George needs your help...

[brewyn]

Hello, I have been ploughing through the internet trying to find some imformation to help my greenwing macaw george, and my search has brought me here, So Hi from me and my flock

George became ill over night, going from a lively parrot to sitting on a perch, and not moving apart from taking a drink, days earlier I painted the front of his aviary and immediatly put his illness down to this, obviously I took care in buying what I believed to be a parrot safe paint, or atleast I thought I had.

I instantly caught him up which in its self proved he wasn't right as he just fell to the floor in a heap.

I took george to the vet's and the bird spe******t gave him the once over and could not find any chest problems or kidney failure etc, nothing obvious, but gave him baytril as it covers a wide spectrum of problems.

now I brought george and his partner mildred into the house and have put them into a cage for closer observations and to keep them warm.

I gave george the antibiotic as recomended twice a day, but him being an imported bird made it difficult, had to put it on toast, in cheese etc.

now whenever george drank water he seemed to drible a lot, and then within seconds he would lower his head and vomit all these fluids back out, in my mind it was almost like he had something stuck in his throat.
this went on for a few days and yesterday he spent a lot of time on the floor, I had not seen him drink or even eat for the previous day.

Now my vet is away on holiday and I was panicking, so I gave him a sweet cup of warm tea and soaked some toast in with it, and this seemed to perk him up no end. he is a lot more perky but still looks tired, and he is taking his tea and toast without vomiting, he has even tucked into some apple, a couple of walnuts, and his usual seed. as I type he is going back onto water with a t spoon of apple cider vinegar just incase it was a parrasite.

the only thing now is he has runny poop!!

my question's are, what would you do now???

what food can I give him that will help his digestive system recover and will help return his poop back to normal.
If he refuses the water should I keep him on tea just to keep him hydrated.

any other suggestions??

remember the vet is away, otherwise these are questions I would be asking him.

Thanks for any help.

Ps, I'm about to try him on his first warm boiled egg and shell.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

What kind of tea is this? Not actual tea I hope, but some herbal tisane?

If it is real tea please stop ASAP!

Caffeine will 'perk' him up, but not in a healthy way - it is very dangerous for parrots. So is (most common) honey, so do not add any honey.

Some herbal teas are fine, but perhaps he just likes the warm water.

If/when things settle down you may want to consider getting him on a pelleted diet. For now the boiled egg can be a good idea. Eggs (well cooked) are a great source of dense nutrients.

Are there other vets you could go to for a second opinion?

 

[Pedro]

He seems to have the symptoms of metal poisoning. Could be the paint making him sick. Check the cage to see if any of the paint is chewed off.

Any vet can xray for metal poisoning. You can also try giving him some toast with some peanut butter on it, this will help bind any particals of paint & he will pass it through his droppings.

But he will need help from a vet for other medication.

 

[mygirl]

i saved my bird with honey and water, for a few days its not going to hurt at all, another thing we used was marie biscuits (bland sweet biscuit) mushed up in water the little bit of sugar isn't going to hurt for a few days, its better than them not eating at all, i know what its like not having a bird vet close by

 

[goalerjones]

PM'd you....

 

[brewyn]

Thanks for the replies from everyone.

yes the tea I have given him is normal but it was just a way to get him to take fluids as he is showing no interest in the water, and it would appear he still has no interest in it. he seems to be eating and pooping which is a good sign. I am going to give him some p-nut butter on toast and see if that helps in any way by binding any possible metal poisons together.

I'm not as concerned as I was as he looks to be a lot better for his t and toast, he's had boiled egg although he appeared not to be so enthusiastic about it (he's not had them before).

going to give him a good variety of fruit and veg along with the eggs and toast, maybe some plain pasta and see how he goes, just need him to take a liking to the water again.

It's possible he does'nt like the taste of the apple cider vinegar?? which is only given to eliminate any chances of pesticide's or bacteria.

Goalerjone's I appreciate the message but can you tell me is that a number for the uk??



cheers from myself and george.

 

[katparks]

Offer two bowls of water, one plain and one with the ACV. Any animal should always be offered fresh water at all times NO MATTER WHAT. Giving him ACV to eliminate parasites won't work if he won't drink it, so it's useless to take away the water he will drink; you're safeguarding one problem by causing another.

 

[BirdieNumNum]

What kind of tea is this? Not actual tea I hope, but some herbal tisane?

If it is real tea please stop ASAP!

