Sick Birdie ):

[Misscazzy]

Hey guys, so Tootie the gorgeous Sun Conure is sick.
We noticed he was sleeping a lot more, and sneezing more the last few days. Yesterday morning when we woke him up, he wouldn't get up, and ended up losing his balance or passing out and fell to the bottom of his cage. I thought he was dying, and was holding him, when he perked up a little bit. He opened his eyes and sat himself up more. We took him to the vet as soon as we could that day. The vet diagnosed him with a 'head cold' (He has some mucous in his nose, albeit mild. Lungs and heart and blood healthy)
The vet gave us some antibiotics to be taken 2x daily(which he HATES) and some formula to be taken 3-6x daily to get his weight back up (he was down to 105g). It seems to be helping quite a lot.
I weighed Tootie this afternoon, and he came in at 114g, and he is much more energetic, talkative and more like his normal self, eating drinking and pooping like normal.

I know I should have made the vet appointment as soon as I thought he was sick, but it had been dreary and cloudy for a while, so thought maybe he was just depressed. I know I'll never make the same mistake in the future...

I was hoping someone might have had a similar experience with one of their babies, because my boyfriend and I just bought a house and will be moving in 1-2 months. I'm very concerned, and might want to push back our move-in date for Tootie. Does anyone know how quickly these kinds of things clear up, IF they clear up? We are trying to do everything we possibly can to make sure Tootie gets healthy again. Our other bird, a Green Cheek named Cheerio is of healthy weight and checked out great at the vet visit.

I'm very worried. Toots was so bad yesterday, and I'm afraid that the major improvement today is fake, and that I'll wake up with him sicker than ever tomorrow.

How soon will it be okay for him to have out of cage time again? How soon should I stop having his cage draped over with a blanket for warmth? The vet is going to call us tomorrow to check in, but I was wondering if there's anything else we should be doing for our feathered child, and if anyone could tell me when/if this will improve. It's pretty cold out there, and I don't want to kill him moving at the end of February. Please share any advice or experience!

Thanks from Melissa, Adam, Tootie, and Cheerio

 

[Piasa]

I am so sorry about your baby, Melissa

If he will drink carrot juice or eat carrots, load him up. The beta carotene helps with their respiratory system. Can also try pumpkin or orange/red sweet pepper if carrots aren't a hit.

Falling off his perch sounds like something else might be going on besides an upper respiratory infection. Could be heavy metal poisoning among many other things. This is something to ask your vet about ASAP.

Keep him warm, and if you can keep the room he's in humidified that will help him breathe well. Make sure he keeps eating and using the bathroom. He can come out of his cage with you, in fact that might make him happy. Love is healing.

Keep his cage very clean, use white vinegar and wipe everything down to make sure there isn't any metal or bacterial residue that is still there that is making him sick.

Upper respiratory can be mild or serious, can also be reoccurring. It all depends for how long it will last.

Lots of good vibes being sent for little Tootie.

 

[rosembers]

OMG so sorry about your poor Tootie! Sounds like he is on the mend though, which is awesome. As was mentioned, definitely keep him warm and I would spend a lot of time with him so he doesn't feel isolated/stressed. Also, FLUIDS FLUIDS FLUIDS! We had our GCC (whom I love like a child) get sick once before and it was the scariest thing I think I could ever have to go through. Fluids are very important. We took ours to the ER vet for IV fluids and she was okay enough to bring home until our next day appt with our primary vet. We monitored her to make sure she drank water. We also soaked her pellets (Harrison's) in a little warm water to make a mash which seemed to be more enticing for her to eat. The only thing with that is it spoils quickly, so you'll have to feed it when you're available to monitor and discard it after about 30 minutes (and of course this is in addition to free feeding his regular food). Good luck with your baby!

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm concerned with the fact that the vet said he had a "head cold".... parrots can't catch a cold, or anything like the human virus cold... they can, however, have respiratory infections! And that sounds like what he has.


Depending on the severity of the issue, it can take as little as 1-2 weeks to clear up, or several months! If it takes a month or longer, this usually indicates that the symptoms you are seeing are secondary and the primary issue still needs to be dealt with.


By the end of February, he should be fine! As long as he's on the right medications and it clears up quickly! It doesn't hurt to turn the heat up though to 76-85° F, or adding an additional heat source to his cage while he's recovering and, as mentioned, keeping his fluids up!


It's great that he's showing improvement already! Although, as mentioned, there could be some concerns for a hidden problem. It would require some specific blood work to determine if there is something else going on... something you would have to speak with your avian vet about.

 

[JellyBean]

Hi there - any news on little Tootie... is he okay?

 

[VolcanoBakemeat]

The same thing happened to my conure! We were having problems with the heater in the apartment and didn't have heat for a few days (I live up north and this was during winter!) and I noticed him doing the same things. I warmed some non-caffeinated tea for him and we cuddled and he got better quick. That was years ago, so I'll bet your bird will be just fine soon.