# Muffin is sick :(



## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

She is very lethargic today and not interested in food  She had really watery poops yesterday, but was still eating her seed/pellet mix and millet. She also drank normally. Today she is very sleepy and hasn't touched her food, even when I put it in my palm right under her face. She pooped a couple times and they were more solid, but still pretty runny. 

I have her cage half covered now and I provided multiple food cups throughout the inside. I called a few vets and no one is available to see birds today  I am going to see if I can get an appointment for her with an avian tomorrow, but is there anything else I can do in the meantime for her? She has an appointment already scheduled for next Saturday but that is way to long to wait! I emailed a few local AV's to ask for advice and if I can bring her in tomorrow.

Also, she has fallen a few times in the week we have had her (she has really poor balance and clipped flights) so I hope she doesn't have any neurological damage from it  I am so sad. Please send good thoughts for my little Muffin!


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## TexTiel (Mar 17, 2013)

I hope it's nothing serious. Will say a prayer for Muffin this morning.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Here is a video of her just now. She doesn't seem to be any more puffed up than normal, and she is perching well. She still has wet droppings today and there is not much solid in them, probably from not really eating. My poor little girl  I don't have an extra heat source for her, but it is about 80 degrees F in our house today and pretty humid. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3wn4QSOYg

I tried to get a front view but the darn toy was in the way!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I haven't read your other posts about her, so I'm going to ask you some questions here to keep her history together for the sake of a health thread. 

First of all, you said you've only had her for a week, right? Is she a baby? Has she eaten well at all in the time that you've had her? Is there a chance that she isn't fully weaned yet and needs to go back to being handfed?

What color is the solid part of her droppings? Is it a normal brown/green, or darker? When birds are not digesting well or not eating due to illness, droppings may turn a much darker green, or even close to black. It would be helpful if you could post some pictures of her droppings in this thread, since being able to look at them may tell us a lot.

Does she have any other symptoms, like nasal discharge, tail bobbing, or vomiting? Do you have a gram scale you can use to monitor her weight, or can you buy one today?

She doesn't look too terrible to me in the video. She's still perching, she's holding her head up, her posture isn't awful. However, as I'm sure you know, sick birds can go downhill extremely quickly, so you'll want to monitor her very closely. If she really isn't eating, she needs to see a vet tomorrow and not any later. They can lose weight extremely rapidly when they're sick and not eating (I'm talking 10% or greater weight loss in a single day) and it's very difficult to bring them back when weakness/weight loss gets too severe.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

So I just went upstairs to check on her and she is pacing back and forth on the cage floor chirping and wanting to come out!!  I have no idea what is going on, but she is like full of energy now. I had her out of her cage most of the day yesterday so maybe it was just too much for her and she was overstimulated? I am keeping her in her cage all day today so she can try to rest and I guess I will just monitor her and see how things go. I will still try to get her in tomorrow if I can because I wanted to take her in regardless. Fingers crossed it was just stress and nothing else!


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

enigma731 said:


> I haven't read your other posts about her, so I'm going to ask you some questions here to keep her history together for the sake of a health thread.
> 
> First of all, you said you've only had her for a week, right? Is she a baby? Has she eaten well at all in the time that you've had her? Is there a chance that she isn't fully weaned yet and needs to go back to being handfed?
> 
> ...


I got her from a pet store, they said she is about 5 months so yes fully weaned. She is on a pellet/seed mix (Kaytee Grassland for Cockatiel) and was eating that fine, I also gave her a small dish of Roudybush mini pellets and another dish of just regular parakeet seed.

Her droppings, when they are solid, are normal green color. She hasn't had much of the white part, and the liquid is clear. No discharge, vomiting, or abnormal tail bobbing that I can see. She was breathing a little heavy this morning but has stopped since. Her eyes are open and brighter now compared to this morning, where they were half closed and sleepy. I don't have a scale but I really need to get one!

