Lera is doing well – she is truly our miracle budgie. Her beak still needs a monthly trim (even though she’s an avid chewer). Now that she’s feeling better, she’s back to climbing upside down and playing with “her” toys. Cauliflower is her new favorite veggie. We love our little Lerry berry.
On March 12th, we took Lera to the vet for a beak trim. Thirty days later, we had to take her back for another. She’s always chewing, so it’s amazing how quickly it grew back.
Here she is before and after her first visit (March):
Here she is right after her clip job this weekend. 
Not pictured – Harvey (who was there for moral support). The vet tech clipped off the end then filed it down with a dremel. I couldn’t watch – but Lera handled it like a trooper. Hopefully it won’t grow again. If it does, she might need some tests to make sure she doesn’t have an underlying illness.
Here she is before and after her second visit (April):
Much better. When we got home, she had some food and a nap, then was back to her usual hijinks. She seems much happier with her shorter beak.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperBudgie!
Yesterday we took Lera and Harvey to the vet. Harvey needed a nail trim and Lera needed a beak trim. We also wanted the vet to take a look at Harvey’s beak. His lower beak is missing a little portion. I didn’t notice this when we brought him home – his feathers cover it up and he has have his beak open to see it.
The vet has two office cats, Harry and Lloyd. Lloyd was fascinated by the budgies. Eesh.
After an attempt to get up close and personal, he wandered off.
But not too far. Good try Lloyd, but we still see you.
Here are the budgies waiting for the vet. Harvey was very sweet to Lera – sticking close by her side and grooming her. 
Harvey went first. The vet gave him an exam and filed down the little sharp point on the edge of his lower beak. It may or may not grow back – but we’ll keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t grow back strangely (jagged or in towards his mouth). After his nail trim, it was Lera’s turn.
We’re not sure what caused Lera’s beak to grow. We think it may have been from trauma. She might have bonked it – she did have some discoloration on it a little while back. But we wanted to rule out liver disease or anything else that might be going on. Her beak was clipped and filed and she was ready to go.
Before (it actually got a little longer than in this photo):
After:
Harvey after his pedicure:
The budgies were pretty calm throughout all the budgiehandling. I think it helped that they had each other for support. When we got home they both preened their ruffled feathers and took long naps. And of course, they had some millet as a reward for being such brave little budgies : ).
Some of the budgies (Lera and Emmy) love to destroy their broccoli florets. Broccoli goes everywhere! So I changed things up by putting their food clips on the bottom of the cage (out of the poop zones). It’s a new way for the flock to eat their veggies and it contains most of the mess. 
Little Lera looking lovely.
Harvey has taken a shine to Lera.
Luckily, she is returning his affections.
A lot of grooming is going on.
I’m so happy that Lera has found budgie love again. 
I think they make a cute couple : ).
A couple weeks ago we noticed that Lera was not doing well. Usually she is very active – climbing all over the place (usually upside down), playing with toys, asserting her alpha status and zipping around the room.
Lera was very still, just sitting on the grapevine perch with her eyes shut. We weren’t too alarmed at first, because she was still eating and drinking and wasn’t fluffed up. We put the divider in the cage, so she and her boyfriend Godie could have some undisturbed quiet time. Then she began having balance issues. She could barely move without looking like she was going to fall off the perch, so off to the vet we went. We took Gordie, too, for moral support.
Our vet examined her (she was a trooper) and thought maybe she had been traumatized in some way. Perhaps by another budgie? We hadn’t noticed anything like that happen, but then again, we’re not with the budgies 24/7. Because she was eating and drinking, her droppings looked normal and she wasn’t fluffed up or vomiting, he recommended that we just keep her quiet and bring her back in if things got worse.
The next couple days were difficult. We moved Lera and Gordie to the quarantine cage. We kept it covered on three sides and lowered the perches and food and water dishes. I kept some millet on the bottom of the cage so she wouldn’t have to climb to eat. I also added a drop of apple cider vinegar to her water. Lera stayed at the bottom of the cage, she still had balance issues (it was really alarming) and was “stargazing” (head tilted back and looking up). Harry and I spent a lot of time on the internet looking up her symptoms to see what could possibly be wrong. We thought that perhaps she had an ear infection, as it seemed to fit her symptoms. Meanwhile, Gordie was being a wonderful boyfriend, feeding and grooming Lera and snuggling up with her on the bottom of the cage.
After a couple days, Lera started to recover. She climbed up to the bottom perch and was more active. She continually improved and was soon playing with the paper on the bottom of the cage and climbing the cage bars. She was still a little “dizzy” so we kept her separate until her balance returned.
Lera seems to have recovered completely from her mystery illness. It really is amazing – she looked like she was at death’s door. After scaring the crap out of us, she’s back with the other birds, flying around the room and playing with the toys. 
We’re so lucky that we had a positive outcome. I’m hoping for only healthiness and happiness for our budgies (and yours) from here on out!
Look who’s one(ish)!
Lera’s presents were rings,
and marshmallows. She loves to shred!
And what would a birthday be without millet?
Happy birthday little Lera!
#naughtybudgie #shadybehavior #PooOrChew? # nonono #heehee #rulesdon’tapplytome