I think Bianca is sick

rangerktc1 · Nov 13, 2018

Bianca had her yearly checkup on Saturday and everything went fine. On Sunday she started making what I'll describe as weezing sounds. She's never made any sounds like that. It wasn't that bad and was not that often. Monday it seemed like it was getting worse. The sounds were more often and lasted longer. Otherwise she appeared fine-was her same feisty self and eating normally. This morning it had worsened-the sounds were more prolonged. yesterday they would only last 5 seconds or so; this morning she went a good 20 seconds straight. I even recorded them. She doesn't seem to have any discharges around her nostrils, beak or eyes. She looks 100% normal but I'm pretty nervous now. When I took her Saturday it was about 45 deg out. She was in the carrier but was only maybe outside 10 seconds to my car and another 10 seconds out of car into Vet office and then repeated when we went home. Could she have caught a cold that quickly? Also, besides the gram stain the Vet did, he also took a throat culture with a q tip. Could this have irritated her throat? I called the Vet just now (He is a Certified Avian Vet). They are going to try to squeeze her in this afternoon but most likely they won't be able to see her till 9AM tomorrow.

Anyone have any advise? I'm worried.

dhraiden · Nov 13, 2018

Returning to the CAV to check is for the best. Hopefully it's just a minor throat irritant. The lack of noticeable discharge is a positive sign that this perhaps nothing serious. Let us know the results of the follow-up, hope Bianca's wheezing dissipates quickly.

EllenD · Nov 13, 2018

It's good that she's acting normally otherwise and still eating normally.

Birds don't "catch colds", nor do people for that matter, from just being out in the cold weather. "Colds" are actually viruses that we have to be exposed to...

If she's wheezing/coughing it could very well be an Upper Respiratory Infection, which would be caused by a bacteria, a fungi, or both. You know how birds hide all outward signs of illness for weeks to months, so it's not unusual for a bird to be totally fine one day and then really sick the next, so it's good that you're taking her back to the CAV today. If they did a throat culture (which wouldn't cause prolonged coughing or any wheezing when breathing at all) they wouldn't have gotten the culture back yet most-likely, just the gram-stain, so it's possible something will grow on the culture at the lab...Or it's possible it's something irritating her UR system, lungs, etc. If they already took a throat culture, they may want to do a sinus flush and culture that, or they should probably take an x-ray to see if there is any fluid in her lungs or blockages in her sinuses, and maybe routine blood-work if they didn't already do that on Saturday as well. It could be any number of things, wheezing while breathing that gets progressively worse each day sounds like an Upper Respiratory infection, but the CAV will be able to rule that out or confirm it...

She wasn't exposed to any smoke or fumes was she? I know the "fires" were burning, if she was at all exposed to smoke, fumes, etc. then that could have irritated her respiratory tract...

rangerktc1 · Nov 13, 2018

EllenD said:
It's good that she's acting normally otherwise and still eating normally.

Birds don't "catch colds", nor do people for that matter, from just being out in the cold weather. "Colds" are actually viruses that we have to be exposed to...

If she's wheezing/coughing it could very well be an Upper Respiratory Infection, which would be caused by a bacteria, a fungi, or both. You know how birds hide all outward signs of illness for weeks to months, so it's not unusual for a bird to be totally fine one day and then really sick the next, so it's good that you're taking her back to the CAV today. If they did a throat culture (which wouldn't cause prolonged coughing or any wheezing when breathing at all) they wouldn't have gotten the culture back yet most-likely, just the gram-stain, so it's possible something will grow on the culture at the lab...Or it's possible it's something irritating her UR system, lungs, etc. If they already took a throat culture, they may want to do a sinus flush and culture that, or they should probably take an x-ray to see if there is any fluid in her lungs or blockages in her sinuses, and maybe routine blood-work if they didn't already do that on Saturday as well. It could be any number of things, wheezing while breathing that gets progressively worse each day sounds like an Upper Respiratory infection, but the CAV will be able to rule that out or confirm it...

