I ask for help in the treatment of African parrot

[Kentuckienne]

If the amount of liquid is small you can try to put it into something your bird likes. Our bird loved melted ice cream, so that would work most of the time. Also, he liked fresh grapefruit juice, which has a bitter flavor. Sometimes he would get tired of tasting the bitter medicine in the ice cream and would not drink it, but if we put it in the grapefruit juice he drank it all and licked the spoon.

 

[Aquila]

I use apple sauce usually, fed from a spoon. For difficult birds, a small square of dense cake like pound cake or a light cake like sponge cake or angel food cake, just a small piece the size of the tip of my thumb. Sweet foods can help hide the taste of the medicine.

 

[Scott]

Warm soft cereal like oatmeal, cream of wheat or rice can help! Add medicine to cooked cereal that has cooled to room temperature, the smallest amount necessary to mix and hide the flavor.

Good idea to ask the vet or pharmacy tech if this is acceptable. My vet has approved this technique for every medicine prescribed.

 

[Lidia]

Hello!
I want to tell you how we handle the treatment of a parrot!
The first time I tried to add medicine to a tasty treat, it's a jelly on raspberries and other berries, but he immediately discovered this medicine and did not drink, then to a biscuit (without sugar), but he again understood and did not drink, third time he bought a grapefruit , and he drinks without medicine, but with medicine refuses, has already tried everything that is possible, and began to catch and give it against his will. I catch him with a towel, and now how he sees it starts to fly and plaintively squeak, my heart is torn, how to be, I do not even know, because the medicine should be given twice a day.

 

[Anansi]

Have you tried mixing it in a bit at a time with some plain peanut butter? That worked wonders with my Maya. The consistency is so thick that it masks the taste well.

 

[Lidia]

no, peanut butter is not for sale in stores

 

[Anansi]

Then perhaps warm oatmeal?

 

[Scott]

I have had such good success with warm oatmeal or other cooked cereals. Cream of wheat or rice, most any grain cereal that is fairly smooth. Important to blend thoroughly! If he likes sweet potatoes or yams, try making a puree suitable for mixing.

If your vet approves of using dairy, try a thick yogurt or even ice cream. While these foods are not ideal, they are not patently harmful, and it is critical Jaquo receive the meds consistently.

 

[Lidia]

Hello :серый:! I wanted to write to all those who were interested in our history and for those who responded to the question of help. As I wrote in previous reports that I bought voriconazole tablets 14 pills (these tablets divided into 5 parts, cooked jelly, only stored in starch dissolved) and started giving to your bird, that's how two months passed, it was difficult to give, because my parrot was quick-witted, I noticed a medicine everywhere I would not mix it. The feces worsened, and I turned to the doctor, drove the feces to the study, we were assigned to voriconazole + an antibiotic (Amosikcilin), but did not help + doxycycline, but it also did not help! I myself added to this the protection for the liver "Karsil" and lactobacillus. In total, nothing helped, and now the call also has a smell, so I called the doctor in Moscow via Skype, he looked at the pictures, said that my bird did not and did not have aspergillosis, that the vet was wrong, and said that there is inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, but so he can not say. And it turns out, all these drugs have had a bad effect on feces or affected the kidneys or even on other organs. To determine aspergillosis it is necessary to do endoscopy, this is the most reliable source (do endoscopy take the material and within an hour give the result). Voriconazole very badly affects the kidneys and liver, so it is absolutely necessary to take pills in parallel to help the liver!

 

[EllenD]

I just read the entire way through this thread, and first I want to say that I'm so very sorry that your Grey is sick and has been sick for so long without any help, and that you cannot find an Avian Vet who can even give you a proper diagnosis. That must be very frustrating and scary...

I have a few questions about how your Grey is doing now, because if I read this correctly, now he has no proper diagnosis at all? You don't know what is actually wrong with him now?

If it's not Aspergilliosis, and they are telling you it's a Gastrointestinal problem instead, why were his main symptoms sneezing, breathing issues, etc.? Is he still today having the same respiratory issues like sneezing, wheezing, other breathing issues, etc.? If so, then it has nothing to do with his Gastrointestinal tract at all..

