Urgent Closed eyes and not eating or drinking

[Ushahhaha]

Hello, I got my little pineapple conure names muffin around two weeks ago. He is around 3 months old and recently I’ve noticed that he’s been sleeping a lot during the day? I’m not sure what is the reason for this. At times he would have one eye open and one eye closed and would blink the opened eye slowly and then at other times he just has both eyes closed and the sides of his beak slightly open. I don’t see any discharge coming out of his eyes. He doesn’t seem to have any ruffled feathers, it’s only his head that is a bit ruffled. Every now and then he will have this burst of energy where he would fly and his eyes would be open like normal and he would start chirping. I just recently stopped giving him formula, and he was eating his pellets normally, he used to be in a seed diet but I slowly tried to introduce pellets into his diet and now I only give him pellets. But today I tried to give him seeds since he isn’t eating pellets but he wouldn’t eat that either. His poop has been normal. What should I do? I don’t have the means to afford a vet right now for something that is trivial, but if it’s necessary I will definitely go.

 

[Zara]

It is always advised to visit the vet when bringing home a new bird for a wellness check to be sure they are illness/disease free.

In the meantime, if he won´t eat seeds or pellets, offer some formula.

 

[Shezbug]

If you think your bird is sick then he needs a vet as nothing is really trivial when it comes to bird health and changes in behaviour. Lethargy and open mouth breathing are signs of illness and refusal to eat can be a real problem.

How long has your bird not been eating? Is there a chance you can go back to offering formula to get him to eat? Did he get wellness check when you first got him?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Sorry that Muffin seems ill. Agree with other posts that you should try feeding him formula again. Maybe that's what he wants.
If he isn't eating or drinking much and is closing his eyes a lot and acting sleepy then the best thing to do is to take him to the vet.
Hope he will be OK.

 

[Zara]

In the meantime, if he won´t eat seeds or pellets, offer some formula.

I forgot to say, Best make the appointment as soon as possible because if your bird won´t take formula either, you will need to gavage feed - and you will need a professional to teach you how.

Hopefully your little one has just regressed a little.

 

[Ushahhaha]

It is always advised to visit the vet when bringing home a new bird for a wellness check to be sure they are illness/disease free.

In the meantime, if he won´t eat seeds or pellets, offer some formula.

When I try to feed him formula through a syringe he moves his head as if refusing to eat

 

[Ushahhaha]

Sorry that Muffin seems ill. Agree with other posts that you should try feeding him formula again. Maybe that's what he wants.
If he isn't eating or drinking much and is closing his eyes a lot and acting sleepy then the best thing to do is to take him to the vet.
Hope he will be OK.

yeah he doesn’t seem to be taking formula either, I made an appointment for tomorrow! I hope nothing bad happens until then

 

[Zara]

When I try to feed him formula through a syringe he moves his head as if refusing to eat

Try on a small metal teaspoon

Glad you managed to get an appointment so soon. Be sure to keep him warm tonight and rest undisturbed.

 

[Ushahhaha]

Just wanted to give a little update. Yesterday I went to the emergency at around 11pm but got turned away due to them not having any exotic doctors at the moment. When I got home from that visit, I tried feeding him some food and he happily took a little food and seemed to be very hyper for a few minutes. We thought everything was okay and that we just have to continue hand feeding him, but this morning when I woke up to check on him, he was at the bottom of his cage and his eyes were basically glued shut. I put some warm water on his eyes to open them and it worked, but he decided to keep his eyes closed. I tried feeding him again but he refused. I took him to the vet, they did a fecal test and took a swab of his crop to see if he had a yeast infection or something. His fecal test was normal and he seemed to actually have less bacteria in his crop than normal. They decided to give him a antibiotic shot because I didn’t want him to be hospitalized overnight as birds can die from stress, and then they gave him tube feeding and water as he was very dehydrated. They told me that most likely it is because I weaned him too early, and that he should be eating the formula from now on and if not I should come again tomorrow. I tried feeding him 5 hours after the appointment and he took the food down! And he’s still decently weak but he’s talking again and trying to fly (but since he’s weak he’s not that good at it)! I’m so happy and I hope to god it’s just the food that’s the problem. Sorry for this huge update, I’m just really happy.

