Lincoln's first vet trip

[Owlet]

It went relatively well. The vet and vet assistant were really good. They gave him an exam and he's looking very healthy. His feathers look very good considering out climate, which is really dry as opposed to a more tropical area like where ekkies are from. The vet said his feathers are a bit rough from rubbing them against something and potentially a bit of feather chewing. He also said Lincoln may not of been able to fly because of the feather chewing. Just too much damage to his flight feathers to allow him to fly. They said overall though he was healthy. Got his beak trimmed too so hopefully he'll be happier now. I'll get a picture as soon as I can. He doesn't seem too traumatised, a little pouty but I'm sure he'll warm up again once we get home and settle down.

 

[chris-md]

Glad to hear it! Did you do a full blood panel? This would be typical to do this on our first vet visit to help establish a baseline for future visits.

Parkers very forgiving also. During a three day stay the vet had to do unspeakable things to him. And he would still come and relax on the vets arms while she was at the computer.

And more importantly, how did he do in the carrier? How was it trying to get him in there?

 

[Owlet]

The carrier went great. Since recently I've got him to step up I simply had him do that and I set him in the carrier. He isn't a fan of the carrier though so I tried to give him a treat which usually he gladly takes but he just climbed onto my hand and wanted out. I found it kind of silly.

I didn't do a full blood test because the vet said he looked overall healthy aside from the wing chewing which is hopefully an easy fix unless he's a long time chewer. Maybe next time I go in for a beak trim I'll talk to the vet about it.

 

[chris-md]

I'm glad the carrier wasn't a big deal. I'm so glad he's starting to come out of his shell for you.

Yes I would insist on a blood panel/CBC. Not the least of which to rule out liver issues as a cause for the extremely overgrown beak. Having no real health history for him (im assuming?) it's important to begin establishing that history. I'm rather surprised your vet didn't bring it up.

 

[Scott]

So happy to hear the vet trip went well. It is really a group effort, but mostly dependent on the quality of staff and vet!

Definitely agree, a baseline blood test is invaluable, particularly with overgrown beak issues. Now that Lincoln was trimmed, will be interesting to see how quickly (if at all) it regrows.

 

[EllenD]

The carrier went great. Since recently I've got him to step up I simply had him do that and I set him in the carrier. He isn't a fan of the carrier though so I tried to give him a treat which usually he gladly takes but he just climbed onto my hand and wanted out. I found it kind of silly.

I didn't do a full blood test because the vet said he looked overall healthy aside from the wing chewing which is hopefully an easy fix unless he's a long time chewer. Maybe next time I go in for a beak trim I'll talk to the vet about it.

I would absolutely, without a doubt insist on a full blood panel immediately. It doesn't matter what a bird looks like, they have no idea what is going on under those feathers. And not only will doing a blood panel catch anything bad going on early (so much better to test and catch something BEFORE SYMPTOMS APPEAR) but it will also give you Tiki's baseline if he is completely. This way if he does get sick or develop a problem you can compare his blood work when sick to this blood work when he's well.

I'm glad everything went well, but please go back immediately and have a complete and comprehensive blood panel done. It doesn't cost much and is not very stressful on bird if your avian vet is experienced.

"Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

 

[EllenD]

Also, just to add this because I had forgotten how long Tiki's beak was, YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD HAVE THE BLOOD PANEL DONE ASAP DUE TO THE LENGTH OF HIS BEAK!!! PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL HE NEEDS ANOTHER BEAK TRIM OR ANYTHING ELSE, MAKE A SPECIAL APPOINTMENT JYST TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE BLOOD PANEL IMMEDIATELY!!! CATCHING FATTY LIVER DISEASE EARLY (OR ANYTHING ELSE THIS MAY INDICATE IS GOING ON) IS IMPERATIVE!!!

Seriously, if you do the blood work immediately and it picks up on liver disease, which is sooooooo common due to bad diets and sooooooo many birds die young because of it, this could be the difference between Tiki living years and years longer than if you "wait until he needs another beak trim and then maybe discuss it with the vet"...I'm not trying to be harsh or sound like a jerk, I just hate it when diseases that are very easily preventable kill pets early because either the owner just doesn't care (obviously not the case here, it's quite apparent that you love Tiki deeply) or the vet is very conservative. Because a bird "looks good" means nothing, and honestly the vet should have been all over the blood work once he saw Tiki's beak...he did not look good at all in that respect. Yes, his feathers looked good, as well as the rest of him, but an overgrown beak (especially that bad) is indicative of major problems that can be corrected with medication, even reversed with medication, but they must be caught early.

"Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

 

[Anansi]

I strongly agree with the prevailing sentiment, here. A blood panel is imperative. I'd have said so even without Lincoln's extremely long beak, as a baseline is very important when first bringing a bird home.

But the length of his beak adds a far greater note of urgency. As has been mentioned by Chris, Scott and EllenD, an overgrown beak could be indicative of dietary issues or even liver disease. If so, you definitely want to catch it early.

Now, this is just my opinion, but I personally would not be comfortable with a vet who shrugged off the need for a blood panel. I say this because I'd wonder how many other assumptions he/she would be making as concerns my bird. Know what I mean? I'd look for another avian vet. That mat be me being overly paranoid and perhaps a little harsh, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[EllenD]

I strongly agree with the prevailing sentiment, here. A blood panel is imperative. I'd have said so even without Lincoln's extremely long beak, as a baseline is very important when first bringing a bird home.

But the length of his beak adds a far greater note of urgency. As has been mentioned by Chris, Scott and EllenD, an overgrown beak could be indicative of dietary issues or even liver disease. If so, you definitely want to catch it early.

Now, this is just my opinion, but I personally would not be comfortable with a vet who shrugged off the need for a blood panel. I say this because I'd wonder how many other assumptions he/she would be making as concerns my bird. Know what I mean? I'd look for another avian vet. That mat be me being overly paranoid and perhaps a little harsh, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

No, I don't think you're being overly paranoid at all. The first thing I thought when I saw his beak was "oh, I hope he doesn't have liver disease, or a severe metabolic problem". So why an avian specialist would see how long that beak was and just say "oh, he looks good, his feathers are good, he's probably fine" is beyond me, especially since something as simple as a blood panel, that takes 2 minutes from set up to the puncture site clotting could save the bird or potentially add years to his life.

I just want to put this out there, and maybe my avian vet is overly cautious and maybe I am as well, but in addition to taking my birds to their avian specialist when I first get them for a "well-birdy" checkup that includes a complete blood panel, fecal smears, and x-rays, they also all go once a year and have the same "well-birdy" checkups and tests repeated. So every one of my birds, right down to my budgies, has a complete blood panel, fecal smears, and x-rays done once a year whether there is anything wrong or not. And I have yet to catch anything, but I guarantee that eventually I will, and when I do it will be caught very early and will be treatable. And my avian vet does these as a package deal since I'm bringing a green cheek conure, a Quaker, a cockatiel, 7 budgies, and now a Senegal, and it's extremely affordable. I essentially pay what I would pay to have 2 large birds done and I'm actually having 10 done (next year 11 with the Senegal). So I just don't understand an avian vet seeing that beak and not immediately wanting to do and insisting on doing a complete blood panel.

"Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

 

[Owlet]

I was told by the vet that long beaks in ekkie males is more of a norm and doesn't always indicated a liver problem. And since Lincoln's droppings looked fine he said to not worry about it much.

 

[chris-md]

My houghts exactly Stephen but I was hesitant to voice them. I'm questioning the seriousness of the vet if he shrugged off the panel.

I'd think if they are often getting poor nutrition he'd often see overgrown beaks. Without insisting on a blood panel for them, he WOULD mistake that for the norm.

 

[Anansi]

I was told by the vet that long beaks in ekkie males is more of a norm and doesn't always indicated a liver problem. And since Lincoln's droppings looked fine he said to not worry about it much.

No, long beaks in ekkie males is NOT the norm. It may not always indicate a liver issue, but there are several other things that it might indicate in its stead. Best case scenario is that he hasn't been filing his beak against anything, either due to a lack of available surfaces or toys adequate for the task or a lack of desire to use them. But it's just as possible that the long beak is a symptom of something potentially far more dire.

In either case, however, a long beak is never something that can be considered "normal". It's an aberrant condition. The only question is how serious a condition.