All Entries Tagged With: "Dr Rob Marshall"

Tail Feather Loss

If you have experienced tail loss and have some reaction, do please add a comment at the end of the article(s). Naturally it is a problem that should be able to be cracked – somebody may even have found a cure to clean up the feather follicle to allow new growth to re-appear. If so, please do contribute.

Tails You Lose! – Part 1 of 2

You can breed a super bird with all the right head qualities, depth of mask and so on, until it gets to 5-7 weeks of age and suddenly it loses its tail feathers! It can be earlier or later. The bird is what I have always thought – a borderline French Moult victim. The reasoning is that the tails are the longest feathers in the budgerigar body, and thus require a perfectly nutritious metabolism to sustain these feathers soundly to full growth and permanence, until the first normal moult.

Megabacterial Infection

Weight loss over a prolonged period is consistent with Megabacterial infection. Megabacteria as a secondary disease related to immune suppression. So we have to look for another primary infection which may be a genetic weakness, but more often inherent Polyomavirus infection and / or stress related psittacosis.

Thanks from Dr Rob Marshall

I think your site will thrust budgerigar breeders into the 21st century and allow them to receive far more success and enjoyment from this entrancing hobby.

Budgerigar Health Part 2 of 5 – Medicine Selection

Sick birds are given their best chance of being saved by adding an appropriate medicine into the ER/Quik Gel formula and administering it directly by crop needle.

At the same time, whilst waiting for the final outcome of veterinary tests, adding Quik Gel to the drinking water may temporarily protect healthy in-contact birds.

Budgerigar Health Part 1 of 5 – Emergency First Aid

The first response to failing health should be to isolate any sick bird(s) to a hospital cage. The hospital cage should be pre-heated to 25-30 degrees Celsius, possess a perch, fresh seed and have Quik Gel in the drinking water. The floor should be lined with clean paper so that the droppings can be clearly viewed.

Quik Gel

Quik Gel provides an immediate and sustained source of energy to sick birds and is also used during critical times such as breeding. The disinfecting qualities of Quik Gel help protect against the spread of infection.

Quik Gel is a high energy emergency gel also containing vitamins and disinfecting agents. It is used to accelerate recovery from illness and temporarily prevent an infection from worsening while waiting for the results of culture tests. Very sick birds may need crop needle feeding.

Dr Robert Marshall

Any fancier can easily find an emergency solution, via a step-by-step diagnosis of any sick bird, to see exactly the right course to follow and drug(s) to give.

Dr Marshall is also arranging for supplies of the relevant approved drugs to be available within the UK for distribution worldwide.

New Publication “The Budgerigar” by Dr Robert Marshall

Fanciers will have seen a bird(s) with the nostrils within the cere exuding a fluid. This is often associated with darkened feathers immediately above the cere. The fluid can also possess a foul smell. At the same time, the nostrils can be seen to be closing as the fluid slowly hardens around the nasal apertures.