My Elderly GCC

[LittleMist]

Hi everyone! I'm skipping the introduction board and jumping right in here to tell you a little about my Green Cheek, Baybee.

He's an elderly little guy at approximately 25 years old. I've had him since I was a teenager! Life moves on and circumstances change, and as my husband and I are also "crazy cat people" Baybee doesn't get handled as much as he did when younger, but I'm committed to giving him the best life possible.

In the early years of having him my young self did not realize he needed more pellets than seed, so I've struggled to incorporate more into his diet — he's super picky. Right now he mostly eats fresh fruit (veggies sometimes but he's rarely into them), a good seed mix, a variety of nuts, and dried fruit/veggies. Pellets, not so much. But hey, I must be doing something right since he's had such a long life!

Recently he's had a health scare. I noticed him being more lethargic than usual, keeping his eyes closed all the time, and not eating as much. A trip to the vet last week was mostly inconclusive other than he had lost weight rapidly, but all his vitals were good.

He received an antibiotic shot then and daily drops since (Lactulose and Vetri-DMG directly via a dropper mixed with apple juice), and he's perked up a bit, is eating quite a bit more and going back to the usual habits —*ringing his bells, bathing in his water, etc. But still, he seems tired most of the time. If I wake him up he'll go back to normal run around, eat happily, but then falls asleep again quickly. Sometimes fluffed on two feet, sometimes relaxed with a foot tucked, always on his favorite perch. He doesn't seem weak really, just sleepy. Sometimes he even eats with his eyes closed. Through this I haven't seen any other symptoms at all —*normal poo and amounts of poo, no discharges, good feathers, etc.

I'd planned to take him back to the vet today but postponed the appt since he's on the upswing, we're getting frigid temps this afternoon, and appointments in general really stress Baybee out to where he won't eat. The vet agreed and wants to keep him on the drops. I thought I'd post to see if anyone had any other experiences or possible recommendations.

I realize he is up there in years, certainly, but want to make good choices for him. Is he just a sleepy old man bird who wants to rest a lot? A sickness we have yet to fully diagnose? Does anyone have experience with a conure of this age? Thanks!

 

[Flboy]

Please don’t fret about pellets! Most are garbage soy, corn, and wheat! A quality seed mix is my main goto!
And, welcome to you!

 

[Rival_of_the_Rickeybird]

I imagine my ol' lady will be along later to give her account of her 35 year old. Congrats on such a longlived bird and props for staying on top of vet care issues. There's a list of genuine avian vets that you might want to check just to make sure you're getting the real deal. She has the list and so do others. Anyway, glad you found us.

 

[LittleMist]

Thanks, both of you! That upswing I mentioned? He's not doing as well tonight. Not enough food, and wants to sleep most of the time. It's hard to see my little fellow struggle, and I always feel like I'm not doing enough.

For now I've given up on the pellets, Flboy! Keeping him supplied with his favorites hoping he'll continue to eat. As for the vet, he is definitely one of few avian vets in our area, though unfortunately he will be retiring soon!

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations on 25 years!
Sorry that he might be nearing the end....
I lost mine at 17 years.
The only thing I can think is to add probiotics to his food. Or offer live culture yogurt. Mine eat yogurt easy I just put some on my fingers and they eat it. Since he is in antibiotics.
I say spoil him all you can.
Oh and extra warmth is a good thing. I use the sweeter heater as found on Amazon the small one, and hang low on the back of the cage, outs out a lot of radiant heat, bird safe, used for close to twenty years

 

[LittleMist]

Yes, we're having a bit of a difficult time keeping him warm tonight, since there's a freaking arctic blast snowstorm going on! Heck, we're all cold! An extra blanket on his cage and a space heater nearby helps, but I never feel comfortable enough to run it overnight. Thanks for the tip on the one you can hang on the cage, as well as the yogurt!

