Macaw People with Eggsperience?

[Big Blues]

I'm not sure if cutting her food back some helped more than moving her cage to a different area and rearranging her perches and toys throwing her routine off.

 

[Macawnutz]

How do you move things around for a blind bird.

 

[Big Blues]

How do you move things around for a blind bird.

I wouldn't move a thing, only mentioning it in reference to the food cutback and not sure which helped...

 

[JLcribber]

I would hate to cut back on her food but that thought did cross my mind as I'm giving her anything she would like to eat.

You don't really need to cut back on food but you can still lean out the diet a bit. More filler/roughage less protein. I do that with Amanda. She can still eat as much as she wants.

 

[Karen]

This was Cha's "nest" I think Kita would be happier with something like Cha's setup over Sakie. Just a blanket. I had paper close by in case she wanted to rip stuff and pretend she was helping.

I took out all the paper yesterday and put down a thick blanket and she seems to be doing so much better on that.

Also, she only has one egg now. I think the reduction has helped her. With the one egg, she's so much calmer. When I put her back in the cage, I put her egg right by her beak so she can feel it and she calmly gathers it under her. With the 3 eggs she wasn't able to see them and was reaching out (stabbing out in all directions with her beak) frantically trying to gather the eggs under her.

Another positive sign after all the changes yesterday is she stepped up for me and is walking and turning around at will every so often. Previously it seemed like her legs weren't working right, she wasn't moving or standing and I had to pick her up off the tray to get her out of the cage. (Maybe with all the eggs she didn't want to move.) Then when I had her in my hands I couldn't get her to step off onto the perch for potty time. It seemed like she totally lost her bearings as to where she was or what was going on. She got lost on her play stand and didn't know which way to move or turn. All this has been so upsetting. I hate to see her struggle with this so much. I am so grateful to see some improvement.

**She also stepped up very well this morning and stepped off onto her play stand perch so she could potty.

 

[Macawnutz]

Great news Karen. It seemed like four eggs, a mountain of paper and being blind would be difficult for her.

I'm still sure all of this is harder on you then her though.

 

[Big Blues]

Happy to hear Kita is doing better; sounds like it all surprised her as much as it did you.

 

[Big Blues]

How's Kita today, still cuddling her egg with her blanket intact?

 

[Karen]

She's doing pretty good JR. Seems like once she got past the egg laying she's not as interested in shredding everything. She was much better about leaving the cage today for potty time too. She's eating and her weight is staying consistent. Let's hope the worst has passed.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Good for Kita and really good for you.

 

[SeverelySweet]

@Karen I'm glad to hear she's doing better! Oi, I'm sooo glad I have a male...I don't know that I would be able to deal with something like this emotionally.

Not to hijack your thread or anything, but I have questions about how you deal with her blindness? Sydney is pretty much almost completely blind now (cataracts), and other than not moving anything around, I was wondering if there's anything else that I can do to help accommodate him?

Ugh, it's so heartwrenching to see him miss a step and fall from his perch!

 

[Karen]

@SeverelySweet Thank you, I so agree, I also find it heart wrenching. I have read several people say that their blind birds do very well and hardly miss a step but that is not the case with Kita. The worst is when she gets lost. This is what is happening right now because she's not spending enough time on her play stand. She has a very large play stand 5x7 feet and she has lost her bearings (hopefully momentarily) so I've been keeping a close eye on her when she's on it.

As far as what I do to help her is;

* I keep everything the same; she is solely relying on muscle memory to get around.
* I pick her up and put her down the same way every time. I use the same arm, turn the same way, place her on the same perch, etc.
* I always place her toward the perch so she can feel it with her beak first and then she will lift her feet up to the perch.
* I started adding verbal cues to everything I do and am going to do. This helps a lot.
* I place food in her dish in the same location. Birdie Bread at 9 o'clock, Sunflower Seeds at 3 o'clock, Fruit at 12 o'clock, Pellets at 6 o'clock, etc.

I'll add more as I remember.

 

[SeverelySweet]

Thank you so much! I'm doing all those same things...I started with the verbal cues without even realizing I was doing it. Because his falls are usually when hes in his cage and has misjudged where he's going, I went and got a really thick bath mat to put on the grate of his cage. It covers half the bottom of the cage...the side he sleeps and rests on. He's pretty good in that he actually only poops on the other side (he's got OCD as bad as me I think), so cleanup isn't too bad. I started out with a white mat, but had to change it to a dark one. He can still make out bright colors, and the white one was freaking him out....he's a scaredy bird lol.

 

[Karen]

Kita is not doing well by normal birdie standards. She spends her days laying on a nice soft thick blanket, next to the extra heat source, with her food and water nearby. She is eating well and her weight is up. Normally I would take comfort in that. Today I wonder if her weight is up due to an egg or fluid or..

Is it aging or is it because she laid eggs a month ago? Is it something else? Is this new normal she's been experiencing for well over a month, normal? If it is, when do I trust that the new normal is just the aging process and not a tumor, egg troubles, cancer, fluid buildup, a mass sitting on a nerve or a raging infection somewhere? I don't have that trust, probably never will, so off to the vet we go.

She can perch and use her feet but doesn't want to. She prefers to rest on her belly. The slightest pressure on her belly causes her to spit up a bit of fluid when I pick her up. She's extremely lethargic. She had a battery of tests, rads and supportive care given (fluids and multiple injections) today. Preliminary in-house blood work looked good. Her liver and kidney values are perfect. Rads showed no masses, no fluid build up and no eggs. Rads showed bone deterioration due to calcium depletion from her 4 eggs. Rads will be sent onto Scot Echols for review. Swab results may be ready this afternoon. The other blood work and protein electrophoresis will go to Miami.

In the meantime: Metacam, Calcium and Baytril.

 

[Hankmacaw]

I'm so sad that Kita is going downhill. You, of all people, know the drill and Kita will have the very best of medical care and of your nursing.

Kita is a grand old lady.

 

[JLcribber]

 

[Macawnutz]

When Rosie went blind she preferred the floor. Life becam quitell boring and she slowed way down.

 

[Karen]

I hope that's what is going on; just a slow down.

 

[rocky'smom]

Sweet Pea has some temporary lameness when she comes out of the nest box. I wonder if their legs go to sleep like ours would if we sat in the same place for hours on end.

 

[Karen]

Sarah, how do you handle potty time for Rosie?