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Lovebird not doing so fantastic.

BeaLuvly

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Hello everybody- I have just joined this forum and am looking for some advice on my lovebird Lilo. Not sure the bird is a she or he because I never got it DNA tested. I read horror stories about the effects of taking blood from birds and wasn't planning on breeding anyway.

Lilo is about to turn two and has another sibling stitch who is doing fine.

My reason for this post is because Lilo has been fluffed up, blinking, hanging out at the the bottom of the cage. We took lilo to our avian specialist twice in the past two weeks. The first time, she puked on the way to the vet. At the vet she was weighed in at 43 grams which I guess is low for a lovebird.
It is important to note that she became ill a year ago and at that time our vet determined that it may be due to vitamin a deficiency. So she was put on sunshine factor and some antibiotic. Again, At the time we had just switched her diet over to avian entrees. She got over whatever it was and was fine until about three weeks ago.
Now... zupreem discontinued avian entrees and we ran out of our last bag about a few weeks ago, since then we had her on mazuri pellets, zupreem fruit blend, and a little bit of the zupreem seed blend. I had wondered if maybe there was something in the zupreem entrees that was giving Lilo some nutrients that she really needs so I switched her food over to Harrison's once the vet gave me the ok.

When we took her back( last Monday) for a follow checkup , she was prescribed another prescription which seemed to be doing the trick but now she's reversing a bit. During this past weeks checkup, we sent out for a poop biopsy and waiting for the results which could take up to two weeks.
In addition to the meds, and diet change, we were told to purchase uvb lighting. Our house doesn't provide great areas for sunlight to seep in.
I guess I'm wondering if lovebirds go through some annual health issues or is there somebody out there that has experienced something similar with there bird?

Lilo does get veggies provided for her and birdie out time everyday for about an hour. Lilo and stitches cage is three platforms... about three feet high and two feet wide.

Thanks to whoever reads this... and I'm sorry it's so long. I just wanted to provide as much Info as I can.
-Alicia
 

LunaLovebird

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Birds go through hormonal patches annually, but getting sick once a year is not normal. I'm not convinced her symptoms are from vitamin A deficiency. Did your vet do a crop swab or chem panels at all? Is there anyway they can speed up the tests (I assume it's a culture assay)? If this is an infection, two weeks could easily be too long. I would think that any vet would have a microscope on hand to do a fecal swab - did your vet do this? What medication is she currently on?
 

LunaLovebird

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Also, is she eating and drinking okay?
 

Mizzely

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How much is she actually eating of the pellets vs the seeds etc? What kinds of veggies? Have you tried to take her outside in a carrier to get real sunshine? From my research, UV bulbs are worthless unless 12 inches from the bird, and at that point they are at risk for eye damage. They also are really inconsistent with their output.

What is the medication for?
 

expressmailtome

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If your veterinarian feels that it is a vitamin A deficiency, you could try feeding her sweet potato. It is high in vitamin A, and many birds love it. You would want to cook it without adding butter or anything else to it.
 

Taylin k

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its pro because it might be a girl all birds get fulffed up when they wanna relax and when they blink like crazy there happy with u/content and my female birds lay on the bottom of the cage when there getting ready to lay
 

BeaLuvly

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Sorry for such delays in replies.
The first med was antibacterial and the second was antifungal.

the vet that I usually take Lilo has experience In small animals and trained at an avian and small animal hospital that is located in San Diego. She's great and the fecal test came back negative.

That being said, we did take Lilo for a second opinion at the avian and exotic animal hospital today. She was given an x ray and the vet discovered that there was some kind of mass in lilos lower stomach area. Also, some parts of the bone structure look a little weak. We were given a calcium med and given birth control for Lilo. Trying to keep my hopes up. We are suppose to call back in a few days if there is no improvement and move on from there.
Thanks for all the feed back. Lilo does get veggies like red and orange peppers and broccoli. I was told to not give seeds or egg because they're too fatty for the bird. So I'm just going to go with that. Treats are fine but not as a regular diet.
 
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