chjery
New member
Hi Everyone!
I introduced myself, Chester (IRN) and my Parrotlets (Kiwi & Mango) on the main board last week. I just wanted to tell Chester's story here, since he is the reason I found this board. It may be long winded, sorry!
I adopted Chester a couple of months ago from someone in a town close to me. The place had numerous parrots. He was housed with 3 other IRN's and I was so excited to have found him!
I was told on the phone that they were young and friendly. They turned out to be neither but when I saw Chester I knew he was my bird, so I brought him home.
He was the least scared of me in the cage and really seemed to be interested in what I was doing and saying when I met him. I brought him home, knowing that he was going to require a lot of time, patience and work to become my friend.
The first night home, he seemed to be so happy that I took him out of that place. He was dancing around the cage, vocalizing, eating, drinking and being merry all within hours of arriving here.
Fast forward a few weeks. He wasn't vocalising like I thought he should, he wasn't moving around the cage a lot and was sleeping a lot. At that point I knew it wasn't just the shock of a new home, I thought he was sick.
I brought him to an avian vet in my area. Having never been to one before, I trusted everything he said and did. He said it was just shock and he would snap out of it eventually. He sent me home thinking all would be okay.
Another couple of weeks go by. Chester started throwing up a lot, and having diarrhea. I'm convinced he's been sick since I brought him home and search for a new vet.
I located a new vet and brought him in. Right from the start I knew I was in the right place. He was weighed right off and because he was only 95 grams, she was concerned. She took blood and a culture from his throat. The next week the results were in, he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection of his GI tract. The bacteria were mainly streptococcus. His white blood cell count was 3 times higher than normal.
She had some antibiotics made up and gave me a bunch of tiny syringes, I was supposed to give it to him twice a day for 10 days. I tried for 2 days and every time I gave him medicine he would throw it up. So we had to wait a week and then try shots.
She did some research and called back the next week with a schedule for me to bring him in twice a week for 6 weeks for shots. We have his last shot tomorrow.
Some days he seems like he's getting better, some days he doesn't. His throwing up has cut down to about once a day and the diarrhea is off and on too. We have talked about the possibility of it being a very hard to kill strain of bacteria or the possibility of it being something worse. After his last shot he goes back in a week later for another blood test to see how his white blood cells are doing. On a good note, at his last weigh in he was 128 grams, so he has gained a lot which is a good sign.
I am praying that this all works and he is 100% in the end. I have no idea what his true personality is like since he's been sick since I brought him home, but I know I chose him for a reason. I look forward to being able to work with him as well, I haven't had the chance to do anything with him except keep him alive.
It's been a rough road for both of us. I'm glad to have found this board so I can chat about him with other people who are like-minded. Thanks for letting me share Chester's story with you.
I introduced myself, Chester (IRN) and my Parrotlets (Kiwi & Mango) on the main board last week. I just wanted to tell Chester's story here, since he is the reason I found this board. It may be long winded, sorry!
I adopted Chester a couple of months ago from someone in a town close to me. The place had numerous parrots. He was housed with 3 other IRN's and I was so excited to have found him!
I was told on the phone that they were young and friendly. They turned out to be neither but when I saw Chester I knew he was my bird, so I brought him home.
He was the least scared of me in the cage and really seemed to be interested in what I was doing and saying when I met him. I brought him home, knowing that he was going to require a lot of time, patience and work to become my friend.
The first night home, he seemed to be so happy that I took him out of that place. He was dancing around the cage, vocalizing, eating, drinking and being merry all within hours of arriving here.
Fast forward a few weeks. He wasn't vocalising like I thought he should, he wasn't moving around the cage a lot and was sleeping a lot. At that point I knew it wasn't just the shock of a new home, I thought he was sick.
I brought him to an avian vet in my area. Having never been to one before, I trusted everything he said and did. He said it was just shock and he would snap out of it eventually. He sent me home thinking all would be okay.
Another couple of weeks go by. Chester started throwing up a lot, and having diarrhea. I'm convinced he's been sick since I brought him home and search for a new vet.
I located a new vet and brought him in. Right from the start I knew I was in the right place. He was weighed right off and because he was only 95 grams, she was concerned. She took blood and a culture from his throat. The next week the results were in, he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection of his GI tract. The bacteria were mainly streptococcus. His white blood cell count was 3 times higher than normal.
She had some antibiotics made up and gave me a bunch of tiny syringes, I was supposed to give it to him twice a day for 10 days. I tried for 2 days and every time I gave him medicine he would throw it up. So we had to wait a week and then try shots.
She did some research and called back the next week with a schedule for me to bring him in twice a week for 6 weeks for shots. We have his last shot tomorrow.
Some days he seems like he's getting better, some days he doesn't. His throwing up has cut down to about once a day and the diarrhea is off and on too. We have talked about the possibility of it being a very hard to kill strain of bacteria or the possibility of it being something worse. After his last shot he goes back in a week later for another blood test to see how his white blood cells are doing. On a good note, at his last weigh in he was 128 grams, so he has gained a lot which is a good sign.
I am praying that this all works and he is 100% in the end. I have no idea what his true personality is like since he's been sick since I brought him home, but I know I chose him for a reason. I look forward to being able to work with him as well, I haven't had the chance to do anything with him except keep him alive.
It's been a rough road for both of us. I'm glad to have found this board so I can chat about him with other people who are like-minded. Thanks for letting me share Chester's story with you.
