sick baby alexandrine.. urgent help needed

[creaks]

My month old baby alexandrine has possibly ingested some wood shavings last night. I assume that because I have seen him vomit a couple pieces yesterday. Anyways, he normally empties his crop by next feeding but this morning it wasn't empty so I just gave him some warm water with ORS (saline solution) and went to work. He seems to have diarrhoea now as droppings are watery and yellow. He isn't accepting any feed and lying down with head down. Is there anything I could do? Please help as we don't have avian vets available in this part of the world.. Any help would be much appreciated.. waiting eagerly..
Regards,
Anees

 

[creaks]

I'm from Multan, Pakistan by the way.. we do have general vets here like for livestock etc but sadly no vets for birds..

 

[Cardinal]

I am not sure what to do in case of ingesting wood shavings. Plywood which has chemicals could be toxic. Normal wood shouldn't pose a problem.
Why don't you try a tea made out of holy basil or tulsi if it is available. Boil some water - add some tulsi leaves . Let it cool and then feed your bird.

Some people have given turmeric too.

I hope a professional vet with actual experience in this kind of scenario will help you.

 

[creaks]

Thanks a lot.. I'm on it.. goin to get some leaves. By the way he just vomited paste like solution.. a lot of it.. his stomach's now absolutely empty.. should I wash it with drip set?? and saline solution?

 

[creaks]

It was normal wood shavings.

 

[Kiwibird]

It is highly unusual for a parrot to accidentally (or intentionally) ingest wood. You're sure the wood shavings weren't on the cage/enclosure floor before he vomited? What was the source of the wood (a toy or perch or piece of furniture etc....) and what type/species of wood was it (if you know)?

Yellow, watery droppings to me raise the red flag for bacterial infection not ingestion of a foreign substance but I'm not an avian vet. In a baby that young, it's worth a shot to contact any kind of vet. You say you have livestock vets around, do any of them treat poultry birds? If so, call them. What about whomever you got this extremely young baby from? The breeder should never have let an unweaned baby go home with you in the first place at this age but hopefully they'll have the decency to help in this emergency. Surely they either know of a vet or may have some medication on hand and experience with this kind of issue if they've been breeding parrots for a while (I am unsure what is customary in your part of the world).

 

[creaks]

They're regular furniture wood shavings. Don't exactly know what species though. Breeder isn't responding to my calls and you guys are basically my only help right now.
As to why I got him under such conditions etc.. its a long story and I could explain that laters in detail.. if u don't mind..
He's feeling a lot better after vomiting btw, making some noise too.. I am about to give him a few drops of apple cider in water.. hoping for the best.. should I wash his crop now or just feed him?!? He looks pretty feeble n weak.

 

[creaks]

couldn't get Tulsi leaves as Cardinal suggested.. have given him apple cider.. still isn't accepting any feed.. no feeding response either.. so basically had to force the solution down his mouth.. my only question right now is when do I feed him??? & if I am to wait, what do I give him for his weakness??

 

[Kiwibird]

So the bird was chewing a piece of furniture? Is it solid wood or wood composite? Is the wood painted or stained? Paint and wood stains are potentially toxic to parrots and can make them very ill. Some woods are also toxic, like cedar. Hopefully the vomiting got it all up.

I really wish some of our experienced breeders were online at this time of morning to advise better. I just have a generalized understanding of feeding babies from being on this forum so long, I've never done it and I can't say about how trustworthy the advise of the other poster as they are brand new to this site. I would see if he'll accept some of his regular formula before trying ANYTHING else, especially teas or vinegars anything of that nature. Baby parrots are extremely sensitive. Perhaps try offering a half feeding of his regular formula to see if he keeps it down then the other half a little later if he does good with it. He may be dehydrated and have low blood sugar from the vomiting and is weak because of that, just like we get when we've been sick. A little food may perk him up, but give what his little body is used to.

 

[Kiwibird]

couldn't get Tulsi leaves as Cardinal suggested.. have given him apple cider.. still isn't accepting any feed.. no feeding response either.. so basically had to force the solution down his mouth.. my only question right now is when do I feed him??? & if I am to wait, what do I give him for his weakness??

