A little Off

[zvezdast]

Zuya has been a little off this morning. It's hard to explain. She was hesitant to fly over from one side of the kitchen to the other, seems to have trouble jumping up to me, has a bit less energy, and seems to strain a bit more to poop. But then she ate really well, played with a paper roll, flew few feet... She is now in the cage preening as her usual morning routine.
She appears normal, but then didn't act quite normal. Someone who doesn't know her would not be able to tell. I lost my previous lovebird (got her from the same breeder) who was just a few months older than Zuja is now - 19 months. It was some sudden cardio event and it all was over in 30 min. So I might be a little paranoid.
I made an appointment at the vet for an hour from now, but am not sure if I should take her because I don't know that they can "see" anything. I don't want to just pay the fee and be sent home to observe. Is there some test I should ask them to do?

 

[sunnysmom]

I hope your little bird is okay. A gram stain can rule out an infection. Do her droppings look normal? By any chance is she getting ready to molt?

 

[zvezdast]

Thank you sunnysmom. Yes, she is just starting to molt. Can that affect her energy level?

 

[zvezdast]

I rescheduled the appointment for 4PM because I have a meeting at work that I forgot about.
She is playing in the cage now. (watching her remotely)

 

[sunnysmom]

Yes, molting will definitely affect her energy level. It shouldn't cause her to strain to poop though- so I would keep an eye on that. Maybe she was a little dehydrated? I'm a big believer in when in doubt, go to the vet, but molting does make them more tired.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Better safe than sorry.

 

[zvezdast]

Yes, molting will definitely affect her energy level. It shouldn't cause her to strain to poop though- so I would keep an eye on that. Maybe she was a little dehydrated? I'm a big believer in when in doubt, go to the vet, but molting does make them more tired.

Thank you. Maybe straining was not a good description. But it definitely took her more time than a quick squat. She was fidgeting in place and going backwards before unloading. If anything, her poops were on the watery side (just a bit), so I don't think she was dehydrated.
My gut feeling was to take her to the vet, but wanted that visit to be productive. I'll ask for the gram stain at least. I guess I just don't trust this new (young) vet to have knowledge to determine what is wrong.
She is taking her noon nap now and chatting into her feathers.

 

[Pentameter]

If they are an avian vet, even a new grad with a keen interest in avian med, they should know what a good workup is. Do be patient; new grads are often nervous and are still baby doctors. They are smart and capable, but need to stretch their wings a bit!

Gram stains are great for seeing the unseen. Listening to the heart and lungs will reveal some things, too!

 

[Birdbabe]

Always trust your gut! Hope she's OK!

 

[zvezdast]

We were at the vet. And everything looks normal. :straightface:
The vet didn't do any tests, just an exam. We did full avian panel and cbc tests a month ago. She didn't hear anything wrong with the stethoscope. Her poops looked perfect, so we didn't do the gram stain. (of course we come home and they are more watery) She has been playing and eating. I told the vet she was more quiet today, and as soon as I said that, she lets out her complaining chirp!

But her flying is still off. It takes her a long time to take off. It's like she is insecure in her ability. And she is a great flyer! I mean really agile and quick. As soon she sees us open anything in the kitchen, she is right there. But now she paces back and forth, bobs her head up and down trying to aim for take off. Even if it's just inches away. I can see she is frustrated. Then as she lifts off it seems as if she goes up, or even a bit back, before going forward. She lands fine.

Here is kinda how it looks like. It doesn't show it in the best way. This is her after trying for few minutes to fly to my head. Her normal self would do this in a split second as soon the thought popped into her head. Notice how she didn't fly forward but up first.

One thing the vet commented is that she can feel her abdominal sac around cloaca (she called those muscles C something) a bit relaxed, like in all females preparing for breeding she said. So even though she couldn't feel any egg, she said maybe there is one forming higher up, and maybe that mass is throwing her balance off. But her weight didn't change, so I don't think an egg is forming.

So, I don't know. It saddens me to see something is wrong with her and not be able to help.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

She's awfully cute! It does look like she's unsure. Did anything scare her recently to make her hesitant to fly?

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

It could be the molt which is the problem with her flying. She feels off balance and insecure due to feather loss. Could be she is insecure about her ability to land due to feather loss.

 

[slinky-kitty]

I hope Zuya is ok. Hopefully it is just a molt. Fingers crossed

 

[sunnysmom]

I hope she's okay. Maybe it's a combination of molt and an egg forming? Also, if she's stressed- like from going to the vet's - if can make droppings temporarily more watery but they should return to normal.

 

[zvezdast]

She is not really molting. She lost maybe a couple of feathers in the last week.

She is still doing the same thing this morning, taking a minute or two before she takes off. It seems it's more prevalent if the target is closer. And she wants to fly! She was on the shower door and I extended my hand some 2 ft away for her to come. She wanted to. She was pacing like in that video, turning around, just being nervous. Then she finally decided to first jump onto an open bathroom door that was between us and then onto my hand. She even has trouble jumping up, like onto something that is just inches taller than her.
But she doesn't seem low on energy, which is good. She did make a few laps around the house. It seems if she is not aiming for something, she doesn't need the extra time at take off, but just goes. It still looks like she first goes up and not forward.

Another thing is that the evening before this started my mom left the gas top range in the On position. She basically turned the dial to vertical position, but it was upside down, not on Off. I actually don't know if gas can still leak that way, and she didn't smell any. I got home a couple of hours later, and could smell some gas, but just barely. I opened windows, turned on fans and AC. Zuja was fine that evening. The vet thinks maybe she felt loopy next the morning from it, and that maybe affected her flying. But she still does it.

One other thing (and the vet knows about it but didn't think it mattered), is that 9 days ago she got herself into some cooking oil. She got 3 soapy baths and one on her own since then, and her feathers look close to normal. I don't think this was the cause because her weird flying started just suddenly a week after that oil incident, and she was flying fine during that time.

My poor girl. Just wants to fly like a bullet again!

 

[Tyrion]

Did the vet check her eyes ...this almost sounds like she is having problems with her eyesight ...focusing at the start of her flight is where you might get the nervousness from ..just a thought

 

[zvezdast]

No, she didn't check the eyes. It crossed my mind after we got back home... that maybe she is far-sighted now?

I am such a worry-wart and now start thinking that maybe it's something more serious, like a tumor pressing on her brain and causing her to not be able to focus her aim correctly.... One reason I thought of it is because her protein level was really low 3 months ago. The (other) vet said it's probably due to diet, but that it could be caused by, among other things, cancer. On her recheck last month, after tweaks in diet, protein was up, but still bellow normal level. CBC the vet said was normal - I don't know how to read it myself.

I'll try to get a better video and send it to the vet. She left a message today asking about Zuya, but I got it after they already closed for the day.