advice on taking duckie to the vet! ASAP please!

[Kathie]

I hope Duckie feels better soon. Hopefully you won't need to take her to get x rays, but the reason they need to sedate to do x rays in this particular instance is because they are looking for evidence of trauma or fractures in very tiny areas, so they need to be able to position the bird very precisely and need absolute stillness. Some x rays do not require this, but cranial and neck vertebrae x rays do. As for gas anesthesia, it is VERY safe, and if an animal starts to get too deep or too light, which they can tell from observation as well as monitoring equipment, they can immediately turn the gas up or down to respond accordingly. Bad reactions to gas anesthesia do happen, but are extremely rare, and unlike injectable anesthetics, it is virtually impossible to overdose them, if they are paying attention and doing their job. In 14 years of working as a vet tech, I can count the times I've seen an animal die from complications of gas anesthesia on one hand. So, worst case scenario, even if you do have to take her in for that procedure, you have little to fear. Whatever happens, best of luck!

Emily, do you work with only birds, or dogs and cats? I only ask because I have heard of so many birds that have died from anesthesia.

 

[Ziggymon]

Anesthesia is scary. One of my cats didn't wake up from having his teeth worked on. That same year, two other people in the office lost their dogs to anesthesia, again during dental procedures. I have always been worried when one of my guys goes under, and all the more so since then.

 

[orphansparrow]

okay...now i'm a little nervous about the anesthesia. because i've heard about how risky it is too.

i've been calling around more all morning, and according to a vet i just spoke with, they said that there are NO certified avian vets in the whole state of new mexico. and honestly, i can't find any by searching online either. however, there are a few vets that have over 20 years bird experience, and one guy in town - dr. brent parker, has that amount of experience, and has a lot of parrots of his own according the receptionist. which makes me feel better somehow.

i can take her to my old vet out of town, or i can take her to dr. parker on friday.

she is eating, playing, pooping, being as crazy as usual. the only thing i would take her to a vet for would be to see if she had any structural damage or something. i don't know. head/neck trauma is just so scary. and because she was holding her neck funny yesterday for a little while, i am just worried, but she seems to be doing okay.

i asked to speak with dr. parker, and they said he would call me around 1:30 or so, and i'm just going to ask him about his experience, and what he thinks about duckie.

also, i just called my old vet - dr. kay duffin, but she was in surgery, and i guess she'll call me back when she gets out. so i'm just waiting....i don't know what else to do.

either way, i'll take her for a checkup, i just don't know if it's worth the risk of anesthesia...

EDIT: i just got a call back from my old vet, Kay Duffin. she asked me a bunch of questions, and then she said she didn't think duckie needed to come in. she said she would recommend NOT having duckie put under. she said with head trauma, slight damage can be kind of hard to detect anyway on x-ray. plus she said the only thing they could do would be to give her pain meds. she said just keep her quiet and discourage any "ballistic activity" (haha, you can tell she has parrots), make sure she keeps eating, etc. she said she thought i lucked out. ^_^

but i still am going to take her in to at least get her wings clipped again. last time i got a light clip for this very reason, but it didn't slow her down for long at all...i think this time i'm going for a medium clip. in a small apartment full of lots of other people, there are just too many variables to keep accidents totally at bay.

thanks everyone for your support, again...

 

[LuvMyAlex]

I'm so glad Duckie is improving. They sure can give us a scare sometimes can't they.

Are you going to take her to Dr Parker for the wing clip? It would be a good opportunity to meet him and see what he's like in case you have anything like this happen in the future. You would then know if you felt comfortable with him and his experience.

 

[TheBeesKnees]

 

[waterfaller1]

Just wanted to add some extra I am glad to read Duckie is ok.I agree with going to meet the vet with experience.

 

[webchirp]

So sorry I missed this yesterday but so very glad Duckie is better today. I agree about the light clip with these greenies. When they get going, they're gone and they don't seem to be able to slow down even if they wanted to when they drive so fast through the airways!!!

to you and little Duckie!

 

[topazldy]

Someone told me that birds have hundreds of bones in their neck, and it's almost impossible for them to break their neck due to the flexibility of all the bones. Don't know if this is true, but he also said if a bird hits a window and dies, it's not from them breaking their neck (as the story usually goes), it's probably from a head injury.

Good to hear that Duckie is doing fine, and you did a good job getting as much information and advice as you could from AA and from the professionals. Good work!!

 

[Macawnutz]

 

[orphansparrow]

thanks guys. and omg, now that it's pretty much over, can i say what an utter wreck i can be over this bird?? for real, i don't know how some of you have human children. i would be in the looney bin. i had to go into a separate room and cry a couple times so that i didn't freak duckie out even more. phew. some days, when she's driving me crazy, i imagine the peace i would have without her, but when real life happens, and she comes close to having an accident that could've actually taken her from me...oh dear. that's when you realize how much you love someone huh?

ugh, but mostly i don't want her to be suffering, and i'm really glad she doesn't appear to be.

 

[Ziggymon]

So glad that Duckie is doing better.

I think it would be good to check out the vet with bird experience who is close by - it's good to know who you're comfortable with, in case of a future emergency.

 

[orphansparrow]

thanks ziggymon - yeah, i'm definitely going to check out the new vet. hes a lot closer, and I'll have him give Duckie a little clip, and kind of look her over...while I scrutinize him. haha!

 

[BayuCah'ya]

Emily, do you work with only birds, or dogs and cats? I only ask because I have heard of so many birds that have died from anesthesia.

In my two decades in the field I have worked in large animal, small animal, exotic, emergency, and specialty hospitals, so I've worked with many species. It is true that many birds die while under anesthesia, but usually there are mitigating factors that cause death. Deaths in otherwise healthy animals due to gas anesthesia are rare. That's even more true for dogs and cats.

 

[BayuCah'ya]

Oops! I forgot to say that I, too, am glad that Duckie's ok!