Back from the vet, it's not great news

plumsmum2005

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Fly free Plum, my gorgeous boy.
Just another update: Kiwi seems to be back at 100% and has (obviously) adjusted easily to the inclusion of more seeds and nuts in his diet, though he still eats plenty of kidney-friendly produce daily and some cooked food on the weekends as a treat. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the seemingly becoming more accepting of touch we've been experiencing recently was just in fact him feeling sick. He's back to full-force demon of the opinion being petted and scritched by humans is for sissy birds (and if that means he's healthy again, then I couldn't be happier!). Still has about 2 weeks left on the current medication before his next (and hopefully final) follow up. Also a good reminder of WHY it's so important to have an emergency medical expenses savings for your bird, as this little experience will ring in at about $700-$900 before it's over (depending on the cost of the next visit) and I consider our AV to be charging more reasonable rates than others.

One thing I wanted to check on, he has began a pretty major molt. We're talking "bird must've exploded in the vicinity" molt. We just clipped him last month and he already has 3 new flight feathers! His tail has several stubby little new feathers growing in and his body has so many pin feathers and looks like a little cactus:D Oh, and the butt region he had 'plucked' has almost completely re-feathered! Because this is not his normal time of year to molt, I'm assuming this has to do with him having healed from the infection and his little body going into overdrive replacing old feathers it didn't want to waste energy on replacing when he was sick? Does that sound about right? Hoping the major molt is a good sign in favor of recovery!


Sounds all good news to me as they heal the inside first so to hear Kiwi is re-feathering nicely bodes very well indeed. :)
 

wrench13

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Kiwi back to normal. Thats good news ( ? or ! ). He must need to unwind from all the vet handling and meds taking.
 
Feb 17, 2016
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Good thing you decided to go the x-ray while at the Vets. I'm keeping positive thoughts that Kiwi makes a full recovery.
 
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Kiwibird

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Tomorrow is Kiwi's final checkup and re-xra.y Fingers crossed the kidney and spine will be fully healed at this point and he gets a clean bill of health! Since she scheduled it on a Saturday this time, my husband will actually be able to come. He's never been to the vet with Kiwi before that I can recall.
 

T00tsyd

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A lesson for us all not to ignore the slightest change. Thank you so much for sharing so that we can all benefit. Fingers crossed that recovery is swift.
 

SailBoat

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That is always a different event. It will be interesting to see how Kiwi reacts to having his Favorite Person at the Vet's. First of all, the three of you in the car together will blind the fact that a Vet trip is the reason for the ride.

Sweet wishes that all goes well!
 
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BoomBoom

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Cross fingers! I'm sure it will be a successful visit!
 
Feb 17, 2016
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Tomorrow is Kiwi's final checkup and re-xra.y Fingers crossed the kidney and spine will be fully healed at this point and he gets a clean bill of health! Since she scheduled it on a Saturday this time, my husband will actually be able to come. He's never been to the vet with Kiwi before that I can recall.
I'm sending positive thoughts that Kiwi makes a full recovery. And a good report from the Doctor.
 
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Kiwibird

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Just wanted to update that Kiwi got a clean bill of health at the vet last weekend. He was a good boy and let my husband just hold him there in his bare hands for the vet to examine, similar to how he's held for talon trimmings at home. I think he realized it was be toweled by the assistant of let his most favored person hold him and opted for favored person to hold him;) The vet also complimented the appearance of his plumage after his big "I'm healthy again" molt. Very glad my boy is healthy again:D
 

SailBoat

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That is great news!

Julio was getting a bit concern that they would have to scale back their background activities, especially as a special day approaches. Our Bad Boys likely have something special planned.
 

LeaKP

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Thanks for sharing! I’ve been following and it’s great to hear this positive news!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Kiwibird

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Just another FYI to those following this for the health info to discuss with their own vets-

While the vet is hopeful it won't due to being caught and treated relatively early, because this happened and his age, he'll need to be monitored for the rest of his life for kidney issues that may arise in the future from this having happened. Fortunately though, we now know he'll be prone to kidney issues and can be extra diligent with monitoring him and keeping him on a renal-friendly diet (which he's adjusted well to) long term.
 

Anansi

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Great news, April! I'm a huge fan of Kiwi's, and it's good to know he's in such great condition. And the vet's comment regarding his plumage is no surprise to me. I've always been blown away by the vibrancy and sheer beauty of his plumage. Just wow.

And I also want to cosign on your FYI, as my cockatiel Suzie passed several years back due to kidney disease. Catching it early makes all the difference, because the kidneys don't recover functionality. Meaning that the best you can do is maintain a certain level of health once kidney damage occurs. So if the condition is caught too late, as my Suzie's was, the prognosis will be poor.
 

Laurasea

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Wow you guys went through a lot! Great to hear about your success
 

GaleriaGila

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Checking back in on the good news...

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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