Urgent Indian Ringneck Throwing Up

[Chewie]

My 9-month year-old Indian Ringneck started throwing up last night after eating some plain buckwheat noodles. I don't think it was the noodles since that is normal food for him and my sun conure ate some as well and is fine. After throwing up, he ate a bit of pellets and threw that up as well. The food comes out pretty solid and is undigested. He drank some water but threw that up as well. I contacted a vet last night and they advised me to just let the ringneck get some rest and suspected that it was a possible bacterial infection, much like it when we get a stomach bug.

This morning my ringneck seemed fine and is acting like his normal self. He defecated a bit and it seemed normal. He ate a bit as well and hasn't thrown anything up. I have an appointment with my vet's partner later in the afternoon. Honestly, I'm a bit skeptical of vets. I don't want my bird to get unnecessary xrays or antibacterial injections as a trail-and-error process.

1. If he swallowed something that is undigestable, do you think my bird would be acting normally the next day and stop throwing up? My bird is always supervised and I don't think he swallowed anything household or toxic. His toys seem normal, the only possibility I see are threads from his rope toys or small pieces of wood that he chips off his wooden toys.

2. If my ringneck has some sort of stomach bacteria, are anti-botic injections the only way to go? Or can my ringneck's immune system sort it out?

3. Any other ideas what might be causing my ringneck to go from a state of throwing up to a state of being normal the next day?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[sunnysmom]

I only have experience with a cockatiel throwing up. It was caused by a bacterial infection. My vet detected it by doing a gram stain and he treated it with oral antibiotics, not injections. The first meds we gave him actually upset his stomach so we had to switch medications. He was fine with the second one. He was on them for 30 days and then we also gave him probiotics. Good luck with everything.

 

[Cyreen]

Birds hide illness very well. By the time you actually see symptoms, they very definitely need to see a vet.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

I am glad that he is going to the vet. In my experience throwing up has always been associated with some sort of infection. Typically the birds are given antibiotics orally, although sometimes they are given injections depending on the severity and type of infection.

I hope your baby feels better.

 

[LovieLuvr]

When I first adopted Stitch, he would regurgitate his food. The first round was a bacterial infection that was detected by a gram stain. After we got rid of the bacterial infection, he would still regurgitate his food again. I did some of my own research and after talking with a friend of mine who owns many parrots (who's also in vet school for avian medicine) we both wondered if there as something going with his crop. I asked my vet if it there could be something wrong with his crop, like too much yeast, and if a crop wash would be necessary. She agreed, and the crop wash indicated that he had a yeast infection. So he was put on an oral medication and it cleared up. I have a good relationship with my avian vet, and I feel like that's really one of the most important parts of vet care. You should be able to be comfortable talking to your vet without feeling pressured to have alot of tests and always ask questions. Best of luck and I hope you find out some answers soon!

 

[Chewie]

My over all experience with my vet has pretty much always been, "We won't know unless we run this test." My bird seems normal now, I'm still going to take him to the vet and getting a gram-strain done will be a given but I really don't want him to have an xray done if it is unnecessary. If my bird swallowed something, would he act normal the next day? He hasn't thrown up today. I'm already pretty certain that my vet will say, that is hard to answer without an xray and frankly, I don't know if that is a true statement or not. Can anyone please chime in? Thanks.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

Okay. I am not a vet. But in my opinion I think that the gram stain will probably show you what you need to know. I personally don't like x-rays because the bird has to be knocked out. I have only ever had two birds x-rayed. Sam for his heart disease, and Freddy for his liver issues. I would get the gram stain done, and then have a good discussion with your vet about what you want to have done. Hopefully it will either clear up on its own, or it will just take a little dose of medicine.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Bailey]

I've had 2 birds xrayed, and one had multiple xrays in one day, and neither times did they sedate the birds.

I think sedation depends on the vet and also on the bird's personality. Mine were well-behaved patients.

But I would do blood work and a gram stain, at minimum.

 

[LovieLuvr]

I agree, definitely have a gram stain done.

 

[Birdbabe]

The gram stain will show the ratio of good and bad bacteria. Sounds to me like a bacterial or yeast issue, in which case needs to be treated with nystatin and , or baytril depending on which, or both that is found.. good luck, I hope your baby is ok.

 

[LovieLuvr]

Yep...that's the exact meds Stitch was put on when he was diagnosed.

The gram stain will show the ratio of good and bad bacteria. Sounds to me like a bacterial or yeast issue, in which case needs to be treated with nystatin and , or baytril depending on which, or both that is found.. good luck, I hope your baby is ok.

 

[Chewie]

Hi Everyone! Thank you all so much for the inputs!
Dante visited the vet and had a gram stain and a blood panel done.
The vet wasn't too concerned about his vomiting since he was alert and visibly stable when he saw her.
Nothing particular has been linked to his vomiting and he hasn't vomited anything since the vet visit. Gram stain results are normal so it seems like it was a one-time incident.

When he first came, his health was in a disastrous state so the blood panel was done to see if he is still suffering from anemia and liver issues.
We've only received partial results, but so far everything seems to be on the better side compared to his last panel. He still needs improvement, but it's a huge relief that the vomiting wasn't linked to his prior conditions.

Thank you all so much! group hug!

Dante says Thank You!

 

[RJ Noodle]

Awwww what a sweet face Glad things are looking up for Dante

 

[Cyreen]

Dante is very pretty.

 

[ArtBird]

What a cutie...I'm glad everything worked out!

 

[Anne & Gang]

 

[Bushra]

Really pretty ^^ I hope he'll stay fine all the time ,, and Chewie looks so Pretty too

 

[Sparky04]

Hope he continues to improve!

 

[meandmyfids]

Beautiful bird ,glad all is well