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Strolling the yard
- Joined
- 4/19/19
- Messages
- 120
- Real Name
- Suhaimah
Nice to read that she is getting better, she is such a sweet bird
Oh I'm sorry about the blindness! May I ask what's causing it. Do birds have the same issues as people like age related blindness (macular degeneration) or is it something simpler like hitting it or cataracts?Sif has gotten better as far as her foot goes. The vet feels eventually both of the toes that were partially amputated will need to be removed completely but hopefully that’s a long ways down the road.
Her appetite isn’t bad but now the blindness is kicking in so we still struggle to get her to eat enough. She’s been a lot more irritated and grouchy since the left eye started to go bad about 2 weeks ago now. Full blindness expected shortly. We’ll see how every thing goes once that happens.
Nice to read he is getting better but l really do hope his eyesight improves poor baby. Sending prayers . Maybe you can try to use some rose water it is a really good tool to clear up their eye infections or give relief till medicine and has no side affects what so ever maybe it can Sif relief and clear up his eyes along with the meds.Sif has gotten better as far as her foot goes. The vet feels eventually both of the toes that were partially amputated will need to be removed completely but hopefully that’s a long ways down the road.
Her appetite isn’t bad but now the blindness is kicking in so we still struggle to get her to eat enough. She’s been a lot more irritated and grouchy since the left eye started to go bad about 2 weeks ago now. Full blindness expected shortly. We’ll see how every thing goes once that happens.
No there is no reversal for this. Trauma induced cataracts. The right side lens has already detached which or may not lead taking the eye out - hopefully not. The left lens seems partially detached so that will also be a higher risk to do anything right now. We just have to wait for it to detach completely or not.
She didn’t have a nice mommy bird so we just do what we can. Her days of being able to see are mostly gone but thank you for your kind thoughts and comments
Yes Sif is a CAG Sorry for the long post but there’s no short answer.
Sif’s feather mother, as far as we can tell, bit her head. During the bites she struck the eyes. Since CAG/TAGs all start with coal black eyes we didn’t notice the issue right off. Going back now over the pics I took from the time she was pulled from the nest, I can see the damage was there even back then.
She has these 3-little feather on the top of her head we call her Too-crest. There’s an actual indent there from a bite. Her left eye ridge also shows soft tissue damage. And you can see the start of the cloudiness once you know what to look for. Her left eye has never lightened to grey like it should. It remains a kind of murky brown.
The lens has detached. Our vet said it will drift in the eye for a while but eventually it will hit bottom and the eye will become inflamed at which point she will be put on NSAIDs. The left is destined to follow and it has now. If medication doesn’t work, then I believe we will have to remove it. Currently she has no pain from it but I’m to check frequently to make sure there’s no infection or inflammation.
Our vet also said going to a specialist won’t change the outcome which is why we didn’t bother.
As I understand - birds can get trauma induced from anything. If they have run into a patio door or a wall while attempting to fly or striking a cage accidentally or being bit etc. The impact trauma doesn’t have to be directly on the eye, it just has to be part of it.
The other possibilities are vitamin deficiency during the breeding process of the parents, genetics, diabetes and age. In your case, depending on the age of your bird (10y or less), I would want to have a definitive cause from a specialist just so I would know if I needed to look for secondary issue such as diabetes or liver issues.
If it’s diet related, it’s possible Buddy is pre-diabetic or diabetic and you would definitely want to treat that. Did he have bloodwork done as well? That normally includes a glucose level which would let you know if diabetes is an issue.
If it’s trauma, then as with Sif not much can be done but to allow the progression. You just build yours and their life around that.
Meaning her perch and cage are in the same place all the time. They are never moved. Pellets and seeds on the left, fruit and veggies on the right whether on cage or perch. Nothing is moved around in the house either. It’s stayed the same since we realized her vision was going.
Our fids have very very good memory and as long as we keep everything the same she can still fly minimal distance like to my recliner or to the kitchen.
I’ve wrestled with clipping her and in the end I’m only going to do a trim - removing 2 of her primaries on each wing. She needs to be able to fly. Without that i think her depression would be so deep as to be insurmountable.
Surgery is no longer an option for us but it wasn’t to begin with and the vet confirmed. All that I’ve read suggested they needed to be raptor sized to have a good chance of success and survival. In parrot terms that’s a B&G Macaw size.
I won’t lie. Some days it’s a really hard pill to swallow. She was barely 3 months old when she went blind in her right eye and 7 months for left eye. She is just 8 months old right now and I wait daily for the other shoe to drop aka inflammation/infection.
Sif however is a trooper and a mama’s girl who loves to be cuddled and snuggled. I get super support from the members on AA and from my friends and fam. I figure she lost her sight but I got the most snuggle-worthy CAG ever so how can you be sad about that?
@Rain Bow - I understand that calcium can sometimes deposit on the lens of the eyes and that is primarily caused by bad diet.
It doesn’t sound at all like its trauma or genetics or even age. And yes, unfortunately the damage is irreversible.
I am also guessing that like my vet, you’re knows the parameters for surgery and Buddy wouldn’t be a candidate due to size and age.
In your case I would absolutely go to an ophthalmologist. If it indeed crystallized calcium on his lenses that means every time he blinks his eyelids are getting scraped. That could end up doing permanent damage, causing eye infections or distort his eye lids from scar tissue. What was your vet thinking?
Ugh! I hate when doctor try to limit liability by ignoring the possibilities. Take him a soon as you can to a specialist. If nothing else I would think they could give you drops to help with the actual pain and not just with potential swelling.
I’m sorry you’re going through this but Buddy sounds amazing being so engaging through the pain, as well as having very caring parronts, and hopefully he should live a very long, happy, life.
Funny thing is she's supposed to be the best according to some people we know who had some Macaws. I told my husband the other day, I was think about a new vet. I'm really not impressed w/ this one. We're both hoping that other guys still around.I don’t like vets who won’t answer questions. It makes me suspicious that they are relying on a little bit of knowledge from vet school or internship and not actual experience.
I would absolutely see a specialist and as soon as possible. I’m by no means an expert but it seems NSAIDs directly in the eye isn’t going to do anything for deposits on his lenses. Also, I can’t imagine them being safe either. If they can eat a whole in a human’s stomach, what would it to the eyes?
Those are never meant for long term use but the current vet doesn’t want to get caught out and you knowing she doesn’t have much beyond a Google clue of what she is doing! Buddy deserves better.
Hope you can get him a better vet soon!