I have to suspect that if your bird was sneezing and having symptoms of an Upper Respiratory illness for months and months, and still is, that this means that his original illness had nothing to do with his Gastrointestinal Tract at all, and it still doesn't. He may not have Aspergilliosis, but he most likely has some type of Upper Respiratory Infection...Can I ask, why does this new Vet tell you that your bird does not have Aspergilliosis? Did he do an endoscopy to collect a tissue sample?

I think the only reason your bird now has Gastrointestinal issues is due to the multiple rounds of Antibiotics and anti-Fungal medications without the assistance of any type of protective medication for his GI Tract...That is to say that your bird is and always was suffering from an Upper Respiratory or Lung illness, but these Vets gave him far too many medications without a proper diagnosis of his illness, and now he has a secondary-illness in his GI Tract due to all of these medications. So now he has multiple issues...

Also, if your bird did originally have a fungal infection in his respiratory system, such as Aspergilliosis or another fungal infection, all of the antibiotics you were told to give him most likely made the original fungal infection much, much worse...

I believe you said you are giving him Lactobacillus now? I don't know if this treatment is called "Probiotics" in Russia, but that's what we call it here, and it's a very good idea to give him Probiotics, as they will replace all of the healthy, normally-occurring bacteria throughout his GI Tract that all of those Antibiotics killed-off, possibly making the fungal infection worse, or even causing another fungal infection in his GI Tract...

Either way, if you bird is still sneezing, wheezing, having breathing issues, etc., then he's had a Respiratory illness this entire time that really needs to be properly diagnosed and treated. I suspect it's not Aspergilliosis, only because of the long amount of time he has been suffering from the respiratory issues. Aspergilliosis would have most-likely killed him by now, so I doubt that it ever was Aspergilliosis. However, if he's still having the respiratory symptoms then he still has the original illness...

I'm so sorry you're going through this...

 

[Lidia]

Hello! Thank you for writing and experiencing! I'm very worried about the parrot, I'm very sorry for him that I have to drink medicine, because the vet was bad. We did not do endoscopy, because in the city where we live do not. They do it only in the capital in Moscow, it's 1300 km, but it's not a matter of distance, you're right, so the Moscow doctor said that he does not see aspergillosis on the x-ray, and on the symptoms too. My beloved bird all sneezes and snores (albeit quietly), drank a cure for the infection, said that these pills cure sneezing, but it did not help. Now we accept "Karsil" this plant of milk thistle for the liver and we were prescribed a new medicine, also an antifungal drug "Enrofloxacin" is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and "Nystatin." I tried to consult many veterinarians, but most said that you need to see it for yourself. As it was the correspondence with the German doctor, he also wrote that it is necessary to do tests for aspergillosis PDD, but in Russia such tests are done only to cats and dogs.

 

[EllenD]

Okay, so it very much sounds like your bird has a very advanced Upper Respiratory Infection now, due to the vets messing around for this long...

The Enrofloaxcin (brand-name of Baytril) is a good broad-spectrum antibiotic, but unfortunately it is not very good for Upper Respiratory Infections when given orally, but it does work well when it is Nebulized. I don't know if you have access to any type of Nebulizer or Vaporizer, but if you do, that's the best way to give him the Baytril, so that he breaths it in directly in a vapor form for about 10-15 minutes per day, for about 10 days.

The Nystatin is an excellent antifungal drug. The combination of those 2 new drugs is probably the best way to try to combat this without knowing whether it's a Bacteria or a Fungus causing the infection. The only other Antibiotic that I know of that is much better for Upper Respiratory Infections is called Tylosin (brand-name Tylan), it's the best antibiotic out there for respiratory infections caused by Bacteria. So if the Enrofloacin doesn't do it (or the Nystatin) then I would suggest asking for Tylosin. Hopefully you won't have to.

The milk thistle is very good for his liver, it should recover fine with that treatment....Are you giving him the Probiotics (healthy bacteria)? This is going to be extremely important to healing his Gastrointestinal Tract, and it will also help to treat his infection if it is being caused by a fungi. If you don't have access to a Probiotic pill that contains multiple different healthy bacteria strains, the best one to give him is Acidophillus...OR you can simply spoon-feed him some non-dairy yogurt each day, if you have access to Soy Yogurt.

