• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here
  • This forum is for advice about initial treatment given to your injured/sick bird until a qualified avian veterinarian is available.
    THIS IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE VET CARE

Not sure of next steps - 17 year old sun conure

Status
Not open for further replies.

Skyler

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/19/09
Messages
5,913
Location
Chicago
Real Name
Pat
:dance4::dance4::dance4:
 

ncGreyBirdLady

They call Me crazy like its a bad thing!
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
11,676
Location
Feathered Funny Farm USA
Real Name
Bonnie
SO Glad that she continues to improve:hug8:You are a Great Parront:hug8:
 

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Exchanged email with vet this afternoon regarding probiotics and this is the feedback I received: The antibiotics Willie has been given are not known to kill all bacteria in the gastrointestinal system. In birds the best probiotics would be species-specific and as to date there are not any probiotics manufactured for individual species of birds. You are more than welcome to try a priobiotic but how helpful it will be is unknown.

Please don't shoot the messenger on this one...
 

Jeddy

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
4,792
Location
West Coast- California
Real Name
Jan
I just caught this post and I am so happy to hear you found another avian vet that cared more. Sounds like you are on the right track. Thank God you are such a great keeper.
 
Last edited:

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
For the benefit of others, in our particular situation, this is the advice I have received from our new vet:

1) Keep Willie's cage warm. This is the first and most important point about her surroundings.
2) Remove all perches and move all food and water to the bottom of the cage.
3) Keep her bowls and cage meticulously clean.
4) Provide her with filtered water from the refrigerator. Distilled water is not as healthy as filtered tap water.
5) Feed her 3 cc's of Kaytee Exact Formula, 4 would be even better
6) Feed her 3 cc's of water with a little optional juice (like grape). Also, a 50/50 mix of water and Pedialyte is even better.
7) Let her continue her normal food (Avicakes, Nutriberries), Pellets, some seed and nuts, veggies, fruits
8) Handle her only when feeding, watering, or administering medicine
9) Make sure she gets a solid 10-12 hours of sleep
10) Giver her Baytril twice a day.
11) Giver her a calcium supplement once per day.
12) Keep a log of her droppings. Make sure they are "healthy".

Love this new plan!
 

Anne & Gang

Riding the Skies
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Real Name
Anne
so glad she is improving dear..:hug8:
 

Blackford

Sprinting down the street
Avenue Veteran
Joined
8/22/10
Messages
330
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Real Name
Tyne
GOOD ON YOU FOR TRUSTING YOUR INTUITION!!!

Have just been through this myself and it is awful just awful when you KNOW they are not improving and the vet will NOT listen..

You have done the best job, and im sure she will make a full recovery (healing thoughts for her to do so) :)
 

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Willie is still doing well but we were disappointed that she still only weighed 96 grams yesterday. I guess I should be happy that she's not losing weight at an alarming rate now? The swelling on her abdomen has all but disappeared. Maybe we traded swelling for "real weight"? We're still doing 3 feedings / 3 waterings a day. The vet says she needs to be back up to 115-120 grams.
 
Last edited:

Billie Faye

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
7,076
Location
NC
Real Name
Billie Faye
Just keep doing what you are doing with her!
One small step at a time!
Has he said anything about increasing mabye 1 cc on the feedings????
Keeping her in a warm place at least 80-85º air tempt around her will help her not use the food to keep her warm and use it to gain weight....this is so important!:hug8:
 

birdlvr466

Hit the Road
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
16,655
Real Name
Pat
Glad she improving. 115-120 is on the higher end for Sun Conures so I wouldnt worry if she doesnt get to that weight. My Sun is 4 and she weighs 106. That has been her stable weight for most of her life. Avitech also has some nice products. AviGain I used when my Quaker was sick last year. Avitech Exotic Birds - Supplies, Equipment and Nutritional Supplements for Birds!
Please keep us posted, you are doing a great job.
 

Redbird

Meeting neighbors
Joined
9/7/10
Messages
29

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Talked with the vet's office this afternoon. They sounded surprised that Willie hasn't gained any weight. They were expecting her to be well over 100 grams by now. I'm not going to give up on her! She's really acting healthy now - back to her normal self. They want me to bring her in next week for blood work and x-rays to see if her numbers / organ status is any better. Going to just keep on keeping on...
 

birdlvr466

Hit the Road
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
16,655
Real Name
Pat
Are you weighing Willie everyday? If so you should be weighing her at the same time everyday, meaning morning, or evening but I would suggest morning as soon as she gets up before eating. I keep a log of my birds weight so you know what is "normal" for your bird. Also if you are weighing you are using a scale that weighs in grams?
 

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
I started out weighing her in the afternoon so I have continued doing that. I will start weighing her in the morning after she has her water and takes her morning poop (that's the routine almost 100% of the time). I am using a somewhat expensive food scale that weighs in grams. I weighed her on Wednesday and then again today. Both times she was 96.
 

birdlvr466

Hit the Road
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
16,655
Real Name
Pat
Your scale sounds fine. Yes morning would be good and for the time being, I would weigh her everyday until she stabilizes. When my Quaker was sick, I was weighing him twice a day, just for my own sanity. It is so hard when they are sick. Does she like nuts? You could try giving her more nuts for the time being too, they are high in fat. My vet had me handfeeding Tequila 3-4 times a day with handfeeding formula but he wasnt eating much on his own at first. Sounds like Willie is eating good but I would keep up the handfeeding and maybe look at the AviGain that I linked to in an earlier post.
 

RebeccaP

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/5/10
Messages
55
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Thank you. Ordering the Avigain now. She loves nuts so I'll make sure she gets those too. She's such a sweetheart with the hand feeding. I think she looks forward to the snuggling and eating.
 

birdlvr466

Hit the Road
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
16,655
Real Name
Pat
Thank you. Ordering the Avigain now. She loves nuts so I'll make sure she gets those too. She's such a sweetheart with the hand feeding. I think she looks forward to the snuggling and eating.
Thats wonderful. Tequila was also very good taking his meds and his handfeeding. You are doing great. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top