Urgent Milk thistle advice

[Anorme]

Hi
I want to try milk thistle for an amazon (approx 40 Yr old). Any advice on dosage and also how to give it to him, everything I have read says to add it to his water. He rarely drinks from his bowl (sometimes dunks things in it) his usual trick is to land on the kitchen tap.and drinks from that.
Many thanks

 

[saroj12]

i get mine from the vet and dispense it with a 1cc syringe.

 

[saroj12]

if you suspect liver disease take him to a vet for bloodwork and prescription

 

[Birdbabe]

You'll need a calculation with his weight in grams. Its given orally, it will not hurt him since it's a natural medicine, call your vet and ask the dosage ..

 

[webchirp]

It also depends on where you get your milk thistle. Make sure it doesn't have any other vitamins in it. All of mine get their nutriberries spiked with it. Since Kari has been sick she also get .06ml twice per day. She is 67 grams. I wouldn't put it in the water. At 40, he could use a good checkup to make sure his heart and other organs are doing well and that you are providing quality of life.

 

[sunnysmom]

I don't know how the percentages compare ingredient wise, etc. but senior nutriberries also have milk thistle in them. A lot of birds like them.

 

[Clueless]

Hi
I want to try milk thistle for an amazon (approx 40 Yr old). Any advice on dosage and also how to give it to him, everything I have read says to add it to his water. He rarely drinks from his bowl (sometimes dunks things in it) his usual trick is to land on the kitchen tap.and drinks from that.
Many thanks

I have two old blue front amazons too.

Right now they get some senor nutriberries on a daily basis. You may want to try that. If something is in their water, they may quit drinking it.

Secret had one of her blood tests come back with raised values and that amazon also gets medication daily. Thankfully catching something early the vet can give medications to try to prevent further damage.

Has your bird seen an avian vet yet? There's a difference in vets and if possible, you want a certified avian vet.

 

[Anorme]

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies - I am unable to take him to the vet at the mo as I am away from home for at least another 3 to 4 weeks. The vet I used to take him to retired a few years ago, and so I will need to find another one. From what I can find online the nearest one is a couple of hours away and it is not possible for the lady who is looking after him to take him and it would be difficult (and stressful) for someone he doesn't know to take him. He has never been ill (or should I say under the weather) before and we have been together now for 38 years, I don't think the situation is desperate but as he is not a youngster anymore I want to start him on some homeopathic remedies until I get home.
Problem is all the things mentioned in this forum that sound useful (Nutiberries Senior, Aloe detox etc) are not available in the UK and will have to be shipped from the US. The only thing readily available is milk thistle - no alcohol, and dandelion leaves from the garden - neither of which I believe will do him any harm but obviously in the correct dosage. I can get Nutri berries (just not the Senior) and so I will try spiking those as suggested by Webchirp above.
Thanks again and any more suggestions / tips would be very welcome.
One other question I have (please pardon my ignorance) how do they take bloods from an Amazon parrot - does this require an anesthetic as he has never had either.

 

[Clueless]

An experienced Avian certified vet can take blood. They do my two without anesthetic.

NOTE that I keep saying avian certified? There's a difference in veterinarians. I have friends that take their parrots to vets that treat birds often and they are comfortable with that. I am probably more cautious but that is me. Birds are a specialty practice.

You can read the threads about trying to stop bleeding when a blood feather breaks and realize it's important to have your friend in good hands.

 

[Clueless]

@Anorme

What is going on with him? Does he have symptoms of some kind?

I understand you're not there but is the Amazon with someone he knows?

 

[Anorme]

Hi again,
Yes I will find an good avian vet, presently I take him for beak and toe clipping to my usual small animal vet but wouldn't use her for anything else.
I once took him to a vet who looks after the parrots at the local zoo for a beak trim and he insisted on an anesthetic to do it so I won't be taking him there !
The only definite symptoms are fine black lines around the bottom edge of his the top of his wing feathers - the lady looking after him has been with him for about 4 months in total off and on and so she doesn't really know what is normal behavior as he has so many little idiosyncrasies, she just thinks he is under the weather but can't put her finger on it, and as we all know they are complicated creatures. She sends me little watsap videos when she thinks he is acting a bit weird or off and so far there is nothing worrying. What got me concerned was that she said he fell of his perch which I know isn't good, but after numerous long conversations videos and photos I think it may have been a night fright - it has happened a few times over the years where I have heard a flutter and gone through to find him on the floor, always at night and in the dark. He isn't caged and has the run of the house.
I'm sure he will be fine - it will be me that needs medicating

 

[Clueless]

I'm sure he will be fine - it will be me that needs medicating

And that is the issue with all of us!!!!

 

[Clueless]

I'm not sure about the black lines on feathers.

Can you share a photo??

 

[Anorme]

Sorry - I don't know much about parrots, but know even less about computers / smart phones etc

 

[Clueless]

Sorry - I don't know much about parrots, but know even less about computers / smart phones etc

Just below where you type it says "upload a file". If you click that, you can search your device that you are using for the picture.

If she sends you a picture of him, it may be downloaded on your phone.

If you're interested in posting one and can't figure out how, I can tag some of our members that are skilled in that area.

I was just hopeful that someone would know what was going on with the black lines.

 

[webchirp]

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies - I am unable to take him to the vet at the mo as I am away from home for at least another 3 to 4 weeks. The vet I used to take him to retired a few years ago, and so I will need to find another one. From what I can find online the nearest one is a couple of hours away and it is not possible for the lady who is looking after him to take him and it would be difficult (and stressful) for someone he doesn't know to take him. He has never been ill (or should I say under the weather) before and we have been together now for 38 years, I don't think the situation is desperate but as he is not a youngster anymore I want to start him on some homeopathic remedies until I get home.
Problem is all the things mentioned in this forum that sound useful (Nutiberries Senior, Aloe detox etc) are not available in the UK and will have to be shipped from the US. The only thing readily available is milk thistle - no alcohol, and dandelion leaves from the garden - neither of which I believe will do him any harm but obviously in the correct dosage. I can get Nutri berries (just not the Senior) and so I will try spiking those as suggested by Webchirp above.
Thanks again and any more suggestions / tips would be very welcome.
One other question I have (please pardon my ignorance) how do they take bloods from an Amazon parrot - does this require an anesthetic as he has never had either.

Usually through the jugular...

Anesthesia isn't always a bad thing (except one of our AA babies had a reaction and passed ) but my wild ones and Julip who seizures gets midazolam which actually knocks them out for the most part. But when they are out like that, Dr. Orosz can perform an exam without fighting and seizures. Usually we reserve this for things like ultrasounds...sometimes xrays (Jim the vet tech is pretty darn good at taking xrays without sedatives), blood draw or helping to get stuck eggs out (just recently).