Sun Conure- Possible Stroke

[clentz]

I am fostering a sun conure. Former breeder bird. About 6 years old. One morning- two weeks ago- it awoke and could not perch. It has lost of weight, though his appetite is increasing a bit and he can now perching. Balance is still an issue and when not perched his some of his toes on both feet tend to curl and do their own thing. Little guy does not want to drink. Moves very little. Can work its way around the cage on the bars on occasion. Still pooping. But remains very quite and fluffed around the clock. As it is not my pet, I am hestitant to invest in an avian vet bill, but would do so and adopt if I thought this bird had much of a chance. He is a sweety. We presently own a 2 year old Quaker and 2.5 year old parakeet. We have kept the conure segregated as we do not know if he has any illness. We acquired the ill conure from the bird shop at which my daughter works. The bird was there on consignment. I offered to try to " nurse" it as the shop hadn't time to cuddle and coddle. Worried. Any others with parrots who have had strokes or similar symptoms? I'd welcome any feedback. Thank you so much Carol

 

[Terry57]

Hi Carol and welcome. I haven't had any birds with symptoms like that, but please take him to an avian vet. I realize he isn't yours, but he needs your help. He is helpless in this situation, and perhaps the pet store would help with the vet bill? He really needs to be seen asap.

 

[clentz]

Thanks for the reply Yes. I so agree. He does need to be seen. My hubby is just hesitant to put the $ out as he is not ours. But, we are considering. I know it would likely be a HUGE bill for MRI, labs, possible xray, etc. If we thought there was a solid chance he could recover, we'd so so in a flash and adopt him.

 

[Terry57]

That is the catch 22..he could well recover, but you won't know until you can get him to a vet Could you look at taking him to a vet as an act of paying it forward? Is there a rescue near you who could take him on to get him vet care?

 

[kiwiS]

oh dear Best take him to the vet and have them take a look instead of the poor thing suffering. It might not be a big expense. You could call the pet store too and ask them about paying for the costs or splitting it if it happens to get very high.

Best of luck making your decision and lots of hugs to the little birdie

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I don't know about your vet - but the vet I take Skittles too, well when I first got him from the pet shop, he was VERY healthy - hopping and active and what not. But when he was calm and quiet he would often have weird wing movements.

The vet was concerned he was having seizures so they did blood work. It cost almost $200 BUT that was to have it sent to California for processing. IF it was an emergency, it only would have been $60 (go figure) to do a basic blood work. I did the comprehensive simply cause he was new to me.

I know vets are in the business of making money, but they also must care about animals or they'd be in another line of work. Not that they would do any tests for free or a discount - BUT if you explain your situation - they may at least look at him for you and if tests are needed - run them.

My vet didn't do an XRay or MRI. I'm on a VERY limited income and she knows that. She said we'll do the blood work and if it comes back normal, we're all good. She said he was fine after the exam and only suggested the blood work rather than 'pushing it on me', I only did it cause I worry too much about my birds.

Try talking to the vet about your situation. Maybe just an exam would solve it, who knows.

 

[crimson]

Hi there Carol-
I think an avian vet is your best bet. can you contact where you got the bird from and go from there?

I do know that conures require vitamin K in their diet, unlike other birds.
lack of vit.K can cause many different issues including, seizures, strokes, etc....

not sure what kind of diet this bird is on, or has been on, but lack of iron can also be a cause of the symptoms you described.....but please, take him to the vets to be sure!

 

[TessieB]

This is one of the depressing point of fostering. While I'm not sure what you consider a 'foster' you still have the responsibility of giving basic bird care. If the financial obligation of caring for this particular bird is too much for you, I'd return the bird to whomever allowed you to take it. OR you can discuss the healthcare with whomever you got the bird from and see if he or she wishes to help you with the costs of finding whatever is wrong with the little guy.

From what you have written, it sounds like the little guy needs serious care. It could be he's suffering from an old injury-head trauma-or is aged to the point of having cardiac issues, arthritis, or liver/kidney disease. I feel for you as you have a difficult decision to make. Been there done that and will most likely do it again. I wish you the best.

 

[Lintini]

If the bird is on consignment, that means the owner still owns it and the shop will give the owner the money when it is sold. So ....shouldn't you let the owner of the bird know that it needs vet care? Then you say that the bird was ill at the shop? Why is this shop selling ill birds that are on consignment? It sounds like this bird should have seen a vet a few weeks ago.