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Macaw- Bound egg after 17 years

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Nailrep

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I'll get the Pina Colata mix that comes in the can. I think it will work because Littlebird loves split fresh coconut which I give her often as my house has tons of coconut trees. I think I got the right amount in at 7 with the hand feeding formula. As a nurse I know the importance of the correct dose at the correct time but Littlebird isn't easy. I suspected Cipro was causing her regurgitation which delayed her discharge but so far so good as I've been giving it with food or orange juice. Tommorrow I'll get the probiotics at CVS too. Thanks for the info. Wish I read Susanne's post earlier as my daughter the vet talked to Dr. Harris to get the concentration for the Cipro so she could have asked about the egg's location, shell quality etc. I'll e mail her the pics. She didn't have acities but Dr. Harris did mention the uterus. Littlebird is so obsessed with nest building that I'm going to have to keep her out of the indoor aviary. The trees have grown so it is dark and the paper is a real threat. Now Buddy is making that weird chirping noise and shredding paper in the bottom of the aviary. I have a feeling that the unusually cold weather we had this winter is what stimulated my macaws to go so crazy or maybe it's the handsome wild macaw that has been calling . Anyway someone should invent a Salt Peter for female macaws, cold showers didn't work.
Salt peter?? Somebody has a military background. LOL!!
 

Nailrep

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I always babysit my grandchildren on Tues. so when I came home at 6 pm Littlebird looked and acted noticeably better. Still can't trust the other birds near her though. Tommorrow I can be home all day so I'll try supervised visiting. I guess empathy is strictly a human characteristic as all these wonderful posts demonstrate. Thanks
so glad to hear she is improving!!:hug8:
 

southernbirds

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The Vet most likely gave you Baytril for it's anaerobic qualities,(not to be confused with aerobic). Much like with sinus infections where bacteria and microbes are entrenched in deep dark places, Baytril or Cipro is good for tissue penetration. On a lighter note, that is what our wonderful vet gave our dog for the dog's infected anal gland problem:). Good luck with your Lilttlebird. Yes, I do believe the call of the wild Macaws have stimulated your domestic flock! Many times in people, physicians will use the combination of Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (Clavamox) Trade Name - Augmentin for this purpose to penetrate the sinus cavities.Of course if one is allergic to penicillin, than a fluoroquinolone drug is warranted. Cipro is a "quinolone" drug.
 

Kara

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Sorry that your girl is so sick. It is important that she get the full dosage of the meds and that means that adding it to food etc. is just guessing at how much she will be getting.

When you watch the video, keep in mind that these two birds have had meds by mouth for years.

YouTube - Giving H&J Oral Meds
If you are giving her hand feeding (and I highly recommend it), sneak the meds in in between syringes of food. I found that using Pina Colada mix (w/o alcohol) was the best to mask the taste of Cipro/baytril. Cipro/Baytril is pure bitter and really nasty. Additionally, some birds (my Hank) will become sensitive to Baytril and it will make them nauseous and regurgitate. If this happens you will need to go to injections or a different broad spectrum antibiotic and there are many.

If she is getting 1cc, use a 3cc syringe with 2ccs of Pina colada and 1 cc of meds.

Definately give her probiotics. You can get powdered acidophilus at CVS pharmacies and just sprinkle it on her food or mix in the hand feeding. The other thing you can do to help her with nutrition is to give her digestive enzymes such as Prozyme.
More awesome advice from ML! =]

I'm medicating mine with Baytril this week as well. One of my bird's (Severe Macaw = Peanut) is in the hospital this week. I'm an avian technician and I strongly believe in putting meds in the food. It depends on the bird, but I've found the best foods to be scrambled egg, sweet potato, banana (unless you're treating yeast. Sugar feeds yeast and that won't help!), mashed potatoes, or handfeeding formula.

The best I've found with my own birds is a mixture I make. I found Pomegranite juice to work well to add to the mixture. I'll mix up some oatmeal, some egg, some apple, some banana, and some carrot, then I'll add a teeny bit of Pomegranite juice. They love it. I'll give them each a dime sized ball with some Baytril and they'll eat it right away! (Sometimes I'll heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds before the Baytril and the juice is added and they love it more!

I give them meds in food because it reduces the risk of aspiration and the risk of the bird not getting the medicine.
 

daria

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I have Pomegranite juice in the house so I'll try it. Littlebird now knows to be very suspicious of me offering anything. Wasted a ton of Cipro this AM in handfeeding formula, injected in a banana slice, peanut sandwich, all were rejected. I've decided to bring her back to the vet. This morning she has droopy wings and is sitting low which I do not like. She is eating and pooping O. K. I'll probably take her to Lisa's avian vet( 1&1/2 hour drive) in her practice just because Dr. Harris"s charges are double hers. The bill was over $1,000.00 . For example , the exam alone was over $200.00 , Xrays $90.00. He is a very good vet but my cardiologist gets paid $60.00 by United for my yearly exam.
 

suncoast

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Here's my take on Dr. Harris. We spent thousands on our local "avian" vet when we first got Truely our G2 because she had a very high white blood count. After the 4th go round with the same anitbiotic and no improvement the local guy wanted to do an xray without any kind of sedation. This is where they tape them down on a plate with their wings open. I said "No way" and he got really pi$$y with me.

We then decided to take her to Dr. Harris across the alley. Come to find out that the WBC counts were only estimates and although her count was elevated it wasn't nearly as high as the other vet was saying. Dr. Harris did almost all the lab work in house and he put her on one more round of anitbiotic that worked. She was still somewhat elevated on the recheck but he said to keep an eye on her and wait to see if she pulled out of it. She did.

