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Urgent My lovebird's belly is discolored and her tail is bobbing

doucmates

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Cisem Isikoglu
My lovebird is 2.5 years old and three days ago I noticed that her belly was looking discolored and swollen. I took her to the vet for possible egg binding case on sunday. They said they couldn't feel any hardness around the area so there probably wasn't an egg in her. They gave some vitamin drops and I came home.
Later that night she was still eating/drinking normally and acting energetic but her tail was bobbing and when I googled it I freaked out.
This morning I took her to an another vet and they confirmed the other vet and said there's no egg stuck inside her. They asked if she has diarrhea and i said her poop is watery but not diarrhea. They also told me that the discolored area is dried out/discolored because she's lost weight/underweight. They gave antibiotics for diarrhea and told me to give it to her for 4-5 days but I'm really scared she's not gonna make it that far.
There's no avian vet nearby and none of the vets I took her was avian vet either.
I'm really scared that the cause of this is not diarrhea or being underweight and something more serious.
 

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Shezbug

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Zara

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Hankmacaw

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@Zara I really have no idea what the baby's issue is. ls that a patch of pulled feathers around her vent like birds do when they are about to lay?

Other than that; are her poops black, which would indicate internal bleeding ? Is her belly distended? Is there any possibility that she or another bird could have injured her? Have the antibiotics seemed to help?
 

Zara

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ls that a patch of pulled feathers around her vent like birds do when they are about to lay?
My girls pull out lots of feathers in their brooders patch but I have never seen them so bald like this. But maybe each hen is different?

Cisem, is this a girl? Has she laid an egg before? Or has she been DNA tested?
 

doucmates

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My girls pull out lots of feathers in their brooders patch but I have never seen them so bald like this. But maybe each hen is different?

Cisem, is this a girl? Has she laid an egg before? Or has she been DNA tested?
She constantly lays eggs. There's no male bird with her but nearly every month there's at least 2 eggs inside her cage.
 

doucmates

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@Zara I really have no idea what the baby's issue is. ls that a patch of pulled feathers around her vent like birds do when they are about to lay?

Other than that; are her poops black, which would indicate internal bleeding ? Is her belly distended? Is there any possibility that she or another bird could have injured her? Have the antibiotics seemed to help?
Nope, her poops aren't black but a bit watery. Yes, her belly looks distended but soft when touched. There's no birds with her in the cage, no sign of any wound around the area. I've just started do give her antibiotics I'm hoping they'll help in a few days. The yellowish/orange looking area is dry just like the vet said but I don't think it's because she's underweight cause she eats fine.
 

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every month there's at least 2 eggs inside her cage.
I would speak with your vet about this also. Eggs per month is not normal and would make your bird a chronic layer.
Max for a normal amount would be 3-4 clutches.
It could be related,but I don't know.

I hope you get to your vet soon and get some answers.
 

doucmates

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I would speak with your vet about this also. Eggs per month is not normal and would make your bird a chronic layer.
Max for a normal amount would be 3-4 clutches.
It could be related,but I don't know.

I hope you get to your vet soon and get some answers.
There's no avian vets anywhere nearby and the ones I can take her can't do anything serious than guessing what her problem is or giving antibiotics :( She's doing fine right now but if the antibiotics do anything about the situation in a few days then I'm gonna take her to an another vet.
And yes, she is definitely a chronic layer but I don't know what to do about it. Do you guys have any suggestion? Maybe I can get a male bird? She's aggressive and i don't think she'll get along with a male bird and harm him
 

Zara

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I find a pair of birds lay more eggs than a lone bird.

Some tips to try;
Remove any huts, boxes, beds and nooks from her cage.
Cover her cage to sleep 13 hours at night.
Be sure she is not sitting in her food bowl, if she does, swap it for a different one.
Be sure she had lots of toys to play with, things with beads on, or plastic forager toys. Offer less shreddable toys.
Remove any flat perches. (edit; I mean like platform perches)
Be sure the grate is in the cage.
-I´m sure I will have missed something.. If I think of more I will add.
 

doucmates

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Some tips to try;
Remove any huts, boxes, beds and nooks from her cage.
Cover her cage to sleep 13 hours at night.
Be sure she is not sitting in her food bowl, if she does, swap it for a different one.
Be sure she had lots of toys to play with, things with beads on, or plastic forager toys. Offer less shreddable toys.
Remove any flat perches. (edit; I mean like platform perches)
Be sure the grate is in the cage.
Thank you so much for the tips and help. I hope she'll get better soon :>
 

finchly

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@doucmates I think you are not located in the US?
I'm going to mention everything I would try and I'm US-based so some products will be different than what you may have access to.

