(Update!! 6/15) Jheri has a hernia

[Catherinedana]

My little girl budgie Jheri has a hernia and sadly, this is the beginning of the end. Girl budgies are prone to so many egg-laying related ailments and this is one of them. Many years ago, this happened to one of my other female budgies and I opted to try to have it corrected surgically. She died almost as soon as they made the incision due to the change in her blood pressure. This time, I will let Jheri stay with us and her two cagemates, and when it is her time, she will cross the bridge in the comfort of her own home.

She is still active and eating and her boyfriend, Sergio, takes care of her by feeding and preening her. She still flies around a bit as well, but spends a lot of time in her fuzzy hut, sitting on a faux egg since she cannot lay one herself now (silly girl). Please keep her in your thoughts and pray that, when the time comes, her passing is easy and quick.

Cathy :(

[Karen]

Aww, prayers on the way for her comfort.

[chocolatepuppy]

I'm sorry about Jheri.:( Hopefully she'll have a good bit of time left with you. {hugs}

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Bless her little budgie heart :love:

[Catherinedana]

OK - weird!! Thank you for your prayers and thoughts because I think something very special happened. The swelling at her vent has gone down to almost nothing. She is spending a lot of time out of her little fuzzy hut now and eating eating eating eating!!! When she isn't tail up in her cup, she is begging Sergio for a bit of regurge!! This is typical post-nesting behavior!! Was she mis-diagnosed? No telling at this point. We are NOT going to the vet again right now. She is still a bit unsteady on her little legs, but she comes out to fly and snooze in the sun coming through the window.

My little pastel girl!!! :D

[Casper]

I just now noticed this thread, and I'm so happy to hear Jheri is doing better!
Good vibes headed her way for the good news to continue. :)

[Catherinedana]

Since this weekend, Jheri has been out of her fuzzy hut pretty much all of the time and out of her cage a good part of each day. She has put a tremendous amount of weight back on and it flying well. Yesterday she was sittting on the swing that is hanging from the bird-room ceiling - that was always her favorite spot but I hadn't seen her there for a couple of months, even before she "fell apart". She was up there preening, then snoozing. She even shooed Jazzy away when he tried to take her spot. She is pretty much back to her old self again, although she does do a good bit of snoozing. I am floored!!

Strange how it happened, too . . .I told my husband last week that Jheri had really appeared to go downhill and I was expecting her to cross the Rainbow Bridge soon. I was so saddened because she is such a lovely little bird and such a trooper, but I figured it was her time. It was as though she heard me because the uphill climb began that very afternoon! Incredible!!

Isn't she cute!!??!!

[Karen]

So good to hear happy news! The power of Pet Talk prayers, indeed! :)

[Catherinedana]

She's still doing well. . .eating like a champ. The lump is still there, and it gets larger then smaller. She and Sergio were doing the nasty again yesterday so she can't feel too badly. She is in her fuzzy hut a lot more again, looks like nesting behavior so I guess she's not finished yet, but I wish it would end!! It takes so much out of her. But I'm just grateful that she is doing so much better.

[Pinot's Mom]

I'm glad she's doing better!! Pinot sends purrs, but I don't know if they would be appreciated...;)

[Catherinedana]

Well, the hernia has gotten quite big at this point, and although Jheri is still fairly active and eating well, I don't feel that I can ignore it any longer. I have made an appt with our vet for May 8 at 9:30 so that he can look at her and help me make my decision on what to do next. I know surgery is pretty much out of the question - it will kill her. I would rather have her cross the Rainbow Bridge quietly before her bowel twists or something like that. I am very sad :(

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Odd how it keeps coming and going isn't it? very wise to seek professional advice. Will be thinking of you both on the day

[Karen]

We'll keep Jheri in our prayers.

[Catherinedana]

I made the vet appt for this coming Saturday. I'm afraid I know what the outcome will be. This is very difficult. :(

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Good luck for tomorrow :love:

[Catherinedana]

We went to the vet today and it turns out that I made a very good choice for my budgie girl. My vet is avian certified and I have been going to him since I had birds living with me and I trust him implicitly. He said that it is a hernia and that there is probably some fluid in her abdomen as well. Fortunately, it appears that the hernia opening is quite large so her innards slide around quite easily rather than constrict dangerously through a very small opening (I know both sound horrible, but one is really worse than the other). He says that she is in very good shape otherwise and did not think that she is in pain or suffering in any way. Her quality of life is good and he believes that she can live with this condition for some time. We just need to keep an eye on her quality of life and how she is moving around and eating and take it from there.

So my little budgie girl is home and with some tender loving care an a little "Pawsitive Thinking" she will be a part of my flock for a while to come!! I'm so relieved! I really needed to know that I was making the right choices for her. :):love:

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Woohoo! that is great news :D

[Karen]

Yes, good news that she's not in pain or anything! What big worries one little bird can cause, amazing isn't it?

[Catherinedana]

Well, Jheri is going strong with her little bubble butt! This weekend she actually flew out of the bird room into the living room for the first time in a couple of months. Last time she did that, she crashed and had to be picked up off the floor. This time, she flew in strong and beautiful and landed on the curtain rod (her usual spot). Teacake, the lovebird, flew out after her and yelled at her for a while, then they both flew back into the bird room. She is eating well and trying the new foods that I am providing (lentils, beans, a special birdie mash) and not just seeds. Trying to get them all as healthy as possible. Edla, my male lovebird, turned out to be a fat boy when we went to the vet for a skin problem he is having so everyone's diet changed (not my own, unfortunately!)

Jheri is truly a trooper!! :D