Lovebird acting frantic & twitching/shaking head

[mandolynn]

You have to take her to a vet! No its, ants, or buts about it. No matter what seamingly reasonable justifications you have for not taking her, they are just making what could be a serious issue worse by waiting. You can never be too careful with burrs because any insignificant little behavior could be a sign if illness. They hide it well, so the longer you wait, the worse it could get. If you think you cant afford it, they will makes fir payments, if you are afraid of them as you say, you need to realize that while not every vet is amazing, they still all went to at least 8 years if school and will certainly be better equipped to treat your bird than you are. Sorry to be so blunt, but the longer you drag your feet, the worse it could get, and I don't want you to lose the bird or end up with a large vet bill. You will blame yourself forever if anything happens to her, so take her in.

 

[themacinjosh]

Don't apologize for being blunt, I WELCOME that. It isn't actually just me that's concerned about taking her in--it's the place I got the bird from. They too are very experienced and have been around birds forever and they seem to tell me that taking the bird to the vet will cause such psychological anguish that it isn't worth it. They also said that it probably isn't a physical illness of any kind, and this behavior did get much worse since going into the vet.

However, I seem to feel that the bird isn't just simply not trusting us like they claim she is, it FEELs to me like a cry for help. She isn't biting out of meanness, it's a biting that resembles someone squeezing someone's hand while passing a kidney stone, to make a comparison. I think tomorrow I'll be taking her in, and will worry about the psychological impact once I know I've completely ruled out something causing her pain. I am a little concerned though that I could be further damaging her emotionally...even though this vet has incredible reviews and from my last visit with the bird, they were really good at putting the bird at ease. Should I be worried that we might lose the birds trust forever?

 

[Remy]

I wouldn't worry about the bird's trust too much. Puck has been to the vet 6 times in 6 months (initial checkup, took him back to get more blood because he struggled too much to get a big enough blood sample the first time, once after he started a weird new behavior, and then so far 3 times due to his Giardia). He still even likes being there! He likes the attention from the staff. He doesn't like it when they do medical stuff to him, and he will scream and fight, but once it's over he's fine. He doesn't even seem to hold a grudge against the person that does it. I don't know if this is typical, but vet visit does not always equal trauma.

There is a user on here who has a macaw that says "Don't eat me!" when at the vet. Soooooo funny! :-D

 

[Pedro]

it's the place I got the bird from. They too are very experienced and have been around birds forever and they seem to tell me that taking the bird to the vet will cause such psychological anguish that it isn't worth it. They also said that it probably isn't a physical illness of any kind, and this behavior did get much worse since going into the vet.

Oh my goodness what a load of rubbish, I have taken many birds to the Vets & none have gone psycho. I am sure that the Vet knows how to handle your bird without making it anymore stressful.

A couple of weeks ago i had to take my little GCC to the Vets, he had chewed his leg band so bad he had cut off circulation & almost lost his leg. My Vet had to put the little guy to sleep in order to get the band off & that little fellow is none the worse for wear. The only one that was upset was his mate.

Go down the Chemist or health shop & get a little bottle of Rescue Remedy, just before you go to the Vet give your little bird a drop in it's mouth & 4 drops for yourself either on your tongue or in 30mls of water & sip. Then you both will be calm for the Vet Visit.

 

[themacinjosh]

Ahhh so good to hear. I was convinced for a short while that I ha really messed up by taking my bird in last week, and that was the cause for the sudden complete change in behavior. I doubt that was all it took, cause when I thought more about it, people go in every 2-3 months to have the vet trim wings and nails!! So if that was the case everyone's birds would be mentally deranged!

 

[kc_y0]

I am glad you are taking your bird. I don't know why the breeder is telling you that your bird will become traumatized etc :\ Sounds suspicious to me! Like maybe they know what the real problem is.. I don't know.

 

[Remy]

I am glad you are taking your bird. I don't know why the breeder is telling you that your bird will become traumatized etc :\ Sounds suspicious to me! Like maybe they know what the real problem is.. I don't know.

I didn't think of it like that! I'd deeeefinitely wanna take it in now!

I'm very in touch with my own health, and I like to take care of small issues before they become big issues, so when I notice something weird with my pet's behavior, since I can't communicate with him that well, I feel that it's better safe than sorry to take him in. One time I took him in and there was nothing wrong, but the next time I took him in, he was really sick! Poor baby.

I should mention that in his last 3 visits, he has gotten a crop sample (they stuck a tube down his throat), an IV (poor baby was dehydrated!!), and a blood sample. He was very unhappy about it at the time, but he was totally fine afterward.

 

[themacinjosh]

It wasn't the breeder telling me that, it's the owner of the place I got the bird at. I did talk to the breeder though that day when I first met our bird, and she was great. The place she brings the bird in is mostl good too...although they do take the stance of don't take the bird to a vet unless it's really bad because a couple of their customers went in and made matters worse because the bird wasn't sick, etc.

They do seem to have a good operation, one of the reasons I got the bird there is because it isn't some pet shop, they specialize in birds and have lots of them. So I dont think they are trying to hide anything, it's just that I'm now the boy who called wolf and have called them about every little tiny thing since I got the bird. So far it was all normal things so they probably just think I'm overreacting once again. I don't blame them, but I feel pretty justified this time to bring her back in to the vet.

 

[roxynoodle]

Please take her in today!

