Undigested Millet in droppings

[ktemkin]

Still at Cornell.

His intestines were clogged last night; he finally unclogged them and produced a /lot/ of undigested matter.

His urine has turned bright green, so whatever this is affecting his liver.

No gram negative bacteria in stool.

They've taken him away to perform more tests.

Prognosis doesn't look good. I am so afraid for him.

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[luvsgreys]

You both are in our thoughts and prayers!

 

[ktemkin]

Just got back from Cornell.

His urine has returned to a normal color; something apparently upset his liver for a bit and backed off. The vet ran a chem panel and determined that he wasn't at direct risk for 'catastrophic' organ failure, which we had previously thought was a danger.

The lead the vet is currently following is that it's chlamydia/psittacosis, but we won't get that test for a few days yet.

The vet wasn't really willing to speculate, but there's a possibility that whatever he has is preventing him from digesting certain seeds (millet, in particular). Last night, he seemingly suffered some kind of intestinal blockage, which prevented him from urinating/defecating.

It's possible that that caused some toxicity, and that might explain the liver trouble.

He's much happier being home- more active, and hungry- but we still have no idea what's caused this, or if it'll happen again.

I'm due to bring him back once we have the test results. In the meantime, the vet said to feet him lots of wet food. I'm going to look for a good birdie mash recipe to make for him.

Anyone have any suggestions, both food-wise and general?

 

[Billie Faye]

Can you find Dandelion greens? They are really good for the birds and help with detox on the liver
The Kitchen Physician Herbal Remedies for Parrots
The Kitchen Physician Nature's Pharmacy
Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Kitchen Physician XV - Ask Mother Nature Healthcare for Birds

...as for mash...
I would use Quinoa (Costco) has it...
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
also has recipe at the end of article.
this site might also help you:
Avian Natural Veterinary Care and Bird's Optimum Nutrition

 

[ktemkin]

I love Wegmans- they're open 24/7 and have everything.

I was able to find both there, and picked up some ingredients for the mash I'll make tomorrow.

It'd really fill my heart if I could just wake up to him singing in the morning.

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[Billie Faye]

Please let us know how he is doing... you also might have to adjust the size of the veggies / greens...I don't know if he eat the "wet" food already and sometimes, birds won't eat something new, especially when they are not feeling good...you could even put everything into a blender for a "soup"...just some ideas for you.

 

[Anne & Gang]

many positive thoughts and healing prayers on the way please keep us posted

 

[ktemkin]

He's lost a lot of weight since yesterday. From 70 to 65. I don't know how much is because of how much blood they drew, but I still don't like seeing his weight so low.

Still puffed but more alert. Droppings are smaller, and still green, but his urine is clear.

He has a heating pad going- I also own an infared heat lamp. Should I set that up as well? (It lacks a clip, or I would have it on his cage already.)

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[Billie Faye]

If he is still puffed, I would add the heat...the air around him should be at least 85º ....just make sure IF he wants, he can move away from the heat to another part of the cage....Do you have the cage closed on a number of sides to keep the heat with him???

 

[Redbird]

Call your vet and let him know the birds current condition and weight. This forum has great information and suggestions given here should only be used after consulting your avian vet.

Your birds loss of weight should is a concern. It is possible the bird may not be drinking and has become dehydrated. You may want to add some pedialyte to the birds water 50/50, water/pedialyte. If your bird is severely dehydrated it may need Sub-Q, (fluid) injections to survive. Please make sure your bird is kept warm, eating, and hydrated!

Did your vet tell you what the blood values were from the blood test? Was the white cell count high? The reason to ask the vet about this: If the white cell count is high, indicative of an infection and the urine and fecal colors are as described the bird could have a chlamydia/psittacosis infection. If so I assume the vet would have prescribed the antibiotic to doxycycline right away rather than wait for test results. Did the vet test for giardia? Did the vet mention yeast?

As posted above dandellion and milkthistle are great for liver treatment.

 

[ktemkin]

Your birds loss of weight should is a concern. It is possible the bird may not be drinking and has become dehydrated.

He's not dehydrated right now; the 'turgor test' (eyelid test) is normal.

Did your vet tell you what the blood values were from the blood test? Was the white cell count high?

We were only able to run a chem panel with the amount of blood that the clinician felt we could take safely. There wasn't enough blood for a CBC (complete blood count).

Without the white count, we couldn't know if there was an elevated leukocyte level and thus couldn't rule for or against infection.

Did the vet test for giardia? Did the vet mention yeast?

Neither were obviously found from a stool sample; Ada wasn't producing very much feces. They didn't run a trichrome stain to my knowledge.


--

Here are highlights of the chem panel / gram stain:

-Mildly elevated uric acid and glutamate dehydrogenase (liver enzyme.)
-Bile acids were normal.
-Calcium and protein slightly low, but within tolerance.
-Normal intestinal flora (gram positive) observed- many cocci and few rods
-No gram negative flora observed.

 

[ktemkin]

The heat lamp seems to be helping. Underneath, he looks more normal. I made him a little birdie buffet:

He loves his veggies. I've had to refill the broccoli and cauliflower a couple of times. He also has mustard and dandelion greens.


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[Billie Faye]

Great job and he looks like he is enjoying the warmth!

 

[ktemkin]

Okay; still no test results, but we got to speak to Dr. Morrissey while trying to make an appointment.

We told him about the weight loss, and he wrote us a prescription for oral Doxycycline (a broad-spectrum antibiotic), which we can pick up tonight.

Test results should be here either tomorrow or Monday.

The heat really seems to be helping Ada; he's more active- he plays and sings again <3. He'll take a short spurt to play or fly over to us, then he'll fly back and soak up more heat. Bless him.

 

[Redbird]

Kyle you are doing an excellent job caring for your bird!

Should you have a hard time medicating your bird orally as an option you can put the doxycycline in the water bowl, doxy dissolves excellent in water and most birds don't mind the taste.

When testing for chlamydia/psittacosis, giardia, ABV, or, salmonella I would request testing using PCR for faster and possibly more accurate results. PCR testing can be done with blood or fecal samples.

Keep your bird warm 85-90 degrees and keep the humidity above 45% if you can.

 

[atvchick95]

glad he got some medicine, and is doing better

hope he gets well soon that 2nd picture he just doesn't look like he feels very well at all poor guy

 

[srtiels]

doxy dissolves excellent in water and most birds don't mind the taste.
-------------------------------------------------------

If Doxy is used in water it must be mixed up and changed out 2 times a day. If left in the bowl for the entire day/24 hrs it loses potency, and it will turn the water a pale brownish color.

Also all calcium sources might be removed.

 

[ktemkin]

The pharmacy wasn't able to complete the suspension, so I have to pick it up from a more specialized pharmacy tomorrow. They apparently offer services such as flavored suspensions designed with pets in mind.

I know doxy can cause all kinds of stomach problems, and I know I generally want to give Ada a probiotic with lactobacillus, but I'm not sure if it'll do any good to offer Ada plain yogurt during the course of the antibiotic.

Poor baby. I'm worried about him.

 

[Anne & Gang]

hope he recovers and heals completely..you are doing great..

 

[ktemkin]

Today his droppings are a little foamy. That's generically indicative of infection, isn't it?

[Edit: He did his heart shaped wings and hopped and sang again. He's trying to woo my fiancee. I love him so.]

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