Since she lays eggs often I would immediately think she could have a shell-less egg inside her that the vets would not feel, or more likely she could simply be low in calcium and/or Vit A. Also D3 is a common culprit when they are deficient, and calcium has to be balanced with phosphorus. So the easiest solution is to get a water soluble calcium supplement and give it to her. Calci-boost is one. You can also give her sterilized egg shells, like from chicken eggs. In fact if you feed her boiled egg, just give her the crushed shells (you've sterilized them while boiling the eggs).

Vitamin A is found in orange vegetables - carrots, sweet potato, winter squash and dark green leafy vegetables - kale, spinach.
Vitamin D3 comes from the sun, does she get sunlight? It is also in the calcium supplement made by Morning Bird, and maybe some others.

OK so that's vitamins and minerals. Also, after she finishes her antibiotic you can/must give her a probiotic, like the one from Morning Bird. It can be given every day without harm but it's especially important right after finishing an antibiotic.

Next I would look to coccidia or other protozoa/parasites. There are products that prevent and products that treat, so you need to decide whether your bird could be infected: fluffed up, losing weight, depression and smelly diarrhea are signs. For infection - trimethoprim sulfa. For prevention - cocci-care.
When mine had coccidia, their bellies swelled. :(

Those are my top 3 guesses and they are only guesses. I'm not a vet. I just own smaller birds and even though I have 2 avian vets, I've had to learn things because it's hard to get the littles treated and even if you can it stresses them out so badly to go to the vet.


Do you treat for mites or things like that? What's your bird's diet like?
The information @Zara gave you will help her stop laying eggs. It would be better for her health if she would stop. You might have to rearrange the cage or whatever you do fairly often. But sometimes you can do it once and they'll stop and not start again.
 
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Hankmacaw

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Also, go to a general merchandise store (like Walmart here in the US) and buy a scale that weighs in grams. They are quite inexpensive here and keeping track of your bird's weight is very valuable for assessing their health.
 

doucmates

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I think you are not located in the US?
I'm not. I'm in Turkey.

Vitamin A is found in orange vegetables - carrots, sweet potato, winter squash and dark green leafy vegetables - kale, spinach.
I'll give her crushed egg shells but she probably won't even touch any of them. I tried every type of vegetables/fruits that could be good for her but the only thing she eats is cucumber, lettuce and red cabbage. I'll still try to give her some. Also the first vet I went gave her some multi vitamins which includes vitamin A/D3 also vitamin B drops. I can't currently use them but I will as soon as the antibiotic treatment ends.

Vitamin D3 comes from the sun, does she get sunlight?
Yup, she does.

Next I would look to coccidia or other protozoa/parasites. There are products that prevent and products that treat, so you need to decide whether your bird could be infected: fluffed up, losing weight, depression and smelly diarrhea are signs. For infection - trimethoprim sulfa. For prevention - cocci-care.
When mine had coccidia, their bellies swelled. :(
Her poop does not smell bad, actually her last poop seemed super healthy and she does not fluff up but she might be losing weight even though she eats normally.

Since she lays eggs often I would immediately think she could have a shell-less egg inside her that the vets would not feel,
This really scares me. Does she have a chance to survive from shell-less egg inside her if that's the case? Also do you think it would be seen from an x-ray scan? If yes, then can they take it out? There probably isn't anything like that the vets here can do since they're not an avian vets.

I'll sure to give her the vitamins/fruits/veggies she needs as soon as her antibiotic treatment ends.
 
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doucmates

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Also, go to a general merchandise store (like Walmart here in the US) and buy a scale that weighs in grams. They are quite inexpensive here and keeping track of your bird's weight is very valuable for assessing their health.
Okay, I just ordered one. thank you.
 

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If she won't eat fresh foods, here are some ideas.
-cooked sweet potato, warm/ mashed, if she still won't eat it try sprinkling seed on it
-cooked egg
-try mixing several foods together and chopping them very fine
-try mixing a little vegetable with rice or quinoa
...... ran out of ideas. :D
 

doucmates

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If she won't eat fresh foods, here are some ideas.
-cooked sweet potato, warm/ mashed, if she still won't eat it try sprinkling seed on it
-cooked egg
-try mixing several foods together and chopping them very fine
-try mixing a little vegetable with rice or quinoa
...... ran out of ideas. :D
I'll be sure to try everything for her. Thank you for your help :>
 
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