He is more expensive intially, but he always has two technicians in the room so everything runs smoothly which minimizes the stress. He wants the parronts in the room to minimize the stress, he follows up when he says he's going to and I trust him to make the right diagnoses the first time. That's where you save money in the long run. Your paying for competence and knowledge.

I really hope your little girl get's better very fast and I will continue to keep her in my prayers.

Ginger
 

srtiels

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This morning she has droopy wings and is sitting low which I do not like.
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Could she be ready to lay another egg? When the follicles/oviary is active yolks are sequentually enlarging and drop into the oviduct. (2nd pix)

The 1st illustration shows the yolk missing the oviduct...this is called an ectopic egg, witch the yolk enters into the abdominal cavity, and is the leading cause of peritonitis.

If it is suspected that she might be ovulating take care in moving or handling her.
 

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srtiels

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Anyway someone should invent a Salt Peter for female macaws, cold showers didn't work.
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When i was researching diets for mousebirds I learned that Neem fruit and flowers can act as a natural contraceptive. I'm not sure with chronic layers if it would work to stop ovulation.
 

daria

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Ginger- Dr. Harris is an excellent avian vet with a well run practice but so is Karen Z (Zielezienski) who worked with Dr. Susan Clubb and is now at Plantation Animal Hospital with Lisa ( you can google Plantation Animal Hospital) with the same facilities. I had no complaints with Littlebirds care , I just felt the charges were not in line with other avian vets. In retrospect , maybe I should have kept monetary disscussions out of it because let's face it, we would all mortgage our houses for our birds. It's just when I was faced with another huge financial committment, my husband told me , "Why didn't I stick to dogs?" They come when they're called, they usually don't bite, they are easy to pill, etc.
 

daria

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Ginger= you don't have to name names but I know exactly who you are writing about. That is how I lost my first macaw, I decided to fix the injury she sustained in Hurricane Andrew which was a mistake as DR. Harris would have probably told me it's a livable condition not interfering with her life, don't risk an unnecessary complicated surgery.
 

daria

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I'll research Neem fruit as soon as this crisis is over. Thanks
 

srtiels

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avian vet with a well run practice but so is Karen Z (Zielezienski)
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If this is a female vet with dark dark I loathe her, and spent $1000 on egg related problems and it seemed like Baytril was the only thing she favored with ANY type of problem. After going to another vet because NONE of my problems were resolved, only worsened to the point of 2 cockatiels going blind from excessive use of Baytril I finially found that something simple as real Sunlight and with infections in the oviduct pipercillin saved many lives. Most client love her because she has a GREAT bedside manner. There are other vets more competant but there personalities leave alot to be desired.
 

daria

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Can't be the same vet . Try googling Plantation Animal Hospital to see and get back to me. Thanks
 

daria

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Littlebird is holding her own . I'm leaving her at the vets to Monday as the Cipro will be completed on Mon. We miss her (my other macaws) and can't wait until she gets back to rule the roost (She is the dominant bird).
 

srtiels

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Plantation Animal Hospital
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I did, and if it is her she got very chubby. The one I knew had worked at Academy Animal Hospital on Federal HWY, but I checked their site and she is not there. If the same person she just brought me alot of heatbreak from her services and I had to go to another vet to get my birds straightend out, properly and postively treated, and drug free.
 

srtiels

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and can't wait until she gets back to rule the roost (She is the dominant bird).
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Ah...she sounds like a real sweetie. She'll probably be glad to be back too...
 

southernbirds

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Daria, I'm glad that your bird is doing well. As important as it is to find a good Vet, not everyone will have a good experience. Did the Avian Vet you went to, give you a discount because your Dtr is in the profession? I'm sure there can be different points of view. I've seen this with physicians, nurses, vets,educators,on and on.... My former vet kept saying that there were no animal equivalents for certain drugs I wanted him to try on my crippled (recently) dog and referred to her as "damaged goods". His ego could not process that I asked for different medical intervention.Needless to say I found a different open minded skilled in pharmaceuticals vet and changed. It's just like a master plummer..you go into a field and if you are good you will have a great reputation and if you are mediocre it will eventually come out.Doesn't matter if it is medicine or any other line of work. That being said....let's hope Littlebird continues to rule the roost and gets better soon.By the way...my dog is fully recovered and proved the doctors wrong and she did not ever get back surgery everyone kept suggesting. I'm glad my new vet worked with me on the palliative treatment and trusted my medical skills as much as he believed in his competent skills. She is definitely a medical miracle that I can attest to.
 

daria

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I'm very careful not to give opinions about other medical professionals because as you said, it depends upon your experience. I had a very good experience with Dr. Harris. My daughter's first job as a vet in Miami was in the practice that Dr. Harris belonged to (Dr. Payne) which deserves it's excellent reputation. It's the exceptional vet that balances the needs of the animal with the financial limits of the owners. Im proud to say my daughter does that and often gives perscriptions that cuts costs like Target and Publix.By the way, you are right about the pipercillin. She wa given an injection at the time of the egg extraction (You're very knowledgeable). If your dog develops paralysis in the future send me a private message as there is a new injection procedure that works miracles and I'll glady share.
 

srtiels

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By the way, you are right about the pipercillin. She wa given an injection at the time of the egg extraction
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Whew!...that is good...BUT it must be continued. One shot is not enough. It has been a long time since I had a problem with reproductive problems, but if I remember correctly it was 2 shots (possibly 3?) per day for 7-10 days.
 

southernbirds

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Thanks. I know about all the miracle drugs and she did get one series from our second Vet. He was on the cutting edge of technology years ago when I went to him in the 80's. Her's is a story that I could write a book on. If you want to PM me we can see if it is the same drug.It is a series of injections which should be used immediately. We should compare notes. Regarding my dog ( Doxie)...at one point we had to help her stand so she could eliminate and then she would flop down again. Now you would never surmise she had been such an invalid.
 
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