Urgent Birds Sick for Months, Can't Figure Out What It Is (Have Been To Vet)

[Pixiebeak]

I just don't know enough about all the viruses. I think some can test positive but aren't symptomatic, some will clear it and test negative later , nit all birds will progress ever , or some may many years later ..but this is all from my faulty memory....so go by your research and your veterinarian communications.

Again, you are such a a dedicated owner , and I'm so sorry you sbd your birds are going through this

 

[Mizzely]

I don't know enough about PDD either

 

[April]

And right after getting the results... his bad tremors are back. This is probably PDD, isn't it? I don't know if he's going to live. Isn't PDD contagious, too?

I'm so sorry to hear this diagnosis. I'd look up the user @Hankmacaw she's sadly passed away but posted a lot about ABV and PDD so her threads have a lot of great information in them.

 

[Azellia]

Culture came back. There are a few colonies of pseudomonas growing. The doxycycline they're on SHOULD be effective for that. So we're going to continue course and see if their respiratory symptoms improve! I'm already seeing some moderate improvement.

I wanted to ask the vet more about my one bird's AVB diagnoses but I got hung up on prematurely. Sigh. I'm finding a lot of conflicting info on AVB/PDD online that's really confusing me. Some sources say AVB/PDD are two different things. Others say they're the same thing. Some sources say AVB is usually non-symptomatic, but in some birds, in certain circumstances, like in times of stress, it can flare up. You can treat these flare-ups as they come, and then the bird can go back into "remission" essentially. Others say that symptomatic AVB IS PDD.

Either way, I believe Celebrex is the med of choice for AVB/PDD. Vet never really mentioned if he was going to prescribe that or not. Are there any good anti-inflammatory vegetables/herbs I can try giving my bird until I get more information on that???

 

[Azellia]

Also, I just wanted to quickly thank everyone here for their support throughout this whole mess! I'm kind of awkward (also very stressed) so I haven't been responding as messages crop up, but know I really really appreciate y'all!

 

[Azellia]

I've heard pseudomonas is a water-loving bacteria. I'm wondering if it's possible our tap water is contaminated? The pseudomonas found on the culture aren't antibiotic resistant strains, and my birds have been throughout multiple rounds of antibiotic treatment. You'd think they would have cleared up from one of those previous rounds, but if they keep getting reinfected...

 

[Azellia]

I think I'm going to start boiling their water. Or possibly switch to bottled Spring water.

 

[Pixiebeak]

It's possible the pseudonymous is a contamination , or is indeed real ..
Sorry you have so much going on , but hopefully these birdies get well.

I have had sick birds, it is so very stressful, and I always appreciate the support of the community. You definitely don't need to thank us , you have a lot going on! I took found it helpful to post and write out everything

Sending you so much love ! You are a great human!

 

[BrianB]

ABV and PDD are weird things. Some vets say they are connected, some say they aren't. When dealing with a bird that had it, my vet was honest and said research is progressing, but there is a lot they just don't know about it. There are multiple strains of the virus. They think that some of them cause PDD and others don't, which is why some birds get PDD and others never do. Some are more virulent than others. Birds within the same species react to it differently. Some will be lifelong carriers and not show any clinical symptoms while others will die within a few weeks of exposure, yet some birds are exposed and never test positive. I wish we had more knowledge of it. Until we do, I think it's best to presume that if one bird has it, then the others will have it at some point. The best you can do is keep everything as clean as possible, and it sounds like you're doing that. I switched from Pet Focus to F10 SC and use it to clean everything. Please let us know what happens.

 

[Azellia]

Hi, everyone. Another small update.

The doxy is definitely working for the pseudomonas. Sneezing is way, way down. I hear a few at night, none the rest of the day.

I'm worried about my sickest bird, though.

His wing activity has gone WAY down. He's been more vocal and more active. But today, I'm noticing some ataxia. He started biting his leg band early in the morning-he's always hated his leg band, so I didn't think much of it at first. But as I continued to watch him, I noticed that whenever he moved to a new perch, he'd stumble and struggle to balance for a few seconds. Seems like his leg band leg is kind of weak. He's still perching fine, hasn't fallen off anything yet, but is noticeably wobbly.

I called the vet about starting him on meds a little while ago, still waiting to hear back. I think I might have to move him to a hospital cage again.

 

[Azellia]

Uh... and almost immediately after I type that... he seems to be perching stably again.

 

[Azellia]

Aaand, never mind, he's doing it again.

 

[Azellia]

He's in the hospital cage now. Very wobbly but active.

 

[Azellia]

Vet is preparing Celebrex for him, it'll be ready tomorrow. Hopefully he can just make it through the night.

Apart from the ataxia, he's doing okay. Eating and drinking. Singing. Very active. Hates the hospital cage and is running around smacking the walls, tearing up the paper towels at the bottom.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Sending love