She wasn't exposed to any smoke or fumes was she? I know the "fires" were burning, if she was at all exposed to smoke, fumes, etc. then that could have irritated her respiratory tract...

Thanks for this. No she wasn't exposed to any smoke or fumes (I'm on Long Island). I'll let you know after I get back from CAV.

Siobhan · Nov 13, 2018

Could she be mimicking a sound she heard there? I have a Quaker who sneezes just like I do, but he's not really sneezing, he's making fun of me.

noodles123 · Nov 13, 2018

Sorry you are going through this.

CBC - get blood drawn at the very least...Maybe a swab of some sort throat and/or crop swab? and a follow-up with another gram-stain.
Did they do any sort of investigation to check and see if something could be stuck in her nose/throat?

Make sure you aren't using anything in the house that contains Teflon or anything scented..

Asperillosis (sp?), if chronic, can be very hard to detect without extensive scoping and tests----basically, if a bird has it for long enough, the white count goes back to normal and the body stops showing the same red flags that would have shown during initial bloodwork.

Temperature shifts/drafts reduce defenses against germs already within a bird's body or environment. It isn't the cold temperature that produces the illness, it is the weakened fight response as a result of the cold temperature...Sort of like how a healthy person tends to get sick more often if they eat poorly and don't sleep.

Make sure you are monitoring air-quality and humidity...Talk to the vet before doing this (because humidity could make any fungal issue worse), but as a rule, higher humidity is better for Toos (and can actually prevent disease) as long as it is below 60 (where mold grows).

rangerktc1 · Nov 14, 2018

Thanks everyone for their advise and concern.

We went to see the CAV this AM. He agreed that the sounds are definitely a cockatoo cough. Good thing is her lungs sound fine. She did lose 10g of weight since Saturday (590g down to 580g). Her temperature was normal. Dr said her trachea is irritated so he took a fresh swab and is sending out for a full scan (takes up to a week). Meanwhile he gave her 2 injections. One was an anti inflammatory and the other was a broad range antibiotic. He also said the irritation could be because of low humidity levels (the temperature has dropped here and with that the humidity-my dry skin can attest to that). I'm going to setup a humidifier in her room today.

He told me to keep an eye on her and call back if sympoms get worse, but he seemed to think she'll improve. Either way he'll let me know when tests come back.

I feel better today than yesterday!

noodles123 · Nov 14, 2018

Make sure you use distilled water. You do not want to microscopic minerals getting inhaled, plus..it is bad for the machine. Clean the water basin on a near-daily basis. I have F10 sc...I use it often. Purified water has minerals.

Whatever you use to clean, you must be absolutely certain that it is TOTALLY gone before running the machine.

Also, make sure your humidifier doesn't contain PTFE/ptfoa/Teflon.

Good luck!
Get a humidity gauge---they are cheap. Shoot between 50-59 if you can.

rangerktc1 · Nov 20, 2018

UPDATE:
Bianca's labs came back today-everything clean. The wheezing/coughing sound is still there but seems to be lessening everyday. Hearing her old voice again. She never showed any other symptoms and ate normally. I'll continue with the humidifier, CAV thinks she had an irritaion in her trachea possibly caused by some regurgitated food. I'll keep a close eye on her.

Scott · Nov 20, 2018

Great news, thanks for the update! Hope Bianca remains well.

noodles123 · Nov 20, 2018

YAY! My U2 has had itchy skin with all of the humidity changes.

Laurasea · Nov 20, 2018

If they didn't do a CBC , I would ask for one, I am still worried for this one.. a CBC will let you know if there is an infection, even if it wasn't cultured. Culture is a tool, but it doesn't always grow out the infection if there is one, it's just a tool to help , but a CBC will give real answers of if an infection or not. I just can't bear to read about more birds passing this month. Psittacosis can couse a voice change and it is treatable if caught. Ten grams in a few days is a symptom and has me worried, are you still watching her weight? I strongly urge you to go back a d demand a CBC....

rangerktc1 · Nov 27, 2018

A quick update-Bianca has stopped with her coughing sounds. She seems to be 100% fine. Her normal screaming voice is back!

I think Bianca is sick

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