Lovebird losing sleep because of seizures. How do I help?

[boomer girl]

I am happy you got her butt cleaned off and she is able to poop good again. Maybe her drinking more made it easier for her to poop once you got her cleaned up. Will she eat the formula without you pouring it into her crop? I have saw pictures of baby birds being fed from a spoon and they happily eat the formula right off the spoon until there crops are so full you would think they would burst. Maybe next time you got to the vets they can show you how to feed her just so you can see how they do it so you will feel more comfortable doing it. Then at the bird show you can see how they do it again and you will be a master at doing it after that. If she hasnt laid a egg after 13 years how do you know your Lovings isnt a boy? I would think she would have laid a egg if she was girl and if not you sure must of known exactly what to do to not have her lay a egg.

I am happy she is wanting to come out and do a few things outside of her tank and really happy your letting her sleep outside of it now and then. I think loving them is the best way to show they are not alone in this sickness and also the best way to calm yourself. I also hope you are coping with this a little bit better each day and it has to be so hard on you to go through this.

There is a poem here that I cherish because it makes me know that no matter how hard it was for boomer in his last days it was for a reason why I was chosen to take care of him. I think it is something you should read because it may just help you cope right now with the questions you must have in your mind about why this is happening to your Lovings and you. I think God or whomever looks over us humans and our pets must of known you would take amazing care of your Lovings. http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/c...Lend-Me-a-Bird

Big Hugs to you Sila!

[Magicpet13]

And I haven't tried feeding her through a spoon, though I've thought of it often. She does seem to be eating the food out of the syringe more than letting us put it in her crop because every time we put some food between her beak she tastes it and eats it. Maybe I'll try that.

And you know, I never really know if she's a girl or not. If she's never laid eggs is that a good indicator she's a boy? Or are there females that don't lay eggs?

And Loving gained 2 grams! I weighed her yesterday

[boomer girl]

I am happy she gained 2 grams I would try spoon feeding her and if she eats it good that way it sure could be a easier way to feed her. If they want you to measure it just put it in the syringe to measure it and then put some on the spoon to see if she eats it. If not you can then go back to the syringe and feed it to her that way.

I never was positive about boomers sex up until he got sick and I took him to his first vet appointment that he ever had. He was 8 1/2 at the time and the vet told me he was a boy without any doubt because after 8 years of not laying any eggs he is a boy. I think all happy and loved birds that are girls lay eggs so I have a feeling your lovings is actually a boy.

[pixibubbles]

2 grams is great!
just don't let that little missy bully you into only hand feeding her all the time!

Dea, Sparks never laid, and you know how spoiled she was lol.

Show us more Loving pics - sometimes with the older birds you can get a feel from the look. You look at Sammy, especially against his friend Pepper, and there's no doubt he's a boy. Whereas some there's no clue. If I hadn't known better I'd have suspected Boomer of being a girl - just because he was so floofy!

Make sure you weigh Loving at the same time every day. They can vary a lot depending on eating and pooping and whatever, and I wouldn't want you worrying because she'd lost a couple of grams (when really you just weighed he before breakfast or something - been there lol)

I'm glad she's doing so much better, and you do seem happier and more relaxed in your posts.

As to playtimes? So long as Loving is tame I think it's a good thing. Really tame birds will get more stressed if you 'ignore' them and don't let them play. You know your little feathered one, and when Loving wants to play. And you know when s/he's getting tired and needs to go back in. And you know if she's getting stressed too.

[boomer girl]

Boomer loved to "rub rub" so much that if he was a girl no doubt he would have been laying eggs constantly. He was a floffy one though. I am shocked Sparky never laid a egg Helen because she was definitely loved so I guess Lovings could be a girl. I agree with Helen that you should post more pictures of her because some of the breeders here can also look at them and tell if they are girl or boy by the way the stand and I think even the shape of there heads.

How is Lovings doing? Hopefully gaining more weight and I did read on another post here that she was eating her seeds now. I am happy she is still here with us and you were able to find a vet that knew what was wrong with her.

[Magicpet13]

Hey guys,

I tried spoon feeding Loving, but she didn't go for that. Fought me on that one too. Last Friday morning when I was giving her her breakfast she started regurgitating it up and then had a pretty rapid seizure episode. I didn't give Loving anymore food by syringe that day. Gave her her meds, though which she took. This was around 9am and Loving's vet appointment was at 11am that day. I told the vet. As I suspected it was likely stress induced. Loving has been getting feistier and feistier with the syringe feedings.

