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Chronic Respiratory Symptoms

hellobirb

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Kasey
Hello Folks! I am worried about my sun conure. I’ve been treating her for sneezing/ congestion off and on since I GOT her in 2020. She’s been nebulized and we’ve tried several different antibiotics. Im unsure if she has the same thing and she can’t kick it or if these have been different things.

We just saw the vet yesterday for feather plucking but he said when he listened to her he can still hear wheezing and nasal congestion. He thinks she is plucking because she’s stressed and uncomfortable from whatever is going on in her respiratory tract. When he did a cytology test on the plucked areas he said he found a high white cell count on the surface of her skin that’s abnormal. He’s unsure if this is a bug or if it’s inflammation from an allergy or something in the air (though I have a ozone-less HEPA filter and I’m hyper-mindful of airborne toxins) We have blood work in process but it won’t be back until the end of next week and I’m worried. In the meantime we’re trying another antibiotic but I’m really really scared it’s asper. I remembered on the way home from the vet that when I first got her from the breeder, her shipping container had moldy feces in the back. Things tend not to mold in the few hours it takes for a quick flight, just a few states away, so I suspect the breeders were keeping her in that shipping carrier after they weaned her. She’s been sneezing off and on since I got her. I can’t remember when I first noticed it and if she came out of the crate that way, but she got antibiotics from her first ever vet visit.

Can asper just hang around like this for three years? I have a follow up appointment in three weeks but I’ve been freaking myself out with internet research. Any experience or knowledge that the forum has would be appreciated. Thank you!
 

LovieLouie

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I hope she feels better soon and you are able to figure out what’s going on with her.
 

Mizzely

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Yes asper can take years to clear out even when it is being treated. It can be hard to detect and hard to treat, unfortunately.
 

hellobirb

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Thank you for your replies. If the bloodwork doesn’t turn up anything specific I will ask about asper directly. Sunna has a good appetite and apart from the plucking/feather loss she has been her normal hyper, mischievous self, so whatever it is I hope that means it can still be turned around. This bird is my best buddy.
 

Pixiebeak

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Oh I'm sorry about your Sunna. That's aong time to deal with health issues. I hope it isn't asper.

Has she lost any weight?
How do poops look?
How long was the doxy treatment? I Ask because chlamydia can ask be a chronic condition it took 3 rounds of 45 day doxy to clear it from my flock .

Also a radiant heat source like the sweeter heater can be very beneficial no matter how warm your home is. Very supportive for sick birds.
 

hellobirb

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Oh I'm sorry about your Sunna. That's aong time to deal with health issues. I hope it isn't asper.

Has she lost any weight?
How do poops look?
How long was the doxy treatment? I Ask because chlamydia can ask be a chronic condition it took 3 rounds of 45 day doxy to clear it from my flock .

Also a radiant heat source like the sweeter heater can be very beneficial no matter how warm your home is. Very supportive for sick birds.
She hasn’t lost any weight that I can tell. I just got a new scale with a proper perch thing on it that will hopefully help me get more accurate measurements though. I was sitting her directly on the scale.

Her poops look normal to me. Her morning poop is a nice solid caterpillar looking thing. She’s on mostly pellets so it’s typically brown. Unless she’s had a recent bath they’re soft but solid and will hold together.

I hadn’t really looked into chlamydia! About to go research. None of the cycles have been that long. My current one is 14 days. I can’t remember how long I nebulized her the time before that but definitely not 45 days.

Oh wow thanks for the heater tip! The vet had not suggested that. With the feather plucking I’m sure she’s not able to stay as warm but I’m afraid she will get caught on something or strangle herself trying to get out of a sweater.
 

Pixiebeak

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not loosing weight and good poops are good.
Keep working with your veterinarian. It can take time to figure things out. Sometimes its trial and error .
Even in darn human medicine as im experiencing.
 

hellobirb

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Thanks Pixie! I got her bloodwork back today and it’s all normal, but she’s still sneezing 7 days into the antibiotic. I spoke to a tech today but the avian vet is supposed to call me tomorrow to discuss.

I weirdly kind of wish they had found something so we know what it is and we can maybe do something about it.
 

hellobirb

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Okay, actually it is not completely normal. The avian vet called today and said the only thing that looked unusual was that ONE type of white blood cell was high.

“High numbers are associated with chronic, long-term illnesses, respiratory infections, tissue damage, early stages of inflammation, and some Chlamydiosis infections.”

I have an appointment on Feb. 11th for chest x-rays and some specific titer tests for chlamydia and asper. He says that whatever it is, it does not seem to be progressing. It just isn’t improving, either.
 

Pixiebeak

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Okay, actually it is not completely normal. The avian vet called today and said the only thing that looked unusual was that ONE type of white blood cell was high.

“High numbers are associated with chronic, long-term illnesses, respiratory infections, tissue damage, early stages of inflammation, and some Chlamydiosis infections.”

I have an appointment on Feb. 11th for chest x-rays and some specific titer tests for chlamydia and asper. He says that whatever it is, it does not seem to be progressing. It just isn’t improving, either.
If they decide chlamydia, its 45 days doxy, but relapse is common. All burds in your hime would have to be treated at the same time. And you would hsve to toss all toys that can't be cleaned. All perches would need to go in washing machine and or soaked in dilute bleach ( do in garage or outside ) and yiu hsve to keep doing that ...I thi k my vet had me do each week. Plus big daily cleaning. Poop papers every day, my vet had me get the burds out thrn spray dilute bleach water on the papers first to limit aerosolizes. I had to throw out my broom evry week and wash my mop. I was not to vacuum around cages. I had to really clean my vacuum and toss the filters. I also had to change a/c filter every week. It was a real pain in my behind to clear this from my flock!! The infection is treatable. But the bacteria aerosolizes gets everywhere abd csn oersist in the environment for awhile...
 
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