Sick Eclectus, dont know what to do

I bought my eclectus parrot in October from a pet store, and its been one challenge after another. I love my boy to death, but im completely lost now. From the day we brought him home he was sneezing, and wouldnt eat much foods. I took him to a vet who said he looked ok and to try to encourage him to eat using their vet food. Nothing was working, so after a couple months we took him to a recommended avian vet who diagnosed him with a bacterial infection and is drastically underweight. At 6 months he weighs 250 grams and should be closer to 350. After the two weeks was up he had his follow up appt where the vet said he still has some bacteria in his poop. He said he has no idea what is wrong with him, and wants to do a culture on his poop to try to determine what is wrong. He also gave us medicine that usually is only given to birds on IV's. My bird eats at times, then will go days with only eating a few chips. He wont touch veggies, fruit, pellets, bird seed, doesnt matter how its prepared or even if he sees you eating.

I dont know what a culture test is supposed to determine and am hoping someones been through this who knows what may be going on. Im afraid i will be getting a call that he has some terminal issue and dont want my boy to suffer.

250 is very underweight. You are going to have to trust this avian vet if you want to save your bird's life. You may not want him to "suffer" by taking some medicine but I would think he might be suffering right now.

The vet needs to determine what bacteria has invaded his system in order to prescribe the correct antibiotic. That's why he needs to do a culture.

I would never assume to guess what might be wrong with him; it could be one of several things.

If he is 6 months old now he was certainly very young when you bought him in October. Did you hand feed him formula? You must have... I mean he was what, 4 weeks old when you got him?

Why not feed him formula again? You could add jars of baby food to the formula for extra calories.

And now I'm going to lecture you: how does he even know what a chip is???

A fecal culture determines the type of bacteria the bird is discharging.....

How old was your bird when you bought it? You may get some results by feeding/offering it eclectus hand feeding formula for a while.....

Do you have documented evidence of the problems you've had (vet visits)?

Are you in the US.....if so, you may have recourse back to the pet store.....even though a warranty may say 10 days, 30 days or whatever, if continuing problems can be established, states are moving to writing lemon laws for pets (some states already have them) and they are very owner oriented.....

If this were my bird experiencing this level of health issues, I would absolutely seek a second opinion ASAP. The fact your bird is not eating, is drastically underweight and has a lingering bacterial infection is not good. It sounds like his current vet has not gotten the situation under control whatsoever either. First thing tomorrow morning, you should start calling around to every avian vet in the area to see if someone else would be willing to see him and try to address the health problems. Considering his condition, I would also suggest trying him on hand feeding formula again. At this point, any nutrition he can get is better than nothing, and it may be more willing to accept a liquid diet again. As suggested, he may also be willing to try some baby food too (nothing with meat, fruits or veggies only). You can also try plain oatmeal to see if he will eat that. His lack of nutrition right now is likely lowering his ability to fight the infection, and I'm honestly very surprised the vet hasn't brought this up and made the recommendation to switch him back to formula. Best of luck with your little guy!

This sounds bad [I wouldnt mess around] My vet took birds [but was considered a exotics] but thats what was availible .I liked this guy alot [of course he was nice ,their all nice] My bird last year was very sick .I of course really believed in what he was telling me .As my bird got worse [I had been talking to breeders ] and started questioning him on things ,but found out he had no clue .But gladly took my money . I realized I had to take matters in my own hands and go with my gut feeling.She was on so much anibiotics and kept increasing the doses.After 3 vets later I thought she must have cancer. So I went to cornell [I thought this was going to be our last stop, Ive never had a animal this close to death] a vet hospital and they checked her from head to toe with x rays, ultasounds, samples .They had labs there to find out immediate results. They found out what it was[it wasnt cancer] It was a matter of having the right medicine,and please listen to me on this .I was told most vets dont use strong enough medicine [one was baytril] to EVEN TOUCH BIRD ILLNESSES. They told me matter a fact.[It was Doxycycline] take this medicine for 2 months and she will be fine. [no check back] and they were right!!! Shes great ,I cant believe it. I look at Harlow in disbelief everyday. Big deal with the weight loss. We hand fed her baby formula to put weight back on. Is he puffed a little and are his droppings different?

