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Beak issue

taxidermynerd

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Have you tried golden feast. Gary was a seed junkie when he got here and wouldn't eat anything else. He loves his Goldenfeast, either the australian blend or the small beak blend. there are so many excellent ingredients in their blends. Check them out.
No, never tried it. He can't have seeds now anyway. He has been on Zupreem naturals since December 2016, and until recently was getting seeds every other day.
 

MauiWendy

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We saw the vet today.

His beak is worse. She says his beak is even more brittle, and has started to split. She said that it goes all the way up to his mouth, where there is blood. She says also he has lost weight- down from 30 to 28 since last visit. The vet says she's never seen a beak this bad- She went and showed him to the other AV there to see what she thought- they ended up doing the trim with a dremel rather than a file.

And he can't have hard pellets anymore- only softened ones, like pellet mash. She says he's probably eating less because he's in pain, but she doesn't want to prescribe a pain med because it would affect his liver, and he can't handle that right now. He has to have flaxseed oil in his food now (will get some tomorrow) and she prescribed an ointment for his beak, in addition to the milk thistle in his water.

So I have to watch to make sure his beak doesn't get worse- and give him his ointment and milk thistle and flaxseed oil. The says he will have to come in every 2-4 weeks for the foreseeable future, for beak trims and check-ups. We go in again on the 13th, and she says to take pictures regularly and come in right away if anything seems off. She also said she talked with a board-certified AV in California, who pointed her to a lab in CA, which recommended she report them to the FDA, which she is in the process of doing.

When she took him to go talk with the other vet and do the beak trim, I could hear them in the other room- which gave me a minute to sob. For a long time, Chirp was quiet- I was so scared something had happened. They were talking in very hushed tones- full of care and concern. I just can't stand this, what this con artist has done to us, has done to our family, has done to Chirp. She has put us through h-ll and she is getting nothing for it.

I will fight tooth and nail for my family until the bitter end.

I am so sorry, hopefully as it grows out it will get get better.
 

MauiWendy

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Okay yall. We just got home from the vet.

The vet says Chirp has an enlarged liver, and that the long beak and bruising is characteristic of that. She is hopeful that we can try to fix it, but odds are he will never be 100% again. She prescribed milk thistle, to go in his water and she also said I should cut out most seeds from his diet.

She has asked me to email her the link to the thread about the certain vendor and also requested that I keep the food so we can possibly have it tested. We go back in two weeks for another beak trim and check-up.

I am devastated that I have brought harm to Chirp while doing what I thought was right. My heart is broken for Chirp.
Milk Thistle is amazing, get him on it right away!!
 

MauiWendy

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No, never tried it. He can't have seeds now anyway. He has been on Zupreem naturals since December 2016, and until recently was getting seeds every other day.
maybe i missed it but did the vet say what the cause was. Im not a fan of zupreem.
 

taxidermynerd

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Milk Thistle is amazing, get him on it right away!!
He already is. The vet prescribed it to him on the 15th.

maybe i missed it but did the vet say what the cause was. Im not a fan of zupreem.
The cause of what? The liver issues? It was due to foods that were being fed from WD. If you aren't caught up I'd suggest you read this thread- Vendor Etiquette? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum. The vet agrees with me, as there's a whole mess of things it could be coming from this food. She is reporting them to the FDA and is asking me to keep the food for possible future testing.

At this point we are hopeful but trying to keep a realistic outlook. I know Zupreem isn't the best but it's better than no pellets at all.
 

MauiWendy

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He already is. The vet prescribed it to him on the 15th.


The cause of what? The liver issues? It was due to foods that were being fed from WD. If you aren't caught up I'd suggest you read this thread- Vendor Etiquette? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum. The vet agrees with me, as there's a whole mess of things it could be coming from this food. She is reporting them to the FDA and is asking me to keep the food for possible future testing.

At this point we are hopeful but trying to keep a realistic outlook. I know Zupreem isn't the best but it's better than no pellets at all.
Thank you for clarifying. I have not read that. I am so sorry what are going through.
 

MauiWendy

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He already is. The vet prescribed it to him on the 15th.


