Grinder
New member
Yesterday was a horrific day (for my wife and I) and a not-so-enjoyable one for our GW - Jazzy.
When I came home she seemed OK, but barely had strength enough to stand upright on my arm. She kept leaning into my chest with her head slowly bobbing up and down (the entire time) and occasionally she would squawk lightly while snapping her wings out. But she wasn't making an effort to bring her wings back in to her body. Most of us know that birds hide their illness so to see this complete change from the morning scared me to no end. She got worse over a very short period of time, about 10 minutes. I really (really) thought I was watching Jazzy die in my arms. My wife came downstairs and tried frantically to find an avian vet. Our regular vet had no avian vets there. We found an emergency exotics vet about 30 minutes away.
Already long story short - she had a bacterial infection. I forgot the paperwork at home so I cant remember what it was called, but it was bacteria associated with tetanus. She was given two medications to be given twice a day for three days. I learned something I could not believe I never knew. Thus the reason for this post - so others can learn too...
When our parrots molt (Jazzy started to molt her tail and other feathers this week) their immune system is much weaker than normal. I knew it took a toll physically, but had no idea their immune system was affected. The vet said that all those bacteria that hang out in the digestive tract, but don't do much take the opportunity to spread during a molt while the immune system is weak.
I honestly thought I was going to lose Jazzy last night. While self diagnosis is no substitute to seeing a vet, hopefully this can lead others in the right direction if they experience the same.
Jazzy is still lethargic, but in better spirits this morning and took her medications. She also ate like a champ when she got home after three hours at the vet last night (includes drive time). I am pretty sure she is doing better.
When I came home she seemed OK, but barely had strength enough to stand upright on my arm. She kept leaning into my chest with her head slowly bobbing up and down (the entire time) and occasionally she would squawk lightly while snapping her wings out. But she wasn't making an effort to bring her wings back in to her body. Most of us know that birds hide their illness so to see this complete change from the morning scared me to no end. She got worse over a very short period of time, about 10 minutes. I really (really) thought I was watching Jazzy die in my arms. My wife came downstairs and tried frantically to find an avian vet. Our regular vet had no avian vets there. We found an emergency exotics vet about 30 minutes away.
Already long story short - she had a bacterial infection. I forgot the paperwork at home so I cant remember what it was called, but it was bacteria associated with tetanus. She was given two medications to be given twice a day for three days. I learned something I could not believe I never knew. Thus the reason for this post - so others can learn too...
When our parrots molt (Jazzy started to molt her tail and other feathers this week) their immune system is much weaker than normal. I knew it took a toll physically, but had no idea their immune system was affected. The vet said that all those bacteria that hang out in the digestive tract, but don't do much take the opportunity to spread during a molt while the immune system is weak.
I honestly thought I was going to lose Jazzy last night. While self diagnosis is no substitute to seeing a vet, hopefully this can lead others in the right direction if they experience the same.
Jazzy is still lethargic, but in better spirits this morning and took her medications. She also ate like a champ when she got home after three hours at the vet last night (includes drive time). I am pretty sure she is doing better.