Hiccups

[2turtles]

Velma has the hiccups. Is there anything I can do?

 

[TexDot33]

Birds get hiccups ... wait, I don't think that is physically possible. Human hiccups are spasm of our diaphrams ... birds don't have diaphrams, hence can't have hiccups as we know them ... I BET VELMA IS MIMIKING YOU!

 

[meghanxx4]

maybe shes heeving.... i dunno... choking?... just geussing ere, its probably what tex said though.

 

[2turtles]

ok, this is exactly like what you would think bird hiccups would be like if birds could hiccup..

she lifts her head, opens her beak and makes a partial squaking sound (hiccup type sound). Every 3-8 seconds.

She sat on me and snuggled close, and I could feel her body spasm with each head up, squaking sound incident...

She's asleep right now and quiet - but this went on for an hour or more..

 

[TexDot33]

very interesting ... let me do some research and find out ... too bad it's like 4 AM in England right now, I could use Peta's help on this one ... :38:

 

[darkchi]

Birds get hiccups ... wait, I don't think that is physically possible. Human hiccups are spasm of our diaphrams ... birds don't have diaphrams, hence can't have hiccups as we know them ... I BET VELMA IS MIMIKING YOU!

All I could find about your question was what Tex was saying... also rememer when a bird is repeating something and find it enjoyable they can do it for hours and hours and hours (yup the whistling in my house is no longer cute the fire alarm/siren is getting old too )
anyways in my searching I did find this link that helped me understand a little more about the whole bird breathing being diffrent from males and I thought I would share it with my flock...

check it out

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2721

 

[Peta]

She could be regurgitating her food for you, it sounds like something Bucc does when he wants to feed me. I haven't got time at the moment to go in depth as I'm waiting for the engineer, but I'll try to get on soon.

 

[2turtles]

Here is what she is doing

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GliW5znS66E[/ame]

 

[TexDot33]

Hmmm ... that not only looks annoying, but also painful ... I don't think that it is hiccups though ... will keep looking/doing research for you ...

 

[Peta]

Well thats not what I thought, I'll start a search also as soon as I have a few mins. Is she eating and drinking normally? How long has this been going on for?

 

[2turtles]

We just returned from the Vet.


the Dr initially though she may have inhaled a tiny seed and it was stuck in her esophagus or into her lungs. After talking about how much Velma is eating the Dr started leaning more towards a regression/stress cause, thinking that normal eating would have dislodged any seed.


She did bloodwork and other tests, and saw everything was relatively normal, although her white blood cell count was on the high side of normal, indicating potentially some onset of an infection - so she sent us home with some antibiotics and specific instructions.

She directed us to keep Velma in the small travel carrier (approx 12" x 6" x 6") for the next 30 days or so, with the cage 80% covered, sitting on a heating pad. We can take her out for 10 min a day and she wants to see her again in 10 days..

 

[birdcrazy]

Sounds like you did the right thing by taking her to the vet

 

[Peta]

Always the best thing going to the vet. Please let us know how she gets on.

 

[TexDot33]

Ya know, how often do we suggest that someone take their fid to the avian vet ... and now, we get this case of "Hiccups" and we didn't even think about giving our favorite advice ... boy, I think everyone except 2turtles missed the boat on this one! :34:

 

[NicoleN]

That sounds so sad 2turtles. I do hope everything does turn out okay. I know how frustrating it can be to wait for results. I took Sisqo to the vet over a month ago and he's been back for re-checks every week. Finally his last bloodwork came back normal, and they've decided he has liver disease, but I need to take him back for x-rays in a month just to see how serious the problem is and how long he will be on the meds for.

Hopefully you get some quick answers.

 

[Peta]

Ya know, how often do we suggest that someone take their fid to the avian vet ... and now, we get this case of "Hiccups" and we didn't even think about giving our favorite advice ... boy, I think everyone except 2turtles missed the boat on this one! :34:

Its a good job someone is on the ball on this one, wasn't it.

Nicole, I'm glad that Sisqo's last blood test was normal, how did they come to the conclusion he had liver disease, just curious. Let us know how he gets on after his x-ray.

 

[NicoleN]

Nicole, I'm glad that Sisqo's last blood test was normal, how did they come to the conclusion he had liver disease, just curious.

With all of the bloodwork they did, the white & red blood cell counts were both out of whack. One extremely high, the other extremely low. And there were "toxins" in his liver. I don't know what "toxins" they were but that's what I was told. Also, in the x-ray, his liver is abnormally small. The bloody diahrrea is also a sign of either chlamydia, liver disease or a serious infection. The original thought was that it was a very serious infection and the small liver and toxins were just a secondary effect of it, but there wasn't an infection, and the liver is still very small. Also, liver disease is very common in birds that get fed a diet of all seeds (which is what he had for the first 9 years of his life). Now we are just waiting to see how serious it is. They said he could be on it for the rest of his life, years, months, weeks. Depends. That's why he's going back in a month for another x-ray, to see if his liver has returned to normal. Whew! That was a lot.


2Turtles-How is Velma coming along? I hope things are looking better for you.

 

[Peta]

Thanks for that Nicole, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his liver will return to normal size, no fun for anyone to have to keep on meds for a long time, I know that for a fact.

Let us know how he gets on when he's been.

 

[2turtles]

The 'hiccups' (although we know they aren't hiccups, we'll continue to use that word, ok? ) are getting slightly better.

We couldn't bear to keep her in the tiny carry cage, so we moved her into a small cage 12x18x24, more appropriate for like a parakeet. We have that sitting on a heating pad and covered. She calms down and the hiccups stop, but when we get her out, they are back.

We are on day 3 of the oral antibiotics, and let me tell you - giving medicine to a fid who doesn't want it is no fun... no fun at all...


DR wants to see us again end of next week.. so we'll try to keep her confined and calm....

 

[Peta]

We couldn't bear to keep her in the tiny carry cage, so we moved her into a small cage 12x18x24, more appropriate for like a parakeet. We have that sitting on a heating pad and covered. She calms down and the hiccups stop, but when we get her out, they are back.

Sounds as though she is getting a bit scared of coming out of her comfort zone (cage) doesn't it. Did you mention that to the vet? May be something may be nothing. Has anything in the room where she is kept been changed? Again just curious.

I hate not knowing what is going on with my pets when they are ill.