The cause of what? The liver issues? It was due to foods that were being fed from WD. If you aren't caught up I'd suggest you read this thread- Vendor Etiquette? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum. The vet agrees with me, as there's a whole mess of things it could be coming from this food. She is reporting them to the FDA and is asking me to keep the food for possible future testing.

At this point we are hopeful but trying to keep a realistic outlook. I know Zupreem isn't the best but it's better than no pellets at all.
Birdtricks offer a great pellet, its like tops but I think it crumbles nice for small birds. Just and FYI...
 

Jazzy*

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so sorry to read this about chip :(
 

taxidermynerd

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I know it was just deleted but thank you @rocky'smom for the info. That sounds like a good suggestion, I like the idea of being able to make some and save it for later. I will need to replace it several times a day anyway so that would make it easier.
 

rocky'smom

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I think there was glitch in AA today. Nick said he would call me later
 

Rain Bow

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Chirp hasn't been eating as much today. He's back up to weight though. He weighed 29g this morning before breakfast, and 30g just before bed.
I know Buddy is much bigger than Chirp but sometimes he's high & sometimes he's low. Just like us they go up & down in weight. I'm not sure what would be a normal weighy shift for a such little one, as Chirp.

You're weighing him 1st thing in the morning after 1st poop right? My vet told me that is really important for it to be consistent. I was just weighing throughout the day & found out oooops!
 

Monica

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Birdtricks offer a great pellet, its like tops but I think it crumbles nice for small birds. Just and FYI...
That's because it is TOP's...

Possibly Urgent Diet Issue | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum


@taxidermynerd - the HP says the same as the Mash...

HIGH POTENCY SUPER-FINE-Harrison's Bird Foods
  • Special needs:For birds that are molting, overweight, underweight, particularly active, housed in a cold climate, recovering from an illness or affected by liver or kidney disease.

And not being able to do a blood test? I feel like this is vet based... that is, the vet doesn't feel comfortable doing a blood test on Chirp. I used to have a bourke parakeet which are between the sizes of a standard budgie to an English budgie. Not only did she have bloodwork done, but she also underwent surgery.

Definitely recommend feeding a diet high in vegetables for him. Maybe a mash will help?
 
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Hankmacaw

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"And not being able to do a blood test? I feel like this is vet based... that is, the vet doesn't feel comfortable doing a blood test on Chirp. I used to have a bourke parakeet which are between the sizes of a standard budgie to an English budgie. Not only did she have bloodwork done, but she also underwent surgery."

My feelings exactly. Several of the members here have had blood taken from their budgie for a CBC and Chem panel and that is what your bird needs more than anything else.
 

finchly

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That's interesting. My tiel went to the vet a couple (a few?) months ago and she declined to draw blood when I requested it, citing the danger and the fact that she was already low health-wise.

@taxidermynerd I do like the suggestions of Australian blend (get on Amazon) or a homemade mash...... or the High Potency.... bump up his diet to the best nutrition you can provide right now. so that even if he eats less food, he's getting great nutrition in every bite. Now I sound Like a commercial.

Also I think someone suggested wetting the pellets to make a mash. I do that with hot water and smash them with a fork when somebirdy isn't feeling well. Usually then they ALL want warm mash, it's a comfort food.
 

fashionfobie

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From my understanding, this will be related to the facility. The tiny amount of blood small birds can give up to the draw will change state very quickly and unless they can run the tests at the blood draw location the sample isn't viable.

This is an issue with parrotlets also. If they need to ship the sample then the bird went through the procedure for no reason.

Since birds have a nucleus in their blood cells it behaves much differently than mammalian blood.


A lot can be found in a blood work up. I am not sure if you have the means Bee, but possibly you can call around and find a vet who can run bloods for Chirp. It will answer so many questions.
 

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taxidermynerd

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He gets a mash of Zupreem and water every day, along with the flax oil the vet recommended. The vet has strictly said no hard foods, as they will harm his already fragile beak further. And she says no HP, because of the higher protein and fat contents that would be bad for his liver right now.
 
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