Chester's sick

[shiney mew]

I was getting worried about Chester because just recently, I caught him throwing up, and he's been shaking his head a lot. So I called the vet, no openings were available, so I called a bunch of other clinics, none of them had their bird vets in. Ended up calling the usual clinic again and explaining to the receptionist that the vet needed to know what was going on because this was an emergency. The vet then agreed to try to squeeze us in if we could get there ASAP.

We got there about an hour before closing time, and the vet managed to examine him and do a gram stain. No yeast problem, fortunately, but apparently he's got sour crop. So he has to be on Reglan for 3 days and ACV water for... I think she said 2-3 weeks.

I feel so scared and bad for him... he must be feeling miserable.

[ArticunoGail]

I am so sorry to hear that your fid is sick. My prayers will be with you and Chester. Hopefully he will be feeling better soon, at least you've got him help and have meds to help clear it up.

ArticunoGail

[Pipers Mom]

Reglan will help settle Chester's stomach. It's good that your vet did manage to squeeze you in an hour before they closed. I understand your pain, nothing worse than having a sick fid. Is Chester lethargic? Feeling a little lighter than normal? Please keep us updated.

[shiney mew]

There was some weight loss that she figured the vomiting probably had something to do with (it's been a while since he was last weighed, actually). He's still been loud and active, though, and when I got him out to give him his medicine a few minutes ago, he flew across the room twice and I had to extract him from the top of the curtain.

The vomiting was the only way I figured out something was wrong, so I thank God I was in the room at that exact moment. I don't normally think much of him shaking his head when nothing's coming out...

[boomer girl]

I hope Chester feels better soon. If you have it feed Chester some spray millet, it is easy for him to digest and it will make him feel better to get a little bit of food in his stomach.

[Pipers Mom]

Millet is good like Deanna mentioned. It will also help Chester gain weight. Hope your little guy gets better quickly.

[shiney mew]

Good idea with the spray millet. We need to get more bird food soon anyway, so I should be able to pick some up. I've read some posts about birds choking on millet stalks, so shaving the seeds off of it might be good.

Right now he's sitting quietly on a perch, grinding his beak.

[boomer girl]

I cut the millet sprays into about 1" pieces because your right millet does make lots of birds chock. I didnt think it was the stalks but the seeds themselves that got caught up in there crops. Once boomer ate spray millet so fast that he was flinging his head all over and making this strange sound out of his beak so we had to rush him to the vets because we thought he was dying. It ended up costing us over 200.00 because it was Sunday and that was when the vet told me that millet is the #1 reason for birds chocking. She made it sound like it was the dust and the fact the birds dont always get the seeds husks off and it seems to cause birds more grief than all others seeds. She told me to cut it into chunks and once I started to cut it up Boomer didnt chock on it that often anymore. I cant tell you how much it made boomer feel better when he ate millet on his bad days so that is why I always recommend it to birds who are sick because it helped him so much.

[shiney mew]

Finally got some spray millet. I cut a couple chunks, and he didn't seem too interested, but I put them in his food dish, so hopefully he'll get to it later. He has been eating at least some of his seed mix, though; there's hulls in the dish and poop on the paper, but just a few tiny poops since I changed his paper today...

[boomer girl]

Poor Chester must be feeling real bad today and I really do hope he will feel better tomorrow. It least he is eating some seeds and pooping a little bit. Most birds love spray millet but I have heard that some dont, it least he is eating other things and that is what matters. Be sure to keep him nice and warm tonight.

[shiney mew]

He doesn't seem too fond of the ACV water; he shakes his head whenever he takes a drink, but I have seen him go back to it anyway, and his fresh poops are soft when I prod them with a Q-tip, so he must be drinking some, right?

[boomer girl]

I cant blame Chester for not liking water with ACV in it but its good he is still drinking it. There is a good post here all about ACV and perhaps if you try some of the doses or ideas it may get him to drink it without shaking his head. http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/c...+cider+vinegar

I dont know much about poops other then if they look bad your bird is usually sick. If they are soft I would think he would be getting enough water but I dont really know if this true. Is he more active today? I hope so.

[shiney mew]

He seemed pretty tired for a while after I gave him his medicine earlier, but got to more of his usual activeness after that. He's certainly been eating and pooping more today, and he did heart wings for Mom earlier (see, she's not the one who held him down and force-fed him that nasty medicine )

And now we finally have an infrared bulb to keep him warm, in a clamp-on lamp we conveniently had sitting in the basement.

