10 week old Eclectus with infection and PVD

[Naksadel]

Hi all, sorry for the long back story.

Miss Ruby is a 10.5 week old Eclectus. At 2 weeks old she was taken from her mum when it was discovered that she had taken three of her toes off. It must have happened very early as by the time she was taken, they looked completely healed and there was no swelling.
I took her on at 7 weeks old, armed with the knowledge of how to properly care for a baby bird. She was on 4 feeds per day and taking in between 25-35ml per feed.
at 8 weeks old, one of her toe stubs became very swollen and I took her to the avian vet who prescribed clavulox (amoxyl/clavulanic acid) as well as metacam for inflammation. Discussion regarding amputation of one of the digits (as it was sitting under her foot and would likely cause repeated infection) occurred and we set a date for mid January surgery. Over the next week, she started refusing food and started losing large quantities of weight.
After a week of this (9 weeks old) I took her back to the vet who sedated her and took bloods and did X-rays. The bloods came back with low protein levels and elevated white cells. The X-ray however showed a dilated proventriculum. The vet felt that she likely had PVD and added metaclopramide to the mix.
Come today and she is barely eating at all. I can’t force her to swallow anything and her weight has dropped from a high of 390g down to 322g. A conversation with the vet led to him suggesting that she won’t survive much longer and we should consider putting her to sleep to avoid her suffering.

So.. my question is this. My gut is telling me that maybe all this weight loss and eating issues are because of the clavulox. None of it had started before going onto antibiotics. We are booked into see the vet in 3 days to make a final decision about putting her to sleep. Should I stop the antibiotics and see if there is any improvement in her eating over the next few days? Or am I risking the infection flaring up again? She’s been on them for 3.5 weeks at this point.
Thanks if you took the time to read this.

 

[Monaco]

I'm struggling to remember who to tag... @Mockinbirdiva has baby bird experience, @Hankmacaw knows about various meds, I think... Weights and development of neonatal ekkies were mythic's strengths... @Miss Annamarie has a young male.

 

[Hankmacaw]

I'm so sorry about your baby's illness. I think you meant ABV ( avian bornavirus ). It is not curable and can sometimes be managed in an older bird. In a bird that young it is almost always passed on to the baby by it's mother who is a carrier. The Clavamox would not be harming your bird. It is an antibiotic that takes care of opportunistic infections that occur with ABV.

Please call your vet and confirm whether he said PVB or ABV.

Would your baby have become septic with the infection in it's toe?

"Blood tests are now available that can screen for ABV. As more birds and even whole aviaries have been tested, it has become clear that many clinically healthy birds harbor the virus. While some of these birds may go on to develop typical signs of PDD, many will remain healthy for years. Why some birds develop signs while others do not is unknown. It may be related to the particular strain of ABV that infects them or perhaps other factors that affect their overall health status. There have been reports of parrots in single-bird households that have become sick after more than 15 years with no exposure to other birds. These birds were likely exposed to ABV prior to entering the household and remained as asymptomatic carriers until something else either triggered the virus or weakened the bird’s immune system, allowing the virus to activate. "

Avian Bornavirus Treatment at Pet Care Veterinary Hospital

Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) is a disease that can affect the nervous system of birds, particularly parrot species.

www.petcarevb.com

 

[Hermesbird]

Im so sorry for your pretty bird! I hope that she will make a healthy recovery!

 

[camelotshadow]

 

[Naksadel]

I'm so sorry about your baby's illness. I think you meant ABV ( avian bornavirus ). It is not curable and can sometimes be managed in an older bird. In a bird that young it is almost always passed on to the baby by it's mother who is a carrier. The Clavamox would not be harming your bird. It is an antibiotic that takes care of opportunistic infections that occur with ABV.

Please call your vet and confirm whether he said PVB or ABV.

Would your baby have become septic with the infection in it's toe?

"Blood tests are now available that can screen for ABV. As more birds and even whole aviaries have been tested, it has become clear that many clinically healthy birds harbor the virus. While some of these birds may go on to develop typical signs of PDD, many will remain healthy for years. Why some birds develop signs while others do not is unknown. It may be related to the particular strain of ABV that infects them or perhaps other factors that affect their overall health status. There have been reports of parrots in single-bird households that have become sick after more than 15 years with no exposure to other birds. These birds were likely exposed to ABV prior to entering the household and remained as asymptomatic carriers until something else either triggered the virus or weakened the bird’s immune system, allowing the virus to activate. "

Avian Bornavirus Treatment at Pet Care Veterinary Hospital

Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) is a disease that can affect the nervous system of birds, particularly parrot species.

www.petcarevb.com

She was not diagnosed with ABV.. but with Proventricular Dilation caused by chronic inflammation/infection. Most cases of PVD are caused by ABV.. but a rare few are caused by chronic inflammation. The only thing that came back in her bloods were high white cell count and low protein.

Since coming off the antibiotics, she is swallowing again (I still have to force feed.. but before, she wouldn’t swallow).. she gained 30 grams in 3 days. But then this morning I woke up to vomit everywhere. Blah.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Yes, that is true. Sometimes PDD (most of us are more familiar with the term PDD). I have a bird with ABV and I am so not looking forward to the future. One of the most loved birds on this forum recently died of PDD and it effected me greatly.

I wish you and your baby the very best.