Sick, or ... ?

[MrPlankton]

Hi,

our Lovebird, a 6 yr. old male, has a health issue for just over 2 weeks already. Right after he became sick I give him anti parasite drops on his skin as days before I heard him chirp softly and he started to franticly preen himself
on his upper chest and underneath his wings.
Avian vet could not find anything so far, droppings were tested and everything is negative.

Over 2 weeks ago he was fluffed up in his cage, eyes closed, took him out and he sat the same way on my finger. Didn't eat, made no noise, just lethargic.
On and off he went from bad to worse to near death (fell of his perch twice) to where he is now for about 5 days; stable, eating but still too skinny, flying a few meters to his cage to eat and back to us or to the coffee table where he has some food also, sometimes making a sound with the same loudness as ever, but sleeps almost all day. When he sits on my shoulder and I bent over he climbs down, hanging on the chord of my hoody and disappears, sticking only his head out or goes into my sleeve to sleep. When he does this he rasps his beak for minutes, which to me sounds like he's comfortable ?

When he wakes up he stretches his wings standing on one leg, poops (normal) and goes of to eat a bit or drink.
But it also happens he wakes up, stretches and immediately goes back to sleep.

So he's not well. He has always been a fuzzy eater who, if it was up to him, would live on junkfood only.
Currently he's on a seed mixture for Pyrhurra's (since Sep. 30) as they were out of seeds mix for large parakeets / lovebirds, didn't think it matters that much because he hardly eats anything other than a bit of millet and sunflower seeds from whatever seed mix I give him.
He currently eats a lot of egg yolk (boiled), white meat from chicken, a bit of apple (once in 2 / 3 days), potatoe mash, beef etc. Since a couple of days I'm offering nutriberries which he seems to find O.K. (sort of....). At least he eats some of it.

He does not eat pellets, egg food, millet spray some days not a single bite, other days he enjoys eating it.

Yesterday I had a cinnamon role and he stretched out as far as he could while clamping his feet around my finger trying to take bites from it, I didn't let him but he kept chasing it (still didn't let him, I ended up alone in the kitchen not enjoying the role anymore, at all
So, he has the will to eat and he's willing to make efforts to go for it, but not when it's his food or if it's healthy for him.

And I'm wondering if his diet could be the cause of his issue, it feels like it's far fetched, but we're currently a bit clueless about what's going on with him. She says giving him antibiotics won't help him/

I've asked about giving him vitamin A supplements or a multi vitamin, but she said that's no good (for his liver) and I could try giving him a pinch of red palm oil :-|

Anyone who has ever heard of a similar issue which might have been food related ?

 

[Pixiebeak]

Sorry your love bird is off.
And you are right to be concerned. It's frustrating when the cause isn't easily found.

His diet isn't nutritionally complete. And that effects immunity and more... veggies and leafy greens are needed. Sometimes takes a bit of fussing around to get them eating them. But some go for them right away. Try offering bell pepper or any peppers, romaine lettuce, cooked sweet potatoes or cooked carrots, and mango. Those mentioned are a great source of vitamin A .

I agree vitamin supplements can overdose and cause liver problems, aren't well regulated in bird products, can grow bacteria/yeast in water.

Red palm oil is high in vitamin A/ beta carotene. It is so easy to give to much. Given to much causes liver inflammation and even liver failure. So my veterinarian warned against it. Other veterinarians opions msy differ. But all will agree you must be very careful with fat soluble vitamins , overdose is toxic .

But your bird seems to have more than just a nutritional issue.

 

[MrPlankton]

Yes that's my concern and what I believe, it's more than a nutritional issue.

His symptoms are weird, they point towards a respiratory infection, but the AV ruled this out, both bacterial and fungus types as well as mites.
Also he has overcome much worse periods than the one he's in right now, he also still plays a little, like splitting the stems from his millet spray.

Still very concerned though.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Great job in getting veterinarian check up

Sometimes it just takes more, to get a diagnosis. Life is complex and so are many health issues. Even in human medicine with specialist.

Not a judgment on veterinarian at all. But sometimes a second opinion and fresh eyes can be helpful

 

[jh81]

See if you can get him on pellets, he wont be eating them over night, its something you have to do slowly and can take months. they are generally better then a seed diet. I had birds that would not eat dry pellets, so i had to wet them a bit for them to eat. One bird wouldnt even look st it untill i sweetened it a bit with some honey. Not ideal in the long term but if it gets their interest…

Get a heating lamp to give him a warm spot in his cage. That way he doesnt need much energy to keep himself warm, and that energy can be directed to solve whatever health issues he has. Dont heat up the whole place though, that way he can cool down when he gets too hot.

Thats what i would do

 

[MrPlankton]

He starts to eat pretty well from his nutriberries, but his condition is still fluctuating. Last Saturday in the afternoon and evening he was doing much better, started making more noise, was more active.
Yesterday not so much and this morning he was again a bit unstable on his feet, this is going on for 2,5 weeks already.
We're expecting this to go downhill, I'm very worried.

 

[MrPlankton]

I've slept with him for some night already, he stays under the blanket with me to stay warm (.....), when we get up and he's sitting on my finger he stretches his wings while standing 1 one foot.
Then I put him in his cage and when he gets out after an hour or so, he is wobbly on his feet. Could this be due to lack of warmth ?

I just don't understand what is wrong with him.

