Need advice on my new tiel...

[KitKatPlus]

This may be a bit long of a message. A couple weeks ago we picked up our new foster cockatiel named Caesar. We were told he is 30 years old and very used to handling, so we were excited to give him a warm and loving home since his owner had sadly passed away.

As we met him and learned more, we found out a few things that were not clear before. They meant to say he used to be held regularly, and that he hadn´t been let out of the cage for 10-20 years. In addition to this, he was falling off tables and running into things - and we realized he is visually impaired. He had never been to the vet, was on an all seed diet, and looked crazy sick. We brought him in the day after we got him, and he ended up being generally healthy (could´ve been the stress making him look so sick as well). He had some intestinal issues that weren´t completely explained to us, but he came back to us a little over a week ago.

We had been feeding him the vet nutricakes along with some pellets, and he was going more for the pellets so we took the nutricakes out a couple days ago. He also gets a chop mix at night, and he eats a lot of it. Throughout the day he gets a large amount of millet for training. In my eyes he had been eating a decent amount so the thought of needing to get a scale like I usually have subsided (I will not make that mistake again). Its easy to get lazy when you think you are an expert in certain ways.

This morning he was acting very lethargic and fell over. Yesterday he got some hair caught on his legs and we had gotten it off, but I thought maybe we missed a piece and when I flipped him over, there was poop stuck to his vent and running down his tail. We ran him straight to the vet, and they just called and said he had lost 20 grams in that week. I was completely shocked, and the vet said it was impossible that he has been eating well, and that she had never seen a cockatiel eat chop mix (ok.. like what am I supposed to say to that? He does!) They also said his wing is drooping.

Now excluding when I was very young and not in charge of feeding the bird, I have only ever had ringnecks and larger. So I don´t know if I completely miscalculated how much they should eat in a day...? If I´m being very critical, I would say he eats at least 3-5 pellets (they´re birdtricks pellets, so like an inch long each), 1/2 tablespoon of chop, and at least a tablespoon of millet or other seed for training. Again, that´s the LOWEST I can think of. As for his wing drooping, I believe it. He runs and jumps off of everything, and he can´t fly so he often lands weird, rolls over and keeps walking. I wouldn´t be surprised if he hurt himself, and I´m not totally sure how to stop that from happening.

I don´t particularly know what advice I´m asking for... just support or possibly someone who´s experienced something similar? Maybe words about how I´m not an awful bird mom? Help from someone who has a blind bird or one that is very elderly?

Thanks everyone.

 

[noodles123]

Chop alone sometimes doesn't provide enough calories (imo). If he was eating some seeds etc, you do not want to cut them off cold-turkey.
I would keep feeding him some of what he was eating (along with the chop).

Is this an avian certified vet?

 

[KitKatPlus]

Chop alone sometimes doesn't provide enough calories (imo). If he was eating some seeds etc, you do not want to cut them off cold-turkey.
I would keep feeding him some of what he was eating (along with the chop).

Is this an avian certified vet?

Absolutely. Caesar is a foster bird and our rescue works closely with this vet. I try not to jump to conclusions and I know she is a very good vet, I just think it was probably shocking for her to see that he had lost that much weight.

The chop has quinoa and steel cut oats mixed in, and like I said he gets a good amount of millet throughout the day as well. And until 3 or 4 days ago he was getting the vet nutricakes which has seeds in them. We weren´t actually given any food when he came to us, all we knew is he was generally on an all seed diet. We got a more natural seed diet so it would be at least a bit better for him, but he gravitated toward the pellets very quickly. I have diet converted many birds and have never had an issue with weight, I think I just didn´t realize how quickly smaller bird´s weight can fluctuate.

 

[Laurasea]

a quick diet change can mess up the gi system .

20 grams is a huge loss. I would let him have unlimited seeds. He is 30 that's a long life.

Give him some yogurt without artificial sweetners. That will help his GI

Thank you for taking him in, you have a great heart. I hope he gets better

 

[KitKatPlus]

a quick diet change can mess up the gi system .

20 grams is a huge loss. I would let him have unlimited seeds. He is 30 that's a long life.