To my understanding, baby birds really shouldn't have ACV, it's too strong. How much did you give him and did you dilute it?

 

[Kiwibird]

I have just PM'd one of our members about this thread who is an experienced breeder. Hopefully she will see the message and advise soon.

 

[SilverSage]

Sorry, I’m just waking up.

Call a regular vet and at the very least get him on antibiotics and get sub-cutaneous fluids RIGHT NOW! While you work on that, I’ll type more.


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[creaks]

just a few drops of cider in like half a cup of water.. Thanks a lot btw, I am going to try and feed him now again.. lets see..

 

[LordTriggs]

he's weak because he's starving ultimately. Are you using a thermometer to make sure the food is at a correct temperature? That can sometimes be the source of trouble with feeding but the bottom line is they need food, just don't force it down their throat, you can easily kill them doing that by putting the food into the lungs

Keep trying to get a hold of the breeder and see if you can find a vet who sees poultry, it's better than nothing. Unfortunately none of us here are vets so we really can't offer that much.

 

[Cardinal]

couldn't get Tulsi leaves as Cardinal suggested.. have given him apple cider.. still isn't accepting any feed.. no feeding response either.. so basically had to force the solution down his mouth.. my only question right now is when do I feed him??? & if I am to wait, what do I give him for his weakness??

To my understanding, baby birds really shouldn't have ACV, it's too strong. How much did you give him and did you dilute it?

Yes! Please be careful with ACV or even medications. Vets in the subcontinent are not equipped to handle birds. I once took a sick budgie to the Vet and the vet over medicated her and the bird died within 3 minutes of administering medication.

 

[Cardinal]

Sorry, I’m just waking up.

Call a regular vet and at the very least get him on antibiotics and get sub-cutaneous fluids RIGHT NOW! While you work on that, I’ll type more.


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I have heard from a qualified Avian vet that pro biotics are more important than antibiotics, especially for birds having loose droppings.

cheers

Cardinal

 

[SilverSage]

Ok, please first fallow my original suggestion. You baby likely has hours to live, maybe less unless you can get him to a vet!

As tempting as it is I’m
Not going to pause to rant about how FURIOUS I am that breeders still sell unweaned babies!

How warm is your brooder? It should be between 36.1 - 37.2 degrees Celsius. How warm is your formula? It should be between 40 - 43.3 degrees Celsius. If either of those two things are off, THAT is almost certainly the source of the illness. If you haven’t been keeping your baby in a brooder or haven’t been testing the formula, you need to start! NOW!




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[SilverSage]

Sorry, I’m just waking up.



Call a regular vet and at the very least get him on antibiotics and get sub-cutaneous fluids RIGHT NOW! While you work on that, I’ll type more.





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I have heard from a qualified Avian vet that pro biotics are more important than antibiotics, especially for birds having loose droppings.



cheers



Cardinal

As a GENERAL HEALTH SUPPORT, yes but not for a BACTERIAL INFECTION!


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[SilverSage]

I’ll also say this; I’m not pulling my suggestions out of thin air; I’m a breeder who has spent thousands of hours researching and learning how to keep baby birds alive, and a Indian Ringnecks, a cousin of Alexandrines, are my specialty. I’ve USED the advice I’m giving.

I wouldn’t bother with trying to contact your breeder; sorry to be harsh but anyone cruel enough or ignorant enough to sell you a 1 month old chick in the first place isn’t going to be able to help you.

Now, assuming you have been giving the right temperature formula and keeping the baby in a nice stable brooder and thus can rule out temperature as the problem, and assuming you are NOT able to get him to a vet, YES ACV is where we turn next, but ONLY after temperature has been addressed. Temperature is the single most important factor in baby bird health!

ACV should not be given in water, it should be mixed in the formula. Outing it in straight water is harsh but mostly it’s too hard to regulate the temperature. Formula holds the temperature better.




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[SilverSage]

Next questions:
How often are you feeding him? How long have you had him? What formula are you using? What method of feeding (syringe, spoon, etc)? Is it the same method the breeder used?


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