HELP: My cockatiel is sick

[ffatuna]

My 1 year old cockatiel, Chippy had all the symptoms of a sick bird yesterday. Since she woke up she didnt eat a thing, only had water and kept her eyes closed perching in the corner. I immediately separated her from the other birds and put her in her hospital cage. I made sure to give her electrolytes, baby food, warmth till I could take her to the vet.
She didnt eat a thing but drank excessive amounts of water.
The vet said she might have a viral infection because she didnt have a fever, wasnt egg bound, didnt have a crop infection or a respiratory infection. He gave her something to increase her appetite, vitamins and detoxicating agent. He didnt run any tests or check her poop so Im worried the problem might be something else. Unfortunately, there arent any qualified avian vets so I cant get a second opinion. I only gave her the vitamins and the appetite medicine yesterday.
When she came home she vomited also but I think thats because of car sickness. Since then she hasnt vomited.
In the evening she perked up a little. She ate a little bit of corn and seed, was preening herself, napped on one foot and was more active. Her poop however at night was just urine and urates.
In the morning she didnt eat. I gave her acv diluted in water and she had that. She drank a lot of water. Her poop is now bright green and has a lot of urine but no urates. She ate kale, bread, some corn now. Not a lot though. She is preening herself. She is pretty active too. Her poop, excessive drinking and appetite concerns me. Do you guys think she is recovering or she needs something else?
Sorry for the long post. I just want my Chippy to get better.

 

[SailBoat]

It is very possible that your vet may not be an Avian Medical Professional as the test was fairly general. Assure that you are keeping your Tiel in a warm area with a pad heating source that she does not come in contain with.

I would recommend that you connect your vet again and provide and update. You should also ask if your Vet can consult with an Avian Medical Professional.

 

[ffatuna]

He was an avian vet. Unfortunately here they arent very qualified and they dont do proper examinations
She started to eat again but her poops are still worrisome

 

[Littleredbeak]

Maybe she needs probiotics? There’s a website that’s all about bird poop and what it means. When I was in a similar situation I reached out to a Parrot rescue for advice. Have you given her an additional heat source and closed off drafts ? An additional heat source helpS them conserve energy and focus on healing or fight virus:bacteria infection. I personally use a heated perch and sometimes use a heated plate- depending on where you are located - here In the us tractor supply sells them for chicks.How the air quality in your house and outside. Personally think it’s a great sign your bird is eating and drinking. Could you send in a sample of your birds poop to be tested to see if they see abnormal bacteria? My vet has done A culture - cloaca and crop swab - I wouldn’t recommend it if your vet is not comfortable with birds- my bird almost died because the highly Recommend (Rescues and owners had nothing but good things to say)parrot almost killed my bird (I don’t believe he was used to working with small birds).

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Chippy, thanks for the detailed introduction.

Given the symptoms, difficult to know precise cause of illness and prescribe proper treatment. Without basic lab tests diagnosis is ambiguous without targeted medications. The vet is treating symptoms, not direct cause. Is it possible to at least send sample of droppings to a lab, perhaps isolate a specific organism leading to helpful meds? Many "exotic" vets are justifiably leery of drawing blood and of course there may not be avian-qualified lab in your area.

Can you locate a small cooking or postage scale measured in grams? Monitoring weight extremely helpful to detect early onset of illness, and in Chippy's case, recovery with stability or return to cockatiel normal weight range.

Please keep us updated as able!

 

[ffatuna]

Thank for the helpful advice. I will look into lab testing and see if it can be done. She does have plenty of heat and I will weigh her tomorrow when she wakes up. Thanks again for the help. Really appreciate it

 

[Scott]

A pleasure, hoping Chippy will quickly recuperate and thrive. None of us are vets or techs but happy to share advice. Looking forward to updates!!

 

[ffatuna]

Chippy has improved. She is active and is eating as well. Her poop was concerning so I showed her to another avian vet and he prescribed antibiotics for 5 days. I?m hopeful she?ll be in perfect health

 

[Scott]

Wonderful news, hope progress continues! Broad spectrum antibiotics often first line of offense when type of organism unknown. If illness continues or returns after treatment, might need more specialized drugs. Without lab work, treatment is at best educated prescribing. Giving meds can be challenging, let us know if Chippy begins to resist as there are tricks to help!!