Probiotics after antibiotics

[LuckyClare]

Hey Guys,

I am brand new on here. Thanks for having me
I have a rainbow lorikeet named Lucky. She was recently sick and the vet suggested antibiotics. I am reluctant with antibiotics for any creature, but I was worried about my bird. So, she is better now, probably because of the charcoal I gave her rather than the antibiotics, but anyway I want to give her probiotics to balance out whatever damage the antibiotics will have done to her. Can you guys suggest any good ones?

 

[Hankmacaw]

I'm sorry that you don't trust medications. I have never ever heard of anyone giving a bird charcoal sounds very weird to me. What did the charcoal do (or supposed to do)?

Amazon.com : AviBios Probiotics (2 Ounce) : Pet Supplies

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I have never heard of giving birds charcoal, but I'm glad your bird is better. Avibios is good as @Hankmacaw mentioned, as is this one:
Avi-Culture - The #1 Bird Probiotic

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[Macawnutz]

This is what I use

Avi-culture-2-PLUS, The Finest, Live, 10-Strain, GMO-FREE Avian-Specific Probiotic/Prebiotic/Essential Enzyme/Amino Acid Blend

 

[finchly]

@Hankmacaw Giving charcoal is common, and for finches it is recommended to make it available at all times in a small dish. It absorbs toxins and neutralizes acid. It's especially useful for Gouldians.

That said, here's my 2 cents. If they overeat charcoal it could impact in the crop - so a proper probiotic is much better - and if they have that much 'toxin' it needs to be dealt with in some other manner. So I occasionally supply clean charcoal ground in wiht my egg shell and some other minerals. This is supplied in a tiny tube drinker (dry, but I use the drinker to keep it clean) and if a birdy is eating too much of it I remove it.

I use AviBios. Sprinkle daily on greens.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. Depending on what is wrong with the bird, anitbiotics are sometimes needed. I'm glad your bird is doing better. My vet recommends Avi-culture, as the others have already suggested.

 

[LuckyClare]

Thanks everyone I will get her one of those probiotics asap.

Just to clarify, its not that I don't trust medications, but I just know with human doctors they love to over-prescribe antibiotics so I am really wary. They can have serious side-effects. However, I did give her the course and so I hope that it was worth it.

By the time we were half way home from the vet Lucky had started to look better, and that was prior to me giving her the first dose of antibiotics, so I think it was the charcoal, or perhaps just her immune system, that fixed her up.

The reason I gave her the charcoal was I thought perhaps she had just eaten something she shouldn't and it could adsorb whatever she had ingested (its works great in humans and dogs) Her symptoms were lime green, almost neon poo, vomiting and extreme lethargy. When I took her to the vet they told me the only option was to do an X-ray and blood tests which require anaesthesia and would cost $650. I love my bird, don't get me wrong, but that seems a bit over the top just for testing, not even treatment! So i opted to try the treatment that she would have been prescribed if they had discovered, by bloods, that she had a liver infection.

2 out of the 3 avian vets I have visited so far (in the three years of having Lucky) I have been quite disappointed with. I swear they have just gotten out of uni and only know what comes from the text book, but have no real experience with birds. Both just went straight to assume she had ingested heavy metals, which is why they wanted to do an X-ray. But I am quite certain that can't be true, as she wont swallow even the smallest fragment of hard food (like a tiny seed), let alone a sliver of metal. Anyway, I am not a vet and I can't expect them to have great experience when they are young but its frustrating when I purposely sought out an avian vet just to find as much info as i could have from google. There are 2 (1 retired and 1 almost retired) older vets who are amazing and I hope that I can find some more of their kind before next crisis hits.

Thanks again for all your advice and suggestions

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I'm glad Lucky is feeling better! Just so you know, however, heavy metal poisoning can happen even if your bird doesn't eat or ingest pieces of metal, all they have to do is put unsafe things in their mouths and touch things.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!