Sick Alexandrine Please Help

[Canucks35]

Hi so my almost 2 year old female Alexandrine looks nothing like a healthy Alexandrine, she’s starting to pluck her hair out of the chest area and whenever she eats her food she has a lot of trouble trying to digest it and usually vomits it out as she tilts over. Also has bad balance and usually lands on her face... she was the last one of the babies left and I think she may have been what is usually referred to as a runt. Took her to a vet at 1 years old and they said she looked pretty healthy but she’s been weak ever since a baby.

Don’t want to lose her, any suggestions would be very appreciate please and thanks.

Here’s a link of her having trouble digesting the food:

https://streamable.com/2m3bo

 

[Canucks35]

A breeder suggested she might have been stressed out even though I provide her with slot of care so maybe that has to do with the plucking but I highly doubt that has anything to do with her over eating and always vomiting or struggling to digest the food afterwards and her poops is always watery too with solid green pieces floating inside of the liquid. I bought her a 4 month old moustache parrot companion today too based on what the breeder was telling me so far she hates it and tries to attack it so I have them in separate cages.

 

[LordTriggs]

was the vet you went to a Certified avian vet? If you go to a cat and dog vet they know essentially nothing. If you can't find any certified vets where you are then try contacting a zoo and ask if they have a vet skilled with birds, or even see if you can get in contact with a vet outside your country. I'm not too skilled with the medical side but to me it looks like they possibly were force weaned very early on to get them out the door as a lot of disgusting bird flippers do.

Are you providing toys and opportunities for her to forage for food? Boredom can make them pluck. Also with the 'vomit' there is always the possibility they are actually regurgitating, is the motion they do when bringing food up a front and back head bob? Or are they opening their mouth and having food come out without movement (often followed by shaking the head side to side)

With the mustache yes they can hate each other, birds much like people can dislike each other for no reason you unfortunately been conned right there to buy another bird and double your problems. With the second bird if you truly want them then keep them but you have to work around both of them.

Lastly did the mustache have a leg band? I see your alex doesn't have one and that raises big alarm bells. If the mustache doesn't have a leg band you could very easily have been sold some poached wild birds or otherwise illegally obtained. If you didn't see any parents raising babies at the breeder's then you need to report them to the authorities

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums! Thanks for providing the pic and video; they are enough evidence to seek a qualified avian certified vet.

The plucking and digestive issues may or may not be related. Plucking is a very complex issue, here is a link: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

A chronic eating or digestive problem may be illness or disease. Only way to determine is proper vet examination and possibly testing.

At two years, your baby has a long and hopefully happy life ahead.

 

[Scott]

Another issue is bringing in a new bird. Best practice is to quarantine for at least 30 days before introducing - critical to avoid the spread of disease. The only very limited exception is when acquiring a bird that has been solitary in a trusted situation.

 

[Canucks35]

Hey so I ended up returning the baby Moustache because obviously it wasn’t the best solution with a sick bird. Anyways I took my Alex to a vet and they took some poop samples and some of the vomit which they said was regurgitation and after an hour of waiting they told me they dedicated a yeast infection but they feel that there’s more too it so they reccomended some blood tests and a couple other tests which I may have to get done next week. I’m giving it the prescribed meds for the yeast infection and a prescribed antibiotic at the moment it’s just very painful to watch though because it seems day by day the parrot gets worse

 

[Canucks35]

Also she still loves to eat here food and goes crazy when I bring in apples or her favourite snack but it just sucks as she ends up going through so much to digest it and usually vomits it out no matter what I give her

 

[Cardinal]

Hi

Hope the antibiotics help. Dr. Lora Kim, a renowned Avian Veterinarian has said that antibiotics are good in the short term but for long term good health you have to regularly use the appropriate probiotics.

Wishing your bird the best of health for years to come. A well maintained Alexandrine, with appropriate avian and/or human company can easily cross 35 years, sometimes even touching 50+.

cheers

Avin

 

[wrench13]

Hope for the best for your lil buddy. Keep us in the loop is you can remember. GoodLuck.

 

[Canucks35]

Thank you all for your help and support. Unfortunately she passed away last night at 11pm in front of me, I tried to very carefully take her to a hospital even though I knew she was at her last stages but it was no use she just looked at me sadly before she left me, didn’t suffer quite as much as I’d expect. I am just absolutely heart broken I spent the last 2 weeks pretty much by her side trying to comfort her and seeking avian help, I honestly did everything in my power and this really, really hurts right now ��

 

[Scott]

I am so sorry, my deepest condolences. It is so heartbreaking to see them sick and deteriorating. There is no doubt she knew she was loved. Thank you for trying.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My heart aches for you. I'm very sorry to hear. Take care of yourself.

 

[Cardinal]

Very sad to read this news. It is really tragic to see a bird slowly deteriorate and die, all the more so , if they are young.

My heart felt condolences.

Avin

 

[Jottlebot]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Canucks35]

Thank you all for your love and support it means more than I could ever put in words. Wishing all your wonderful pets nothing but years and years of joy. Don’t think I’ll be ever buying a parrot again though this was absolutely heartbreaking and something I fear of ever going through again.