Thanks for the people who've responded so far. I realize now that in my haste to post i messed up a couple details and will fill those in now.

When I bought the parrot in October, i was told he was 4 months old. I honestly now believe he may have been even younger. I have had him for almost 6 months now, if the age i was told he was is accurate he is closer to 9 months old at this point.

I was NEVER told to put him on formula, and only after reading so much about them trying to figure out what im doing wrong did i see that this guy is far more than a baby than i realized. The pet store owner told me he just needed to eat zupreem fruit blend (which was also the one recalled), a handful of mixed seed/dried fruit which was his treat food, a few fruits and veggies like apples and green beans and water. What i learned on my own is that these guys actually need a lot more.

The first vet i took him too in November about 4 weeks after i got him, i asked for a general checkup to make sure he was in good health. The vet there admitted he didnt know much about parrots but that he appeared to be in good health and advised me that the zupreem food was inadequate. He then offered up his own 35 dollar a bag food which i said no to and decided to go to the pet store myself and start finding the best variety nutritional pellet/seed/dried fruits foods i could find. I tried buying some of the hanging feeders but my bird has shown no interest in anything. In fact, he hates toys and pretty much anything else, but is very affectionate and loves to sit on your hand or chest and watch whatever it is you are doing.

After a couple months i began realizing that something was real wrong, because i still couldnt get him to eat consistently, so i called around and was recommended the current avian vet. Every place around here says this guy is flat out the best. The vet told me at the time his weight was way low and i expressed my frustration that no matter what i bought, he just doesnt care to eat it. The vet said he had the bacterial infection and put him on a 2 week antibiotic. I told the vet that my bird wont touch his foods, but will eat rice, and there are times he tries to dive into my food and only wants stuff we know we cant give him. The vet said that at this point just to get his weight up, let him eat what he wants. Put food in front of him on the table when we are eating(aside from dairy and the other poisonous foods) and see what he reacts too.

So far, ive tried giving him: Sweet potatoes, Gerber baby foods, pepperoni, chicken, apples, white/brown rice, potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, breads, tortilla, beans, tomatoes, mixed veggies, lettuce and a bunch more. Ive tried Zupreem pellets, Harrisons organic pellets, smaller parakeet/conure size foods since he seems to like smaller seeds, Fiesta Mix and he had no interest in any of those except the Zupreem. Ive tried watering it, cutting smaller pieces, mixing with soft foods like rice, doesnt matter. The foods he will eat semi consistently that id say are his favorites are: Corn, rice, apples, and some of the seeds and zupreem fruit blend. As for the doritos thing, i made a taco salad one day and use crushed doritoes in the salad. He was real interested in this dinner so he came over into my bowl and began eating bits of it. He ate the dorito chip and then began going nuts over them. Right now he is eating so little, i let him have some only because i know he has to eat something. We are at the point that the vet gave me a large syringe and told me im going to have to mix this powder in with his foods and inject them into his mouth to make sure he is getting this medicine. The vet told us its a medicine he usually only reserves for birds who are in serious care but he wants to see if this may help him while we wait for the culture results to come in.

Some days are better than others, but im seriously thinking my bird is gonna die and either has something terminal or that his terrible diet is going to cause something else to go wrong. I see you guys have recommended formula, and id love any help on where i can get it, and how to make it. I live in the US (Kansas City area) and not too many options for parrot stuff here, most pet stores only sell parakeet and smaller bird stuff.

As for documenting the issues, i dont have that since he's only been to this new vet 3x now and its way past when i bought him. Any and all help is appreciated!!

I've used the kaytee Exact before. It has instructions on the bag, but you basically mix it with warm water. There are several different brands. Call around to your local pet stores or ag/farm supply places.

get a gram stain done immediately, you'll have to wait for the results if they are sent out.
since it's a holiday, it will take even longer.
gram stains will determine negative/positive results, both of which are not good, but you will get some answers hopefully.
one of my newest cockatiels started spraying water everywhere, drinking 4 times as much as a normal cockatiel does, she was puffy, sleepy, just not feeling well, but still eating.
I put her in a separate cage with a heat lamp, partially covered.

