Rainbow Help, please?

[bgriffin70]

Greetings all, new to the forum!

I have an 8 month-old rainbow lorikeet and I am so in love with my little bird. However; I've had two health scares already and need some advice or maybe I'm jumping into 'panic mode' too soon? Here goes...

So we try to do grooming once per month to keep the beak filed down and the nails from being too sharp. Found a local pet store that does the grooming and has numerous exotic birds at the location.

About a month ago; took the bird in for a trim of the wings, beak file, nails trimmed and noticed the next day that she was turning her head into her body and just stopped talking and was inactive. Rushed her to the avian vet who prescribed a regimen of antibiotics and she responded quite well. She was active for the past three weeks, talking up a storm! and quite full of energy.

Yesterday; loaded her up to take her back to that groomer, thinking that it surely wasn't an issue there at the store who sells tons of exotics and all the birds seemed to be in good health. Same groomer, same store, weather was fine and warm... beak filed and that's all. Got home last night; gave her her nectar and water mix; she immediately turned her head into her body / under her wing and started the same symptoms as prior month ago.

Rushed her back to avian vet last night; vet gave possible options to treat that ran well into the $2k + range; but we opted for what we could afford. Prescribed omega-3 and milk thistle and had an injection of "batril?" (spelling?) and had a nebulizer treatment. She came back talking up a storm, totally acting normal... talking, energetic and fine for last night.

Woke us up this morning talking and energetic / playful, saying her usual words and all was fine... UNTIL... mixed her nectar / water mix and immediately after drinking/eating that; she started sneezing, became quiet and again stopped talking/chirping.

Symptoms seem to come and go, along with her talking and energy level. Have raised the temp in the house to about 78 degrees (we're sweating!) in order to keep her warm in hopes she will recover and not have any worsening symptoms while taking the meds.

I don't know what else to do or what could be causing my little birdie to have these symptoms. One minutes she's happy and playing and wanting to "get me a bird," and the next minutes she's turning her head under her wing and not moving or talking at all hardly.

Diet is nectar powder mixed with water to form a milkshake like consistency; plenty of lory pellets (brand name bags) and apples pretty often; she loves apples.

She's the sweetest little thing and I wish we had unlimited funds to help her, but the cost of pet care is incredible. It tugs at the heartstrings; but the important thing I'm hoping to learn here by posting is if anyone here has experienced anything like this and if so; what did you do / what offers of advice could you give?

Anxiously hoping for a response and look forward to meeting folks on here!
Thanks in advance,
Billy G.

 

[Kiwibird]

Hi, and sorry your having so much trouble :-( I don't know much about health problems with softbills, but is it possible she wasn't ill at all, rather just really traumatized by the groomers and needed some time to rest and recover? Our amazon is "resistant" to his grooming, and will usually take a very long nap after we clip and trim him up because he struggles in the towel. Some birds get worn out struggling, and need a day to rest up. And birds do sneeze without being ill, just like we do. Sometimes they get a bit of dust up their nose.

Another thing, did the vet diagnose an actual illness? Or just offer a $2000+ treatment for something that didn't even have a name? Antibiotics are very routine when a bird presents with any symptoms of illness, whether they are actually diagnosed with a specific illness or not. Offering out of this world expensive treatments without a diagnosis, on the other hand, is not routine and is a good time to get a second opinion from a different vet if you ask me. I'm sure someone who knows more about if this is or isn't normal in lories will answer soon, but I do think seeking a second opinion is in order in this case too. Good luck!

 

[RavensGryf]

Hi Billy, it could just be stress reaction. It could be an extra stressful day going to grooming, and some might take it harder than others and need some good r&r after. Being taken to an out of the ordinary confusing environment, getting physically restrained and held by a giant, and the filing, etc. That is my guess if it just seems to occur after the grooming. Otherwise, maybe more extensive testing is needed to get to the root of it.
Do you go to an avian vet (not just any all species vet)? Vets who don't know, many times will guess, and have you do this and that to rule out stuff, all the while charging you money. If they know their stuff, less diagnostics might be needed to get to the root of it? I hear you about the expense though regardless. I'm so glad my vet accepts Care Credit! Good luck.