My Grey has been there 8-10 times in the last 2 months. She doesn't like the medical things, but then right after she immediately comes back to me to cuddle her and let her know she's safe, and then she's fine. She's been through several blood draws, injections, tube feeding, an x ray, and several swabs to look for bacteria and yeast. Yet, she goes right into the carrier without issue so she is not traumatized by all this.

I make it as fun for her as I can. We do her imitations in the car on the way there and back. For your bird, I would sing to her there and back. When we are there she gets all kinds of cuddle time in between the vet doing this or that, or while we are waiting on the test results. Since my vet can do her own lab work, we can be there for hours. The vet also makes it up to her by giving her Nutriberries.

I've never had a bird traumatized by a vet. My amazon got upset about it, but I don't even think it was the vet. It was the wind that afternoon, which was gusting at more than 60mph. It blew 2 trucks off the interstate and I know he saw at least one of them. That's what upset him, not the vet visit. He was in pretty good spirits it seemed to me after his exam. But, that wind howling around my truck like a tornado, and those trucks flipping was somewhat traumatic to him.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

It wasn't the breeder telling me that, it's the owner of the place I got the bird at. I did talk to the breeder though that day when I first met our bird, and she was great. The place she brings the bird in is mostl good too...although they do take the stance of don't take the bird to a vet unless it's really bad because a couple of their customers went in and made matters worse because the bird wasn't sick, etc.

They do seem to have a good operation, one of the reasons I got the bird there is because it isn't some pet shop, they specialize in birds and have lots of them. So I dont think they are trying to hide anything, it's just that I'm now the boy who called wolf and have called them about every little tiny thing since I got the bird. So far it was all normal things so they probably just think I'm overreacting once again. I don't blame them, but I feel pretty justified this time to bring her back in to the vet.

I dont understand this at all. Not at all. The place I got Clifford takes at least 3-4 calls from me a week with questions now that I have him home. When he was still there I called with questions every day and went to the store to see him 3 times a week and ALWAYS had questions. She was more than willing to give me any information I needed and was absolutley thrilled that I cared so much.
She told me to to take him to the vet for a check up asap either that day before we went home or to give it a couple weeks to let him adjust a little to his new home so as not to stress him and if anything seemed out of the ordinary in the mean time to call her.
The bird store that I go to now did not even sell me my bird and each time I go in there he answers my questions, and is also happy that I am so willing to be a good bird mom, that he WANTS me to buy babies from him because they will go to a good home.
In my opinion any GOOD pet store or breeder should be more than happy to answer your questions and not be "bothered" by you. thats silly. It seems to me that maybe there is a problem with little birdie that they know about and are covering up. I would take your bird today.

 

[Wulfgeist]

I totally agree that you should take the bird to the vet asap. What the people at this bird place told you..yeah it sounds shady to me. If nothing else you would think they would be a little more concerned. I know *I* would unless I'm selling to make a buck. I know there are members here that raise birds and if you took one of their babies I am pretty darn sure that they would tell you to take the bird to get checked if you thought there was a problem.
It does sound to me like a) the store people have NO clue or b) they are trying to cover something up.

I hope we hear back from you with the vet results.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

It could very well be nothing, or something small. Personally I would much rather be over reacting than have a serious problem that could have been prevented. You will feel better if you just take the bird. Please keep us updated. I'll be thinking of you

 

[themacinjosh]

First of all, I didn't mean for it to sound like they were bothered by me asking tons of questions, they aren't. But I'm pretty sure they started to think that I was overreacting to things that were normal, and didn't want me to put any stress on the bird by taking her in for all these things. Plus, I actually got the bird just a couple days after the breeder first brought them all in as babies just from being weaned. So I definitely don't think they even knew enough about the bird to 'cover anything up'.

I think I will be taking her in today, I actually am starting to suspect that she has an ear infection? She keeps scratching her head, and has been doing that now for a long time (I was told a certain amount of head scratching is normal so I didn't think much of it...until the twitch came and the behavior immediately changed).

Thanks so much for all of your input, if it wasn't for you I probably would be blindly following the advice that it was my fault and that I shouldn't intervene.

 

[themacinjosh]

Just got back from the vet, and they spent quite a bit of time with her and determined nothing is wrong physically, that this is just her exploring and finding ways to expel energy. I will say a lot of the twitching has kind of gone away, and he didn't seem to think that was any reason for concern especially the way she behaved while at the vet.

So it was kind of an expensive little bird lesson haha, but I'm just glad he didn't find any reason for medical concern. I will say simply giving her more to do while she's out has made things a lot better. The biting or chewing of our fingers was more just that she had just discovered them and that biting looked like fun. I do feel better having gone to the vet though, so I don't really regret it at all. I learned some good things out of it.

 

[mandolynn]

Id way rather be a worry wart and take my pets in, the time you don't could be fatal. Ive taken my birds in many times for what turned out to be nothing, my vet never charged me if they were healthy and she didn't have to do anything but the exam. She was awesome. If nothing else you got peace of mind that shes fine and that its fine to go running to the vet.

 

[themacinjosh]

Oh man I wish my vet didn't charge me for things being ok! But to be fair, the doctor spent like 45 minutes with me and the bird talking about what to do when she exhibits such behavior, etc. So I feel like I did take away something from it, so I suppose it was a worthwhile trip.

 

[mandolynn]

Peace of mind is priceless, and cheaper on the pocketbook than being afraid to take her to the vet, which could result in more bills in the end if she were ever very ill. And my.great vet now moved away, so I pay for reassurance now too.

 

[kc_y0]

I am glad you took her in, and even more glad to hear she is okay. Its worth it, just for the peace of mind.