 

[Lidia]

]Thank you very much for your help. Yes, I have a nebulizer, and the medicine is Baytril. I read about Tylosin, properties, thanks for the advice, I heard that it is used to treat mycoplasmosis. Soy yogurt such you will not find, I already tried to search, but probiotics contain Acidophillus. You are an expert, so you understand this, thanks a lot !

 

[Scott]

Thank you so much for an update. I'm sorry Jaquo is still sick, a shame you cannot locate a trusted avian vet for a more accurate diagnosis.

So difficult to treat symptoms without an understanding of the underlying issues. Using milk thistle and probiotics as a supporting therapy seems a good choice for now.

Some articles about aspergillosis:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1557506315000750
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/aspergillosis-in-birds

I wish you somehow had access to a certified avian vet, or similar.

 

[Lidia]

http://images.spasibovsem.ru/responses/original/img-15194946152824.jpg


Here are the probiotics

 

[EllenD]

http://images.spasibovsem.ru/responses/original/img-15194946152824.jpg


Here are the probiotics

Well I don't read Russian, but the probiotics listed are what you want, so be sure to keep giving him that daily for the entire time he's taking any Antibiotics at all, and for at least a couple of weeks after he finishes taking them.

Are you nebulizing the Baytril? If you have a nebulizer then that's the way you want to give him the Baytril, for sure, because it is a very poor treatment for an upper respiratory infection when given orally. I would give him one nebulizer treatment of the Baytril every day, for 10-15 minutes each time, and by diluting the Baytril in either sterile water or distilled water if you have access to it, if not then saline will also be okay. This is the best way to always treat respiratory illnesses in birds, as the medication gets directly into the tissues of the respiratory system/air sacs of the bird.

Again, if you finish the Baytril and he's still coughing, sneezing, wheezing, etc., then I would absolutely try to find some Tylosin (brand name Tylan 50 or Tylan 100) and give him that by Nebulizer once daily for 10 days. The Tylosin treats pretty-much any Bacterial Infection common to the respiratory system, it is by-far the best broad-spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of upper respiratory infections that are bacterial in both birds and reptiles. It usually shows improvement after only 1-2 nebulizer treatments, but always be sure that you finish all of the antibiotic, even if you bird seems better, as the infection will only come right back if you don't.

Keep us updated on how he's doing, and please ask any questions you might have any time...

 

[Lidia]

Thank you! Thanks for the help, it's very nice! How to finish giving "Baytril", if it does not help, then I will buy Tylosin and I will spray. Now the feces became a little better, but sneezes and snorts. I will definitely write how to finish the reception, about the health of my pet, as it is necessary to find out what proportions of distilled water and Tylosin medicines.

 

[Kentuckienne]

What we mean by "nebulizer" is a closed space with a small pump that creates a fine, thin mist of the medicine, Baytril. My friend made a box out of clear plastic, that fit over a table top perch, and the nebulizer machine has a tube that connects to the box. When he turned it on, the machine filled the whole box with a kind of fog, or cloud, of vaporized medicine. It's not the same thing as what humans use, the small device you use to spray medicine into your throat. The parrot stays in the fog for a little while, and this way the medicine gets into all the lungs and air passages, and all the sinuses and cavities inside the bird, and has a better chance of reaching the infection.

If it would help, I have a very good friend who is a fluent Russian speaker and I can ask him to translate anything that you want to be sure about.

 

[EllenD]

What we mean by "nebulizer" is a closed space with a small pump that creates a fine, thin mist of the medicine, Baytril. My friend made a box out of clear plastic, that fit over a table top perch, and the nebulizer machine has a tube that connects to the box. When he turned it on, the machine filled the whole box with a kind of fog, or cloud, of vaporized medicine. It's not the same thing as what humans use, the small device you use to spray medicine into your throat. The parrot stays in the fog for a little while, and this way the medicine gets into all the lungs and air passages, and all the sinuses and cavities inside the bird, and has a better chance of reaching the infection.

If it would help, I have a very good friend who is a fluent Russian speaker and I can ask him to translate anything that you want to be sure about.

Thank you for that, it never even occurred to me that she may be thinking that a Nebulizer is a "spray bottle", rather than a Vaporizer machine...

 

[Lidia]

Hello! I understood what kind of nebulizer you meant