 

[MikeyTN]

What brand of nectar are you feeding your Lory???? How long have you guys had her??? I feed fresh fruits and veggies daily! We also sprinkle some nectar over it cause that's the way he likes them otherwise he won't touch them. He gets his nectar during evening time. He have some lory nuggets if he wants but that's not his main diet anyways. You may need to look into changing his diet up a bit, how's his weight level? There's no need for monthly beak trimming! Put a heat lamp on the cage and cover the back and the sides with a blanket as there's no need to cook everyone up in the house with the heat turned up. Have her in the bathroom while the shower water running with some steam will help a bit too. Have you checked her weight recently???

 

[bgriffin70]

Thank you all so very much for your quick responses. Good thoughts and we definitely did consider 'stress' as a possible cause of the symptoms. With the symptoms continuing off and on again today though; I guess I am just worried it is something more significant.

With that said; you all do bring up some very valid points.

1. There was no official diagnosis after spending $600 the first time; this was about a month ago. Blood work drawn, the only thing they told us was CBC was normal and then they did a liver test (?) later the following week, which they said yesterday had shown that elevated enzymes in the original bloodwork ? - the problem is they were never really clear on a diagnosis. The only thing that really seemed to make a "Wow!" difference with her is when they did the nebulizer... she came back just as perky and happy to see us as could be.

This second round, last night, cost $500 for the emergency exam, Aspergillis panel test, nebulizer and injection of baytrl and injection of sub-cu fluids. Won't know the Aspergillis results until mid week next week... says the labwork has to be sent off. We live in Phoenix for goodness sakes; looks like there would be a specialized avian clinic but we just can't find one! Yes; this vet is an avian specialist, but I'm honestly getting the feeling that we're spending a lot of money on something that we still don't even know what really may be wrong with her! I'm just saying...

Tonight; she was somewhat quiet (certainly not her hyper self) and would snuggle up next to me on the couch when is was 'night night time." When we put her in her cage, she would turn her head into her feathers. Her breathing doesn't look labored extensively, but the vet did say that she hears "wet in her breathing." I assume she simply means that she is congested?

Am I doing something wrong? Here's our routine... I "scrub the birdie" once per day; yes I admit it, I shower with my bird. but she seems to love it. Water not too hot, dry her off with a towel immediately after and she doesn't get chilled... I watch her and love to hear her talk, "scrub the birdie," "I'm gonna get me a bird." etc. ha ha
She is an amazing little bird!

We usually will then play for about an hour on the sofa or bed, playing "hide the birdie" where I cover her with the bed spread sheets or she now likes to fend off the "monsters..." - a little stuffed animal that she will attack and puff up if it gets too close to us. It is so fun and hilarious to see her chase this little stuffed toy and then laugh when I wrestle with her as she repeats when I say, "I'm gonna get me a bird!" So fun !!!

She's been absolutely fine up 'til yesterday; where literally 5 minutes after walking in the door from the grooming, we fed her her nectar and then she started tucking her head under her feathers again. And like I said; we immediately rushed her down to the avian vet hospital here in north Phoenix.

I'm sure you guys can understand... if I were wealthy or even had the money; it wouldn't be an issue. But when they handed us another option of services to treat her that totaled $2200; I about fell out of the chair! I know vet care is expensive and I know the vets and techs work hard and have to make a living just as we all do. It sounds so 'harsh' to say it or think it when reality hits and money is hard to come by.

I don't know if she simply has a cold; I don't know if her liver could be not functioning and there may be some significant health issues; I just don't know.

I AM SO CONFUSED HOW SHE CAN, AT ONE MINUTE SEEM PERFECTLY FINE AND BE ACTIVE, BE TALKING, CHIRPING, SINGING AND WANTING DADDY, TO THE NEXT MINUTE TURNING HER HEAD AND BECOMING QUIET AND DOING THE STANDING ON ONE LEG THING.

Sorry for the long narrative; just a lot of info and even moreso; a lot of confusion and concern for my little friend.

NECTAR POWDER IS MADE BY GOLDEN FEAST NECTAR GOLD COMPLETE.
Checked expiration data; all good /2015, just opened this bag last week. She's been on this nectar powder since we bought her... almost three months now.