Give him some yogurt without artificial sweetners. That will help his GI

Thank you for taking him in, you have a great heart. I hope he gets better

I think I also didn´t make it clear that he is at the vet right now! He is staying there until they can figure out what´s wrong. Because there was poop caked on his vent and because of the GI problem last time he went in, I do have a suspicion there´s something else going on (not to diminish the huge mistakes I made). Thanks for your help

 

[Laurasea]

Ohhh poor guy.
Its possible he has a fatty liver but blood work should have picked that up...poor guy.
You can ask the vet if they are giving probiotic.

I'm rooting for you guys.

 

[ParrotGenie]

He need to get to a veterinarian ASAP!! He very sick as wing drooping, drop in weight and poop around vet area and lethargic and fell over is not good. I suspecting he has Avian Bornavirus, or ABV, is also known as Borna Disease PDD. Get a full blood work done on him and his dropping tested and feathers tested. He showing all the signs and yes it will not only affect the Nervous-system but also affect GI tract as well.

 

[ParrotGenie]

Ohhh poor guy.
Its possible he has a fatty liver but blood work should have picked that up...poor guy.
You can ask the vet if they are giving probiotic.

I'm rooting for you guys.

I suspect he may have PDD, ABV as he shows all the signs. Get him tested.

 

[KitKatPlus]

He need to get to a veterinarian ASAP!!

He was rushed to the vet immediately this morning. I know symptoms of illness very well and would never try to treat something like that at home I think ABV is a bit drastic to assume but he is in good hands and I trust the vet very strongly! Thank you for your input though!!

 

[ParrotGenie]

He need to get to a veterinarian ASAP!!

He was rushed to the vet immediately this morning. I know symptoms of illness very well and would never try to treat something like that at home I think ABV is a bit drastic to assume but he is in good hands and I trust the vet very strongly! Thank you for your input though!!

Try to get him tested for it. He shows the symptoms in your early post. Make sure she a avian certified veterinarian. She looking at treating individual issues and not looking at the multiple issues and the whole picture. That how ABV works and exact symptoms. If you have any other birds Quarantine him away from other birds and clean all surfaces and area.

 

[KitKatPlus]

Make sure she a avian certified veterinarian. She looking at treating individual issues and not looking at the multiple issues and the whole picture.

Maybe you didn´t read all of what I´ve written since you´ve missed a few things. She is most certainly avian certified and works closely with our rescue. She called me not 30 minutes after we dropped him off to let me know his weight decreased and she would figure out the problem and call me later, so her conclusion wasn´t ¨you haven´t fed him¨, it was only a quick call so she could ask what he´s being fed. Thank you for your concern and I will definitely update everyone when I find out more

 

[ParrotGenie]

Make sure she a avian certified veterinarian. She looking at treating individual issues and not looking at the multiple issues and the whole picture.

Maybe you didn´t read all of what I´ve written since you´ve missed a few things. She is most certainly avian certified and works closely with our rescue. She called me not 30 minutes after we dropped him off to let me know his weight decreased and she would figure out the problem and call me later, so her conclusion wasn´t ¨you haven´t fed him¨, it was only a quick call so she could ask what he´s being fed. Thank you for your concern and I will definitely update everyone when I find out more

I not telling to to assume it ABV, only going by the symptoms over time you stated. No symptoms don’t typically happen at once and can be for example bird not flying correctly and getting better and then runs into stuff and GI tract issues, or all at once and dropping weight is one of the common symptoms as well. I do recommend to have your bird tested for it. Dealt with birds with this disease many times that tested positive and your has the symptoms of it to much to be coincidence. Never stated she isn’t a good veterinarian, she likely a excellent veterinarian, she might not have dealt with birds that have ABV as most won’t spend the money on lab tests required as can be costly, or don’t come in with it.

Honestly hope I actually wrong and it is a infection as ABV not good. At least talk to your veterinarian about ABV and have her test for it. Quarantine bird from others for now as is very contagious. A guy a few months ago made the mistake and didn’t listen and his whole flock ended up catching it and finally he took them to vet and tested positive for ABV.

