African Grey Health Concern- Sad Update Post #18

[Dmcveigh]

I have a four-month old female Congo Grey and I have had her for a little over two-months now. In the last week or so she has been having strange bubbly poops that seem to be primarily made up of mucous and often stick and hang to her bottom once she has a bowel movement. Aside from that she has been acting normal until today. I just got finished volunteering and took her out of the cage for the first time today (4 pm) and she is now extremely lethargic compared to her usual energy level as well as being very quiet. I also noticed that her abdomen (the area above her anus) seems to be swollen as if she is bloated with gas. I’m not sure if this is normal or not because I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to this area. This is not the first time that she has had bouts of lethargy, it’s happened I think twice before but both times she perked back up just as I was planning to take her to see the vet (which is an hour and a half out of town). I will include some pictures of her abdomen and of the strange poops that she has been having next time I see her pass one. Let me know what you guys think, I will likely be taking her to the vet either way, as it wouldn’t hurt to get a check up.

Thank you,
Douglas

 

[Greylady1966]

Hi Douglas she's beautiful. IMO I would be on the way to the vet. I'm not a vet, not even close but if I saw that in one of my parrots first thing I would be worried about is some kind of blockage. I wish you well.
Carol

 

[Shezbug]

I think a vet visit is needed ASAP.

 

[Lady Jane]

Yes vet asap.

 

[Destiny]

Don't wait ... take her to a vet. The buldge doesn't look normal and the low energy level is a bad sign.

Birds can head downhill quickly. Listen to your gut and get her checked by a profession.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Bubbles in the poop are indicative of a gastro intestinal infection - one of the worst of which is Clostridium. The extended abdomen is very unusual. My vet is 1 1/2 hour away and I never hesitated to take my birds if I felt they needed it.

Please get her into the vet right away.

 

[Lady Jane]

Have you taken bird to vet?

 

[Dmcveigh]

Hi, everyone. Sorry I’ve been busy and forgot to update. Yes she is at the vet. They are testing for avian Bornavirus as well as PDD. She came from the aviary (JC Aviary) with a health guarantee that included a test for both of those diseases/viruses and she, as well as myself have not been in contact with any other birds so that should hopefully rule it out but they are checking either way. They are concerned about a blockage so they are doing a test today that includes giving her a fluid that can be x-rayed as it passes through her GI tract and should hopefully confirm if a blockage is the culprit. They confirmed that she was emaciated and underweight (possibly a result of PDD/Bornavirus or any other bacterial infection), I should have been weighing her everyday so that I could have caught the weight loss sooner (my mistake). She eats constantly and always has fresh food (roudybush maintenance pellets / fruits and veggies) and fresh water available so I was surprised to learn that she was so grossly underweight. They have been giving her subcutaneous fluids, attempting to crop feed her (she stopped eating the day I made this post), giving her some anti-inflammatory medications and I believe have also started her on an antibiotic. A couple other interesting findings are that they noticed that her right leg was slightly bent. They believed this to be either a break or fracture from when she was very young (like a chick) or a possible sign of a genetic defect that might be the culprit for her current sickness. They also noted that her ears (head holes?) were misshapen and believed this could be another sign of a genetic defect/condition. I called JC Aviary this morning and mentioned all of this to their owner. He was very adamant that she could not have a genetic defect because they have been breeding with the same pair for a long time and hadn’t noticed a genetic defect in any off-spring or the pair themselves. He also said that none of the veterinarians that examine the birds have noticed anything genetic either and that the chicks are thoroughly examined multiple times by the veterinarian before being shipped. He also confirmed that the bird had never injured her leg at any point while in the aviary’s care and seemed slightly appalled by the question (it definitely didn’t happen while in my care, so the bent leg is a mystery if it isn’t genetic). They also examined her regurgitate under microscope and noticed an abnormal amount of bacteria so maybe she has a simple bacterial infection or maybe the bacteria is a sign of something else. I clean her cage at-least once a week but she sometimes will poop in her own food bowl as she likes to perch directly above it, I try my best to stop this and when she does I always change the food. The aviary seemed to think that it was a bacteria infection that became severe since I didn’t notice the weight loss until she started showing behavioral symptoms of sickness. Hopefully I find out something soon so we can start treatment and get her back to her normal self. I will keep the thread posted, thank you for the concern.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Your vets certainly have plenty to sort through. Sounds like they are doing a good job and are on top of things.

This is the statement on the home page of JC Aviaries. If true you should ask for documentation and provide it to your vet.
"All our babies are DISEASE TESTED negative for Polyomavirus (PVD), Avian Borna virus (ABV), Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), and Chlamydia psittaci. This is extremely important when choosing a lifelong family member. We provide paperwork with every bird we sell."

I'm so sorry your baby is so very sick.

 

[Greylady1966]

Thank you for letting us know how she is.

 

[Destiny]

That she is underweight despite having a healthy appetite/diet and the GI symptoms (strange poops, bacteria in regurgitate), suggest to me that malabsorption might be responsible for the weight loss. So she is eating well, but not absorbing it properly. This can sometimes happen in parrots and other animals, usually secondary to a viral or bacterial GI infection. If left untreated, it can lead to a host of health problems, since the parrot can't absorb vital nutrition, like vitamins and enough calories to maintain weight and normal energy levels.

Hopefully, once the vet is able to identify the cause of her troubles, she will bounce back to her usual self.

