Urgent choking sound after drinking/lethargic

[Deleted member 57370]

Examples of @Mizzely foods

Pictures - What are your birds eating today?

Bebe got hard boiled egg pieces, birdy glop, smashed beans and some fresh steamed spinach.

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Mizzely]

For sprouts I love these mixes hands down the best of any of the others I've tried.

Lil Bird Sprout Mix

24 seeds for your small winged children. The seeds are listed in the About tab below.

sproutpeople.org

Amber Waves of Grain Sprout Mix

Wheat, Rye, Oats, Spelt, Kamut, Quinoa, Sesame, Millet and AmaranthA beautiful, sweet, delicious and, nutritious mix of 9 sprouting Grains and Pseudograins. This quick crop makes for a great breakfast cereal!

sproutpeople.org

Anything on this site really is good! I also use the Easy Sprouter:

Easy Sprout Sprouter

Before raving about it - we want to tell anyone who is having problems with their Small Seed (Alfalfa) Insert snapping into place - the fix is simple: Using any pliers - crimp the thin outer lip of the Insert in 2-4 places around the circumference. This will form bulges that will make it snap as...

sproutpeople.org

But any grains or seeds really you can soak for 8-12 hours, drain, rinse well, and either serve right away. You can also keep rinsing and draining every 8-12 hours for 1-3 days until they start to have a teeny tiny tail root to have sprouts All my birds love soaked seeds/grains and sprouts!

 

[millie3762]

For sprouts I love these mixes hands down the best of any of the others I've tried.

Lil Bird Sprout Mix

24 seeds for your small winged children. The seeds are listed in the About tab below.

sproutpeople.org

Amber Waves of Grain Sprout Mix

Wheat, Rye, Oats, Spelt, Kamut, Quinoa, Sesame, Millet and AmaranthA beautiful, sweet, delicious and, nutritious mix of 9 sprouting Grains and Pseudograins. This quick crop makes for a great breakfast cereal!

sproutpeople.org

Anything on this site really is good! I also use the Easy Sprouter:

Easy Sprout Sprouter

Before raving about it - we want to tell anyone who is having problems with their Small Seed (Alfalfa) Insert snapping into place - the fix is simple: Using any pliers - crimp the thin outer lip of the Insert in 2-4 places around the circumference. This will form bulges that will make it snap as...

sproutpeople.org

But any grains or seeds really you can soak for 8-12 hours, drain, rinse well, and either serve right away. You can also keep rinsing and draining every 8-12 hours for 1-3 days until they start to have a teeny tiny tail root to have sprouts All my birds love soaked seeds/grains and sprouts!

Thank you!! I will try this!

 

[Deleted member 57370]

View attachment 445694

This doesn't look like a dehydrated poop, but more of something off with the fecal part. Are there any undigested seeds or food particles in the poop ?
Which goes in line with why
Metoclopramide was prescribed. Let your vet know of changes , he may need to go back on this
Common brands: Reglan

Main Results
Description
Antiemetic and Gut motility stimulator
It can treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It can also treat gastroparesis in patients with diabetes.

 

[millie3762]

This doesn't look like a dehydrated poop, but more of something off with the fecal part. Are there any undigested seeds or food particles in the poop ?

No, there are no undigested seeds. There are very tiny black flecks but he always has those, even when he is healthy acting. It is a bit tacky and stiff although not extremely so. Last time he got sick and he wasn't eating, his droppings became darker like this, and I thought maybe it was because of the acute anorexia

 

[Deleted member 57370]

It could be blood , dark flecks can be blood high in gi , and blood in poop makes them tacky
I'm giving you all my brain cells , lol , I'm not feeling great I have pneumonia, so I'm out for now . But very curious and will follow.
It might still be a great idea to the soak and serve , might be easier to digest might help , see no reason would hurt

 

[millie3762]

It could be blood , dark flecks can be blood high in gi , and blood in poop makes them tacky
I'm giving you all my brain cells , lol , I'm not feeling great I have pneumonia, so I'm out for now . But very curious and will follow.
It might still be a great idea to the soak and serve , might be easier to digest might help , see no reason would hurt

Great! I really appreciate your ideas on this! I will try the soak and serve idea for sure. Thanks again!!

