Worried about my cockatoos health

emyoung858

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After reading about cheek's death due to the ingestion of the fabric from the hanging bed in his cage I am greatly concerned about my cockatoo. She's been chewing holes in all sorts of fabrics around my house but I never even thought twice about her ingesting and dying from it. Then, I started to research signs of sickness and she has them all. Lethargic, fluffed up and sleepy often, shaking constantly, I can even hear her tummy gurgling when she's on my shoulder. Her stool is either clear liquid or a dark, wet green. She's lost weight and moves slow. I am so worried I can't sleep, I love her like a child and I feel so bad if she's seriously ill on my account, we're going to the vet at 8 am tomorrow... thoughts? Suggestions? Encouragement? (I love this thread)


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Scott

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Having an early appointment with one of the very best avian vets is a comfort. So many tests can be performed to rule in or out some common illnesses. Not sure how fabric ingestion is diagnosed, perhaps microscopic inspection of the droppings may identify the substance?

Please keep us updated as able!
 

itzjbean

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Hope your cockatoo is okay!! Getting her to the vet is the first step here and the most crutial. They'll be able to determine if anything is off.

In the future, PLEASE do not let your cockatoo chew on the fabrics around your home! Parrots should be constantly supervised and prevented from doing this for that very reason. Keep your cockatoo on a stand with safe toys and away from fabrics/the ground/etc.
 

AmyMyBlueFront

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Glad I saw this thread!! My buddy DJ lets his U2 Pookie play under a blanket ( her Pookie blankie) when she is out on the couch with him and I have seen numerous holes in it from her chewing! I'm going to inform him immediately of the dangers!
I pray your 'too is fine!


Jim
 
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emyoung858

emyoung858

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They love to play and cuddle under blankets!! It's tough to monitor if she's chewing underneath, her appointment is in a couple hours I'll update everyone later


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adz1984

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Barium x-ray is a sure way to know, my alex is believed to have ingested alot of something and is going downhill despite tests/vet visits.. All I'm told to do is feed a digestive and immune diet to get things out and moving. Still lethargic and losing weight. Seem's to be an unusual or tricky illness as noone here has offered me any advice after posting her diagnosis and my vet's treatment doesn't seem to be working. It's one thing being sick and another being sick while not knowing how to treat it after $1500 and crys for advice. good luck to you I hope you don't go through this too
 

Allee

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Any news after the vet visit?
 
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emyoung858

emyoung858

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Sorry okay so I have "some" answers. I'm getting back the results today, they did say her calcium levels were very high (she wants to lay an egg) and they told me not to let her go under the covers anymore, apparently my bed had become her territory and her "nesting" area which explains her wacky hormonal behavior. They also said that she was anemic which I am sure has to do with the fact that she doesn't eat any fruits or veggies YET, I'm working on it, they also said that she had gained weight. Her liver and kidneys were ok but they couldn't check her stool, poor baby was so traumatized she wouldn't even poop for them. They also said she has arthritis (she's an older bird somewhere in her 30s - 40s) but that's all I know so far. They haven't called me back with the other test results yet which will tell us if she needs to get on antibiotics. I asked him about my concern with her chewing on the cotton sheets and he said not to worry about it so worst case scenario is that she has a really bad bacterial infection brought on by stress. I am so relieved,


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Allee

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Thanks for the update, I know you must be relieved. I hope your girl recovers quickly and completely and learns to like her veggies.
 
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emyoung858

emyoung858

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Barium x-ray is a sure way to know, my alex is believed to have ingested alot of something and is going downhill despite tests/vet visits.. All I'm told to do is feed a digestive and immune diet to get things out and moving. Still lethargic and losing weight. Seem's to be an unusual or tricky illness as noone here has offered me any advice after posting her diagnosis and my vet's treatment doesn't seem to be working. It's one thing being sick and another being sick while not knowing how to treat it after $1500 and crys for advice. good luck to you I hope you don't go through this too



Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that!! She has actually gained weight which means her digestive track is moving along just fine, I might have gotten lucky to have become aware of the dangers of chewing on cloth one month after having gotten her because I thought she was just innocently chewing on her favorite blanket.... looking back before your bird got sick can you think of anything Alex could have eaten that it could be? So are you going to get the x-ray? [emoji20]


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emyoung858

emyoung858

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Thanks for the update, I know you must be relieved. I hope your girl recovers quickly and completely and learns to like her veggies.