I asked the vet if I could stop hand feeding Loving. She agreed. Told me so long as Loving is eating on her own (which she is). I just have to weigh her (and I do this at all times of day) to make sure she is not losing weight or else to intervene. So far, so good. She's happier since we bother her less. She eats her seeds (all the foods: pellets, millet seeds, and gourmet mix and drinks frequently).

Only have to give her her meds 3 times a day which is a lot easier and faster

The tank may be a permanent thing for Loving as her balance is bad and she has one splayed leg from the "stroke." It's safer for her says the vet. I take her out whenever I see she wants entertainment.

And let me find some pics of Loving to post. I have videos too. More from when she's sick than healthy unfortunately, because I took so many in fear they may be my last.

I'll see what I can collect and post.

[Magicpet13]

Loving before she was sick on my sister's knee:


Loving sleeping in her tank:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...cpet13/141.jpg

Loving on my sister's lap:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...cpet13/149.jpg

Loving snuggling with my face lol (we were both so tired):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...cpet13/154.jpg

Long Video of Loving before she was sick with my sister (my dog is also in this one):
http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t=IMG_1084.mp4

Video of Loving with me and family/and doggie on the couch (you can see her loss of balance/twitching):
http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...urrent=151.mp4

I have a video of Loving at her worst when she was twitching nonstop and screeching loudly (that was when we were waiting on the meds with the first vet). Breaks my heart to see it. I was really upset in the video and chose not to post that one.

[pixibubbles]

Awww she is a cutie.
I'm not sure I fully agree on the tank thing tho... Maybe look into a rodent cage? My last little girl was a special little one too. Her feet turned in and her grip wasn't great... so the hamster cage thing with platforms was ideal. It was longer than tall so she could move around and fly, and had horizontal bars for climbing, and a platform across the middle so she could snuggle down when she was feeling a bit wobbly or tired.

It's just a thought. Birds like to perch - and i've seen seriously disabled ones manage it... and she does still have one good leg which is all she needs for sleeping really. Have a look at happy perches. They're got suckers on to fit on glass, but they're not great as a bit slippery. Sparks used to prefer rope ones, or paperbark wood. She liked very narrow perches (actually plastic coat hangers) too. I think wrapping her feet all the way round helped her a bit.

Maybe see if she can/will perch?

[Magicpet13]

Oh Loving perches! Even with the bad leg she always loves perching. She even demonstrated to the vet. I have thought of this (of her wanting to perch more). My initial thought was to buy her a bigger aquarium and then set up a play corner with magazine papers and some perches to lay on the ground and some of her other toys (never heard of the happy perch. Sounds like something I'll look in to though, sounds exactly like what she may need).

The rodent cage thing sounds like an excellent idea! I've been trying to think of a way to hang her bell that she used to love back up, but that's hard in aquariums. She also really really used to love this swing. I dunno if it's be safe for me to set up in a rodent cage? Maybe. because it could be low to the ground and if I padded the area beneath it?

I'll talk to my vet about the idea when I call her Thursday. I never thought to get a rodent cage. She was just against the idea of Loving hurting herself in any other cages I get her, but rodent cages may be good. Do you have a pic of yours?

I need to get more money before I buy the cage lol. My wallets being wiped out an tuition is right around the corner!
But the Pet Supermarket I go to has really good prices on these cages when I was browsing aquariums. So it won't be too difficult to manage.

[pixibubbles]

I don't have it any more... Will have a look through some old pictures though.
Funny thing was, Sparky loved the wheel too. It was a solid one (no gaps in the plastic) and she used to lie in it. I guess the curve made her feel like she was back in the nest or something, and supported her well.

The one I had was just a basic hamster cage. It looked a bit like this - but only had one platform. http://www.bobtailpets.co.uk/small-a...-45c-207p.html

I covered the grates with white tissue (my preferred cage covering anyway), but also used old, smooth sheeting when Sparks had some foot problems and was sitting on her hocks for a while (stopped the soreness so much)

I also covered the hole in the platform - and had perches in there too. At first the perch was only half and inch or so off the platform - low enough that she couldn't fall, but high enough to get her off the floor. And they only fixed at one end, so she didn't have to jump over them if she wanted to move. I kept the ladders - but honestly Sparks preferred climbing on ropes. Had food and water on both levels.