 

[millie3762]

His most recent droppings look more normal and the texture is more like it normally is. He is also acting more normal but I'll still follow up with all of these great ideas. Thanks!

 

[millie3762]

Oh, and I just remembered one more possible clue related to one of your suggested diagnoses, @Pixiebeak , although please don't feel like you need to respond (I really hope you feel better soon! And thanks again!) - when my parakeet got sick a month ago and his stools looked rather dark, similar to how they did this morning, the vet did test for anemia (that might indicate intestinal bleeding) via blood draw, and the blood cell levels were normal. In fact all the labs were normal. So at that point, the vet kind of ruled out internal bleeding, although that's not to say things couldn't have changed. Just a thought.

And thanks to everyone again!

 

[Peachfaced]

Rupert doesn't drink as frequently because he eats lots of fresh veggies and sprouts, so I feel like that will help your little guy if he's got some issues trying to drink normally. If he likes leafy greens, that's another good source of moisture.

 

[millie3762]

Rupert doesn't drink as frequently because he eats lots of fresh veggies and sprouts, so I feel like that will help your little guy if he's got some issues trying to drink normally. If he likes leafy greens, that's another good source of moisture.

Thanks! I will try that for sure. I went to the store today and bought a bunch of leafy greens and he seems like them a lot.

 

[Peachfaced]

Thanks! I will try that for sure. I went to the store today and bought a bunch of leafy greens and he seems like them a lot.

That is wonderful! It's so hard to get most birds to eat them, but Budgies seem to take to them easier.

 

[Deleted member 57370]

Oh, and I just remembered one more possible clue related to one of your suggested diagnoses, @Pixiebeak , although please don't feel like you need to respond (I really hope you feel better soon! And thanks again!) - when my parakeet got sick a month ago and his stools looked rather dark, similar to how they did this morning, the vet did test for anemia (that might indicate intestinal bleeding) via blood draw, and the blood cell levels were normal. In fact all the labs were normal. So at that point, the vet kind of ruled out internal bleeding, although that's not to say things couldn't have changed. Just a thought.

And thanks to everyone again!

You and your veterinarian have done an excellent job in trying to figure this out . what a dedicated owner you are and what a lucky little birdie to have you.

It's possible this is a chronic very little mini amount of blood being lost in gi , if that's even the case , but if it was the body would easily keep up. I have a chronic bleeding kidney thing and the tiny amounts dint effect my rbc .

The poop pic you shared wasn't crazy abnormal, just a tad off. Normal amount of white urates( definitely getting enough water) ,no excess urine , fecal part still formed .

Nothing is clearly pointing to what issues are going on to me either. Your veterinarian and you have really done so much , even an X-ray!

 

[millie3762]

You and your veterinarian have done an excellent job in trying to figure this out . what a dedicated owner you are and what a lucky little birdie to have you.

It's possible this is a chronic very little mini amount of blood being lost in gi , if that's even the case , but if it was the body would easily keep up. I have a chronic bleeding kidney thing and the tiny amounts dint effect my rbc .

The poop pic you shared wasn't crazy abnormal, just a tad off. Normal amount of white urates( definitely getting enough water) ,no excess urine , fecal part still formed .

Nothing is clearly pointing to what issues are going on to me either. Your veterinarian and you have really done so much , even an X-ray!

Thanks so much! I appreciate all of your insightful messages so much and it makes me feel so much better to be able to connect other bird people. I'm so glad I joined the site.

 

[Deleted member 57370]

Thanks so much! I appreciate all of your insightful messages so much and it makes me feel so much better to be able to connect other bird people. I'm so glad I joined the site.

