Sir Jolly's having a bad reaction

Anansi

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I don't know if it was just something bad in this batch of veggies and such, or if I've stumbled onto another combination of foods that doesn't sit well with him (some of you might remember that the combination of blueberries and blackberries triggers toe-tap in him), but Jolly had a horrible reaction. It was an extreme version of toe-tap that I've never seen before, where his left foot is literally kicking outward instead of just tapping, and his right foot has a moderate tap as well.

Poor Jolly. It hurts to watch him in that level of discomfort without being able to do anything for him. Well, other than dump the chop mix and give them an emergency oatmeal mix. Last night was so rough for him. Normally he's very disciplined about going into his cage for the night, but this time, though he went dutifully to his perch as asked, he immediately climbed back out and begged his way back onto my shoulder. It was like his little foot was punching the side of my neck. You could tell he drew comfort from staying leaned up against my face. Heartbreaking. I stayed there with him an extra 30 or 40 minutes before putting him back to "bed".

This morning it calmed down to heavy toe tap, but the kicking was thankfully gone. I'm on the bus now, headed home from work, and I'm praying that everything is out of his system and the tapping is gone. (And the kicking is STILL gone!) I doubt he even slept a wink last night. :(

Maya showed no ill-effect whatsoever, which has me leaning more toward a combination that didn't work for him rather than a bad batch of chop. I'll have to examine everything closely when I get home, though.
 

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So sorry to hear about this! It's incredible how fast things can change. Hope he has a change for the better just as quickly! Poor baby :-(
 
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Anansi

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Thank you! Oh yes, it's incredible and disheartening how quickly things can change.

I just got home and found that the kicking is still gone, thank God. Both of his feet are afflicted with toe-tapping right now, but since the kicking has ceased I know we're on the right track. Hopefully he'll be back to normal by tomorrow.
 

WakaWaka

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We are sorry to hear that Jolly had a bad reaction like that. Hope you find out the food combo that caused it !!!
Please let us know how he is doing.

You mentioned blueberry and blackberry that caused a reaction last time. I remember reading a few threads about toe tapping. Is this something that happens only to Eckies?
 
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Anansi

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We are sorry to hear that Jolly had a bad reaction like that. Hope you find out the food combo that caused it !!!
Please let us know how he is doing.

You mentioned blueberry and blackberry that caused a reaction last time. I remember reading a few threads about toe tapping. Is this something that happens only to Eckies?

Thank you. I'll definitely keep you all updated.

For the most part, yes, this is an ekkie thing. Other parrots can, of course, have a bad reaction to foods. Or eat too much of one thing and wind up with too high a level of one thing or the other. But ekkies have a greater dietary sensitivity than other parrots, so they are far more likely to run into a dietary issue.
 

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Poor Jolly. That sounds terrible for him:( I knew ekkies were diet-sensitive but I had no idea they were that much so!

So when you say eating blueberries and blackberries together causes the toe-tapping, does that mean ONLY when eaten together or do they cause problems when served separately too?
 
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Nah, separately they're fine. But together? Catastrophe! Same with raspberries. Those three need to be kept in separate corners. But only for Mister J. Maya could gargle a concoction of the three all night without an issue.

But over the last few months I've adjusted their meals somewhat, cutting their selection of 2 fruits per meal down to one. And the other 6-8 ingredients are all veggies. This measure was taken because they sometimes had the tendency to root out and eat all of the fruits and sometimes leave behind some of their greens. This measure nipped that in the bud AND eliminated any fruit combination issues, so win-win right?

Yeah, until yesterday. Going to be hard tracking down what exactly was the culprit. Especially since I can't rule out completely the possibility that something in the mix was bad and Jolly was the only one sensitive enough to be affected by it.

Sigh...

But we'll work it out.
 

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Geez...poor Jolly :( It's amazing that we parronts still have our sanity after dealing with all the issue's or fids throw at us..sighhhh

Happy to hear Mr J is slowly improving, Stephen :eek:



Jim
 
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Thanks, Jim. Yeah, it seems a rough month for some of our fids, doesn't it? Certainly fit to drive us insane, but I think having this community to vent to helps keep us from going too far off the deep end.
 

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That is no easy process, since it is possible that a very specific combination in his selectivity (a couple of items eaten together with a higher then normal volume may drive this) and not a common random intake. Adding the possibility that one item maybe the source (bad batch).

So, everyone but Jolly gets the batch and he gets a variation of it or a totally different foundation batch that assure a return to a non-tapping state?

And, I think Amazons can be difficult.
 

Kiwibird

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Wow. That's quite a challenge you have to feed Jolly in a way that won't make him sick! Is he unusually sensitive or a pretty typical ekkie? You'd probably have to feed Kiwi nothing but chips and pizza for years to trigger that kind of reaction. I can't even imagine having to worry about mixing berries setting off a neurological (?) reaction. Is there a known reason for it?
 
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That is no easy process, since it is possible that a very specific combination in his selectivity (a couple of items eaten together with a higher then normal volume may drive this) and not a common random intake. Adding the possibility that one item maybe the source (bad batch).

