Parrot diagnosed with PDD please give advice

I recently took my Yellow naped Amazon Bogie to the vet. The vet didnt do any biopsy or anything, really. He just looked at the bird and felt his chest and said the bird is thin, had a tough crop, was very sick and probably has PDD. He gave me some liquid celebrex to give him orally to take down swelling but he has been on it for almost a week and is still vomiting. In his defense he used to own an Aviary and had 20 birds die of PDD. But, I've had this bird for almost 35 years and he has had limited contact with other birds, only my Red Lored Amazon is in the house but I've had him for 28 years and he is completely healthy. I'm skeptical that my bird has PDD and I was wondering if there is diseases or conditions that can appear similar to PDD? Ive noticed that my bird does have a raspy cough occasionally and he has a hard time whistling. (He used to whistle janitorial songs as if he we sweeping the halls of a school, as recently as a few weeks ago.) Its the weekend and there are very few avian vets in my town, Oklahoma City, and I need some advice. My bird seems to have a good appetite, but he vomits up the food. He does sleep a lot lately and he hardly talks lately. I know he is really sick! what is considered an easily digestible food I can prepare for him so he can put on some weight? Ive been trying to give him lots of fruits and veg and occasionally peanut butter, just hoping he can gain enough weight to buy me some time. should I try to give him some probiotics? I know I'm new here and this is supposed to be my introduction, but please, any advice you can give me will be much appreciated.

Can't help you with the diagnosis, but to put on weight and comfort food you could use pastas, mashed potatoes with butter, white breads etc. Please let us know how things gi, you are in our thoughts.

I have no idea why he would give your bird an anti-inflammatory, but we're not vets around here. I'm sure you know that if it is PDD, there is no cure, but there is belief that a bird may become infected and the disease lay dormant for a period of time, before becoming active.

As to easily digestible foods, salt free baby foods should be OK, but your feathered friend may lose the ability to swallow, if this is PDD.....they also lose the ability to pass any food through their system.....

I am sorry.....

The anti-inflammatory somehow is supposed to reduce the swelling of the postventricular and allow some food to be squeezed into the stomach/intestine? He said there wasnt any cure but this might add a couple years to his life. Thank you, I will try the pasta, mashed potatoes, white breads and baby foods.

You probably should feed baby food also, as soft foods Sandy suggested are not going to sustain an ill bird, though they will make for easy passage through its digestive system.....you might try oatmeal...my birds all like oatmeal, especially if I mix in some apple juice.....

Ok, I'll try baby foods and oatmeal mixed with apple sauce. He wouldnt eat apple sauce by itself, but was eating apple slices. He has a good appetite and eats all kinds of things. He had some sweet potatoes, kale, apple, pasta. basically anything I think he will eat....I put in his bowl. Its hard to tell what he vomits up and what gets digested. I see some seeds and the sweet potato in his vomit but I dont see any kale or pasta. I just want to try to put some weight on him and get him some nutrients in him so he has a fighting chance. This is very stressful!!

The foods I suggested are only a temporary measure till you get him to another vet. They are not nutrionally valuable except for high caloric intake and easy to digest. I wish you the very best and hoping it might be something else than the diagnosis you've been given.

Why don't you get a second opinion? Have him tested?

I think that first and foremost you need to find a good avian vet. I think that the vet should take some blood and test it to be positive that you are in fact dealing with PDD. The foods suggested are good but I think I would be researching good vets in the area. (this is not to say that your vet is not good it is just so important to use an avian vet) I am sorry your bird is not feeling well and I am hoping that your vet is wrong. I'm sorry.

monkeybutt8 said:

Ok, I'll try baby foods and oatmeal mixed with apple sauce. He wouldnt eat apple sauce by itself, but was eating apple slices. He has a good appetite and eats all kinds of things. He had some sweet potatoes, kale, apple, pasta. basically anything I think he will eat....I put in his bowl. Its hard to tell what he vomits up and what gets digested. I see some seeds and the sweet potato in his vomit but I dont see any kale or pasta. I just want to try to put some weight on him and get him some nutrients in him so he has a fighting chance. This is very stressful!!

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If you've got a blender, you might try making some chop mix (chopped up veggies & fruits) to see if he likes that, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what foods might be harder for his system to handle and which ones might be easier.....I just did a search for "best diet for birds with pdd" just like it's written, came up with quite a bit (don't know whether they're worth much, but also got this: Fighting PDD

I'm sure there's more info out there, but I've never had a need to do any in depth research on it.....

Good luck.....

Unfortunately there are only about three Avian vets in my entire city. By Avian vet, it means they see birds but not necessarily an expert or knowledgeable about bird issues. I took this bird to see one Avian vet 3 weeks for I took it to this second Vet. The first Vet told me the bird was completely healthy despite the fact that he had been vomiting. The Vet that gave me the PDD diagnosis is certified with the Avian Vet Assoc and has raised birds in an Aviary for 50 years. My guess is that he is my best bet. He seemed to think the bird was too sick to be handled too much and didn't want to stress him out any more than he had to. I will try all the foods that have been suggested here and see if he can put on some weight. Thank you for all your help and kind words!!!!

If I were you, I'd go back to the vet and demand he takes a full blood panel as well as test for all possible diseases (especially PDD)! What if it's something else that now goes untreated? He really should confirm his diagnosis before giving it...