Love Bird 2yo

[jelly bean]

We have had the fright of our lives today when our normally very bossy and demanding 2 yo love bird lost his voice and began struggling to breath ( could see from his/ her wings moving when breathing ). We hate it when he is noisy only to find we are totally devastated when he is ill and quiet.

He is my 11 yo daughters bird. He is out of the (large ) cage for 1 to 3 hours per day depending on our schedule. He has a friend in another cage - Peaches, my youngest daughter's bird - so far no symptoms.

Cage is always spotless. Cage cleaned weekly/ New water daily / twice daily. New seed daily / or every second day. Calcium block. He seems scared of any fresh food and we gave up introducing new food a year ago - it all seemed too stressful for him.

Very very social busy bodies. Who are LOVED dearly.
So...... we took him straight to the vet one hour after he seemed to take ill (in hind sight he had been quite for a day prior e.g. quite and not so bossy ).

We live in Singapore
I want to check that the standard of care is the same - or if we can do more or something different. If you can please review treatment below and comment on your experience I would greatly appreciate it.

Dexycycline - 0.1 x 1 times daily x 25 days
Curmin (sp?) 312.5 x 0.1 x 2 daily x 14 days
Baytril x 2 drops in drinking water - change water every 48 hours for two weeks ( unless feces then change and add)
Rest and isolation (covered cage) for 5 days

I am so scared that he will pass. He is our boy and loved more dearly than I ever imagined when we brought him home.

Questions:
Does the above medicines make sense for a "flu" ?
What are the chances he will survive ?( vet said good - but I need to know as I have a heartbroken child - my tears can come later )

Don't think there is a need for warmer beds in SG - temp is equatorial a constant +/_ 28degs C

HELP. Very sad and stressed.

 

[jelly bean]

Any advice would be well received. I dont want to loose Our Man Jellybean - one of the bossiest - now very quite. Your experience and advice is greatly appreciated. URGENT!!

 

[Lady Jane]

@Hankmacaw

 

[Hankmacaw]

@jelly bean First of all, birds don't get the "flu", they will get bacterial, fungal or a viral infection - none of which are similar to human flu virus. Tell me what tests did the vet perform on the bird? Did he do a fecal and throat swab, a complete blood count, a chemistry panel or and Xray? Heavy breathing can many times be an indication of Aspergillosis a very serious fungal infection. How did he determine what is wrong with your baby?

Doxycycline and Baytril are both broad spectrum antibiotics and perform pretty much the same functions. If your vet had done a culture and sensitivity he could have determined exactly which antibiotic the BACTERIA is sensitive to. Antibiotics are not effective for Fungal or Viral infections. Doxycycline and Enrofloxacin (Baytril) are sometimes used together in severe or chronic respiratory infections.

Cucumin is in Tumeric and is an herbal supplement. I'm not a fan of herbal treatments, but cucumin is porported to reduce swelling. I particularly am not in favor of using herbs in combination with antibiotics, antifungals - for most there have been no clinical studies for side effects and efficacy. Plus no one knows (except in very few cases) when an antibiotic and herb will produce detrimental synergies.

1. Turmeric – Packed with bioflavonoids and polyphenols. Turmeric speeds wound healing, and offers anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibacterial properties. 15 Natural Feed Supplements for Birds (Exotic, Poultry, Pigeons, etc) | All Natural Pet Care Blog

Let us know how your baby is doing.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How scary, I hope your little bird will be okay!

 

[iamwhoiam]

I hope that your lovebird will be OK.