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Ben hates his medicine

Parakeet88

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I took Ben to the vet for his nostril bump and we decided to try a week of antibiotics and anti inflammatories just to see if it would help. Well it’s day four now and I still haven’t gotten even close to a full dose in him. I’ve tried toweling him a few times but I fear he’s going to hurt himself thrashing around. His cage is too big so I have a hard time catching him. I’ve tried disguising it in all kinds of foods. This morning I made him a fancy oatmeal with nut powder, walnuts, and blue berry. Can’t get him to go near it. I tried putting the meds on a piece of banana, he took one lick and literally backed away. I’m also doing all this right after I wake him up hoping he’ll be hungry. Luckily these aren’t life or death meds, I don’t know what I’m going to do if he ever really needs them :tmsmakesme:
 

webchirp

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:sadhug2:I feel for you...I do nutriberries for the wildlings and just hope they get enough but I've decided not to chase down the wild, terrified heart babies. However, if I were closer, I'd do Ben's meds for you. Although for the heart babies, I give them one nutriberrie when I know they are hungry. They will usually eat most of it. But the rest of the gang get toweled or held.

What meds did he get? Anything you can mix some pom powder in?
 

Parakeet88

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:sadhug2:I feel for you...I do nutriberries for the wildlings and just hope they get enough but I've decided not to chase down the wild, terrified heart babies. However, if I were closer, I'd do Ben's meds for you. Although for the heart babies, I give them one nutriberrie when I know they are hungry. They will usually eat most of it. But the rest of the gang get toweled or held.

What meds did he get? Anything you can mix some pom powder in?
They’re both liquid meds, literally about a drop of each. I’ve tried applesauce, I’ve tried putting a drop on my finger and sprinkling walnut on, I tried adding some nutriberry to his oatmeal this morning and he took maybe two seeds from it. I’ll have to try taking a whole berry and putting the drops on it. I’ll also try mixing the meds with some seed mix. I don’t let him see me add the meds either. Where do you get pom powder from? Will try if I can find some. He’s suspicious of anything I give him, I can’t blame him, the one med smells like strawberry but the other smells terrible.

I wish I could just towel him but his cage is too big and I don’t even have anyone to help me. I’ve thought about putting him in something smaller to catch him easier but then he’ll just be afraid to go into the smaller cage. He’s also fully flighted which doesn’t help :arghh:
 

lexalayne

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My vet mixes in extra sugar flavors and that helps a lot. The not so fun part is squirting it over their tongue when they open to bite the syringe. I’ve also mixed some in a baby food so it’s similar to hand feeding. I worried that I wasn’t getting enough in when some went out the side but my vet said the dosage is a bit over for that purpose
 

Parakeet88

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He took one bite of a nutriberry and a couple licks of seed. He flings his head around whenever he eats something that has the meds on it, must taste bad. He keeps going back to the berry but hasn’t eaten anymore, he’s confused about why it tastes so bad. After this he’ll never want a seed or a fruit again lol nothing I do seems to mask the taste enough for him to take more than one lick
 

lexalayne

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I had to remind my vet to up the sugar flavor the second time she needed them. And if I am ever handfeeding a baby all the adults want some too. It’s a riot to see the grown ups bobing like babies. And they always like the fruit ones the best
 

lexalayne

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Maybe a juice/water mix? I’m not sure what the dosage would be tho that way
 

webchirp

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https://www.amazon.com/Navitas-Orga...1542637841&sr=8-3&keywords=pomegranate+powder

I just wondered the kind of antibiotic...clavamox is pretty sweet as is...there is a water based med you can give him but it's for certain bacteria of course. Call back and ask if there is something they can put in his water. The second med is likely for fungus/yeast? My vet always gives that in addition to antibiotics...nystatin is also sweet.
 

