# Techniques for giving medication



## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

So I have little hands which makes giving buttercup her meds (she has some kind of infection) really difficult because she's not a fan of being restrained or having a syringe full of foul tasting liquid shoved in her beak, surprisingly. Is there any actual technique to doing it? The vet showed me how to do it where you hold them on your chest with one hand and then put the syringe to their beak with the other hand so they bite it and then squeeze a bit in a time so you don't, you know, drown them but it's the actual holding part that is getting me.
Ok I don't know how to explain this but I'll try! I hold her lower neck/back/wings but her legs kick around and she uses my chest to push off and often manages to wiggle out of my ridiculous toddler sized hand and run up to my shoulder. Is there a better way to hold her? I feel like if my hand wrapped around her more, like the vets did, it would be sooo much easier. I don't want to use a towel as she's super scared of anything new, she won't even stand on her shower perch or play stand and they've been around for months.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

You don't actually have to get the syringe into their beak. A much easier way to do it is to hold the bird on their side against your chest and drip the meds onto the corner of their beak. As long as you have the bird's head restrained so they can't shake it off, they'll instinctively open up and let the meds fall into their mouth.

Here's an older post where I wrote up a bunch of info on giving oral meds: http://talkcockatiels.com/showpost.php?p=280373&postcount=2


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

Thanks, I did it again my way this morning and it went better. I think she gets what's expected of her now and it's only the second time so that's helpful. She didn't fight as much and I'm lucky because she bites onto the syringe so it's really easy to get it in her mouth. The only thing is that after I give it to her she shakes her head and some of it comes out. It's only a .06ml dosage so I'm kinda worried she's not getting enough for it to work. The vet said it's slightly higher than needed to account for that kinda thing but stilllllll... Is there anyway to stop that part? The rest seems to be fine now.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

In my experience, they're always going to do some head shaking after meds because that's their response to things that taste gross. But, you can hold onto her head for a minute or two after you give the dose and that should force her to swallow the majority of it. 

Giving oral meds to birds _is_ tricky, and unfortunately the best way to learn it is just by doing it lots of times, which hopefully we as owners won't have to experience. I didn't feel like I really got _good _at it until I adopted a special needs 'tiel who required meds for months at a time, and that was after I'd had birds for almost 20 years. But it sounds like you're already starting to figure out what works for you, and it will get a bit easier each time you do it.


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

Thanks so much for your help!  I've been letting her go immediately after I give it to her because she looks so upset but I'll hold her longer from now on to make sure she actually swallows it or it's a bit of a waste of time anyway!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

My experience has been that tiels get mad about being given meds, but they don't hold grudges. Just make sure you're spending some time with her that doesn't involve giving meds, so that's not the only thing she associates with you.


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## Janalee (Jul 25, 2012)

*giving meds*

When I had to give Meshach her nasty meds, the vet suggested adding a drop of orange juice in the syringe to help take away the nasty taste. Of course that means you have a little extra to give her to make sure she gets all the medicine. Is there any kind of treat your bird is especially fond of? It is nice to reward them after you have to do something like that.
One funny thing my vet suggested: when you are done with the syringe, scold it (the syringe) and toss it aside like it the fault of that "bad thing", not yours.


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

Hahaha oh your vet sounds fun. I give her a sunflower seed afte she's taken her meds  she looks at me holding it out to her for a while like "no.. I hate you..." And then slowly takes the seed and suddenly everything's great again lol


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