Thank you for your help! I will keep this thread updated


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

If she's perked up then I would just monitor her closely for today. If she hasn't had a new-bird vet visit yet, then I would definitely try to get her in tomorrow, for your own peace of mind. If she is sick, catching it early is extremely important, so if you feel like something might be off then you should definitely listen to your gut.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Freya had similar symptoms a couple of months ago. I panicked, rushed her to the e-vet, but luckily in her case nothing was wrong. She was back to normal within a few days.

If she looks better today, I'd say it's fine to wait until tomorrow to take her to an avian vet.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

This was her just now, little stinker! She wants to come out but I'm keeping her in so hopefully she will rest and eat today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qIgvSW0WcQ


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Awww, what a cutie! 

By the way, her cage looks pretty small. Have you taken a look at our thread of cage pics?


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Yes, I am hoping to get a new one in the next few weeks, just have to save up. I think she will be ok in this one for a little while because it is not too tall... she falls a lot and it is low enough where she won't get too hurt if she drops  but yes, she definitely needs a bigger one. My budgie only sleeps in his, otherwise he is out all day (one or both of us is home pretty much all the time) so most of the day is spent out of cage, I planned to do the same for her. For now it will just have to do


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Oh, yeah, it's definitely fine for now.  Just wanted to make sure you knew, since sometimes pet stores give people wrong information about cage needs. If she falls a lot, have you thought about possibly getting her a platform perch? She might enjoy that for resting/napping until her balance is more developed.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

I haven't but that is a good idea! Thank you


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## Nymphicus (Oct 11, 2010)

I do hope that Muffin gets well soon, and that it's nothing serious.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

About the cage, that one is not quite deep enough for a tiel (I've seen it in person) so it poses an increased risk of her hurting herself during a night fright (if she thrashes around in the cage). It's a good idea to have a night light on in the room when she's sleeping, and leave the cage partially uncovered so if she wakes up she's not as likely to get scared.  Check out the Prevue Hendryx flight cage on Amazon or Wayfair when you're ready to upgrade, it's a great deal and shipping is fee.

Keep us updated on Muffin! I hope it's nothing serious.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

I hope Muffin's ok  keep us updated!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Praying for your dear Muffin. -hugs-


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Muffin laid an egg!!!!!!!  I couldn't believe it. It looked like she was straining to poop yesterday, but could that have been her trying to move the egg down? Could this have been caused by us petting her back and unintentionally stimulating her? Oh no, now I feel so bad that it is our fault  She is acting normal this morning, but I need to go call the vet and make an appointment as soon as they open!

Is she going to lay more? should I just discard this one? it is dented because she did it from up on her perch and it hit the grate floor. I obviously do NOT want to encourage anymore!


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

Oh dear that's a shock!
I'm on my phone so i can't post links but...
On the screen in the top right is a search box. Type in 'hormone reduction' and one of the results should be the Hormone Reduction sticky. 
It has lots of tips on how to reduce hormones and how to prevent and deal with laying.

I have minimal experience in this, but i think you don't discard of the egg since she'll simply lay another to replace it.

Good luck


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

I figured out how to get links on my phone 
this is the article i was talking about. It should answer all your questions 
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

I looked more closely and the egg was actually cracked, so I took it out because I didn't want her to make a mess of it. Thank you for the link! Today is going to be a day of research  I'm hoping this was just the main issue and not anything else, fingers crossed we're out of the woods!


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## urbandecayno5 (Oct 24, 2012)

Holy cow!
She wasted no time


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Muffin Update from Vet Visit: 

She is basically a hot mess :lol: No more eggs today, but the vet said her vent is swollen so she might lay more. She thinks she has low calcium and that I need to supplement her with calcium drops. Of course the kind she told me to get is not in stores anywhere so I had to order it online and it's not going to come until Monday. But she thinks that's why she has poor balance, falls, why she can't use her wings as well as she should, and why her egg wasn't fully developed with a hard shell. I am going to try to give her hard boiled egg or something in the mean time. She already has a calcium block which she chews in her cage and I got a multi-vitamin for her water.

