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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
Very Poorly Lovebird...
- Thread starter Popcorn<3
- Start date
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Jazz, I'm so sorry to hear Romeo is doing poorly. I am relieved to hear he is perking up a little though. Please let us know what next your vet says.
I'm moving this to the 911 Forum so more people will see it.
I'm moving this to the 911 Forum so more people will see it.
Birdbabe
Ripping up the road
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Heres hoping Romeo continues to improve.
Sending thoughts and wishes that Romeo gets better quickly!
Redbird
Meeting neighbors
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- 9/7/10
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Your bird needs to be kept warm and hydrated. Temperature should be 80 degrees in the area of the bird. A heat emitter should be used rather than a reptile lamp or heating pad. If using a heating pad it should be kept 6 inches below the bird.
Antibiotics should be chosen specific to bacterial infection and duration of treatment may need to be extended depending on bacteria load. Make sure you disinfect your birds cage and toys to prevent recurrence of infection.
What antibiotics have been prescribed for your bird?
Antibiotics should be chosen specific to bacterial infection and duration of treatment may need to be extended depending on bacteria load. Make sure you disinfect your birds cage and toys to prevent recurrence of infection.
What antibiotics have been prescribed for your bird?
Ok, thank you I will try wheat berries, I've tried the ones they use on the True Love Aviary videos. I've read about keeping them hydrated and apparently they can lose half their body weight in two days, which is what most of them die of. Luckily he is still eating then! I'm changing the towel on the bottom every time it gets a speck on it! And mums helping me do vitamins, antibiotics and disinfecting the cage so all the measurements are right (she doesn't think I would get it spot on lol). The vet said use the antibiotics for 10 days, and he is on 0.02 ml of Baytril Oral Suspension Antibiotics, so we had enough doses to carry it on. But its been about 3 weeks now! Do you say we carry on with them, or will the antibiotics not work any more? The heat pad is under the cage and far enough away from him to boil him. And I don't mean to be rude if I am, but in England I have never seen a shop selling heat emitters, and if I ordered one online it would take ages to come, and we don't really have that time if he is ill right now. Mums going to take me to a pet shop for more exotic animals like birds in a bit, so i can see if I can get a better heat pad or if I can see one a heat emitter if that's what you suggest. I also don't really know much about vet care for birds in America, but here even my avian vet said unless he perks up with the antibiotics which is did, but then he went downhill and up and down, but unless he did perk up with them, the vet said he would need to be put down, and I don't want to put him down unless he is really suffering. But he's still eating and drinking, so he can't be feeling that bad right? Mum said she would spend thousands of pounds if the vet thought he could get better, ]but all they say is put him down, but he's still eating and drinking which is most important.
atvchick95
Biking along the boulevard
it's definitely done differently here
the avian vets run many tests to pin point the exact problem if they can. They also usually try more than just one med if the bird doesn't get completely well in the allotted time of the 1st med
the option of putting a bird down here is the last resort UNLESS it's something severely wrong that can't be fixed and the bird would have no real life of course.
like a broken back, sever cancer that's pretty much just taking over their body, things like that.
I had to travel ages even to find an avian vet. Andd...I got a heat emitting lamp now. No light so it wont hurt his eyes, and its ceramic not teflon. The lady in the shop was very helpful, she said he needs warmth, food, and water. And to give him purée as is easier for him to digest. He is currently sleeping. Oh and by the way it was always a ceramic bulb i was using if that's why you said not to use the lamp, I know Teflon can kill birds.
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RebeccaP
Meeting neighbors
Glad you found a heat emitting bulb. My vet recommended a standard bulb but my conure was scared of it so I had to switch to a heating pad. Then I found found a ceramic heat emitter bulb and clamp for my conure's cage. It seems to keep the cage at a pretty steady 80-82 degrees and even toastier at night with a cover over her cage. I'm pulling for your baby!
Redbird
Meeting neighbors
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You are doing the best you can with limited testing.
Seeing your bird has been on baytril for three weeks without complete bacterial kill, you may want to ask your vet to either change the antibiotic or add a second one. Without cultures and sensitivity testing it is gamble to which antibiotic is the best for your birds condition. Your bird may have a primary and secondary infection. Baytril, a good broad spectrum antibiotic may be adequate for one infection and not the other.
Please consult your local vet about a probiotic for your bird. Antibiotics will kill both infectious bacteria along with good bacteria. A probiotic will help restore the good bacteria in your birds system. Yeast can become a problem when birds are on antibiotics for an extended period of time, question your vet.
Seeing your bird has been on baytril for three weeks without complete bacterial kill, you may want to ask your vet to either change the antibiotic or add a second one. Without cultures and sensitivity testing it is gamble to which antibiotic is the best for your birds condition. Your bird may have a primary and secondary infection. Baytril, a good broad spectrum antibiotic may be adequate for one infection and not the other.
Please consult your local vet about a probiotic for your bird. Antibiotics will kill both infectious bacteria along with good bacteria. A probiotic will help restore the good bacteria in your birds system. Yeast can become a problem when birds are on antibiotics for an extended period of time, question your vet.
RebeccaP
Meeting neighbors
Redbird, What diagnostic tools do you think the vets should be using? The vets I have encountered so far use x-rays and blood tests. How do vets determine what type of infection is present?
Rebecca
Rebecca
ktemkin
Strolling the yard
I'm sorry if I missed it, but I'm confused as to why your vet is only treating with the enrofloxacin (Baytril) .
In the case of a very sick bird, especially one without any tests, I would assume they'd start attacking the possibilities blindly as a matter of last resort. It can't be worse than putting the bird down.
I believe a full course of the enrofloxacin/baytril is ~15 days; after that point you might want to switch to another broad spectrum. A chelating agent can help if your lovie got into a metal/metalloid toxin.
Supportive care is definitely key; it sounds like you're doing well on keeping him warm. If needed, you can get your vet to crop-feed him a concentrated food supplement, and administer subcutaneous ("SQ") fluids.
Note that the fecal gram stain only shows bacteria which have reached the GI tract. Even if the test doesn't show anything, that hints at the type of antibiotic that should be used. Any information is power.
In the case of a very sick bird, especially one without any tests, I would assume they'd start attacking the possibilities blindly as a matter of last resort. It can't be worse than putting the bird down.
I believe a full course of the enrofloxacin/baytril is ~15 days; after that point you might want to switch to another broad spectrum. A chelating agent can help if your lovie got into a metal/metalloid toxin.
Supportive care is definitely key; it sounds like you're doing well on keeping him warm. If needed, you can get your vet to crop-feed him a concentrated food supplement, and administer subcutaneous ("SQ") fluids.
A fecal gram stain definitely helps. After a gram stain, bacteria can be grouped into one of four groups (gram positive, gram negative, gram indeterminate, and "don't know") based on their retention of a special dye called Gram's iodine. From there, inspection under a microscope can come up with a bacterial class based on shape.RebeccaP said:
Note that the fecal gram stain only shows bacteria which have reached the GI tract. Even if the test doesn't show anything, that hints at the type of antibiotic that should be used. Any information is power.
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atvchick95
Biking along the boulevard
I would think bird antibiotics is no different then humans. After taking it for so long (like past the normal 10 days for humans) it is no longer effective
Yeh thats what i thought about taking the antibiotics. But anyhoo he is eating and drinking, moving around, pooping, making mess etc. Which is good. Things are looking up, i'd say 55/45 now. Hes still very weak, and so tiny, but hes trying so hard, and looks a tad more birdy ish today (smoother feathers). Also he is preening himself. 
Preening is a good sign. Continued prayers for his recovery.
Ginger
Ginger
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