 

[Ushahhaha]

Just wanted to give a little update. Yesterday I went to the emergency at around 11pm but got turned away due to them not having any exotic doctors at the moment. When I got home from that visit, I tried feeding him some food and he happily took a little food and seemed to be very hyper for a few minutes. We thought everything was okay and that we just have to continue hand feeding him, but this morning when I woke up to check on him, he was at the bottom of his cage and his eyes were basically glued shut. I put some warm water on his eyes to open them and it worked, but he decided to keep his eyes closed. I tried feeding him again but he refused. I took him to the vet, they did a fecal test and took a swab of his crop to see if he had a yeast infection or something. His fecal test was normal and he seemed to actually have less bacteria in his crop than normal. They decided to give him a antibiotic shot because I didn’t want him to be hospitalized overnight as birds can die from stress, and then they gave him tube feeding and water as he was very dehydrated. They told me that most likely it is because I weaned him too early, and that he should be eating the formula from now on and if not I should come again tomorrow. I tried feeding him 5 hours after the appointment and he took the food down! And he’s still decently weak but he’s talking again and trying to fly (but since he’s weak he’s not that good at it)! I’m so happy and I hope to god it’s just the food that’s the problem. Sorry for this huge update, I’m just really happy.

Sorry I wasn’t turned away, I was just told they didn’t have the exotic doctor and that I could hospitalize my bird overnight and get him checked first thing in the morning, but again, birds can die from stress and even they told me that maybe it won’t be the best to do that.

 

[Zara]

Good update! I hope he continues to improve

 

[Karen]

Hoping for continued progress! I’m so glad you persisted too get him in for treatment. You may have to take home back a time or two for fluids. Keep a close eye on him for dehydration.

 

[Ushahhaha]

Hey, it’s been around 4 days and muffin is definitely showing some progress, he’s been eating his seeds (I gave him a bowl of pellets too but he won’t touch those) on his own and he’s been accepting the hand feedings formula. However, he’s still sleeping most of the time and he can’t really turn his head to preen the back of his body, I’m not sure if it’s due to the weakness he’s feelings due to losing so much weight or some neck injury? He also can’t fly anymore, he tries but he usually just falls onto the floor within a second. He’s been chirping nonstop for the beginning 2-3 days after the vet visit, but he stopped now. I know recovery will take some time as he did lose enough weight for his bone to be poking out (he’s 54 grams and I believe he’s supposed to be 60-80g), and I just want to know if this is common? Like is it normal for birds to continue to be lethargic for a while before gaining back the weight they lost? Also, he’s eating a lot, most of the times he falls asleep while eating his seeds which is kind of weird to me? Anyways, what I’m trying to ask is basically how long would he continue to be this weak? I know no one can really answer this question, but so far it seems that the reason for his condition is food and now he is eating food and I just want to know around how long he has to be in his hospital cage and away from his cage buddy. So sorry I rambled on again, I’m just kind of scared because I don’t want to lose him

 

[Ushahhaha]

This is him getting some sunlight through the netting of my window today

 

[Karen]

I’m sorry Muffin isn’t feeling better. I would expect better progress after 4 days. I would speak to the vet again to go over your concerns. Try to get him into the vet today if possible. Muffin may need some further tests and supportive care. In the meantime keep him warm and hydrated.

 

[Karen]

This is him getting some sunlight through the netting of my window today

Glad he up and getting some sun! He’s very pretty, love his colors!

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I hope he gains weight and gets well soon!

 

[Laurie]

If he was not getting enough food and was dehydrated it can take some time especially if his organs where shutting down or he was struggling. It is impossible for any of us to answer this question but your vet can check him out. Usually your vet will follow up and if he does not you can certainly call an discuss this on the phone and the vet can advise you whether to change something of if you need to come back in. My vets will do the phone follow ups for free. They almost always call me but you can most definitely call them.

If you have a scale that weighs in grams you can track his weight yourself. If he is not putting on weight then you will know he is still having problems. Also, if he is dehydrated that can cause problems as well.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Part of recovery is getting rest. Trying to fly/flying uses up energy so maybe leave him in his cage for a longer period of time than you might normally do. You want him to eat, drink and rest and not exert himself too much. He looks good in the photo.
Contact the vet and share your concerns.

 

[Ushahhaha]

Hello, every time I try to hand feed muffin he clamps his beak shut and screams as to not let me open his mouth. What am I supposed to do, how do I feed him now? Do you guys know? :/