Is the Vet over prescribing?

[GreenCheek44]

Hello everyone! I feel really bad always asking these questions but I feel like the knowledge on this board is superior to that of other Facebook and reddit groups.

Tango my 8 month gcc has been molting but I noticed him sleeping a lot, yawning, shaking his head back and forth very fast followed by bobs. His energy, eating and drinking habits have been normal but i wanted to be sure. So i took him to the vet to get checked out for a crop infection. The vet said he seemed okay but his crop was very slightly inflamed.

He prescribed baytril mixed with echinacea and liver tonics twice a day for THREE WEEKS. As well as an anti fungal medicine also twice a day. Is that a lot for a minor infection? I'm especially concerned because I had to give him a 10 day coarse of anti biotics when he was around 2 months old because his cere was inflamed. I don't want to harm him by pumping all of these drugs through his little body when im not even 100% hes sick. I feel like a lot of his symptoms could be chalked up to the fact he is going through his first molt currently as well as the fact that's its around mating season so possibly the bobbing and such was more hormonal behavior. As well as the fact that he sometimes will chew off a piece of my beard and shake his head after. So I thought perhaps he got hair in his crop.

Should I just get him on ACB and hold the meds until he starts showing more clear symptoms? Or would you, with your vast experience, not chance it and just go ahead with the 3 weeks of medication?

 

[Laurasea]

3 weeks of baytril is a long treatment, and is likely to cause yeast overgrowth. So it good he gave an antifungal...

Sick birds hide being sick, so any symptoms are important.

Did he swab the mouth and do a gram stain or send out cultures? Fecal gram stain?

If you have read my sick bird posts. Then you have heard me talk about weight checks. Yiu need to a have a digital kitchen scale set to grams. If something seems off or you have a sick bird, weigh every morning. Well birds once a week. Log it. Often sick birds loose weight as it takes double their normal calories when sick, and even when eating can't keep up with increased demands. Sick birds need 3xtra calories, so add a treat stick, a millet spray, a few extra seeds. But try and push healthy foods like cooked sweet potatoes, cooked carrots slices, cooked butter nit squash or pumpkin. Offer bell peppers, abd other peppers, feed a little boiled egg, a little oatmeal.

For birds on antibiotics, I'm very much pro yogurt. Greek yogurt with Acidophilus as one of the live cultures, and no artificial sweetners is what i use. A glob to cover your ginger tip is enough , offering on finger works for me and my birds. They lick it off. Once a day on antibiotics is great, once ir twice a week otherwise is good.

Sick birds need warmth. I like K sbd H cage warmer or sweater heater. I'm against a heat lamp as I have seen to many birds burned.

https://www.littlecrittersvet.com/sick-birds.pml

 

[Scott]

Please don't feel bad asking some very wise questions! None of us are vets nor techs but have accumulated experiences to share!

Kudos for seeking veterinary care with an abundance of symptoms. Most effective way to evaluate prescribed care is discussion of how the vet arrived at diagnosis. Lab tests including blood panels and cultures accomplished, or was reliance on physical exam and experience? Is the vet avian certified (or equivalent) or limited to treating "exotics?" Determining specific organism(s) or virus of illness helpful to pinpoint prescribe vs "shotgun" approach hoping at least one med effective.

Certified avian vets prefer targeted approach using science while exotics often prescribe one drug after the next if unsuccessful. Generalizing here, but you get the point!

Another approach is obtaining second opinion. Living in SoCal means multiple practices within reasonable distance in most cases. If you live in the San Diego area, send me a PM and I'll be happy to share my opinion of local avian vets.

 

[GreenCheek44]

The vet only did a physical exam as far as im aware. They fit us in as an "emergency visit" because Im going back to work next week and needed him to be seen beforehand. I just ordered a cage heater from amazon and have a pro biotic powder i sprinkle on his pellets every morning. Should I still use yogert? And I thought that 3 weeks was very long too. DO you still recommend i go ahead and start the treatment?

 

[Laurasea]

Green cheeks can have an issue called conure bleeding syndrome. It might be linked with a virus. Fir this reason I myself do not do blood draws on my Green cheek, unless no other option. Usually other options are available.
For my quakers on the other hand I'm fine with blood draws. I share this , it is my opinion... but it us a real thing, abd 2 GGC on the forums who were healthy died after blood draws...maybe it was because if the conure bleeding syndrome....no way to know, they weren't my birds.

 

[Laurasea]

I say forget the bird probiotic powder. Its not regulated. Just use yogurt, its safe, it works fir me.

I can't advise on the antibiotics, I'm nit a vet, I didn't see your bird. But I'm not a fan of vets who throw baytril at birds as the first antibiotics.....it is broad spectrum tho, so csn cover gram postive and gram negative bacteria. Antibiotics given quickly can be life savers. So really I can nit advise

If you didn't see an avain vet. Please see one for second opinion.

 

[Laurasea]

is he on zooprem pellets only? Because I have had issues with 2 burds that were fed a strict zooprem only pellets diet. They were both under wright and lower feather quality, and slower molt. I do feed zooprem as one of my pellets, but they get seeds ad veggies, and other pellets. When I added tge other foods both gained weight had better feathers sbd molted better.

Molts need a bump in protein, so I feed a little boiled egg, a little extra sees, a tiny piece of boiled chicken ( a thumb print size) a walnut. Or soaked snd cooked beans or lentils during molt.

 

[GreenCheek44]

hes on harrisons pellets ive been working very hard to get him to accept other foods but as of rn he wont eat chop

 

[Laurasea]

Harrison is great.
Chop link
Life From Scratch: Chop: all things good for birdie

Mine don't eat chop, I serve veggies fresh with minimal cutting uo.
Ideas to temp veggies eating
https://threebirdsandacloud.wordpre...parrot-to-eat-vegetables-or-unfamiliar-foods/

 

[Scott]

hes on harrisons pellets ive been working very hard to get him to accept other foods but as of rn he wont eat chop

If he only grudgingly accepts Harrison's, try their conversion protocol. Worked well for my flock, no holdouts after 2 weeks. So good I often quote it often, no reason it wouldn't work for other brands: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

Have you tried the flock eating trick for chop? Prepare two identical bowls, serve one, begin eating from yours. Show delight with "mmmm" sounds, bob your head with joy. Might stimulate curiosity!
Thread might help: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[SailBoat]

The Vet Visit! It is so very important to not leave the Clinic without a document that defines the tests and results during the visit and detailed information if a medication is recommended and/or prescribed.

I continue to be shocked at how rarely individuals fail to obtain this document either at the point of payment or at least emailed.

You have a right to that document and should be requesting it!

 

[GreenCheek44]

I may have worded that wrong but he LOVES Harrisons pellets! That’s his main diet with a little of that “Missing link” stuff sprinkled on top. I’m having trouble getting him to eat veggies

 

[GreenCheek44]

I say forget the bird probiotic powder. Its not regulated. Just use yogurt, its safe, it works fir me.

I got some good Greek yogurt with the specifications you recommended. However, I dont think he likes it very much. I even tried putting a small amount on his favorite treat (sunflower seeds) but he just drops it. Could Islowly drop it into his mouth through a syringe ?

 

[noodles123]

I use benebac powder for parrots, even though my vet has told me that, while it will not harm, it may not actually matter....Nevertheless, I believe that since starting it, Noodles has had far fewer bacterial infections....but avian science is very mixed on this, as each species technically has its own flora. Either way, after ensuring that I would not do harm by giving it, I decided to keep administering a bit daily mixed with moist food.