This forum is full of amazing bird people!! And it is so great to connect to pick up tips or ideas , share our cute birds with each other . I hope your bird gets better and you stuck around and join in

After 25 posts you can private message. And after a certain amount of posts you can join us in the annual secret Santa and that is a hilarious guessing game to figure out your Santa , and give vague hints so your gift recipient can't hardly guess you . It's a lot of fun ! I hope you are around then and decide to join in our shenanigans. Even if you don't feel like participating , just reading the thread will bring you laughs

 

[millie3762]

Thank you!! How great!

 

[Tanya]

This is bizarre. To me somehow his crop and airway /sinus/ or soft pallet have a connection..like he aspirate the water when drinks ..you can see little sneezes and maybe I see little water come out nostrils?
perhaps this was a birth defect? And he manages except for liquids
and might drink less because of this ?

This also reminded me of symptoms you see when you have a fistula (a passage that isn't supposed to be there) between the esophagus (food tube) and trachea (air tube). It could also explain repeated infections as he is sometimes aspirating (accidentally breathing in) food.

Soaking seeds is a really good idea. If he can swallow those without them going into his airway, it will help him get more water that he really needs. Plus each seed is self-contained so it isn't like a mash of veggies that could cause him problems.

 

[millie3762]

This also reminded me of symptoms you see when you have a fistula (a passage that isn't supposed to be there) between the esophagus (food tube) and trachea (air tube). It could also explain repeated infections as he is sometimes aspirating (accidentally breathing in) food.

Hi, Tanya. Yeah, I think that totally could be it. Although, I haven't noticed him having trouble breathing, he does sneeze often. Also, he frequently adjusts his crop - more frequently, I think, than a normal parakeet.

I told the vet about all of this and he did mentioned that he has heard of people doing endoscopy on parakeets, although it sounded like he had never done one. (I can't imagine how small the camera must be.) But Mac has been doing really well over the past three days. He is acting really normal again, although he takes a few more naps than he use to. And he still does the strange behavior after drinking as usual.

Thanks for your ideas!

 

[millie3762]

Quick update: My parakeet as been doing ok for the last couple weeks but he still exhibits some weird symptoms. He eats, drinks, plays and his droppings look totally normal. But he is clearing his crop a lot more often and crunching his seeds in his mouth more often. (And of course, still doing his weird drinking thing that I showed you all before. Now he does it for an even longer duration than he used to.) Today, he was having a surge of mating hormones and landed on my hand and tried to regurgitate seeds on my hand, as he does sometimes. Before, I have always tried to stop him immediately when he does this as I know allowing mating behavior with human hands can be harmful to birds. But today I let him do for a bit, with the crazy idea that maybe he could vomit up whatever is bugging him. He kept struggling to regurgitate seeds but couldn't get a single one to come up.

Our vet said I should only bring him in if he starts to lose weight and he hasn't.

Has anyone seen this happen before? Attempting to regurgitate but can't?

 

[Deleted member 57370]

When birds do behaviorsl regurgitating as they would to a mate or future chick , it's already digested, usually creamy whitish substance. It won't be seeds . I'm not sure how every species regurge looks, and I'm sure it can become more chunky as the chicks they are raising get older

But anyway they don't always have to spit stuff up . They practice and can swallow back down . My Budgies boys would do this to each other and sometimes went beak to beak and passed the regurge, but often went through the motions and swallowed it

I did have a sick budgie that cleared his crop a lot , scratched at his open beak and throat area, on exam the inside of beak and throat were inflamed. Shortly he broke with sneezing and green urates. This was the budgie rescue that brought avain clymadia into my flock

So it could be yours has done kind of discomfort or inflammation in that area. Or it could be a continuation of his practicing regurge.

It's really so hard to know from description.

But it's a good sign if he isn't loosing weight. Eats and poops well and activity level is normal