 

[MonicaMc]

Sorry for your loss. I can't help but wonder if the rope perch had anything to do with it. She could have ingested the rope fibers and got a crop impaction which could have caused issues digesting food and caused the regurgitation and weight loss.


To see what I mean, view this link. *WARNING* Graphic images!

https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneBi...855738023/1084087038274462/?type=3&permPage=1

 

[EllenD]

I'm so very sorry for your loss and what you have gone through, but please do not think that this is a normal situation. For a parrot to die at only 2 years old after being ill for a year is not the norm, so please don't just write-off getting another bird. It sounds like you not only loved your bird very much, but that he brought you a lot of joy, as they typically do. This was not your fault, and this is not what is going to happen again...

If I can ask you a few questions about your bird's history that might solve some mysteries here and not only bring you some closure and peace, but also make you understand why this happened and how to avoid it from every happening again...

Where did you get your bird? From a shop or a private breeder? And where do you live, where is the breeder from? Was he a hand-raised Alexandrine, or a non-tame, parent-raised bird? How old was he when you brought him home? Was he completely weaned onto solid food when you brought him home, or did you still have to give him forumula feedings? What do you know about his breeder, are they know as a reputable breeder? Do they breed a bunch of different birds, or just the Alexandrines? Was your bird's breeder the same breeder who was giving you advice about his health issues? Was his breeder the same breeder who suggested you bring home another baby bird for him?

Because your bird was sick for much of the time that you had him, and based on the symptoms, it sounds very much to me like your bird unfortunately probably came from a shady breeder who only wanted to make money and who doesn't care much about their birds, especially if his breeder is the same breeder who was giving you the advice you mentioned about his health issues, and especially if his breeder is the breeder who suggested that you bring home another baby bird for your sick bird, and was the breeder who sold the moustache baby to you. These are all indications that this breeder only wants to make money, and sadly knew that your baby was sick or had health issues all along, probably when you brought him home...And ANY BREEDER OF BIRDS KNOWS DAMN WELL THAT YOU NEVER, EVER BRING HOME A SECOND BABY BIRD AS A SOLUTION TO SOLVING ANY ISSUE WITH A CURRENT BIRD, LEAST OF ALL A HEALTH ISSUE WITH THE SYMPTOMS YOUR BIRD HAD...That breeder just simply wanted to sell you another baby, as any and all parrot breeders know that the chances of a current 2 year old accepting a new baby into their home are slim to none, and that this is never a good idea.

I don't at all believe that your bird was regurgitating, as when they regurgitate the actions and movements they make as well as what comes out are completely different than when they vomit from a health issue...When they are regurgitating they head-bob, chirp and sing happily and make noises like they are trying to "court" you. And what comes up when they regurgitate looks nothing at all like vomit does. When they regurgitate they bring up very small, usually solid white pieces of food with no liquid at all. This is them trying to feed you or whoever they are bonded to, and they make that head-bobbing and neck motion in order to simply bring up only little bits of solids from their crops without any liquid, and typically the bits of solids they bring up are all-white in color and very small bits. In complete contrast, when they vomit it's very much like what happens when we vomit. They are not happy, they make no happy, chirping noises, they don't head-bob to bring up food, they actually heave and vomit-up EVERYTHING that is in their crop at the time, and sometimes what has passed out of their crop and into their stomach, and it's typically watery and more like what you would think vomit would look like. Regurgitation looks nothing like vomit.

The other indication that he was actually vomiting rather than regurgitating is what you described his feces looked like, being very watery with bits of green solids floating in it, that combined with the vomiting, along with the plucking and his feather condition tell me that your bird had a widespread infection throughout his entire gastrointestinal tract, and that he had it for quite a while. And if he was actually over-eating, it was most likely due to the fact that the infection that he had was causing his stomach to not feel full...

And I'm sorry to say, but whatever vet you went to does not at all sound like an Avian Vet to me...were they a Certified Avian Vet? I'm not at all blaming you here, this is in no way your fault, you have to take him to the vet you had near you, but there were a lot of red-flags to me with your vet visit...First of all they told you he was regurgitating, but it sounds to me like what your bird was doing had nothing at all to do with regurgitation, and this is reinforced not only by the fact that he died from the infection he had (he wouldn't have been regurgitating if he was as sick as he was), but the watery stools should have been an indication to the vet that it wasn't regurgitation but rather vomiting...And the biggest red-flag of all was the fact that the vet did a fecal swab and found budding yeast, and prescribed an antifungal medication, all of which makes sense, BUT THEY ALSO PRESCRIBED AN ANTIBIOTIC ALONG WITH THE ANTIFUNGAL...WHY? This is a HUGE no-no. First of all, why did they prescribe an antibiotic, which only treats bacterial infections, when the fecal culture only showed a fungal infection and no bacterial infection? They didn't do any other cultures or blood work did they? You didn't mention any other cultures they took or any test results they got back that indicated a Bacterial infections, so THEY SHOULD HAVE NEVER, EVER, EVER PUT YOUR BIRD ON AN ANTIBIOTIC!!! I hate to tell you this, but this could very likely be the reason that your bird passed away so quickly AFTER YOU STARTED HIM ON BOTH MEDICATIONS...THAT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE...