As for her wings, she pretty much said she has never seen or felt wings like that in her life  She said her bones don't feel weak, they just feel really deformed and some out of place a little, and the way some of her feathers grow is straight (point outward more than laying flat where they should). She said her flight feathers are long enough where she should be able to get some leverage at least, but she can't, so that's why she thinks it is calcium related too. She said she was probably born this way, which means if she has these visual deformities, she could also have things internally that weren't developed properly. The only way to really know is to do x-rays, which means using anesthesia, and is going to be $300-400  I don't think I'm going to do it. It's so much money, I don't want to put her under, and I just don't think it's necessary to her well being. She's not in pain and whatever happens is just going to happen. Some might think that is wrong but that's just how I feel about it. 

She was a very good girl for the vet  She let her handle her (a lot, actually) with only a few little nips and squeals  and she even sat on the scale all by herself! The vet was ready to towel her and I did the bird mom move, like "Oh no, she can do it on her own! My Muffin is a good girl!" :lol:

So I'm going to give her lots of "dark" time if possible and just keep watching her. Hopefully there are no more set backs (or eggs!) and maybe this calcium will help things out  It only cost me a $50 vet visit and a 2 hour round trip car ride  So much for a birthday present for myself!


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

sounds postive  hopefully the calcium kicks in too!
i think you made a sensible decision about x-rays... i wouldn't either - if they're not in pain, and enjoying life, then all's good!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I agree with your decision not to xray. If you're concerned about her organ function, you could always do bloodwork to confirm her metabolic function.


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Poor Muffin 
Hopefully she is now on the road to recovery.
Why x-ray if she is acting normal. Unless you have a concern with something in particular then I wouldn't either.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Whoa Muffin! Now we know she's definitely a girl. Aw I hope she's doing better now, poor sweetie. 

I hope that the calcium drops and dark time help. It would be great if the drops would improve her balance and wings!! 

I'm glad to hear that she was such a good girl at the vet's. I don't think that you needed the x-ray either.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Another egg this morning, also very thin and cracked, but I'm glad it passed!

Here is my beautiful girl today


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Egg #3 










Cracked again because she must have been up on her perch. It was still translucent, but definitely not as soft as the other two. I'm hoping that is a good sign. She has broken her pattern though, she laid eggs on Sunday night and Tuesday night, so I was expecting one yesterday morning but she took 3 days this time. I am hoping these dark hours are helping, and the calcium supplement is supposed to come in on Monday. 

Should I think about getting some dummy eggs so maybe she can just sit on them and get this whole process over with? (meaning maybe she will stop laying, because I have to keep taking the cracked eggs out)

p.s. she hates baths


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yes I would try dummy eggs. It can't hurt. Also, you could get some regular tums (not the flavored kind) and sprinkle some on her food for extra calcium. She's also going to need Vit D, any possibility she can go sit outside in her cage for a bit? She could eat all the calcium she wanted, but it wont get absorbed if she doesn't have any Vit D to go with it. You could also see about getting the featherbrite light online. I got one and its wonderful, never had any egg laying issues with my birds. I hope she stops laying soon, poor baby.

And I agree, x-rays would've been an unnecessary stress on her at a time when she's already stressed out. Totally not needed.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Thank you! I am going to see if I can find one soon


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## Teeler (Dec 12, 2012)

If she hates baths, have you tried using a misting bottle? I would hold my tiels over the tub and just keep pumping the misting bottle above them so it would fall on them like a rainy mist - they'd spread their wings and really get into it!



JuliosMom said:


> Egg #3
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

I have misted her a little bit, but not over the sink. that is probably a better idea than w she is on top of her cage


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You could try taking her into the shower with you...start off with her just sitting on the curtain rod. The steam from the shower would be good enough to start with.


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