# Birdies sick again, and i need some thoughts.



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, once again birdie has fallen Ill, And he is looking worse then ever.

We took him to the local vet (not an avian one) yesterday and they said that his poo sample we had yesterday was normal but there was definatly something wrong with him.

His symptoms include:
-Lethargic
-Not eating / Drinking
-Vommiting (only yesterday afternoon)
-Dark green, Pretty runny and abnormal Poop. His whites of his poo are also slightly green tinged. It almost lookes like the poo was "mixed" together as apose to being seperate parts like normal. His poo was also massivly bigger then usual.
-Puffed up

We told the vet that he once had vommited up his blockage (the furball incident) and after that, he was back to 150% normal within 24 hours. 
He was given a shot of antibiotics yesterday afternoon when we toko him, and we are going to take him to the vet again this morning.

Its very annoying since NO avian vets around us are open on sunday.

The vet said we might have to do an xray (which means take the risk of sedation) to see if he is blocked again and keep him over night (which i dont want him to do as it can cause ALOT of stress) But we will see how we go.

Wish us luck guys, and hopefully everything turns out okay.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Oh no im so sorry  are you going for the x-ray 
Hope he gets better


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Keeping you and Birdie in our thoughts this weekend, hope he gets better soon!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

We just got back from the vet this morning and the prognosis isnt that great looking. 

He started vommiting again when we got to the vet, and did a nasty looking poop. It was such a dark green it almost looked black, But luckily, his whites of the poo were white.

There going to keep him for the day (i asked that we bring him home at night) and that they are going to have to sedate him for an xray which we agreeed too so hopefully, fingers tripped crossed, that there is no blockage and that it can be treated whatever he has and that he fights through the sedation and comes out okay on the other side.

Hopefully they will also do a blood sample to see whats going on inside, Who knows, it could be something easily treated?

If it is a blockage however, we will have to make the decision to have him euthanised. We cannot afford the (quote the vet) 1-2000$ operation to remove a possible blockage if theres a high possibility that he will continue picking at things dispte my best efforts to stop him.

Keep Birdie with your thoughts, and lets hope he pulls together


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

He is in my prayers and i really do hope it can be treated without x-rays  
:flowers: Hope you make a speedy recovery


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I think he should be treated for avain gastric yeast, you can't buy megabac-s if you live in Australia can you but the vet can prescribe it? If the vet hasn't got any in he may have injectable Amphotericin b, if there would be a delay in getting Ampho then try Nystatin in the meantime. I think he should also be treated with Flagyl the drug name is Metronidazole. Tell the vet this is what he should try and tell him the info comes from someone with 15 years of cockatiel keeping and experiences of different health issues including avain gastric yeast. It's better to try this than having him put down!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'd take Jess's advice, its at least worth giving it a shot before having to put him down if there's a chance this could make him better! He's in our prayers, we all hope he pulls through!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

We are going to see what the x-rays revealed if birdie fought through the sedation, I really didnt want him to go under but its better then doing nothing and waiting without ruling the main concern out which is an internal blockage.

If he lives through the sedation and the stress we are going to look into what else could be wrong. (The vet was going to take a crop sample to check for infections etc) The begin treating him as we go along.

Ill write down what Jess has said and take it with me next time we go to see Birdie which should be later today, We are going to take baby steps with this, First thing first is making sure he lived through the sedation and xray and then work from what we find there.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Good news, Birdie has no objects in his stomach, AND he didnt need to be sedated for the xray.

Bad news, we still dont know whats wrong with him. With his symptoms there are so many things that COULD be wrong with him, we just dont know.

The vet told us to take him home, make sure he is warm and away from the other birds. Make sure hes drinking water (he had alot when we offered it to him by himself) and eating. However, since he isnt interested in food, we have been told to de-shell some sunflowers, mash them up with warm water, and syringe feed it to him so he gets some nutrients into his system (Mum has raised alot of birds so she knows how to do it properly)

If he fights through until tomorrow and is still looking sickly and bad, were going to take him to the Avian vet for a better diagnosis, Hopefully they can get some bloodwork done on him or have the tools needed to make sure he gets better.

Fingers crossed, But im glad he is home.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Birdie is progressing well guys.

We are regularly syringe feeding him some water. And some watered down crushed sunflower seed insides to get him some nutrients which is what the vet reccomended we do. He hates doing it, But its for his own benefit.

He has also drank some water and even picked at a few sunflowers oh his own earlier in the day. We dont mind he is eats a thousand sunflowers, at least he is eating SOMETHING.

We are going to call the vet tomorrow and keep him up to date on his progress


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Sounds like hes doing better, best of luck and i hope he picks up or you find out whats wrong with him


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

The thing with avain gastric yeast is that even if they do a gram stain or even a crop wash it won't always show up, it can be in the provinctulas so the only way to treat it is to try the megabac-s or whatever Ampho you can get. Like I say nystatin can be tried but it isn't as effective. I think there's another med that can be used for cockatiels, I'll dig out the article. Because Ampho/nystatin don't get into the bloodstream it won't hurt Birdie to use it. My vet told me that Flagyl is very safe to use on birds and both meds can be used to treat her at once. Flagyl can be used for crop/gut infections, I've used it for both with fast results.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

Here it is, I'd saved it to favourites. The other drug is called fluconazole.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=15&A=3138&S=0


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Mum has booked an appoitment with the avian vet this afternoon so maybe now we will get closer to getting birdie some medicin to make him feel better.