If you get one, just make sure it's as long as possible, but without too much height. And be aware that they're not made to bird standards (although I always figured if it could stand up to rodent chewing, birdie beaks weren't too much of an issue).

It might be your vet hasn't thought of it. The one i was using when I had Sparks was a well known avian guy and did a lot of rescue and rehab because of that. He told me Sparks cage was no good, and was describing the ideal flight/breeding cage. Basically a long, rectangle with a low roof. then he started talking about buying platforms and things to give her the height birds crave, and I just gave him an odd look and said 'like an old style hammie house?'

He looked at me and laughed. Cost of getting and setting up the mini flight cage like this (http://www.birdscomfort.com/small_flight_cages.html) and setting up with special platforms would have cost me about £100. The hamster cage version with built in SOLID platforms (no bars to catch sore feet or cause bumble foot) cost me about £30. Sparks loved it. And it was much healthier that the tank, because if you think about it, tanks are great for keeping poorly birds warm, but they don't have any real ventilation - so are potentially great for incubating germs too. If it is a long term solution/problem - the hammie cage might be ideal.

EDIT: not to mention hamster cages have better doors. The slide doors I've seen on most of these mini flight cages are just asking for an escapee. i don't think they'd keep even my Sammy in, and well... let's just say he isn't the smartest bird I've ever known. He's a horny little teenager bird with a one track, short attention spanned mind lol. Unless it's millet or a humpy toy he doesn't care about it for more than about 20 seconds - but even he can escape out of those cages lol

[boomer girl]

Lovings is a beautiful lovebird. Looking at her pictures before she was sick I can tell she was a very loved bird and was so happy with you and your family. When I looked at her pictures after she was sick it made me cry because she reminded me of boomer trying to act like he was OK but he wasnt. I think they just want to live, be happy and be with us who love them more then anything. It had to be so hard for you right after she had this stroke and still hard on you but time does seem to heal your heart and make you just happy they are still with you and happy. The picture of her snuggling with you is just so precious because you can see the love she has for you on her sweet cute face. I think she will continue to be OK and as long as she is happy this is what counts. I truly believe loving a animal is the best medicine in this world for them when they get sick and it heals them as much as the medicines our vets give to us to help them. I hope and pray she keeps responding to the medicine and does continue to get a little bit better. Lovings is truly a beautiful bird. I hope that your vet says the rodent cage will be good for her because it would make her feel like a real bird again to be able to perch and sit on her swing again. Boomers vet had these perches with a suction cup on the end that they would put in there tanks if the birds were up to perching and with the pads below them if they fell off so they wouldnt get hurt. If lovings can perch I would look into buying one of those, I think they are made for showers but not sure. I used baby cloth diapers for boomers beds because they were 100% cotton and were soft. I washed them with white vinegar which is also a natural fabric softener and I didn't worry about boomers toenails getting caught in them as much. Another girl here with a Lovie who has a bad leg uses no nap towels so that her lovies claws dont get stuck in the the towels because Tini cant even move her leg and it drags behind her so she is afraid if she used regular towels her Tini might get her toenails stuck in them and end up hurting herself.

Keep us updated on her because I know I have became attached to her and I have a feeling so has Helen. Both of us have had sick little ones and know all to well the feelings you have when your bird isnt perfect anymore.

[pixibubbles]

Oh Dea, you know me too well *hugs* Perfect, no... but special and adored by all... without question. The support that both those little guys got over the years was beyond amazing.

Sila - parrotdise perch have happy perches i was talking about in the smaller size for 8-9$. I love these guys. It might even be worth talking to them and explaining what's happened to Loving and see what other ideas/products they might have to help her. Nothing I've asked for seems to be too much trouble for them... even sending them trooping around the store with measuring tapes to check sizes and holes to make sure what they say is suitable for a bigger peachy is still suitable for my little fischers. They really are lovely guys.

And they go out of their way to pack things REALLY tightly - which i appreciate as size really does matter on postage here! Oh, and if you do end up getting anything from them, look out for their plastic quick links. They're one of my favourite things. No worry about metal type, not easily unscrewed by nosey little beaks, and don't wear on cage metals when they're dragged up and down and up and down and up and down lol They're ropes are good too - happy, safe, tested ones for stringing into perches. Just be wary... I always manage to spend a LOT there lol