So, everyone but Jolly gets the batch and he gets a variation of it or a totally different foundation batch that assure a return to a non-tapping state?

And, I think Amazons can be difficult.

Yes indeed, Steven. You've described my quandary to a tee. I got lucky last time, as I knew right away what exactly was different. But this time I wasn't really experimenting or anything. And to add to the challenge factor, it might not be a combination this time, but rather a bad source. Grrrrr!

But as for stopping the toe-tapping, that takes precedence. So that, combined with the fact that Maya seeming fine is no guarantee that she actually is, led me to cease completely all use of the batch and go to a safe baseline: unflavored oatmeal. Both birds have gained considerable weight as a result (oatmeal really packs on the grams, and these two will lick it off the bowls like they were starving), but it's having the intended result. Jolly is down to a moderate tap in just one foot now, and hopefully even that will be gone by morning.

Wow. That's quite a challenge you have to feed Jolly in a way that won't make him sick! Is he unusually sensitive or a pretty typical ekkie? You'd probably have to feed Kiwi nothing but chips and pizza for years to trigger that kind of reaction. I can't even imagine having to worry about mixing berries setting off a neurological (?) reaction. Is there a known reason for it?

Yeah, Jolly is definitely the most sensitive of the ekkies I've had. Maya has only tapped once in the time I've had her, and that actually wasn't food-related. And Bixby never tapped at all.

But it's actually not as tough as it sounds. I mean this part, right here? Yeah, this is tough. But on a day to day basis? Not so much. It's really just knowing the rules and staying on top of things. And most importantly, observing your bird. (Something you know quite a bit about, as your current thread about kiwi's feathered derriere illustrates beautifully.) Funny enough, given the largely fresh diet you've always fed Kiwi and the care and attention to detail you've always shown, I've always thought of you as an ekkie parront who happens to have an amazon. Lol!
 
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On the upside, after waaaaaaaay too much oatmeal and the double spoilery of his usual nighttime snack of seeds, Jolly was in quite the good mood. Here's a pick of our resident speedster playing with his tree stand toys:

zmStfdd.png
 

plumsmum2005

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Just a thought after reading this Stephen and based on the fact that you have used these ingredients in the mix before and as Steven picked up also ie a bad source? If these ingredients have come from a different source that have used chemicals/more chemicals that would upset things very much. :)
 
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Dang... all this stuff surely hasn't hurt his looks!

Get better, and stay that way, Sir Jolly.

What an incredible challenge this is. And I complain that the Rb upchucks chile seeds on me.

I'm so glad Jolly's better.
 
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Just a thought after reading this Stephen and based on the fact that you have used these ingredients in the mix before and as Steven picked up also ie a bad source? If these ingredients have come from a different source that have used chemicals/more chemicals that would upset things very much. :)

Be still my heart! Is that Special Agent K? Good to see you back, my friend!

Yes, that is also a possibility. They closed the local fruit shop around two months or so ago, :mad: so I've been bouncing around from market to market vagabond style to get what I need for them. I do wash everything thoroughly, but I have to consider everything.

Dang... all this stuff surely hasn't hurt his looks!

Get better, and stay that way, Sir Jolly.

What an incredible challenge this is. And I complain that the Rb upchucks chile seeds on me.

I'm so glad Jolly's better.

I'll make sure to pass along your wishes and compliments to Mister Jay, Sunshine. And yes, it hasn't affected his looks one bit, has it? Well, his feet are ever so slightly abraded, but it could've been far worse. Stuff like this is where plucking and self-mutilation can start for so many ekkies. It's just thanks mostly to Jolly's... well... jolly disposition that it hasn't happened. With a symptom like that jumping leg, Lady Maya would've torn her foot to shreds by now. She's a sweetheart, but she definitely has a more fiery temper than Jolly does.

And as for upchucked chile seeds, while the thought behind it would be appreciated... yeah, I'd be complaining too. Lol!
 
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Anansi

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Hahaha! But I hear it's the bad boys who get the hens! Or henz, as RB would say. Poor Jolly would probably be a wall flower.
 

chris-md

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Oh jeez dear friend, I’m sorry you’re being confronted with this puzzle.

After what Katie and Jasper went through, I can’t help but wonder if the problem isn’t physiological rather than dietary. When was the last tile he’s had a full blood panel?
 
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Anansi

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Thanks, Chris.

Last time was a little over a year ago for full panels. Everything was perfect at the time, though, and nothing has changed in terms of food types provided. On top of that is the fact that the reaction has cut down by quite a bit since I pulled that particular batch of chop. He's been on straight oatmeal for over 2 days, now, and he's gone from a violent leg spasm in one leg and severe toe-tapping in the other, to mild toe-tapping in just one foot in that space of time. So given those results, I'm leaning toward it being diet-related. (Though I'm not ruling anything out just yet.)

I'm going to have to reintroduce him to everything VERY slowly to find the culprit. Though considering that this is likely a combo issue, it's going to be difficult to track.
 

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