 

[Laurasea]

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

http://go.skimresources.com/?id=162...tz=240&xuuid=04ad97ccd31c575a1530d68364c5f3d7

The above is the heater. You can out a high watage lamp next to cage, regular lamps can put out some heat, but protects him from being disterved by the light.
If you have a heating pad you feel is safe you can put on top of a towel on top of the cage too. You can warm towels in the dryer s d out on the bottom of the cage, heat doesn't last I
know. Feed him warm oatmeal or warm scrambled eggs. Warm food is really good for helping sick birds
red chilli peppers haveits if vitamin A good stuff, a favorite food of all my birds the " hot spicy" doesn't bother them, south American parrots seem to especially like hot peppers

 

[LittleMist]

I tried some scrambled egg with him today. He seemed eager to try it, but once in his mouth I don't think he liked the texture and kept spitting it back out.

Another rough day, and lots of coaxing to wake up and eat. It's like during the day when I'm at work he sleeps a lot, and I have to pester him a bit to stay awake and eat some dinner when I get home. There's a lot of pulverized nut residue in the bottom of his main bowl, so I wonder how much he's really eating, and how much he's just chewing up for fun. It does seem like his poo has been less over the last day.

Also, he's resistant to taking his drops now, so I'm struggling with that, too. Plus, his posture has gotten lower to the perch, though he still loves rubbing his back on his favorite toy. Golly, it's overwhelming! Poor old guy.

I may call the vet tomorrow, but they'll want be to bring him in most likely which is always traumatic for him. It's difficult to know what to do.

 

[LittleMist]

So, spoke to the vet, and he'd like to give Baybee more antibiotics and possibly do the blood test he was resistant to do last week. I mentioned being worried about stressing the bird out, but he said he could sedate him for the blood test to minimize stress. Is this normal? Oh, the worries!

Anyway, we're going late this afternoon, though I have reservations about it. Baybee is still super lethargic, but wakes up to eat some (though not enough). This morning he happily munched apples and nuts with a bite of oatmeal, but not much else, and he doesn't seem to be drinking enough. Though maybe that's because he's been "juicing" his fruit.

Hoping for the best, but everyone keeps telling me he's an old bird and maybe just on his way out. If that's the case, I want him to be comfortable, but also for my own conscience want to do everything I can to make him better. Birdie hospice care is so stressful!

 

[Laurasea]

This is such a hard place to be in.
Your vet is an avain veterinary specialist right? Only a specialist avain vet would I let anesthesia my bird. And only after the pre oxygenation , usually fine in an incubator with extra oxygen pumped in and warm and covered. Before they take out for anesthesia.
I would really talk about it with the vet the pros and cons. You need to be prepared you might loose your bird during this. But I also understand as do you that this " might " be what you need to find answered and help.
Pre warm up your car, you can make your own hit water bottles by filling latex gloves with hit water and wrap them in a wash oth or something so bird can't pop them and get wet. Try and get him to eat some millet or treats , or offer a bottle cap full of juice before you go to the vet. Try to really keep him warm and quiet.
Non of us know the right advice at this point, but we feel your pain.
Praying angels to watch over you both. I will be watching for your update

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Baybee!!

Is Baybee's vet avian certified? His symptoms are vague and might apply to a variety of illnesses. A blood chemistry profile ought shed much light on his predicament. Sedation is not typically required for blood collection unless the bird is unusually excitable. I'd be leery of anesthesia unless warranted. One of the issues with antibiotics is side effects that are additive to his situation. IOW, does the vet know what "infectious disease" Babyee might have?

 

[LittleMist]

Thanks all, the visit went pretty well. He's an avian vet, unsure about specifics regarding certification, but is well-known and respected in our community.

He re-examined him, and Baybee has gained back several grams in just over a week! So that's good, and better than I expected. The vet still sees no obvious cause of illness. Even so, we ultimately decided against a blood test, as he determined if it's something systemic, like liver/kidney failure, cancer, etc. we really wouldn't change our current treatment plan. I think we both realize it's more likely palliative care at this point, but we'll stay hopeful and see.