The vet didn't even let us know the weight last night; I don't know if they even weighed her. Last weight was 110 grams. Purchase weight was 104 grams. She was hatched June 29 of 2013. Purchased, ironically, at Petco here in north Phoenix. Just happened upon her and immediately fell in love !!! Paid a lot for her, but never have given that much thought. Vet care and especially, just not knowing what in the world is going on with her, is the primary concern.

It certainly does stand out that there seems to be a pattern of when having her groomed, she becomes ill (or at least exhibits unusual behavior and symptoms.)

Oh; one final note... last time, the vet did prescribe Doxycycline for 45 days and another antibiotic, Enrofloxacin for a two week period. Wife did a wonderful job at doing this each and every day, same time of day.

Bird's name is "Green Bean." Green Bean is still on the Doxycycline regimen, as well as now taking the OptOmega and Milk Thistle.

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR YOUR CONTINUED COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS OR HELP. I'm totally new to the bird thing and admittedly did not do enough research before buying my little "Green Bean." I love her (don't really know if it's her or he, but we're just going with her sweet little personality as a she..... ha ha) and I will do anything for her to help her be healthy. I just don't know what could be wrong.

PS - no candles, no scented air fresheners, no chemicals, totally clean and wash cage once per week to remove nectar and 'poop' and wife cleans cage sometimes three times per day to ensure she is clean. We bathe once per day 'shower' and she loves it, sings like crazy in the shower; literally acts crazy... so funny when her pupils constrict and her eyes do that red thing when she starts chirping loud and flapping her wings!

Thank you all again, very much!
Billy G. in Phoenix, AZ USA

 

[Mike17]

I'm wondering why you put your bird through the stress of "grooming"? Our rainbow Coco has never been "groomed" and his claws stay "not sharp" through being active. he chews on the web of my hand all the time, beak not sharp although we did have a red-collared for a while whose beak came to a needle point... I wouldn't have wanted THAT chewing on the web between index finger and thumb!

 

[bgriffin70]

The grooming was because the beak had become 'needle like' and was actually breaking skin with enough pressure, and she was never really trying to hurt anyone. But in addition; when she realized her beak was sharper and picked up on how it did hurt, she became a bit more 'nippy' and aggressive. We've always tried to just file it down from a point about every 4-6 weeks. And as far as the nails go; this time we didn't do anything to them.

 

[Kiwibird]

We used to live in Arizona (up north) and it was really hard to find any kind of specialist avian vet. Here are some links to the avian vets recommended by Oasis sanctuary (this clinic is in Gilbert)-

Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic of Arizona

What you're describing sounds like she's taking a nap to me. She may have been too nervous to nap during the first few weeks you had her, but now she is settling into her new home, sees there is no threat in doing so, and wants a little afternoon rest. Birds do take naps and it isn't a sign of illness. Kiwi tucks his beak into his wing, fluffs and pulls up a foot when he naps- View attachment 10427 (this is what his naps look like, for comparison). He typically takes a 2-3 hour nap each afternoon, typically after lunch and a furious bath in his water dish. He isn't sick, he's just resting up for when his daddy comes home Living in Arizona, it's not uncommon for birds to wheeze a little. It's so dusty and dry there, I can't think of a time when I wasn't wheezing a little, let alone a parrot with tiny, sensitive lungs. Try running a humidifier in her room, and see if that helps. People don't think about it, but parrots come from moist, tropical climates. When you bring them into a dusty desert environment, it's not something their respiratory system is equipped to deal with efficiently. And if the vet doesn't have an actual diagnosis, trust me, he also doesn't have an actual $2200 "treatment" either.

 

[SharlenaSharlena]

Maybe instead of grooming look for toys or things for your keet to sharpen it's beak on. We give our lorikeets non-toxic safe pieces of wood they love gnawing on and carrying around. This helps keep their nails and beaks trim. Also feeding a good diet helps with this too. We feed ours "Linda's Blessing" as nectar for dinner blended with fruit like a watery smoothie and sprinkle some on their breakfast which consists of fresh fruits. Our keets don't care for veggies and it's not necessary if they get all the nutrition they need. Rainbow Lorikeets are extremely hardy birds so once you get your diet routine down you should notice a huge difference in constitution. I hope Green Bean is feeling better!