Only thing I am still worried about is her balance and energy levels, my boyfriend just said he peaked on her and she was leaning against one of her chew toys like she couldn't keep herself up, like she was using it for support


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emyoung858

emyoung858

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Thanks for the update, I know you must be relieved. I hope your girl recovers quickly and completely and learns to like her veggies.



Only thing I am still worried about is her balance and energy levels, my boyfriend just said he peaked on her and she was leaning against one of her chew toys like she couldn't keep herself up, like she was using it for support


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Here's a photo IMG_3404.jpg


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emyoung858

emyoung858

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She's puffing up because he probably startled her and she doesn't like him but see how she's using the toys to hold her up??? Seems odd, I just called her vet to let them know


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adz1984

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Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that!! She has actually gained weight which means her digestive track is moving along just fine, I might have gotten lucky to have become aware of the dangers of chewing on cloth one month after having gotten her because I thought she was just innocently chewing on her favorite blanket.... looking back before your bird got sick can you think of anything Alex could have eaten that it could be? So are you going to get the x-ray? [emoji20]


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I've done the x-ray, it shows stuff there but unfortunately not what it is but I've narrowed it down to wood. My alex was gaining weight too in the beggining which I believe was from the wood (or whatever it is) impacting her gizzard and slowing down her digestion/bloating her. Maybe my alex losing weight now is a sign shes getting better I just don't know if that would be normal in recovery and she is still lythargic. Going to have a wait a few days for vet to get back and ask him.

As for your birds weakness, I've read of alot of birds that come back exhausted after a vet visit mine personally did act unusually sleepy for 2 days after coming back from the vet but she was on meds also.
 
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emyoung858

emyoung858

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She was doing this before the visit too, what type of wood was it? Lily chews on wood all the time but only the wood used for bird toys (one exception was when I just got her I left her alone in my room for 30 minutes, came back and she had chewed away at my wood dresser, I worry about this too, it is painted black) should I get an X-ray too? Did Alex stop going to the bathroom right away?? If her tests come back normal I might get and X-ray as well, good thing I got my tax returns today!


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SailBoat

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They also said she has arthritis (she's an older bird somewhere in her 30s - 40s) but that's all I know so far. They haven't called me back with the other test results yet which will tell us if she needs to get on antibiotics.
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Take a long look at her perches and where she perches. With the likelihood of Arthritis, she should be on 3" (75 mm) natural branch perches or larger.

Take a look in the Amazon Forum, at the top of the Forum at the Sticky Threads: I Love Amazons - ... In that Thread is a Segment name: Getting to the Foot of the Problem. After reading that Segment, a Post or two later is a famous PF MAC standing on a perch. Note the near equal pressure on the bottom pads of the claw. With a Parrot that has Arthritis, the goal is to open that stance up a bit more. This is all targeted at allow the Parrot to sway a bit more and reduces the need to tightly hold the perch.

Thank-you, for caring for this wonderful Too!
 
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emyoung858

emyoung858

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They also said she has arthritis (she's an older bird somewhere in her 30s - 40s) but that's all I know so far. They haven't called me back with the other test results yet which will tell us if she needs to get on antibiotics.

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Take a long look at her perches and where she perches. With the likelihood of Arthritis, she should be on 3" (75 mm) natural branch perches or larger.



Take a look in the Amazon Forum, at the top of the Forum at the Sticky Threads: I Love Amazons - ... In that Thread is a Segment name: Getting to the Foot of the Problem. After reading that Segment, a Post or two later is a famous PF MAC standing on a perch. Note the near equal pressure on the bottom pads of the claw. With a Parrot that has Arthritis, the goal is to open that stance up a bit more. This is all targeted at allow the Parrot to sway a bit more and reduces the need to tightly hold the perch.



Thank-you, for caring for this wonderful Too!



Here is a photo of her current perch, I'm not sure of the size, I bought it from her previous owners IMG_3225.jpgFullSizeRender.jpg


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SailBoat

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She was doing this before the visit too, what type of wood was it? Lily chews on wood all the time but only the wood used for bird toys (one exception was when I just got her I left her alone in my room for 30 minutes, came back and she had chewed away at my wood dresser, I worry about this too, it is painted black) should I get an X-ray too? Did Alex stop going to the bathroom right away?? If her tests come back normal I might get and X-ray as well, good thing I got my tax returns today!


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Watch her stool for any sights of blood. Most of the mid to larger Parrots commonly turn large wood pieces into toothpicks and rarely ingest any of it. Its one of the reasons they call us 'crazy parrot people.' We are always looking at Parrot Poo!
 

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