Emergency help

[drillzzz]

Recently purchased a Conure from the local pet store. It seemed in good health until I took it to the vet yesterday. The vet said the bird is a little small and need more nutrients in order to build more chest muscle and such. It weighed in at 46 grams and I was told at purchase that the bird was 3 months old. The vet’s assistant grabbed a bag of Harrison’s Bird Food... the kind you have to mix with water and proceeded to feed the bird 1-2 syringes of this paste. During the feeding I noticed that the bad was 6 months expired!!! THe assistant grabbed us another bag and sent us on our way. Woke up this morning and now the vet says the bird acquired a yeast infection after performing a swap test. THe bird was happy and peppy at the appointment, after the appointment, and at bed time. When i woke up the bird was just seeming really off and took her back to the vet.

Can this expired food have caused this sickness. THe vet says the bird has a 50/50 chance of making it through the day. Any help would be great!

 

[Ducatimom]

That's pretty far off. I wouldn't think a vet's office would have expired stuff like that. Is this an avian vet or do they deal more with cats and dogs? I don't know about it causing ill effects to your bird. I would try calling Harrison's and see what they say. And possibly take him to a different vet if there is one available.

 

[RavensGryf]

I think nutrient levels diminish as time goes on, but I don't think it MADE your parrot "sick". Sounds like something was already wrong.

If the bird was still hand feeding (from a syringe) and not eating completely on it's own, that concerns me! That store shouldn't have sold him at that point. 46 grams?? You don't say what kind of Conure, but I'm assuming a Green Cheek? That's extremely underweight.
A lot can go wrong when someone who is not an 'expert' hand feeds a young bird. I'm sure others with that experience will chime in there. I say shame on the store for selling a bird who was not completely weaned, and/or sick to begin with. Good luck.

 

[drillzzz]

Unfortunately the parrot passed away this afternoon. It was a Pineapple Conure. I spoke with Harrison’s Bird Food and they also doubted that the food alone would of caused the sickness by itself. THe bird is being sent for an autopsy to determine what may have happened. I am currently in works with PetSupermarket about getting my money back but they may any offer to have the bird replaced. I’d rather not go that route now that I have acquired more information about the proper way to attain a healthy bird. I will keep you all updated.

 

[MayMay]

I'm so sorry to hear that

 

[RavensGryf]

I'm sorry to hear this update. I'm glad you're researching about better places to obtain a healthy bird. I hope they will refund your money without a struggle. All the best to you.

 

[GW.Joe]

Unfortunately the parrot passed away this afternoon. It was a Pineapple Conure. I spoke with Harrison’s Bird Food and they also doubted that the food alone would of caused the sickness by itself. THe bird is being sent for an autopsy to determine what may have happened. I am currently in works with PetSupermarket about getting my money back but they may any offer to have the bird replaced. I’d rather not go that route now that I have acquired more information about the proper way to attain a healthy bird. I will keep you all updated.

I am sorry you had to go through this, Tell them you want your money back or you are going to blog about what has happened to you and how the bird only weighed 46 grams and still needed hand feeding, tell them you'll post it on FB and on the forums, there is also the vet bill

If we can be of any help please post here

Joe

 

[JellyBean]

You poor thing - at least you did everything you could for the little bird... it sounds like his immune system was probably not working properly due to malnutrition...I would definitely take it up with the pet store who sold you the bird.

 

[Taw5106]

So sorry to hear this. Is the pet store a chain or individually owned store?

 

[Dinosrawr]

I'm very sorry with what happened GCC's, on average, weigh 70 grams. At 3 months old, my conure weighed about 66g, so anywhere in the 40g range is extremely underweight. I think it's surprisingly common that younger birds suffer from a bacterial infection that goes undiagnosed because they don't display any symptoms other than being extraordinarily small... it's really unfortunate.

I'm glad you did what you could for the little guy, though... at least he had someone to care for him and love him before he passed.

 

[Allee]

I'm so sorry to read this sad post. The pet store should be held accountable for the bird's suffering and for your awful experience. I'm so glad the conure was in your loving care when he passed instead of at the store where you got him. Thank you for showing him human kindness and affection.

 

[kagan1042]

Gosh I'm so sorry to hear about your baby

Birds are VERY good at hiding they are sick, and by the time you notice something's up they tend to decline very fast.

I've always found weight to be a good indicator of something happening. I weigh Frootie once a week.

Just as an idea, she's a cinnamon gcc and is now 5.5m old and is 64g, at 3m she was 52.

 

[JessieRosie]

That's so sad Sorry you and the poor bird had to go through that. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Birdman666]

Who was hand feeding this bird? Did they sell you an unweaned bird? Were you hand feeding it?

Sounds like this bird did not wean properly, and it also sounds like it developed a yeast infection that went unchecked in the handfeeding process, and became critical because it wasn't dealt with immediately...

That is WAY too light for a 3 month old baby... this bird is quite literally starving, even though it is being fed.

The expired formula should not have caused a yeast infection. Yeast infections are something that commonly develop from improper hand feeding techniques.

ANYONE STILL DOUBT MY POST FROM A FEW WEEKS AGO: THE MORTALITY RATE FOR HAND FEEDING MISTAKES IS SOMEWHERE AROUND 50%!!! I believe this is another example of that very thing!

 

[GW.Joe]

Birdman is not blaming you, we know its the petshops fault, we just want to know if they told you to handfeed (formula) when they sold you the bird

 

[Taw5106]

Agreed and it appears the pet store was clearly at fault. They need to make things right for animals and customer.