Slic102
Walking the driveway
- Joined
- 10/16/09
- Messages
- 218
- Real Name
- Lisa Cook
Hi guys, first of all, I did get my macaw and things are going great with him....I'll post pics later today.
My good FB friend, G.G. Deaton (not sure what she goes by here) recommeneded I post this over here because there are so many knowledgable people who might be able to answer some of my questions.
First, a little backbround. We have had Simon for 4 years now, and he was close to a year old when we got him. Me, being uneducated in where to buy a bird at the time, bought him at a pet shop (since closed down) that was a horrible place. In fact, I was originally going in to pick up an eclectus that I had a deposit on, but when I got there he was on the bottom of his cage lookin quite lethargic, and there was no way I was paying that kind of money for a sick bird. Since they wouldn't refund my deposit, I used it to buy Simon, cage and toys.
In his first blood test, it showed he was a carrier of Chlamydia Psittaci. He was my first bird, so I didn't have to worry about infecting any other birds, so the vet told me to give him meds he sent me home with, and told me to come back in 10 days to have blood checked again. His results came back fine, but the doc was concerned at where we got a bird that was a carrier. Anyway, over the past 4 years, he has been my ONLY bird who has ever had to go to the vet for a sick visit. He has been very sick at least 4 times.
This time, it came on just like that! He was fine one day, and the next, he was puffed and looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. We took him to the vet within hours. My primary vet was out of town, so I had to see a vet I'm not really familiar with. As she looked him over, and he pooped a bright green poop on the scale, AND he had lost weight since his last visit, she suspected liver disease. They took him into the hospital because he breathing was labored, then ordered a bunch of tests to the tune of over 1000. I was SHOCKED to say the least. He could not have tests done that day because he'd go into open mouth breathing everytime they tried to draw blood or get an xray, and they'd have to put him on oxygen. The second day they did get an xray and the doc called me to tell me that she was pretty sure it was liver disease, because of his really enlarged liver. The next day they were able to get blood, which confirmed that he has severe liver disease (which is a bit different than fatty liver disease). He's also anemic. He won't eat on his own so he is getting gavage feedings and being hydrated. He's being treated with a liver detoxin, a broad spectrun antibiotic, milk thistle combined with something else that I have forgotten. Tuesday my primary was there and he called me and said that he'd consulted with one of the top vets in the US, Dr. Burkett and he confirmed that not only was it what my vet had diagnosed, but with his background and with what he gets fed, and the fact that he's never been overweight (plus he's only 5) that rather than this being dietary, it was heriditary. Now what I'm looking at is an unknown prognosis as to how long he will be there, have no idea what the quality of his life will be if he makes it, and to make it all just wonderful, it's costing me 154 per day for him to stay there. I went to visit and took his cage mate yesterday and he looked so bad. Even the color of his head feathers were no longer grey, they were a bluish white. They didn't even act like the knew each other at first...then Simon got some energy to preen Ollie and all was good. He had about 6 minutes of doing that before he started looking like he was falling asleep again.
My questions: for those of you who have been through this, did your bird make it and what sort of treatments did he have? What was the quality of life afterwards? How long was he at the vet? (I've been told it could be months) Was yours fatty liver disease or sever liver disease....I was told by the vet that what he has is harder to treat because it is so advanced and since he's been sick off and on for most of his life, plus the vet knows what I feed him so it's not a matter of a dietary change, although he will have to be on low fat pellets now that I'll have to get from the vet. Did you try holistic treatment, and if so, what did you use and what seemed to help the most. Did you treat your bird at home or did they stay for quite awhile at the vet? I've been told not to use anything wholistic now as it will interfere with what he is already on.
Has anyone had a bird die from this? Did they die at the vets, or at home? Has anyone had to put a bird down because of this. I don't want him to be miserable and in pain, but I don't want to lose him and it's breaking my heart.