Caffeine will 'perk' him up, but not in a healthy way - it is very dangerous for parrots. So is (most common) honey, so do not add any honey.

Some herbal teas are fine, but perhaps he just likes the warm water.

If/when things settle down you may want to consider getting him on a pelleted diet. For now the boiled egg can be a good idea. Eggs (well cooked) are a great source of dense nutrients.

Are there other vets you could go to for a second opinion?

OT (sorry!), but what is an "herbal tisane"? I have chamomile tea at home that I use sometimes for SSS (healing cartilage piercing) and it says caffeine free. Would that be an okay herbal tea to give to my bird? My birds aren't sick but I'm in the process of converting my new conure to a pelleted diet and I think some tea might be good for her. I want to start giving her a more varied diet.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Chamomile is an herbal, and as far as I know is perfectly safe.

Tisane is a general word for nearly anything brewed in hot water.

While many herbal tisanes are sometimes called 'tea', tea is specifically from the Camellia sinensis plant which has caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant which is very dangerous for birds - if nothing else, it will quickly dehydrate them, not help them rehydrate.

 

[katparks]

Other plants used in herbal "teas" that have stimulants of one kind or another and should NEVER be given to birds -- guarana, yerba mate, ephedra/Ma Huang, among others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Check ingredients!

 

[oled]

Is there an other vet in the area?

 

[oled]

He seems to have the symptoms of metal poisoning. Could be the paint making him sick. Check the cage to see if any of the paint is chewed off.

Any vet can xray for metal poisoning. You can also try giving him some toast with some peanut butter on it, this will help bind any particals of paint & he will pass it through his droppings.

But he will need help from a vet for other medication.

By definition metal poison is that poison is absorbed in the blood or body what you are talking about is something blocking in the throat. My personal opinion is that it is not awaited to diagnose, that is what the vet should do

 

[BirdieNumNum]

Chamomile is an herbal, and as far as I know is perfectly safe.

Tisane is a general word for nearly anything brewed in hot water.

While many herbal tisanes are sometimes called 'tea', tea is specifically from the Camellia sinensis plant which has caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant which is very dangerous for birds - if nothing else, it will quickly dehydrate them, not help them rehydrate.

Other plants used in herbal "teas" that have stimulants of one kind or another and should NEVER be given to birds -- guarana, yerba mate, ephedra/Ma Huang, among others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Check ingredients!

Great, thanks for the info guys! I will make sure to check ingredients. I wouldn't have given anything to my birds with caffeine in it anyway, just out of common sense. It's a diuretic, and that can't be good .

 

[brewyn]

Thanks for the further replies, the tea is out, and a further two bowls of water are in as suggested. I am supprised about the tea causing dehydration.

he's looking better and better but I'm constantly watching him, I have just brought in a very large cage for the pair of them as I dont fancy putting them back outside until the aviary is cleared of any paint, by then it will have become to cold and these two are enjoying the warmth of the house.

unfortunatly in our area we only has the one vetinary that deals with bird's, and he's chosen this week to go away.

I do think that george is now over the worse and I'm most deffiniatly keeping everything crossed for a full recovery.

 

[Pedro]

He seems to have the symptoms of metal poisoning. Could be the paint making him sick. Check the cage to see if any of the paint is chewed off.

Any vet can xray for metal poisoning. You can also try giving him some toast with some peanut butter on it, this will help bind any particals of paint & he will pass it through his droppings.

But he will need help from a vet for other medication.

By definition metal poison is that poison is absorbed in the blood or body what you are talking about is something blocking in the throat. My personal opinion is that it is not awaited to diagnose, that is what the vet should do

Ah yes that is somewhat true but what happens to the particles that are left in the gut? My Avian Vet told me to give my birds peanut butter to help bind the particles & there fore be passed out through the droppings. I was not suggesting anything blocking the throat at all.

But is seems that this bird is recovering so HMP is out of the question. Good luck with George seems he is coming good.

 

[goalerjones]

How is George doing now?

 

[lene1949]

I'm also wondering how George is doing?

 

[brewyn]

Thanks for showing an interest, George Is doing fine and seems back to his usual self, he's even back to screaming at me when he wants his food lol. his appetite is good but I'm noticing the water is not going down very much.
He's also giving mildred her usual attention, he ignored her all the time he was ill.

appologies for the late reply but been having problems replying to my own thread????

 

[brewyn]

george and mildred...