Urgent Sick baby cockatiel!

[corina826]

hello! i’m new here and have been reading this forum the entire time my bird has been sick.
last wednesday my 9 week old, hand/formula fed cockatiel lost his voice & had a watery eye.
i took him to the emergency vet and she started him on enrofloxacin
about 5 days later still nothing had gotten better & more symptoms began to arise:
watery eyes, sneezing & labored breathing.
so i took him to an avian vet closer to me, she doubled the dose of antibiotics and took a culture to send to the lab.
it’s been like 3 days and i feel like he is getting worse
this morning he didn’t eat the formula and it felt like his crop is still slightly full from last night, i administered the meds and let him be for a bit, called the vet who is not helpful at all.
when i came back a few hours and checked on him, he seemed to have vomited what looks like formula, but he didn’t have any this morning so it’s from last night and i’m guessing it’s also some of the antibiotic...
he has been picking at seeds a little bit but not like normal.
this is the first day he has denied any food so i’m really worried and i called the vet again to see if i could get any kind of update on the culture and no response! the receptionist is taking down notes but no one is getting back to me.
the emergency vet didn’t seem too knowledgeable and i’m so upset that they didn’t do the culture in the first place.
i’m so worried and don’t know what to do at this point.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Oh no, I’m so sorry your little bird is not doing well. Make sure he is kept nice and warm. Is there another vet you can contact?

 

[corina826]

Oh no, I’m so sorry your little bird is not doing well. Make sure he is kept nice and warm. Is there another vet you can contact?

i called the other one closest to me and they can’t see me until next week
i feel like i’m stuck on my own at this point.

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm so sorry. I hope he'll be okay. You might be able to find some information here, Ask Noodles. Although if you think your baby is getting worse, I think you need to keep trying to see a vet.

@Hankmacaw ? @Ripshod ? @Monica ?

 

[Ripshod]

You'll have to look further away for a vet. Baytril (enrofloxacin) is just a general antibiotic but it sounds like your bird has something that'll require a stronger and more directed treatment. And soon too, from what you said and given his age malnutrition can set in pretty quickly, making him weaker and less able to fight illness. He may not last the weekend.
Not having a diagnosis the only thing you can do is keep him warm and calm.

 

[corina826]

i have called a couple other vets and no one can see us today except the emergency vet who i already went to and they did nothing but give antibiotics and said she could do an x-ray but even if she did the x-ray, i’d have to go to specialist because she’s not a specialist... which is why i went to a second vet after that.
i also forgot to mention that i saw a white thing on his tongue which i think was yeast
and when i brought it up to the second vet she said we have to wait for the culture results...
which is upsetting because those results won’t be here for a few days.
so my bird is basically going to just become more sick until i get those results????
i’m upset after going to 2 different vets and spending so much money only to watch him decline and feel hopeless.

 

[Monica]

So sorry you are going through this. If antibiotics aren't working, they could potentially be making things worse... if your baby has a fungal infection.


Please keep your baby warm and hydrated.



I hope you are able to find a vet that can help you!

 

[corina826]

So sorry you are going through this. If antibiotics aren't working, they could potentially be making things worse... if your baby has a fungal infection.


Please keep your baby warm and hydrated.



I hope you are able to find a vet that can help you!

thank you!
i took him back to that emergency vet, before i went i told them i was almost positive he had a yeast infection and i really needed them to actually DO something so that i’m not stressing him out for no reason!
they took a culture and looked under a microscope and what do you know?
the vet said she saw a ton of yeast!
she gave me antifungal & another antibiotic & gave him sub q fluids
the only problem is that he regurgitated the anti fungal as soon as they administered it...
i’m hoping he kept enough down to have some positive effect...
i am so sad & upset and just hope he feels even a little bit better after some rest...

 

[sunnysmom]

I am glad he got looked at again. I hope he gets better soon.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Give him a little food before giving the fungal medication - that sometimes works. What is the name of the fungal medication?

 

[corina826]

Give him a little food before giving the fungal medication - that sometimes works. What is the name of the fungal medication?

the vet told me to give meds first just in case he does regurgitate he will at least have some of that in his system already...
he’s on nystatin & clavamox (just in case he develops aspiration pneumonia because the vet said he most likely aspirated yesterday)
and i was told to finish the enrofloxacin
i gave it to him 30 min ago and so far so good!
i’m going to give him a tiny bit of formula in about another 30 min just so he can have something in his stomach.
this morning he isn’t great but he is SO much better than he was last night- he’s chirping, even tho very faint because he still hasn’t got his voice back and is moving around the small cage i have him in.
even tho i provided a soft blanket for him to nest in, he prefers to perch so that makes me happy.

 

[Hankmacaw]

The enrofloxacin can, and often does, make a bird nauseous. I would recommend that you give it at a different time than the nystatin and clavamox (nystatin is very benign). You are doing great. Just make sure you compete the prescriptions.

 

[corina826]

The enrofloxacin can, and often does, make a bird nauseous. I would recommend that you give it at a different time than the nystatin and clavamox (nystatin is very benign). You are doing great. Just make sure you compete the prescriptions.

thank you!
i gave them 1.5 hours apart
he kept the meds down
but didn’t keep the formula down so i’m thinking i fed too much too fast???
i’m letting him rest... i haven’t given the enrofloxacin today yet but i’ve already given the other 2.
he’s pretty active right now and it’s giving me anxiety because i want him to relax lol
i have him in a very small cage to keep activity minimal but he’s still climbing all over & chirping when he hears the other parrots outside

 

[Monica]

Glad he's feeling a tad better! I hope you got the meds in time!


Good bacteria helps to fight fungal infections. Antibiotics can kill both good and bad bacteria, thus making it possible for fungal infections to take a hold better.