 

[KitKatPlus]

I not telling to to assume it ABV, only going by the symptoms over time you stated. No symptoms don’t typically happen at once and can be for example bird not flying correctly and getting better and then runs into stuff and GI tract issues, or all at once and dropping weight is one of the common symptoms as well. I do recommend to have your bird tested for it. Dealt with birds with this disease many times that tested positive and your has the symptoms of it to much to be coincidence. Never stated she isn’t a good veterinarian, she likely a excellent veterinarian, she might not have dealt with birds that have ABV as most won’t spend the money on lab tests required as can be costly, or don’t come in with it.

Honestly hope I actually wrong and it is a infection as ABV not good. At least talk to your veterinarian about ABV and have her test for it. Quarantine bird from others for now as is very contagious. A guy a few months ago made the mistake and didn’t listen and his whole flock ended up catching it and finally he took them to vet and tested positive for ABV.

He is visually impaired (we know that to be true), so that is why he runs into things. He cannot fly well because he hasn´t been out of his cage for 20 years and the cage was much much too small. As he has gotten more used to the house he has stopped running into things and is getting more mobile The nice thing is since he is a foster bird, neither the vet nor I needs to worry about expenses since it is paid by donation! I will ask her tomorrow about ABV. I do not have any other birds at the moment so no worry of contagion!

 

[Littleredbeak]

Keeping your birdy in my prayers! I hope she feels better soon!

 

[KitKatPlus]

Hi there, thought I would give a little update on Caesar. So since my last post, Caesar has been away for 2 weeks now. Communication has been absolutely horrendous between the vet, me, and our rescue. The vet didn't update me once, and told me they would tell my coordinator. I ask my coordinator, they haven't heard anything. They say they will call in the morning, they never do.

Finally I got fed up with it so I called the vet myself and said I needed to hear an update, and they told me he was going to one of my coordinators houses on Saturday (this past Saturday) to see how he does outside of a vet setting. He had only gained back 6 grams of the 20 he had originally lost (which tells me that it probably was an underlying condition and not all my doing. They said he was eating constantly, like I said he was at my house!) I wasn't informed he was going to someone else, but okay. I was told I would get an update Friday from my coordinator but never did, so I'm assuming he's at her house, but I honestly have no idea.

I miss him very much and I'm hoping I'll eventually be able to get him back he is so precious and it was amazing seeing how happy he was to be out of the cage for the first time in 20 years.. I know he's just been sitting in a little incubator again, which is hard for me to think about. Anyways, that's about all the update I have. Thanks for everyone's support

 

[jju1]

That's odd, but I'm glad it doesn't sound like you're discouraged from fostering because its so helpful/important!

I'm not sure what kind of rescue this is, and I'm not implying they are doing anything wrong, but if bird rescues are like dog rescues then you have some that are run by a person or group that are loosy goosy about things, or maybe run by one person who is not easy to get along, some have foster coordinators and are very organized (I know it sounds like you have a foster coordinator whos not communicating well). I guess I'm just thinking about why there are struggles between them and you.

Glad for the updates - keep doing good

 

[Laurasea]

you open your heart and your home, they should keep you updated, i would be frustrated too. You are a special person, and tge world needs more like you

 

[KitKatPlus]

Caesar still hasn´t gone to my coordinators house.. she is putting it off which is really annoying. Hoping it happens this Saturday. We´re hoping to get him back by Christmas so he can join in the holiday celebrations

 

[KitKatPlus]

I'm not sure what kind of rescue this is, and I'm not implying they are doing anything wrong, but if bird rescues are like dog rescues then you have some that are run by a person or group that are loosy goosy about things, or maybe run by one person who is not easy to get along, some have foster coordinators and are very organized (I know it sounds like you have a foster coordinator whos not communicating well). I guess I'm just thinking about why there are struggles between them and you.

Before this I had fostered african greys, a caique, and an indian ringneck, and I had never had an issue like this before. I think its just an unfortunate coincidence that all our cockatiel coordinators are kind of like this. My work at the rescue right now is working on volunteer recruitment, so hopefully we will get some newer, more enthusiastic people in there to help out