NorthernGannet
Sprinting down the street
In concern about Sprite's nasty and sometimes spicy/tangy odiferous poops, and also his feather condition, I took him to the avian vet a month ago. After the visit, things I had to do: 24 hour poop sample and also a dialy day water consumption measurement for 3 days. That meant: separating the bonded boys.
Ah, if you've ever had two very tightly bonded linnies and separated them, even with cages a mere 6" apart, you wil realize how futile these samples were. They both went inSANE. Sprite spent his waking hours climbing all over and ate only the minimum, which meant his poops were way off the norm. I took the poop sample during the third day hoping he'd calm a little by then, but the vet still confirmed with me that it was actually 24 hours. Yep, lol. I gave up my computer and desk for 3 days for that!
The consensus was inconclusive other than he appeared to be chewing (not plucking) his feathers and drinking more water than the average linnie. I can live with the water issue, but the chewing? Obviously something has been happening to his feathers, but I've never seen him chewing on himself. I found a pic from a couple weeks after I got him over a year ago, and it showed it was happening a bit even way back then.
Anyway, even though his initial fecal test was good, the vet recommended 7 days, 2x a day, of Baytril (antibiotic). I almost felt like it was one of those shot-in-the-dark type recommendations, and I'm not big on random antibiotics. However, I administered. Let me tell you, I am a terrible bird nurse! The syringe was tiny of course, and Sprite really wasn't that bad about it, but getting his beak open far enough was tricky, and then trying to slowly pump rather than one big pump was difficult. One time the stuff went straight over his head! LOL. But we managed and came out on top
Immediately after finishing the antibiotic, he started dropping smaller body feathers, many of them ratty. In all honesty I couldn't remember the last time he lost any feathers at all aside from flight feathers, so this was good. His poops no longer smell at all, although they're still too watery due to his water consumption rate. So I have to say something good must've happened, and I hope that his feathers replace and remain ok. He needs a full out molt. I have been watching him like a hawk and swear he's not chewing on himself, unless it's happening over night when covered. During the days he chews on his sola ball, sisal rope, corn husk thing, and finger traps (finally!).
I guess the next step would be blood tests if the feather condition doesn't improve, but for now I'm waiting and seeing how things go since he is acting, eating, behaving completely normally (with no more smelly poops). This is why I've increased the pellet consumption because obviously something I was doing wasn't working for him specifically. He's also started inhaling scrambled eggs, which he wouldn't touch before. And I shortened their light cycle a tiny bit.
Oh, and @Dona guess what happens if you let him eat too much egg all at once? Yellow poop... about 3 hours later
-NG
Ah, if you've ever had two very tightly bonded linnies and separated them, even with cages a mere 6" apart, you wil realize how futile these samples were. They both went inSANE. Sprite spent his waking hours climbing all over and ate only the minimum, which meant his poops were way off the norm. I took the poop sample during the third day hoping he'd calm a little by then, but the vet still confirmed with me that it was actually 24 hours. Yep, lol. I gave up my computer and desk for 3 days for that!
The consensus was inconclusive other than he appeared to be chewing (not plucking) his feathers and drinking more water than the average linnie. I can live with the water issue, but the chewing? Obviously something has been happening to his feathers, but I've never seen him chewing on himself. I found a pic from a couple weeks after I got him over a year ago, and it showed it was happening a bit even way back then.
Anyway, even though his initial fecal test was good, the vet recommended 7 days, 2x a day, of Baytril (antibiotic). I almost felt like it was one of those shot-in-the-dark type recommendations, and I'm not big on random antibiotics. However, I administered. Let me tell you, I am a terrible bird nurse! The syringe was tiny of course, and Sprite really wasn't that bad about it, but getting his beak open far enough was tricky, and then trying to slowly pump rather than one big pump was difficult. One time the stuff went straight over his head! LOL. But we managed and came out on top
Immediately after finishing the antibiotic, he started dropping smaller body feathers, many of them ratty. In all honesty I couldn't remember the last time he lost any feathers at all aside from flight feathers, so this was good. His poops no longer smell at all, although they're still too watery due to his water consumption rate. So I have to say something good must've happened, and I hope that his feathers replace and remain ok. He needs a full out molt. I have been watching him like a hawk and swear he's not chewing on himself, unless it's happening over night when covered. During the days he chews on his sola ball, sisal rope, corn husk thing, and finger traps (finally!).
I guess the next step would be blood tests if the feather condition doesn't improve, but for now I'm waiting and seeing how things go since he is acting, eating, behaving completely normally (with no more smelly poops). This is why I've increased the pellet consumption because obviously something I was doing wasn't working for him specifically. He's also started inhaling scrambled eggs, which he wouldn't touch before. And I shortened their light cycle a tiny bit.
Oh, and @Dona guess what happens if you let him eat too much egg all at once? Yellow poop... about 3 hours later
-NG