I had her tested for Biochemistry,Hematology, and a gram stain

I requested a gram stain at the last minute, thank goodness I did. all his tests the avian vet requested were within normal limits, all her organs are within normal parameters. her gram stain came back with moderate gram positive bacteria, and many gram negative bacteria.
she's now on meds and is improving.
hand feeding formula might be your best option right now, just like the other members have suggested, just make sure it's the right temperature for your electus.
I really feel for you, but it sounds like you are the best thing right now for your bird.

I just thought of something really important!....please supply heat for him, whether it's a heat lamp, or a heating perch etc and partially cover his cage...birds use up a considerable amount of energy trying to stay warm when they are not well.
If you supply heat, he can now use his energy on getting better, rather than keeping warm.

Aspergillosis ?? If so can treat .But not if its gone to far

My only thoughts atm are hand feeding formula (Kaytee is the easiest to get, they also have a macaw formula although I don't know if this is safe to feed to an ekkie - Zupreem and Harrison's also have hand feeding formulas), milk thistle extract (supports the liver which helps to detoxify the blood, thus reduce harmful things in the body - I've used it to get rid of a bacterial infection in a bourke), aloe detox (same idea as the milk thistle) or supplements.

When I'm talking supplements, I'm thinking of any of the following ones...

Booster-harrisonbirdfoods.com
Power Treats-harrisonbirdfoods.com
Juvenile Handfeeding Formula-harrisonbirdfoods.com
RECOVERY FORMULA - 350g-harrisonbirdfoods.com
Avian Enzyme-harrisonbirdfoods.com
AVIAN PROBIOTIC - Bundle of 6 packets-harrisonbirdfoods.com
Sunshine Factor-harrisonbirdfoods.com

Emeraid® Omnivore | Lafeber's Emeraid
Nutri-Start Hand Feeding Formula: Lafeber Company Premium Pet Bird Foods & Toys

Handfeeding Supplement for Day One Baby Birds
AviGain Weight Additive Supplement
Avi-Immune Immunity Booster
Natural Anti-fungal / Anti-Bacterial Supplement from the Rainforest.
AviGlo 100% Organic Red Dende Palm Oil

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Before going out and getting anything, I would highly suggest talking to your a-vet about supplements.

Have you tried a chop mix? Or a mash? He may be more willing to try them. I've also read that eclectus like mushy foods such as fresh figs.

250 is really very skinny, when my galah was 250 her chest was V shape and was borderline emaciated. Now she is healthy at 290, and your eclectus still has another 60 grams to go D:

Have considered hand feeding parrot formula? It has a lot of nutrients in it, just make sure you don't feed to much and give your bird fatty liver disease.

Like what everyone is saying is to start on the hand feeding formula, but I stay away from Kaytee, even before the recall I was never a fan of their formula as I had one problem after another. I would rather stick with zupreem formula. You basically need to hand feed high protein foods to nourish him. Heat lamp would be a wise idea but in a small contained room and place a heater within. Humidifier for moisture. I used to make my own batch of high protein food by mixing cooked egg yolk, wheat, cottage cheese, and I mix it all with hot water and cool down the temp a bit before hand feeding. When you treat them with medication, it will kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad. So you need to get some all natural yogurt to replenish the good bacteria. I would suggest against pellets and go with all fresh stuffs. Make sure they don't spoil so remove them within a few hours of feeding. Fresh filtered water! Give the smaller seeds, parakeet seeds is what they seem to enjoy the most. IF that's all he will eat, let him as when he gets better you can change that part. Right now we just need to bring his weight back up. Always be sure to sanitize your hands before and after handling him!!!! Sanitize all his feeding utensils, bowls, etc. What your trying to do is to prevent anything else that can make him sick since he is more susceptible at this moment. Good luck and I wish you the best!!!!

Harrison's also makes a hand feeding formula, it is a little more expensive but may have better ingredients.