Luckily he has been eating some seeds, but not drinking alot, Im having to syringe feed him some water to stop him dehydrating.

So far, he looks on the mend.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I do hope so its really sad to see them not well


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Its also so hard sometimes to get them well, there such fragile little birds sometimes. I hate to see him all puffy and not his usual self. My rooms so quiet without his whistling.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

Believe me when they are on the right meds they can turn around very quickly, don't give up.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm glad he's doing better!

Would it be possible to mix pellets with water and then syringe-feed this mush to him? That would be nutritious.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, Birdie is staying over night at the Avian vet hospital.

The vet took a crop sample, and a poo sample and said both didnt look out of the ordinary.

Since we cant afford to do tests for everything the vet thinks might be wrong with Birdie (which would stack up to $800) We worked out that we will take a stab in the dark and treat him for a number of things that might be wrong.

The vet also said that he might have some sort of led poisoning (from what i wonder? He has nothing to eat or get at that might be dangerous for him) since on his xray there were little flecks of what looked like to be metal.

Other things could include bacterial infection or something is wrong with his kidneys.

He will be on an IV drip giving him fluids all night as well as the medication.

I just pray to god that my little man pulls through the night, Im so scared for him.. I dont want to lose him but we have given it all we can within our already small budget.

I gave him a long and loving cuddle before the vet took him away.

Fingers crossed everyone that Birdie makes it through the night.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

AWww Ezzie, I hope he's ok. Poor little guy. Here's hoping it was just something passing through his system... It's tough you've been through so much with him recently. He sounds like a real trooper (and a little rascal for chewing so much stuff!). Get well soon Birdie!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Fingers crossed for you hun...hopefully you'll get some good news soon!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

He lived through the night!

His poos are still not normal, But at least hes fighting.
The nurse also said that he was picking at some seeds earlier this morning so great to see my little trooper is pulling through this. I wasnt expecting some magical recovery.

Im going to see him later on this morning to give the vet the xrays we took and to see how birdies doing.

One step at a time, but were getting through it!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

That is wonderful news  Glad he is making progress


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

He's not giving up yet! What a good boy!


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## birdlover4life (Mar 6, 2010)

Aww, I will be thinking of you two! I hope he pulls through


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I was a little upset that i wasnt able to see Birdie and give him a little cuddle when we went back to the vet. They said they had no avaliable rooms for me to see him in, I dont understand why i couldnt just see him in the cage they have him in?

But aparently he is doing well. I might go with Mum later this afternoon to check up on him.


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## WereAllMadHere (Jan 24, 2011)

Glad to hear he's eating and doing a bit better, he'll be in my thoughts and I hope all is well!


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## crinklepot (Nov 18, 2010)

I really hope your baby gets better soon, he is in my thoughts


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

When you go back demand to see him unless they are hiding something


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Poor little guy! Don't they know it'll make him feel better to see you? Hope you get to see him this time!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Well at around 4pm today im able to come pick Birdie up and talk about his issues and what needs to be done with further treatment.

The vet said something about giving him injections, But im not sure, He said he will show us how its done because we looked confident with birds (i was stoked!)

I hope my little man gets better now, we had some scary ups and downs but now he looks to be on the road to recovery. 

I will keep you all posted!


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## pknight1120 (Feb 9, 2011)

I really hope he gets well soon!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

That's good news! Every time I've opened this thread I was scared about what I might see posted here, but it sounds like things are turning out well.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Birdies back home!

His poos are comming along nicley and i have 3 different medications to give him

-Calsenate
-Endotril
-Fungilin

The vet also thinks that the toxins have passed so the immediate threat has passed.

We have another appoitment for 10-14 days within the next few weeks for a vet checkup.

Im so happy to have my birdie home, He is eating and drinking right off the bat.

Ill update as he progresses


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

YAY Birdie...hopefully everything is ok now. Tell him we said he's not to get sick anymore, it scares us too much!!!


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

There's no way I would inject mine my vet has offered to show me how to inject pregnyl to the one I can't risk egg laying but I have said no I'd rather he do it. I hold her while he does it but they are so small I couldn't risk hurting her or worse.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The only reason I'm ok with injecting mine is because I've had nurse training and had to give kids shots and its just like doing one of the birds, you have to be gentle and careful because their so delicate. But if I didn't have that experience I'd be scared to.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I'm really pleased the vet has given you fungalin, that will treat avain gastric yeast if he has it. Only thing is now days they say you have to treat it for 30 days, they used to say 10 days but see what the vet says at the next check up. Glad he's doing alright now, well done for putting in the effort not to mention money to save this little bird


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I forgot to say that there all oral medications, so no injections needed!

Hes looking alot brighter, even though he hates taking his medicin 
Buddy is also more then over the moon that his friend is back, he keeps following Birdie everywere now. haha!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Awww bless im so happy he is alright now


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