Antibiotics For Budgies | Natural Antibiotic for Birds

Antibiotics For Budgies sometimes are the only way to save your Budgies. There are also many natural antibiotics for birds.

Like any animal in the world, budgies can become sick too. There are many infections out there, but the most dangerous ones for budgies are bacterial infections. In this article, we will cover bacterial infections, their treatment as well as the best type of antibiotics for your budgie.

How do you treat a bacterial infection in budgies?

There are three possible reasons why budgies develop bacterial infections and those are ‘poor hygiene, high emotional or environmental stress levels’ (Ware, n.d.). One more reason is nutrition so check out our latest post regarding homemade baby budgie food recipes in order to feed your budgie properly.

We always say that prevention is better than cure so make sure your budgie is always clean and that your budgie lives in a comfortable space. As we all know, stress is the leading cause of most infections and it can affect your budgie as well.
Now, going back to bacterial infections, there are several bacterias that can affect your budgie:

• staphylococci
• streptococci
• Aeromonas
• citrobacter
• clostridia
• e. coli
• enterobacter

As you can see, these are just some of them but believe us there are many more (Ware, n.d.).
If you are not sure that your budgie has a bacterial infection, pay attention to these symptoms: ‘loss of appetite, weight loss, listlessness’ (Ware, n.d.).

The best way to treat bacterial infections is by giving your budgie antibiotics. Some of the antibiotics that are good for your budgie are: ‘amikacin sulfate, amoxicillin, azithromycin, ceftazidime sodium, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, doxycycline, enrofloxacin, etc’ (Hoppes, 2022). These antibiotics can be given orally or could be injected. It all depends on the condition of your budgie and the developed infection. The most common infections that need to be treated are chlamydiosis and avian mycobacteriosis.

Besides antibiotics that are usually prescribed by vets, one more treatment that you can do is reduce your budgie’s stress. This is extremely important and sometimes if the stress is not reduced, antibiotics do not work at all. First, try to discover the cause of the stress. If you are not sure, maybe your vet can help you. But what you can do is you can check your pet’s environment and see if it is appropriate. If not, try to change it as much as you can.

Also, when the vet establishes that your budgie has a bacterial infection, clean thoroughly your budgie’s cage. If you have two budgies, separate them. You do not want your other budgie to get infected.

One more thing you can do is provide vitamins for your budgie. Sometimes vets include other medicaments besides the main antibiotics and these medicaments are prescribed to protect your budgie additionally. Vets usually prescribe ‘DufoPlus’ and ‘loford’ (“Bacterial Infections & Mega Bacteria / Megabacteriosis”, n.d.). We will talk about them later in detail.

Which medicine is best for budgies?

The best antibiotic recommended for budgies is doxycycline. It can be given orally or it can be injected. When the infection is serious, it is recommended to give your budgie doxycycline for 45 days. Once your budgie starts using it, it has to be used for this period of time if you want your budgie to be healthy. If doxycycline is given orally, then you have to reduce the amount of calcium you give to your budgie. Doxycycline can be mixed with your budgie’s food or water so it is easier for you to give it to your budgie.
Also, vets advise combining doxycycline ‘with a mixture of oats, millet, and sunflower oil (one part cracked steel oats is mixed with three parts hulled millet; add 5–6 mL of sunflower oil per kg of the oat/seed mixture)’ (Hoppes, 2022). If you start preparing doxycycline in this way, then you should continue doing it for the next 30 days.

Going back to vitamins that are considered good for your budgies, we will present you with two vitamins that could be combined with antibiotics.

‘DufoPlus’ is ‘a sugar-free multi-vitamin for budgerigars’ (Dr. Marshall, n.d.). It is used to reduce stress and improve breeding. It can be dissolved in water and given to your budgie. Since it is just a vitamin, there are not any serious side effects. ‘DufoPlus’ contains vitamin B, D and thiamine. The prescribed dose is ‘1ml to 400ml of drinking water, a ½ ml to 200gm of soaked seed or soft food’ (Dr. Marshall, n.d.).