My vet had given me a their own beefed up version of formula [theyused for underweight babys] Id ask .Also was using milk thistle [mine was a liver problem] We dont know what yours is yet. {And the doxycycline for infection] I dont know what else milk thistle helps. Chlamydia [sp?] attaches itself to an organ and can harbor in the body for a long time.Symptoms ,weight loss ,tired ,does not play , blood count way off ,droppings not right.

Zupreme Embrace Plus is the hand feeding formula used by the Eclectus breeders I know. It has a Macaw on the package. You should be able to buy it at a pet store in Kansas City without any trouble.

But, if your vet gave you something he thinks is preferable, then I would use that.

He might like tofu. Mine all do. I feed it cold but you could heat it a bit.

Did you refuse the gram stain?

Pinkbirdy said:

My vet had given me a their own beefed up version of formula [theyused for underweight babys] Id ask .Also was using milk thistle [mine was a liver problem] We dont know what yours is yet. {And the doxycycline for infection] I dont know what else milk thistle helps. Chlamydia [sp?] attaches itself to an organ and can harbor in the body for a long time.Symptoms ,weight loss ,tired ,does not play , blood count way off ,droppings not right.

Click to expand...

I have a 16-18 year old bourke parakeet that I've started using milk thistle with to cure bacterial infections. Last time she had blood work, it came back just fine, except she had low albumin (probably from laying eggs). She does however have an issue with getting bacterial infections, and it only started up within the past couple of years (she's past her expected lifespan now).

I don't know what's causing her to get them, and at first I was using medications to get her over these infections. There was one time that I could not get meds for her, so I used milk thistle. I didn't expect for it to really do much of any good, but low and behold, it worked! Even my a-vet was surprised about this!

When you look up the functions of the liver, it makes sense! (Clearing the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances/Resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream) Although probiotics are great to use when birds are on antibiotics, I think that milk thistle is also another hidden beauty that does more than what people think it does. Odd, I know, but hey, if it works, it works!


And this eclectus does have a bacterial infection... so... it might help to give milk thistle, too?

When my Solomon Island Eclectus Joaquin first became sick it was very alarming. I remember weighing him the night before and the weight was 348 grams. The NEXT morning I didn't like the way he looked so I weighted him again and he was 213 grams! Needless to say I rushed him to the clinic and Dr. Jenkins had to rehydrate him subcutaneous and he ended up spending several days in the hospital. I had to hand feed him hand rearing formula (this was back in 2003 so I can't remember what brand I used) and I had to learn how to give him injections which I had to do three times a day.

I was astounded of how FAST he lost the weight. This happened overnight and I honestly didn't think he would make it. After he came home from the hospital with the hand feedings, injections and extreme TLC. (I was full time student so I was able to care for him I will say my classes did suffer but it was worth it to save his life)

I am very worried about your Eclectus as well. If you don't know how to hand feed (Eclectus can be notorious hard to hand feed if they are not bonded to you) please learn how to do it properly without risking health of your parrot and begin hand feeding him at least three times a day until you can stabilize his weight and your vet can figure out what is wrong with him.

Hey guys thanks again for all the comments and suggestions. I think some progress is being made here. The vet sent him home with two powder things for him to have. One is Emeraid Nutri-Support thats a water/powder mix thats supposed to provide a bird 2x his daily supply of vitamins and nutrients. Its been a struggle to get him to eat it, but he is eating it and at least i know now he is getting nutrition. The second one is a powder to mix with foods called Pretty Bird Ultimate. This one has been tougher because you never know what he wants to eat at any given time, or when and it cant sit more than 30 mins.

As for the stain, he has had one during every trip. The first one showed the bacterial infection, the second confirmed that some of the bacteria is still present in the stool. Im sure a third will be taken once we get the results from the bacterial culture.

His cage also has a heater next to it, and we always make sure to keep him warm and cozy especially after his daily showers. We keep an eye to make sure he doesnt get too hot, and have been giving him some outside time now that its warming up a bit.

I think I speak for everyone in the fact that we are all glad to hear he is on a good path back to health. Keep us updated on how he is doing.

Glad that it ended up being this instead of other possible diseases I must say I had my doubts on something it could have been.

1/4 a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water is what I usually do in the case of giving my birds vinegar water if you wanted measurements.