 

[Emma&pico]

Hi
Can you take him back to vets ?
i hope he’s ok bless him maybe he is cold how warm is your house ? Could you put a heater near him or move his cage near a radiator make sure there’s no dafts where his cage is

 

[MrPlankton]

Hi, I can take him back to the AV, just worried the stress will drain his energy.
It's only 16 degrees C in the morning but he's warm with me all night. He only goes in his cage when I go to prepare myself going to work, now he's with my wife sitting against her neck.

Not sure if a heating lamp would help as he's almost all day long with us, he's under my sweater or blanket or in my hand against my face the last 2,5 weeks when I'm home, if i'm not home my wife is with him. he's under the blanket on the couch right now.

 

[Emma&pico]

Hi, I can take him back to the AV, just worried the stress will drain his energy.
It's only 16 degrees C in the morning but he's warm with me all night. He only goes in his cage when I go to prepare myself going to work, now he's with my wife sitting against her neck.

Not sure if a heating lamp would help as he's almost all day long with us, he's under my sweater or blanket or in my hand against my face the last 2,5 weeks when I'm home, if i'm not home my wife is with him. he's under the blanket on the couch right now.

Is he active at all ? Or just snuggling into you both ? How much is he eating or drinking

 

[Emma&pico]

@Zara might be able to help

 

[Zara]

@Zara might be able to help

Sorry. I have no idea. I have been lucky that when my birds have been sick, our vet has taken great care of them.
I did get given the RPO once for Nube after his dermatitis thing, it was super small tiny amount I had to give him.

Your vet did full blood workup?

I do second what Jan said about trying your best to increase the pellets in the diet, but actual pellets not nutriberries. I´ve had success with psittacus and tropican, my birds were quite receptive to it. Maybe see if you can find small packs or sample packs.

Any supplements you are thinking of, I would only ever give under vet instructions. Lovebirds are so little, it is easy to overdose.

You could ask your vet about incorporating a hospital cage at home. Where the temperature and humidity is perfectly controlled. Basically a sort of tank type container, with an electronic thermometer and hygrometer to monitor levels.
Sleeping snuggled under your blanket is not a good option, sleeping with birds is dangerous, so the hospital tank would be a better and safer option.

 

[MrPlankton]

Is he active at all ? Or just snuggling into you both ? How much is he eating or drinking

No he's not active for the past couple of weeks, he was a bit more active last Saturday, even started to make more noise, flew a couple of times.
One day he eats very little, the next he eats a lot. He does drink 2 or 3 times a day, about 4 sips each time.
In general he's just snuggling up against us

 

[MrPlankton]

@Zara no the AV did not perform a blood test. She adviced against supplementing vitamins.
I'd like to get him on pellets but at this moment he has no reserves left to make him a bit more hungry to get him to eat pellets. I have a bag of Psittacus micro, he doesn't touch it. Same with egg food.
Still have an older bag of Roudybush but he doesn't like them also, het ate a little of it when I got the bag fresh but when I found how skinny he was I stopped giving it to him, my mistake probably.
But I doubt his current issue is related to some kind of deficiency, could be wrong of course.

yes a hospital tank would be better for him, he only sleeps just below my neckline under the edge of the blanket, he's out in a second if he wants to, it's not that I could roll over him. But I agree this isn't normal.

I'll go buy a heat lamp later today.

 

[MrPlankton]

Is he active at all ? Or just snuggling into you both ? How much is he eating or drinking

ps. thinking about it, a hospital tank would probably not work for him, when he's in his cage for a moment and I get back into the livingroom, he's VERY eager to get out, going back and forth on his perch, climbing toward the door of his cage. His condition is not like for a typical fluffed up / lethargic sick bird.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Im sorry to read that all is not well. Poor little birdie .

And it scares me that you sleep with him.in your bed. As I've read countless horror posts of birds getting crushed or smothered. Please be careful.

It sounds pretty serious having chronic weight loss, lethargy and weakness. I think checking in with avian veterinarian or finding a new one.

I use the sweeter heater a radiant heat panel. You can find on Amazon and the smallest is more than enough. It's an investment, definitely pricey.

Diet and nutrition are so important. But when it comes to a skinny sick bird my veterinarian has always said sick ones get whatever they will eat ( within reason, never a bunch of sugary food).

You might try baby bird formula. You can make it up a little thicker like Greek yogurt thickness. And offer from your fingers, or offer in a dish. You could even try mixing a tablespoon in whst food he is eating. But be prepared to throw it all out after 30 min , if not eaten. Grows bacteria fast. Many birds take to formula and its complete nutrients with a good amount of calories.

 

[MrPlankton]

Thanks for the suggestions, will try the formula. I'm going to look for another vet / AV, I'm just so afraid the stress levels for him will be too much to deal with.
It's serious for sure, not sure how long he can go on, even though he has his good moments every now and then. It's the weight loss which concerns me the most atm.

 

[MrPlankton]

Sorry but something came to my mind, could it be he gets unwell from his seedmix ? He eats from his current bag since Sep. 30, got sick 09 Nov.
When he gets up in the morning he sits on my finger and stretches both wings while standing on 1 foot. When he goes in his cage until I'm done showering etc. and comes back out, he is sometimes wobbly
on his feet and more lethargic then when he was right after waking up. He eats his seed mix in his cage.

I think i will take them away and replace them with a mix i also still have but has less sunflower seeds in it, unfortunately, because that's what he eats most atm.

 

[MrPlankton]

My little buddy did not make it, he passed away this afternoon. I feel gutted.

 

[Tyrion]

Im so sorry for your loss