Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 2/12/2007

Question
Hi
My budgie is 8months old. 2 days ago she was attacked by a dog.  We got to her and she was distress at the time had lost a few feathers but there was no blood. I picked her up and she flew straight into her cage.  She has not come out of her cage since the incident.  She is sitting on her top perch but is favouring her left food.  Her foot is outstretched.  She cannot climb up and down her perches she is sliding down the cage to get to her drink bowl. I have not seen her eat anything since the incident and today she has not drank any water either.  Today she has not moved from the top perch with her foot outstretched and her head tilted forward.  How long can she go without food or water?  I got her out of the cage but she was very distressed, she was walking but with a definite limp and I could not get her to eat or drink she just wanted to go back in her cage. Please let me know what I can do for her, thankyou

Answer
Hi, Jo-Anne.  Thanks for posting!

This incident tramatized your bird severely.  This is why she is not coming out of her cage.  

Budgies can't go for too long without eating and drinking...I'd say 2 days max.  However, your bird might be eating and drinking and you don't know it.  Check the water level in her bowl/water bottle to see if it is decreasing.  Do the same with her food dish...monitor it to see if you see any seed hulls/food level go down.  

Your bird might have been injured during this incident, so keep a watch on her and contact an avian veterinarian ASAP if things seem to get worse.  She could have pulled a muscle in her shoulder or leg, etc.  It is not unusual for a bird to slide up and down the cage via the cage wire...I have many parrots that do this when they are not injured.  It's just a quicker (and more fun) way to go from point A to point B!  

Your bird might not be willing to come out of her cage for some time.  If this is the family dog, you will need to keep the dog and bird separated from each other.  The bird will most likely fear the dog from here out, so be aware of this fact.  Birds and dogs/cats are natural enemies.

Chrys