But I'm not sure about this lamp... there seems to be some kind of smell coming from the part where the bulb screws in. But it says the limit is 150 watts, and the bulb is only 75...

Edit again: It's the plastic base of the lamp that's the problem, I think. Ugh, if I'd considered that before, we could've just gotten one of the reptile lamps that's actually made for these bulbs, but the pet store's closed now...

[boomer girl]

A heating pad works good to keep the cage warm too but be sure to put a towel between it and your bird so they cant chew on it. I dont know much about the medicine he is on but I do know after taking his medicine boomer usually would sleep.

Heartwings are the best!! I am happy Chester is feeling good enough to heartwing your Mom, dont worry he will forgive you once you stop giving him that nasty tasting medicine.

[maxollie]

So sorry to hear Chester is under the weather. Fids do have a superb ability to hide their illnesses. You were so fortunate to find a Vet that would see him. I'll be praying that he gets well very soon. You are to be commended for addressing your concerns for his health immediately. Keep us posted!!

[Birdmanca]

You have a decent vet. To squeeze you in on a quick emergency is a sign of a vet you want to keep going to for your birds.

[Pipers Mom]

Medications often make our fids lethargic. It's a good sign that he is eating and drinking the water with the ACV, even though he doesn't like it. Did the vet mention how long Chester has stay on the medication? Do you have a follow up appointment with vet? Good to hear that he is getting back to his usual activities. Thanks for the update and please keep us posted on his progress.

[shiney mew]

Yeah, just 3 days for the Reglan, twice a day, tonight being the last dose, and the vet said to call tomorrow.

Today doesn't seem as good as yesterday... he's not so active today. It is warmer in here today because the heat's turned up, and we all get like that when that happens, and it's just been a quiet, uneventful day in general, though I'd think extra heat would make a sick bird feel better...

Just now I observed him sticking his head into the food dish, looking at it, and shaking his head, like he can't find anything he wants. It is a different brand than what he had yesterday, but this is his usual brand, and I was afraid the problem might be something bad in the previous mix...

But he must be eating something, since he was able to take a dump in his food just now

[Pipers Mom]

It sounds like Chester needs some encouragement to eat. I would try giving him something that he likes but not suppose to have. Like a potato chip, popcorn, frito, goldfish cracker, etc. Piper used to get that way and I would just give her a chip so she would eventually eat. After she ate the chip, she started eating her own food again.

[shiney mew]

Popcorn, I try to make sure we always have, being quite a popcorn lover myself (and it's easy; after reading somewhere on TF a while back that microwave popcorn bags have Teflon, we get plain kernels now for popping on the stove, and those are SO MUCH CHEAPER for the amount of popcorn).

I'm not sure if Chester would like popcorn; he hasn't had any before, but I'll go make some now.

...And he's eating from his bowl now. I'm still gonna make popcorn. XD

[Pipers Mom]

Please let me know how Chester likes it. My fids loved popcorn

[shiney mew]

Ah, sorry for not posting earlier. I had a thing to do yesterday, and was very tired today as a result. Anyway, when I offered him some popcorn, he'd poke it a little with his beak, but not actually take a bite, and didn't touch the pieces I put in his food dish. But he has been eating his regular food and talking to me again.

I tried calling the vet yesterday like she had said to, but by the time I did, she was already gone for the weekend, so I sent an e-mail, but haven't gotten a reply back. Chester hasn't been throwing up anymore, though.

[maxollie]

Since Chester isn't throwing up anymore, I would say he is making some progress in recovery. Does Chester like millet? If so, you could break a stock of millet into small pieces (about 1 inch or so long) and put them in his food cup, or if he is tame try offering them to him by your hand. Millet has good moisture in it, and from what I've read is often offered to birds that are recovering from illness if they don't want to eat. I totally agree about the microwave popcorn. In fact, I won't fix any foods for my little fids in the microwave at all. Would Chester eat a cheerio or some dry cereal such as a shredded wheat piece. I feed my little ones "red wheat puffs" that I get at Wal-Mart. And you might consider offering him a piece of Whole Wheat bread or toast. My fids also like toast. I'll be praying that Chester will make a swift and complete recovery.

[britany]

Glad to hear Chester is not throwing up anymore!

[boomer girl]

How is he doing lately? I hope he is getting back to normal now.