I'm just devastated since he was my first and will always be my favorite parrot. He's my buddy bird and I just don't know how to deal with this! Any and all advice will be appreciated. Thanks guys.
My good FB friend, G.G. Deaton (not sure what she goes by here) recommeneded I post this over here because there are so many knowledgable people who might be able to answer some of my questions.
First, a little backbround. We have had Simon for 4 years now, and he was close to a year old when we got him. Me, being uneducated in where to buy a bird at the time, bought him at a pet shop (since closed down) that was a horrible place. In fact, I was originally going in to pick up an eclectus that I had a deposit on, but when I got there he was on the bottom of his cage lookin quite lethargic, and there was no way I was paying that kind of money for a sick bird. Since they wouldn't refund my deposit, I used it to buy Simon, cage and toys.
In his first blood test, it showed he was a carrier of Chlamydia Psittaci. He was my first bird, so I didn't have to worry about infecting any other birds, so the vet told me to give him meds he sent me home with, and told me to come back in 10 days to have blood checked again. His results came back fine, but the doc was concerned at where we got a bird that was a carrier. Anyway, over the past 4 years, he has been my ONLY bird who has ever had to go to the vet for a sick visit. He has been very sick at least 4 times.
This time, it came on just like that! He was fine one day, and the next, he was puffed and looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. We took him to the vet within hours. My primary vet was out of town, so I had to see a vet I'm not really familiar with. As she looked him over, and he pooped a bright green poop on the scale, AND he had lost weight since his last visit, she suspected liver disease. They took him into the hospital because he breathing was labored, then ordered a bunch of tests to the tune of over 1000. I was SHOCKED to say the least. He could not have tests done that day because he'd go into open mouth breathing everytime they tried to draw blood or get an xray, and they'd have to put him on oxygen. The second day they did get an xray and the doc called me to tell me that she was pretty sure it was liver disease, because of his really enlarged liver. The next day they were able to get blood, which confirmed that he has severe liver disease (which is a bit different than fatty liver disease). He's also anemic. He won't eat on his own so he is getting gavage feedings and being hydrated. He's being treated with a liver detoxin, a broad spectrun antibiotic, milk thistle combined with something else that I have forgotten. Tuesday my primary was there and he called me and said that he'd consulted with one of the top vets in the US, Dr. Burkett and he confirmed that not only was it what my vet had diagnosed, but with his background and with what he gets fed, and the fact that he's never been overweight (plus he's only 5) that rather than this being dietary, it was heriditary. Now what I'm looking at is an unknown prognosis as to how long he will be there, have no idea what the quality of his life will be if he makes it, and to make it all just wonderful, it's costing me 154 per day for him to stay there. I went to visit and took his cage mate yesterday and he looked so bad. Even the color of his head feathers were no longer grey, they were a bluish white. They didn't even act like the knew each other at first...then Simon got some energy to preen Ollie and all was good. He had about 6 minutes of doing that before he started looking like he was falling asleep again.
My questions: for those of you who have been through this, did your bird make it and what sort of treatments did he have? What was the quality of life afterwards? How long was he at the vet? (I've been told it could be months) Was yours fatty liver disease or sever liver disease....I was told by the vet that what he has is harder to treat because it is so advanced and since he's been sick off and on for most of his life, plus the vet knows what I feed him so it's not a matter of a dietary change, although he will have to be on low fat pellets now that I'll have to get from the vet. Did you try holistic treatment, and if so, what did you use and what seemed to help the most. Did you treat your bird at home or did they stay for quite awhile at the vet? I've been told not to use anything wholistic now as it will interfere with what he is already on.
Has anyone had a bird die from this? Did they die at the vets, or at home? Has anyone had to put a bird down because of this. I don't want him to be miserable and in pain, but I don't want to lose him and it's breaking my heart.I'm just devastated since he was my first and will always be my favorite parrot. He's my buddy bird and I just don't know how to deal with this! Any and all advice will be appreciated. Thanks guys.
