911 Urgent!

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

Pip had broken a part of her lower beak this morning and we wnet to visit a vet afterwards. They told us to feed her soft foods and give her medicine in the food. Shes always efused to eat anything soft or wet and it looks like when she tries to eat it hurts. Any tips on how to give her food or medicine?

Ripshod · 4/27/19

Try some boiled rice and mashed boiled egg, egg for extra protein to help the beak grow. They are always popular so she's more likely to give these a try. Also she can go quite a while without eating anything. Guaranteed when she feels hungry she'll eat. If you feed pellets you can soak them to soften them up.
How much is actually missing? Could you take a photo? The lower beak grows pretty fast so we don't need to worry about balanced nutrition.

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

I took a picture this morning and zoomed in on the beak. She is moving it to the side in this picture so the hole looks bigger but the size hole is less than half of her lower beak. She can still get small pieces of vegetables and pre-shelled seeds into her mouth and chew them with her sharp upper beak but it hurts so she hasn't eaten more than a few bites. If she won't eat anything, how could I d liver her medicine with her food? (It says to give with food).

Ripshod · 4/27/19

I think you would get a lot more attention if this thread is moved to another section. Click the 'Report' button at the bottom of your first post and ask that this is moved to 'Bird Emergency Highway 911'

iamwhoiam · 4/27/19

Which medication did they give her? I'm assuming something like Metacam for pain?? You might have to get some hand feeding formula or even use moistened and softened pellets, add the medicine to that and then spoon feed to make sure she gets it all. Did they give you syringes to administer the medication? If so you could administer and immediately give her something to eat. Check with the vet, too, and see what he/she advises.
Hope all will be well.

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

The vets gave us pain medication and antibiotics. They gave us syringes and advised us to mix it with softened pellets but to first make sure that she will eat soft pellets before adding the medicine as to not waste it.

Tiel Feathers · 4/27/19

Poor girl, how did she hurt her beak? I hope that you can give her medicine okay, because once it doesn’t hurt as much she’ll eat better. Does she like the softened pellets? Has she had a dose of medicine yet?

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

She has not had a dose yet. The vets tried to give her one by syringe while we were there but she became stressed and wouldn't let them so they told us to give her medicine in food once we got home. We've tried softened, crushed, and powdered pellets as well as shelled hemp seeds. She won't eat anything from spoon/bowl/syringe and I don't know how else to administer the medication before she has to go to bed for today. Any tips? We are making pasta (unsalted and unbuttered) right now since it is soft and can soak up medicine. Please help.

EkkieLu · 4/27/19

Omg! Poor little Pip! Maybe a feeding tube, like what's used for hand feeding baby birds?

iamwhoiam · 4/27/19

It sounds as if you don't have to give the medication with food but they suggested that because they had difficulty getting her to take the medication with the syringe. Did they provide you with any syringes? What medication is this?
You might want to try some organic baby food such as applesauce or peaches. You could put a little bit on your finger and see if she will take it. She might like the taste of that. Does she like almond butter? You could put some on your finger with the medication and she could, hopefully, lick that off.

AmyJas · 4/27/19

If she refuses any soft foods, you could also try soaking some hulled seeds or nuts in water to make them easier to eat. Hulled sunflower seeds or pepitas should be easy to quickly buy in a pinch if you don't have any. Good luck.

AmyJas · 4/27/19

I just saw that you tried offering hulled hemp seeds. Did you try soaking them first?

rocky'smom · 4/27/19

Try Tropimix 1tbsp mixed with 1tbsp of warm water. Let it sit for a couple minutes. Its both pellets and hulled seeds. Add meds and feed it from your fingers until she tries it.

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

Success! We put a softened pellet paste in an empty syringe along with her medication. It was difficult to administer since we were working carefully not to hurt her beak and she would rarely open it but I think she ingested most of her dose. We made an appointment to visit another avian vet tomorrow who will hopefully fix her chipped beak and help us find an easier way to give her medication. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, and I'll keep you updated.

Snowghost · 4/27/19

Oh gosh I'm so glad she ate! How did she break her beak. I had cockies for years they are adorable little buggers!

Mockinbirdiva · 4/27/19

I give my DYA Lola her metacam like this: I cut very thin slices of apple, then cut those into very thin strips and then cut the bunch of thin strips into tiny minced pieces. I put the pile in the center of a plate and cover it with a bowl and microwave for 35 seconds and let it sit for a few seconds so it's super soft. When I feed her evening cooked grains and veggies ( those are diced finely as well and mixed with the grains) I put a nickel sized portion of the cooked apple on top of the cooked grains right in the center and put the drops of metacam on top of the apple. It's the first thing she eats of her evening meal. I would try it for your tiel with just a small pile ( size of a dime) of the softened apple to see if she eats it. If she does then place the apple on top of her other softened food. Anything she does on her own will be less stress. If you don't see her eating it then you'll have to resort to another method where you know she's getting the medicine. Good wishes for your sweetie!

Pip's Owner · 4/27/19

Thank you so much for your kind words and suggestions! When she starts feeling better and eating on her own I will try putting the medicine in softened apple pieces, she loves apple so that's a good idea.

Snowghost · 4/27/19

Awesome!

Pip's Owner · 4/28/19

Hello! This morning Pip seems to be feeling a bit better and even ate some scrambled eggs on her own. She still seems lethargic and doesn't eat very often but we are seeing the vet later this afternoon, so hopefully when her beak is fixed it will hurt less to eat and we can administer her medication easier. Hoping for a fast recovery!

Revali · 4/28/19

How awful hope she recovers quickly. :sad4:

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