Parakeet88

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Amazon.com : Navitas Organics Pomegranate Powder, 8 oz. Bag - Organic, Non-GMO, Freeze-Dried, Gluten-Free : Powdered Drink Mixes : Grocery & Gourmet Food

I just wondered the kind of antibiotic...clavamox is pretty sweet as is...there is a water based med you can give him but it's for certain bacteria of course. Call back and ask if there is something they can put in his water. The second med is likely for fungus/yeast? My vet always gives that in addition to antibiotics...nystatin is also sweet.
He’s on 0.05 ml enrofloxacin and 0.03 metacam. Ones antibiotic and ones anti inflammatory. One smells pretty good, like strawberries or something. The other smells really bad but he doesn’t like either of them. The vet didn’t say anything about fungus/ yeast. We still don’t know what the bump is, he just figured I could try these and see if they seemed to help
 

Lady Jane

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Been there and done that with the same response. Had to give amphotericin B for 8 weeks to my budgie but he ultimately died.
My budgie learned to hold the med in his mouth and actually spit it out when I thought he had swallowed the stuff. A lot depends on the syringe you are using and the position in which you are hold the bird. There is a good thread here somewhere on this subject. I will try and find it.

hope you find some help here
Ideas for a tiny syringe for medication? | Page 2 | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 

iamwhoiam

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You can try drawing up the medication into the syringe and then drawing up a very small amount of unsweetened apple juice. Sometimes that works but sometimes it doesn't. Might be worth a try, though. Can also go the medication into the water route although can be sure to get the correct dosage via a syringe whereas not the case with the water route. Does he like almond butter? You can try putting some almond butter on your finger or on a small piece of toast and then adding the medication and see if he will take that.
 

Parakeet88

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Been there and done that with the same response. Had to give amphotericin B for 8 weeks to my budgie but he ultimately died.
My budgie learned to hold the med in his mouth and actually spit it out when I thought he had swallowed the stuff. A lot depends on the syringe you are using and the position in which you are hold the bird. There is a good thread here somewhere on this subject. I will try and find it.
The syringes are from the vet. I can’t even catch him to hold him. When the vet had him toweled he took the med fine but I can’t get him toweled
 

Parakeet88

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You can try drawing up the medication into the syringe and then drawing up a very small amount of unsweetened apple juice. Sometimes that works but sometimes it doesn't. Might be worth a try, though. Can also go the medication into the water route although can be sure to get the correct dosage via a syringe whereas not the case with the water route. Does he like almond butter? You can try putting some almond butter on your finger or on a small piece of toast and then adding the medication and see if he will take that.
He’s afraid of the syringes, he backs up when I put it near him, can’t even get him to touch it. I’ve tried leaving the syringes on the cage so he can explore them on his own but he won’t go near them. I haven’t given him much nut butter so I’m not sure if he likes it or not but I can give it a try.
 

Lady Jane

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I do not use a towel when giving meds to a bird. A second person often can help. If I was there you know I would help you. Can you post a photo of the syringe?
 

Linearis

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I find using a towel helps me medicate my bird but she's tame so I can just plop her down on the towel and then I wrap it slowly around her (I put my hand above her so she stops moving, I don't have to do it harshly). What I would recommend is if you're having trouble to bring your bird back to the vet and have them show you how to do it and then try it yourself at the vet and maybe they can give you pointers...? But yeah, I think it's better to take the bird out of the cage first. I bribe my bird out with millet, since I don't want her to become cage aggressive by pulling her out by force.
 

Greencheek Lee

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I put it on wheat bread, let it soak in then cover with some peanut butter.
 

Donna turner

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Poor Ben, and you. Have you ever taken an antibiotic and had it dissolve on your tongue. It is horribly bitter. I had a capsule stick in my throat and start dissolving and I thought it was gonna burn a hole. I don't know how anyone gets a bird to eat it. My hats off to those of you who successfully medicate
 

Parakeet88

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I find using a towel helps me medicate my bird but she's tame so I can just plop her down on the towel and then I wrap it slowly around her (I put my hand above her so she stops moving, I don't have to do it harshly). What I would recommend is if you're having trouble to bring your bird back to the vet and have them show you how to do it and then try it yourself at the vet and maybe they can give you pointers...? But yeah, I think it's better to take the bird out of the cage first. I bribe my bird out with millet, since I don't want her to become cage aggressive by pulling her out by force.
He is tame but is scared of the towel so he runs away from it. The vet showed me how to hold him but I can’t catch him.
 
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