travel cage was prepared with towels on the bottom & also a heat mat to keep her warm during the trip. I waited until Cagney had fed Atilla breakfast before attempting to remove her. It was easy to get Atilla into the small cage as she was still weak. Naturally, the toyboys, shot out the cage as I moved Atilla. They swooped over the travel cage & kept landing on it to talk to their leader.
The problem now was to get the toyboys back in the Manor so my assistant (my mum) was able to come with me to the vet, rather than toyboy-sit. I took Atilla into the bedroom. Fortunately, I received a text message from King Monty (over on the FeatheredFiends blog) who ordered the toyboys back into the Manor. Millet helped too.
So, off we went to see Mr Avian Vet. To say I was concerned is an understatement.
The diagnosis? The hernia is, as expected, beginning to cause complications. She has an infection to be treated with antibiotics. She was given an injection with a strong solution of antibiotics & also something to remove fluid from the lump/hernia.
The prognosis? The injection would make her sleepy for a few hours but then she should begin to pick up & start to eat again. Unfortunately, even if/when she recovers from the infection, another will most probably occur…. so it is just a case of making sure she is comfortable…
No matter….. I was bringing my darling girl home where she belongs, at the Manor, with infatuated Cagney, with adoring Bezukhov & her relieved mama.
When we got home, Cagney was on the platform perch (closest to the lounge door) shouting (almost screaming) with a crazed look in his eyes. His wings were shaking. He was distressed. We put Atilla in the travel cage on the poang chair & both toyboys just leapt about the Manor trying to get out.
Atilla sitting on the Poang chair
Atilla was still sleepy. I was very tempted to let the boys out but at the same time, wanted Atilla to rest. In the end, the boys settled down a little (as long as I did not excite them by standing up or walking) so I left Atilla to sleep on the poang with the electric blanket over her.
After a while she came to a little. I poked in some millet but she was not interested. A little later, I poked in some broccoli & this was more to her liking & to my delight she scoffed it down. (See video below). After this, I decided to let the boys out. They flew straight over to her & Cagney was squeezing his beak through the bars. Atilla reached out to him. I opened the travel cage door & Cagney perched on my finger, halfway in (he doesn’t like small spaces!) & fed Atilla. I think he fed her about half a ton of seed. And she readily took it. She then managed to get on my finger & wanted to come out, so I took her to the Manor.
Atilla remained sleepy for the rest of the afternoon & evening. Every so often she would wake to be fed & maybe have a brief preen. I could only hope the next day would see an improvement…
Atilla is in “shredding vegetables” mood. You will see by the photos that the celery and the broccoli really did not have a chance….
Oh, & I was covered in the stuff as she was shredding and chucking. It was down my top, in my sleeves & over my hair & no doubt I will find some rotting behind a cupboard the other side of the room...
Broccoli or corn? That is the question. It is a tough life being a budgie. A word of advice though…. if in doubt, have both…..
Broccoli for me!Bezukhov: Hmm... Broccoli or corn? Corn or broccoli?Bezukhov: I'll have broccoli tooNo... I'll have corn....Ah no... it has to be broccoli....
Atilla likes broccoli. These days however, she will nibble a bit but then immediately start destroying the rest, throwing it about like it has personally offended her. It’s advisable to keep your distance when she is in mid-destroy as otherwise you will walk away with pieces of broccoli embedded in your skin, clothes & hair.
Here she is in action: (Yes, Raspy decided to investigate the camera & Cagney joined her.)
What would you put your money on? I would have gone for broccoli. Every time.
But.
I would have lost.
Yes, it appears CAULIFLOWER is a hit!! A surprise hit!
In the past, I have presented the puddings with cauliflower & though they have not been scared of it they have barely managed a little nibble now & then. It really did not light their fire. I expected the toyboys to also give it a lukewarm reception.
I mixed up some tips of broccoli with cauliflower & left it out in the dish. I thought they would eat the broccoli at least. Here is how it looked before they tucked in:
Broccoli and cauliflower
When I took their dish away, I was surprised to see only green…. where were the white bits?!
Broccoli and.... broccoli!
The boys had picked out all the cauliflower! Here is a video showing them doing just that…. followed by a lesson from Atilla on how to steal the limelight!
In recent times, Atilla has been shredding any vegetables she is offered. She used to really enjoy broccoli. Now she just tears it apart in a frenzy. Fortunately, Cagney is on hand to get some regurgitated broccoli down her. At least whilst she is destroying the broccoli it keeps her occupied & out of trouble.
Yesterday, I pegged some up on the landing platform & by her perch. She tore it right up to the peg & it was scattered all over the floor.
Bezukhov likes to feel food under his feet. It does not matter what food it is, he has to put his feet in or on it. I managed to catch him on the broccoli earlier today…..
Despite having had an abundance of wild grasses to munch on, the toyboys can still find room for some fresh vegetables. On offer this time was baby corn & broccoli. When there is a choice, Bezukhov tends to go for the corn first. Cagney goes for the broccoli, although this would be usurped by peas if they were there. Cagney is the biggest eater. He is often the first to start eating & the last to stop eating.
Puddings & Toyboys 