Beak and Feather Disease

Hi everyone,
Trying to get some information on PBFD. We got our Trevor about 6 months ago and he is was 8-9 months when we got him. Short story his nails all of a sudden grew really long and his beak broke a bit (top part) and the bottom seemed to grow extra long, we took him to the vet and he has been tested positive for PBFD. Of course we are absolutely heart broken, he is such as sweet bird.
We have said we will treat him and love him until we know he is suffering and I’m trying to find out the stages of the disease, currently he has all his feathers and is eating well (although struggling with certain seeds but having plenty of fresh food). His poo seems to have more liquid in which I think may be because his diet has much more fresh fruit and veg in now but I’m worried about liver failure and if that’s a stage of PBFD.
Any guidance will be welcome!!
Thank you
Donna

Stevonna said:

Hi everyone,
Trying to get some information on PBFD. We got our Trevor about 6 months ago and he is was 8-9 months when we got him. Short story his nails all of a sudden grew really long and his beak broke a bit (top part) and the bottom seemed to grow extra long, we took him to the vet and he has been tested positive for PBFD. Of course we are absolutely heart broken, he is such as sweet bird.
We have said we will treat him and love him until we know he is suffering and I’m trying to find out the stages of the disease, currently he has all his feathers and is eating well (although struggling with certain seeds but having plenty of fresh food). His poo seems to have more liquid in which I think may be because his diet has much more fresh fruit and veg in now but I’m worried about liver failure and if that’s a stage of PBFD.
Any guidance will be welcome!!
Thank you
Donna

Click to expand...

I am very surprised that your Vet did not provide you with an information document and a discussion regarding the PBFD. If you do not have a relationship with your Vet, you really need to get one going as you will be visiting more often in the future. Call your Vet and have a phone discussion regarding PBFD.

Others and I will be providing additional.

This Post will get you bumped back-up the board.



Insert: As your Vet likely told you, there is no effective treatment for this viral infection. There are some medication that may easy your Parrot suffering.

FYI: With the timeline between when you found your Parrot has PBFD and the contracting the disease, I would recommend that you inform the individual, Breeder, Shop that you purchased your Parrot.

Thank-you for your choice to care for your Parrot!

One of my coworkers at the bird shop lost a very loved tiel to PBFD. Scary stuff. I'm afraid I don't have anything to contribute but moral support. Sorry you have to go through this. Hopefully your one has the chronic type and will turn into a bald little chicken but still be ok for a while. Xxxx

[ame="https://youtu.be/xh_LcNKS7TI"]Bald Bird Is Smitten With Lovebird Beau - YouTube[/ame]

From phone

On Instagram I followed a lovebird with PBFD, her name was Rhea and she lost all her feathers and had quite the following. ( Rhea the Naked Lovebird if you want to google her) Her owner took excellent care of her and eventually moved her across the nation so she could be with other birds who had the same disease. Rhea then met Lemon, another bird with the disease who had also lost her feathers and her beak was always needing trimmed. The other lovebird with them, Indi, was a male and loved both of them, both Rhea and Lemon.

They often dressed the two naked lovebirds up in handmade sweaters from all around the world from fans and followers, but eventually the disease did take its tole and Rhea was the first to pass, last year, and Lemon wasn't long after, only a couple weeks. It was in their sleep, the day before they were normal and active. But that's what the diease does. Indi was tested and ended up never having the disease (he still has all his feathers) and is currenly able to live with non-diseased birds.

It is a very sad disease to affect birds and really all you can do is provide them with the best care you can, they can receive medication to help but there is no cure for it. It is known to cut their lifespans much shorter than usual but they are still able to live a happy life with the disease. Rhea was full of energy, couldn't fly but would run around the floor and her owner had done all kinds of things to her cage to make it better able for her to get around.

EDIT: a video of Indi and Lemon was posted above!

That's such a sad story. I would inform (in writing) the place you got Trevor, so they can have their other birds tested, and sterilize anything birds come in contact with. Hopefully they care about birds, and won't just keep selling possibly diseased birds into homes with healthy ones. Some people care, and some don't. But the disease is very contagious.

I don't believe - people will correct me if wrong - that Trevor will suffer any pain from the disease. He might need to have regular beak/nail trimming, and he might lose his feathers and need some help keeping warm. There's no need to let him go if you love him - a naked bird is just as sweet as one with pretty feathers, and will love you maybe even more because they seem to know they depend on you.

But ... DO NOT bring another bird home, unless they already have PBFD, and check here and elsewhere for instructions on how to sanitize your home, and how long to wait. In fact, you will need to be careful yourself ... if you have friends with birds, you might not want to handle their birds. Might need to shower and change clothes before going into the home. There are some good vet websites - if you just google the disease name, and scroll through the results, look for the name Merck in a URL or for a website that looks like it is vet-related. You'll find more technical documents there.

I'm very sorry to hear this news Donna, I can only imagine how heartbroken you are. There is an abundance of information online, so besides consulting your vet, the internet will be a valuable source. There are also several Facebook groups that you could search for.

Wishing you and Trevor all the best.

I am so sorry to hear this. It's good that you are standing by him and remain committed to giving him as long and happy a life as possible.

The life expectancy of birds with PBFD varies quite a bit from one case to the next, as the time between incubation of the virus and the manifestation of clinical signs can be anywhere from 3 or 4 weeks to several years. Much depends on the exposure level and the relative health and strength of your bird's immune system.

In addition to the more well known effects such as feather loss and the abnormal growth of the beak and nails, PBFD also compromises the immune system and renders the birds more vulnerable to secondary infections. So keeping the environment as clean as possible will also go a long way toward prolonging Trevor's life, as will providing him with the best possible nutrition.

PBFD is indeed highly contagious, and as recommended above you should be very careful about your own contact with any friends who have birds themselves. The disease can be carried about on you, your hair, or even your clothes.

And I hate to say this part, but the later stages of the disease can indeed bring some suffering to your bird. Vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight, and the aforementioned secondary infections stemming from his compromised immune system can bring him to the point that you may be forced to face a certain decision. I only mention this to prepare you for the worst. This isn't to say it will happen this way. Just that it can. Some, however, have been known to go peacefully in their sleep. I pray this is the case for Trevor after the longest and happiest possible life.

Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.