Here's what likely happened: I believe that your bird had been suffering from a widespread gastrointestinal fungal (yeast) infection for quite some time. This would explain all of his symptoms, the vomiting, the watery stools, and GI yeast/fungal infections are a very common cause of unhealthy plumage/feathers and feather plucking. So the vet was right to do the fecal culture, and when he found budding yeast in the fecal culture, he should have put your bird on a prescription antifungal, like micozanole, either orally or by injection, and also put your bird on a daily Probiotic supplement that had added digestive enzymes, and also suggested that you add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to his water daily. That's it, that's all he should have done, all he should have prescribed...But instead, the vet suggested that you do blood work, which would be fine and was a good idea, as a normal, routine blood panel could have shown an elevated white blood cell count, indicating a bacterial infection, OR if his blood work would have come back normal then he would have known there was no bacterial infection and it was just the fungal/yeast infection...BUT instead, the vet made the poor decision to also prescribe an antibiotic in addition to the antifungal, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD NO INDICATION THAT YOUR BIRD HAD ANY BACTERIAL INFECTION...THIS IS USUALLY DONE BY VETS WHO KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT BIRDS "JUST IN CASE", AND IT ENDS IN HEARTBREAK...

I don't know how much you know about gastrointestinal health, but in-short, birds, people, reptiles, etc., we all have a lot of normal, healthy bacteria living all throughout our gastrointestinal tracts that cause us no issues, we don't get sick from these bacteria, but they are rather very beneficial to us, to birds, etc. BECAUSE THEY KEEP FUNGI, SPECIFICALLY YEAST, FROM GROWING THROUGHOUT THE GI TRACT! So it should make sense that when you take an antibiotic, especially a broad-spectrum antibiotic that kills lots of different kinds of bacteria, THE ANTIBIOTIC KILLS OFF ALL OF THE HEALTHY, NORMAL BACTERIA THROUGHOUT THE BIRD'S GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, AND THIS ALLOWS FUNGI, SPECIFICALLY YEAST, TO GROW OUT OF CONTROL ALL THROUGH THE GI TRACT... for example Baytril (Enrofloaxcin) is a common example of a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is often prescribed to birds that can do this...

SECOND PART BELOW!!!

 

[EllenD]

So, since your bird ALREADY had a bad gastrointestinal fungal/yeast infection, and his count of normal/healthy GI bacteria was already very low, THE ANTIBIOTIC MOST LIKELY KILLED-OFF ANY REMAINING HEALTHY/NORMAL GI BACTERIA, AND RENDERED THE PRESCRIBED ANTIFUNGAL MEDICATION USELESS...So this was a perfect-storm for a horrible fungal infection to take-over your bird's GI tract and cause his death. This is unfortunately not at all uncommon, it happens to both birds and reptiles, such as Bearded Dragons, all the time, because many vets just go ahead and prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics without having any reason to think that they have a bacterial infection...but it's even worse in your case, because this vet already knew from the fecal culture and the symptoms that your bird was suffering from a pretty bad fungal infection, yet he STILL PRESCRIBED an antibiotic for no reason at all...and I'm so sorry that this happened to you and to your bird...

I'm telling you this so that you can hopefully understand that this was not in any way your fault, you're not a vet, you did everything you could to help your bird, and you put your trust in a veterinarian who should have known better than to do what he did...I want to make sure that you know that this is not what typically happens to people when they bring home a baby bird, typically parrots live for decades and this doesn't happen...Again, I would not ever buy another bird from that same breeder, as your bird could have very likely been sick when they sold him to you, and they probably knew it, especially if his feathers were always looking like they did...But please don't just give-up on getting another parrot, as you strike me as not only a very responsible, loving bird owner that was providing your bird with a very loving home with lots of attention, but it also seems to me that you benefited from the bond, the relationship you had with your bird, and that's a special thing that most people don't ever experience. Most people have dogs and cats, they don't understand what kind of loving bond you can form with a parrot, and that this bond can last for decades and decades...

I hope that you think about bringing home another baby parrot at some point, because you're one of the few that will provide a new baby bird with a loving home where they get tons of attention and affection. Just first find a different parrot breeder, one that maybe ONLY breeds Alexandrines, or whatever species of parrot you decide to get, instead of a breeder who breeds a lot of different birds all the time, that's an indication that they are only in it for the money. There are many Alexandrine and Indian Ringneck breeders out there that raise only those birds, and that hand-raise them from 2 or 3 weeks old and raise extremely tame, affectionate, healthy babies that will live for many, many years...

I'm sorry this was such a long post, but this breaks my heart when this happens by no fault of the owner, and then the owner gives up on having a parrot be a part of their family, especially when it's a responsible, loving, affectionate, attentive owner like you...

 

[Cardinal]

I would agree, more or less with Ellen. While you may not want to get a parrot right now, and that is understandable, do consider adopting (not buying) a parrot family bird, in need of a new home, may be at later day- say a year or 2 down the line.

In the meanwhile you can do something to commemorate the memory of this sweet bird that shared your home for 2 years.

cheers

Avin