Baybee received another shot of antibiotics and we'll likely recheck in a week. So same regimen for a while, though he's gotten wary of the drops and I may have to force the issue a bit with the dropper rather than hope he'll just be happy to slurp them up as before.

At least my heart is somewhat lighter this evening, as I've confirmed I'm doing as much as I can for the little guy. Fingers crossed he keeps improving!

 

[Laurasea]

Thanks all, the visit went pretty well. He's an avian vet, unsure about specifics regarding certification, but is well-known and respected in our community.

He re-examined him, and Baybee has gained back several grams in just over a week! So that's good, and better than I expected. The vet still sees no obvious cause of illness. Even so, we ultimately decided against a blood test, as he determined if it's something systemic, like liver/kidney failure, cancer, etc. we really wouldn't change our current treatment plan. I think we both realize it's more likely palliative care at this point, but we'll stay hopeful and see.

Baybee received another shot of antibiotics and we'll likely recheck in a week. So same regimen for a while, though he's gotten wary of the drops and I may have to force the issue a bit with the dropper rather than hope he'll just be happy to slurp them up as before.

At least my heart is somewhat lighter this evening, as I've confirmed I'm doing as much as I can for the little guy. Fingers crossed he keeps improving!

Great news!!! So glad you have a good vet.
Happy to hear if weight gain..... Dang it's hard to have an elderly pet/ freind ......so hard
How I wish dogs lived 25 years ..

 

[Scott]

Glad Baybee is in good hands. Does he appear to have signs of arthritis?

 

[LittleMist]

Hooray, he seems to be doing better! He has more energy, is meeting me at his food cups, is eating well and seems to be overall more "normal."

BUT — now that he seems to be feeling better he's REALLY fighting me on the medicine drops. He's running from my hand now, frantically around the cage, to avoid getting picked up and given the drops. I like that I'm seeing the old antics from him, but I'm afraid that I'm torturing him a bit now, plus ruining our bond that he suddenly sees me as the mean medicine lady.

I do suspect it was the antibiotics rather than the drops that are helping him in whatever way, so I'm inclined to stop the drops as long as he continues to feel better. I'm really torn though, as the vet did recommend he continue them.

Does anyone have any tricks to get a bird to accept medicine a different way? With apple juice in a dropper worked for a while, directly, then he wouldn't accept them. Then he'd take them from a spoon with juice. Now I have to force them with the dropper at the corner of his beak, and sometimes he'll dribble them down his beak anyway, the little bugger! I thought about putting them directly on his fruit, but then considered the taste might put him off of the fruit.

Anyway, so glad he's feeling better, but trying to figure out how to handle the meds so it's not torture for us both!

 

[Laurasea]

For my GCC I soaked the meds in a tiny piece of bread. She took it great. Hope it will work for you! Glad to hear your update

 

[Scott]

Virtually all of my birds love warm cooked cereals such as oatmeal. Most medicines easily mix and flavors tend to be masked. Given as treat twice weekly should meds become necessary, and they love it!

 

[LittleMist]

So, oatmeal didn't work, nor did a cracker, but the bread DID!

I put the drop of medicine on it, followed by drops of apple juice, and he loves nibbling through it. The only downside is that it's a little messy/gluey, and he's probably not getting 100% of the bread for that which gets all over his silly face.

Are the two little bits of white bread a day for his meds okay to give? Since he needs to gain weight anyway hopefully it will continue to work for us!

 

[Laurasea]

Yippie! Bread is fine.

 

[LittleMist]

Aw man, just as I thought he was getting over this, he's backsliding. Not as bad as he was to start, but almost right at the week mark from getting his second antibiotic shot (that was supposed to last a week), he seemed to get a bit lethargic again. So it seems the antibiotics are helping, but maybe he needs a longer course?

Unfortunately our usual vet is now out on extended leave, and no one is there who will be able to advise me, so they've referred us to another avian vet in town. What a pain, but we're going to go see him tomorrow morning for a new exam and see what he thinks.

Thankfully Baybee is still eating, just sleepily, again. Hopefully he'll kick this!