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Help! Sick rainbow lorikeet :(

Alicia B

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Hello,

I am very new to bird care and have recently taken over care of two outside rainbow lorikeets. They were very neglected, under fed and did not have regular access to clean water.

They have also over plucked themselves due to stress and any time I’m not there to clean their cages, and send someone else instead (husband, MIL or FIL), they stress and I find feathers on the ground. When I was sick and did not come for a couple days, one was so badly plucked she had a bald patch, bad bruising and sores. Since then I make sure they are cleaned twice a day, and never miss seeing them. Happy news here, is the one that was doing quite poorly, is now healed and starting to grow her feathers back! Win! She is also very happy and chatty now.

Her brother, however, has taken a sharp decline since yesterday. :( His wings are drooping, his eyes are closed, and he is sitting very still and not moving. I got him to just barely vocalise with me one time—he is usually the chatty social one.He was looking at the bottle brush I put in his cage, so I placed it at his feet and he came over and was eating out of it. But eating nothing else (He had one black poo, however after having some bottle brush, had a white normal looking poo). I offer fresh fruits and veg daily, plus powder. Also, when he flew, he was quickly out of breath, and you could see his chest heaving. :,(

There are no avian doctors close by. I have been looking for answers online, with not much luck. Any help is appreciated.

Yesterday was a very hot day, and when I was cleaning their cage, they got a little splash back fine mist. Not a lot, but they were preening afterwards. They have very few top feathers. He has lots of down though. Is it possible he has a cold? Thanks again!! Picture of him is attached.
 

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Birds don't catch colds. With the black poop, there is a strong possibility that he is not eating and is starving. You will need to hand feed him. There is no way to know why he isn't eating.

You really, really need to get him to a vet.
 

sunnysmom

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Any vet is better than no vet at this point. Perhaps the vet can consult with an avian vet for help. Thank you for trying to help them. I do think they need to see a vet asap.
 

Alicia B

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I was also thinking he needed to eat. I brought him bottle brush, which he did eat some of, and this morning he ate a bit of pear. I was also reading on another site that Manuka honey and bee pollin could be good for them both as an occasional supplement. I figured he needed calories, so I’ve got the honey, and mixed it with filtered water, and then dropped it into the individual flowers of the bottle brush...he flew over and ate from them all.

Unfortunately they are not my birds, and the owners will not take him to a vet—and my husband won’t let me pay for it either. In addition to that they have lived in an outside aviary, and have never been touched. So the thought of catching him and crating him seems way more stress than is needed. I honestly don’t feel it will help. Hand feeding is also not an option, as even entering the cage brings him great stress—though he is getting better and accepting my honey flowers. And also doesn’t have laboured breathing after flying. He’s been more social with the other bird today too—grooming her a bit, though mostly letting her groom him.

On the plus side, he hasn’t gotten worse. And I’ve not found him on the ground or on flat surface at all today. Much improved from yesterday. I’m thinking it’s possible he’s been bit by something? There are two birds together and the other seems fine. I’ve also been keeping the cage, food, water and bath meticulously clean.
 

sunnysmom

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I'm glad he's improving.
 

iamwhoiam

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Thank you for helping the birds. Hope they will be better soon.
 

Alicia B

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More good news!

He continues to steadily improve. It seemed as though he had some for of ataxia, he was loosing his balance and not able to swiftly move about.

He really enjoyed the Manuka honey—both birds did, naturally. I’ve been feeding it to the both by scoring cut up pear or apple pieces and placing them in various places around the cage. The healthy bird was eating everything before he got the chance, as he was slower—so I found putting them in multiple places gave him more opportunity to feed). Mostly he hops/runs on branches from piece to piece, licking them with his special tongue. Someone had said before that he was possibly starving, which I think may have been true. Since introducing the honey, he has eatyen at least twice a day. His balance is back, he even bathed himself yesterday! He has started to vocalise again and get excited at feeding times again. He still rests, but is overall more active, alert and steady.

We also changed their food to a higher quality lorikeet feed.

They seem like very happy, improving birds. I also continue to see more grow through of previously stress plucked feathers. Yay!!

Thanks all!
 

iamwhoiam

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Excellent news. Thank you for updating. Great that they are both doing better.
 

Alicia B

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One last update:

I have two bouncy, chatty birds!!

I also started feeding a couple granules of Bee pollin stuffed into the scored apple. I also got a little coconut flower nectar, and put some of that, watered down, onto the apple. Happy happy birds.

I’ve read on other forums that people have fed Bee pollin to nectar/pollin eaters, with great success. They said it contributed to vibrant feathers. So hoping regrowth goes well! Xx
 

Alicia B

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They are both at the front of the cage calling for me to hurry up with their morning treat, lol.
 
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