‘Ioford’ is ‘a health stimulant for budgerigars which contains iodine, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and vitamin D’ (Dr. Marshall, n.d.). It is usually prescribed in combination with DufoPlus. This combination enhances the color intensity, fertility, and egg quality. If you have not checked out our latest post regarding budgie eggs and their quality, this is your chance to do it.

What is a natural antibiotic for budgies?

You have probably been wondering if there is an alternative way of treating a bacterial infection. Good for you that you’ve chosen our article because we will present you with the best natural antibiotics for your budgie.

Echinacea Happy Bird is known as a natural antibiotic for budgies. It strengthens budgies’ immune system and it is used for respiratory infections. In order to give it to your budgie, you can mix 2 g of the antibiotic in 1 kg of food and continue giving it to your budgie for 5/7 days. In water, you can break down 1.5 g of the cure in 1 liter of water. Mind you, the water has to be changed every day! („Echinacea natural antibiotic for birds“, n.d.).

One more natural antibiotic is Colloidal Silver. It is liquid and it can be given to budgies instead of water but also you can mix it with food („Colloidal silver by Birdcare company 250ML – natural antibiotic for birds”, 2022).
When it comes to herbal remedies there are several plants you can use. Check out our list below!

Chamomile can be used to reduce stress so you can use it instead of vitamins and other supplements. Passionflower also reduces stress. You can also combine chamomile and passionflower in order to provide maximum relaxation to your budgie.
Echinacea boosts budgie’s immune system and treats respiratory infections in budgies. In addition, garlic, found in every kitchen, can kill parasites and has an anti-oxidant effect. Kava kava that is from the pepper family and valerian root can calm your budgie down.

Oregano kills bacteria and budgies usually enjoy it. Oregano is antibacterial and can help your budgie in case of digestive problems and respiratory issues. You can use the one you buy in the supermarket but mind you, oregano oil is dangerous for budgies because it can erode their stomach.

Seaweeds defend budgies from different types of bacteria (gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria) because they contain iodine. In case of iodine deficiency, your budgie can have respiratory problems. Besides, you don’t have to cook it but budgies can eat it raw.

These are some of the most common herbs used as natural antibiotics. But here is a list of those you should steer clear of borage, calamus, licorice, life root, germander. They are toxic and you should avoid them. Of course, if you are not sure which ones you can use, contact your vet!

How do I get my budgie to take antibiotics?

I bet you wonder how you are supposed to get your budgie to take antibiotics. Luckily, you are reading our article and we will give you tips that will make this task much easier!

One way is to give your budgie its antibiotic mixed with food or water. You can always mix it with yogurt and different types of seeds or use the syringe to hand-feed the budgie. If the budgie can sense that its food contains something else, then you will have to give the medication to your budgie directly.

But sometimes it happens that you cannot mix the antibiotic with food or water and rather you have to give it directly to your budgie. This complicates things but doesn’t worry that’s why you have us!

Vets usually advise owners to use an eyedropper or needle-less syringe. When you go to your vet’s be careful to memorize his tips. Remember the amount of antibiotic that should be given and when it should be given. The rest is covered in this article!
First, prepare the antibiotic in the eye-dropper. Make sure not to scare your budgie and prepare your environment accordingly. Remove anything that creates noise and be sure that the lights in the room are not bothering your budgie.

Take your budgie gently in your hand and put a towel underneath it and wear gloves. You need to wear gloves to protect yourself and your budgie. Try not to hold your budgie too tight in order not to hurt it or prevent it from breathing. Check your budgie’s condition. If your budgie starts panicking, let it go. Your budgie needs to be calm and then you can give it the medication.
‘Place the tip of the eye dropper or syringe in one side of your bird’s mouth and aim the tip toward the opposite side of the mouth’ (Staff, 2017). Be careful to put only the tip of the syringe or dropper in the mouth otherwise you might block your budgie’s breeding!

Then, gradually inject the medication. During the injection, check your budgie’s progress and whether it has swallowed the medicine. It would be also good to talk to your budgie during the process. This can calm your budgie and reduce its stress level. Clean your bird afterward and give it a treat. The eye-dropper and the syringe must be washed with warm water and soap after the process (Staff, 2017).