 

[BrianB]

It sounds like it might be a gram-negative bacterial infection. I hope everything works out ok. I

 

[Dmcveigh]

I do have the documentation, I am out of town at my moms house at the moment (near the avian vet). All the vet records came with my bird but I accidentally left that paperwork at home. Luckily my cousin went to my house and sent me pictures of all the vet records. Im in the process of sending them to my vet right now.

Your vets certainly have plenty to sort through. Sounds like they are doing a good job and are on top of things.

This is the statement on the home page of JC Aviaries. If true you should ask for documentation and provide it to your vet.
"All our babies are DISEASE TESTED negative for Polyomavirus (PVD), Avian Borna virus (ABV), Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), and Chlamydia psittaci. This is extremely important when choosing a lifelong family member. We provide paperwork with every bird we sell."

I'm so sorry your baby is so very sick.

 

[Dmcveigh]

So I wanted to update you guys a little. From the last update I had with the doctor it wasn't looking very good for Pebbles. The special fluid that shows up on X-ray as it passes through the GI tract seemed to stay completely stagnate and not pass through her GI tract at all. The doc seems pretty confident that she has Avian Bornavirus but cannot completely confirm this until the Bornavirus test comes back (it takes roughly a week). The doc also prepared me for the possibility that Pebbles may pass away overnight because of how much her condition has worsened since I transferred her to the avian specialist this morning. Overall a very stressful and sad situation. What is more frustrating is the fact that she was supposed to have been confirmed negative for this virus before she was handed over to me and the owner at JC Aviary refuses to acknowledge any fault. From my understanding this virus can only be transferred from bird to bird or maybe from a human who was in recent contact with an infected bird. Pebbles and myself have never been anywhere near any other birds, nobody in my personal life owns birds and she is my only bird. The only time she was ever in contact with other birds and could have contracted the virus was during her time at JC Aviary. JC Aviary (I cant think of the name of the man I usually speak to) seems to be sticking tight to his guns that anything diagnosed after the 7-day grace period after arrival is completely out of their hands, voiding them of any and all responsibility. The bottom line is that she came to me with this virus and the $5000 that I payed for a healthy disease free bird that was supposed to potentially last me a lifetime of companionship may very well be dead tomorrow morning, two months after purchase. That is not to mention the $2500 vet bill that I have accumulated as a part of this ordeal. Whats more insulting is that JC Aviary seems to be making the implication that I am somehow responsible for her condition. He even said that the virus may have manifested as a result of stress which is insane, the bird is either infected with the virus or she isn't and if she is then it came from your facility. I have taken excellent care of Pebbles, she is with me, out of her cage at least 6 hours a day. Her cage is cleaned weekly, she is offered a shower weekly, her food, water, and fruits/veggies are replaced daily and she is taken outside with me in the backyard frequently if not everyday. The only thing I could have done better was weigh her more frequently so that I may have caught this illness sooner. I'm sorry for the rant, I was looking forward to years of companionship with this animal and now on top of getting ready to lose her I am out $7500 dollars with the combination of vet bills and the price of the bird herself. I just feel like i've been screwed over royally by this place, they could at least help cover some of this vet bill but instead they use this 7-day blanket policy to sneak out of responsibility even when they are blatantly at fault. You would think an ethical business owner would recognize when they have screwed a paying customer and do whatever is needed to make the situation right, or at least attempt to meet me halfway by helping with some of this vet bill. Plausible deniability is the name of this guys game, he is like a used car salesman. The only thing he has offered as some kind of compensation is another bird at half price, as if I have another $2500 to spend after all of this. Hopefully I just jumped the gun and the antibiotics that she is on will take effect and she will be happy as a clam tomorrow morning.

 

[rockoko]

I hope she will improve overnight All my best wishes.

 

[Fuzzy]

Very sorry to hear that Pebbles is so sick. What a nightmare.

ABV is usually passed on vertically ie. from the mother or father to the egg - apparently it is difficult although not impossible to transfer from bird to bird. I thought it was very difficult to test for PDD/AG in a live bird? Usually it means taking a crop biopsy? I know there is a new test that identifies antibodies but that is not everywhere yet. A bird with ABV doesn't necessarily go on to get PDD, and a bird with PDD doesn't necessarily have ABV which is why they are now calling it AG (Avian Ganglioneuritis) without the Borna part. Stress certainly can "activate" the virus, but "stress" also includes being hormonal. If she tests positive for ABV, it most likely came from one or both parents.

 

[Fuzzy]

It was late last night and I missed how old Pebbles is and how long you have had her. A huge stressor for any baby is leaving his/her old flock and moving into a new home.

 

[Dmcveigh]

Unfortunately I got some bad news from the vet this morning and Pebbles passed away last night. Im normally not a very emotional person but I feel horrible that she spent her last day sick at veterinarian being poked and prodded. Ive payed for a necropsy (autopsy) and should hopefully find out in a week if ABV was the culprit. If so it didn't come from my end and I would steer clear of JC Aviary. Although I'm sure most of you already aren't to fond of the for-profit bird-trade. I completely understand, although the price I payed for this animal was insane, I thought it was a reasonable investment for a young, healthy bird that would last a lifetime. If I ever decide to get another bird I will definitely spend some time volunteering at the closest shelter and consider adopting.

 

[Greylady1966]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Fuzzy]

I'm so very sorry. It is heartbreaking.