Update on Noble Macaw Mihijo vet visit

Oh Oh Oh....Dr. Blair called with Mihijo's well bird blood panel and it is sooo not good! I am really freaking out with his numbers. Mihijo is diagnosed with very severe hyperlipidemia. His choloristal level is ..... 1,243! Normal for a Noble Macaw is 96 to 264. I about fainted when she told me. Mihijo is a walking time bomb!

Anyway I cut out the nuts and dried fruits (goldenfeast mix) bought the "low fat" pellets, added flax seed to his wet food and am giving him two drops a day of pure flax seed oil. As soon as I can find the needed grains I will be adding them as well. I also am slowly introducing timed feeding. I let him eat in the morning the soft food for about an hour, take it away, then let him have it for an hour in the evening. Dr. Blair wants him to be eating 80% the pellets with the rest being the grains, my fresh mix, fresh veggies.

I also am to exercise him twice a day for about 5 min. This I am starting out very slowly because I don't want him to keel over dead. I also need to get better control of his hormones. Easier said than done as this is a 16 year old bird use to his...horny ways. He might have to go in for Lupron shots if I can't get his hormones to drop.

Needless to say the other levels are off the charts as well. Levels like uric acid, bile acids and all. Dr. Blair said this is probably because of the high cholesterol level and this is what we must work on first to lower.

I would love to hear from others that have this problem with their birds. I will repost this in the general section as well. Thank you for replies and inputs. I am seriously worried for my companion of 16 years.

Noblemacaw

Hope everything will turn out well

I had to re-read that, I thought his cholesterol levels were a typo at first! I hope his levels go down soon, do you know how they got so high to begin with? I completely understand you wanting to work up to the exercising as well, with his cholesterol being that high his poor heart is probably working like crazy to keep his blood pumping! We will be thinking of you and Mihjo, please keep us updated.
And this should also serve as a good reminder as to why it is so important we have annual well visits with our vets. Even a bird that looks and acts healthy can be hiding some icky problems.

Have you had him for 16 years, or is he 16 years old?

I'm very interested in what you fed him, the exercise he got etc... Just so we know what NOT to do..

Thanks

I got Mihijo when he was 2 and half months old. He turned 16 on the 27th of Feb. This bird has been part of my everyday life since I took him home after he was weaned. He is very social and everyone that meets him loves him. One thing that does drive up the cholesterol is the hormones. Mihijo has never been aggressive because of them but he has plucked himself naked. He can no longer fly because the wing feathers are stripped.

The only diet changes I have made are cut nuts and fruit (I quit giving him Goldenfeast mix, however he can have berries but only a little bit) and have added more grain and he gets two drops of flax seed oil a day. Mihijo does play in his cage but I am slowly working him up to withstand more exercise. My illigers was fully flighted and I flew him everyday however because Mihijo cannot fly exercising him is a bit of a problem. What I do is I flap him twice a day for only 5 mins. I do not let him get winded but I take it until he is breathing just a bit faster.

His vet wants him to eat 80% pellets like Roudybush low fat. I ordered some and got them today so he is now eating those.

My guilt rises in the fact that when I had to go back to school and work only part time I did not have his well bird check ups done for 3 years because I simply could not afford them while I was in school. Except for the plucking and hormone issues Mihijo has never been sick a day in his life. He has always been a good eater and very active parrot. Even now Mihijo is not a perch potato. He plays every day.

Since I am getting a baby Red Fronted Macaw I will never miss yearly vet checks again. Especially since Mihijo is going to be 17 years old. I have kept parrots since 1991 and have seen the technology explode along with the knowledge of how to keep them healthy and happy.

The doctor never complained about the diet I feed my birds. I have only had males so I have always had to deal with hormone issues. Everyone in the house had to be taught how to "handle" my birds so not to....well...hormone them up. Mihijio's hormone problem began when he fell in love with my housemate 10 years ago when she moved in. Even now he wants to have eggs with her. If I cannot get his levels to lower naturally Mihijo will have to have lupron shots to help with the hormone levels. Now that the days are getting shorter I can see his is calming down but only a little bit.

lene1949 wants to know what NOT to do I would say do NOT skip year well bird blood panels expecially when your bird is getting up in age and watch the hormone levels. Try to keep them as stable as you can.

Although Mihijo's health problem is very serious we can reverse it and get the levels normal again. His vet reassured me that it is not too late and I will work very hard to get my boy healthy again.

Noblemacaw

So are fruit not good to feed? I know how to go gently on nuts.

My baby, Max, has begun to fly, and I nearly clipped his wings.. I couldn't understand, why he kept on flying into the curtains, until I realised that he was practicing... He's getting pretty good now, so he'll definitely get the exercise... My other two are fully flighted as well.

But.. I do feed them all a lot of fruit as well as vegetables.

Fresh fruit is great, they eat a lot of it in the wild, but a lot of dried fruits (even in bird foods) have a lot of added sugar.

What about Harrison's high potency? It's recommended for birds with health problems. I'm not sure exactly what's different about it than the regular harrison's, but it might be a good idea. Also, I've heard that plucking could be caused by health problems, so it could have been an early sign of what's going on now.

I wish you two the best of luck!!

There is such a controversy on fresh fruit being fed to birds..I personally feed it all the time along with veggies...some people claim there is too much sugar in fruits and to more nutrients in veggies and just to use veggies! I'ts amazing though that every literature given to me when I first adopted my birds has not mention of fruits just veggies!

Mihijo was taken in Friday for his 6 week blood draw. Although it was some what easy for me to introduce the new diet to him (He loves to eat and will eat what ever I give him) I was not pleased with how he did during the blood draw. Since they were short handed technicians my technical blood draw appointment turned into the doctor herself drawing his blood. Mihijo is a pretty laid back parrot and does not overly stress when he goes to the vet. When restrained he does not freak out or fight at all. However this time I did not like how he reacted. He kept closing his eyes and the tech kept having to talk to him to get him to open them. I am very concerned with this and told the vet that when she calls me for the blood sample results that I would want to talk about what happened during the blood draw.

At home Mihijo is vocal and is eating and drinking normally but I notice he does sleep more. I am not sure if 16 years is considered geriatric but I wonder if due to his age or due to the high blood fat my boy is slowing down. I definitely will be discussing these changes with her and of my concerns. I expect her to call me with results later this week. I will update everyone under a new post. Please prey that my boy will be okay and that I am not too late in helping him.

Noblemacaw

Remy said:

Fresh fruit is great, they eat a lot of it in the wild, but a lot of dried fruits (even in bird foods) have a lot of added sugar.

What about Harrison's high potency? It's recommended for birds with health problems. I'm not sure exactly what's different about it than the regular harrison's, but it might be a good idea. Also, I've heard that plucking could be caused by health problems, so it could have been an early sign of what's going on now.

I wish you two the best of luck!!

Click to expand...

Do you mean, if you dehydrate the fruit it will have more sugar?

Yes...the fruit once it is dried the sugar's are unbelievable. I had cut out dried fruit out of my diet as well. I only eat fresh fruit and give my bird only berries as these are the only fruit my vet allows him to eat at this time.

Noblemacaw