Advice for sick parrot

[Mel1320]

Hi, I really need some advice for how to help my sick caique. We got him a few days ago and he was perfectly fine from what I could tell until this morning. He has been lifting his right foot slightly and leaning on his left, and also not eating much. He can grip with both feet and there aren't any sores or cuts on his right foot that I can see. When he breathes his tail bobs up and down and he leans his head on this and is acting generally lethargic. His urine is also a clearish white color, not sure if that's normal but that isn't what his poop has been looking like the past few days.
I have already contacted all of the vets in the area that can potentially see a sick parrot but they either have month long waits or just don't see birds anymore.
Any information about what could be causing this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Mel,

It is common for birds to lift a foot to preserve heat when they are not felling well, as well as to ruffle its feathers.

Tail bobbing is a sign of heavy respiration, which together with the first paragraph symptoms may indeed demand our attention.

It is possible for birds changing from one environment to another to be stressed thus reducing their imunologic response. So I am not surprise he arrived fine, but is not feeling that well now.

Regarding the description you gave us, it is the feces aspect that caught my attention. Do you think it could be considered somehow a diarrhea?

Many diseases can produce the general symptoms that you describe, then it would be good to have a more detailed analysis. Please try to observe if he is drinking water more than the usual and if there are feces in the feather around the cloak area.

I am not a veterinarian, so please try to visit one as soon as possible although I understand the ones you contacted are not available for now.

One of the most common diseases that can produce similar symptoms is Coccidiosis, caused by Eimeria protozan. I AM NOT SAYING it is the case for you, but you could ask a vet if it is possible to have any profilatic measure just in case.

One thing you can do for now is to use a heat pad to keep your bird warm and help his body to fight whatever it is.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Mel1320]

It could be, it's very watery and there isn't much feces because he isn't eating very much. He seems to be drinking a normal amount of water, similar to when we first got him. Right now we're keeping him in a small towel lined carrier so he won't fall and hurt himself but I'll try adding a heat pack. I've tried calling more vet clinics but they all refer me back to the same animal hospital that has a month long wait time. Would it be safe to try administering coccidiosis medication at home and seeing if that helps?

 

[Kitekeeper]

His lacking of appetite and watery feces suggest something wrong in the intestinal tract and Coccidiosis is a common intestinal disease.

Other than that, only a vet could answer you. Could you collect a sample of the feces and deliver it in a veterinary facility asking just for a Coccidiosis test?

Regarding if it is safe to treat Coccidiosis before a veterinary check him out, well... I think it might be a matter of how much ill is your bird. Coccidiosis can kill, but usually it develops slowly in a matter of weeks. One month can be too long to wait. You could try to ask a vet by phone if they can not have you.

As the medication is an antibiotics, carefull must be taken.

 

[Mel1320]

I just sent them an email asking whether they could test the feces as they are now closed for the day. I'm also going to try and contact some avian vets that aren't in the area to see if they could try to help diagnose the condition, although it would be a lot more difficult as they wouldn't be able to do an exam in person.

 

[Mel1320]

After some further research, I think it could possibly also be caused by some sort of spinal cord damage from a fall. He hasn't suffered from a bad fall when I was present but it could be possible that he fell off of a higher perch while I was away. He seems to have some respiratory issues and occasionally starts leaning forward with unfocused eyes. I'm not sure how I'd go about treating that at home if an out of state vet did suspect some sort of spinal cord trauma. His poop is still unusual and very runny so it could very well be some sort of infection as well. I'm not really sure what's worse at this point, his condition seemed to deteriorate overnight. Yesterday he seemed completely fine, maybe he was just hiding the symptoms really well. He is barely eating but drinking quite a bit, any advice on what I could try to get him to eat? I know they can go a few days without food, but I'm afraid that his condition will only get worse.

 

[Scott]

Time may be critical for Mango given rapid deterioration. You'll need skilled avian vet for accurate diagnosis and treatment. Is it possible to cast a wider net for in-person vet appointment? Most practices have "emergency" slots to at least triage and assess. Links might help with search: https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/find-an-avian-vet/

Wishing Mango a turnaround and complete recovery, please keep us updated.

 

[Kitekeeper]

Sorry I could not answer before, it was bedtime here in my latitude.

I am very sorry to hear that things have got worse. Scott is right, you need veterinary assistance as soon as possible.

Spinal damage from a fall is something I think would be unlikely as birds are used to fall or have bad landings. Leaning forward could also be a way to keep balance if his legs are weak.

Wishing you the best of luck and a quick recovery for Mango

 

[Mel1320]

He?s gone
I?m not really sure why his symptoms all started showing up yesterday, and now maybe I wonder if he got severely poisoned by something, but nothing comes to mind and our conure seems to be doing fine. We kept him separated and warm and I was planning on taking him to an exotics vet this morning because I couldn?t locate any clinics that had avian specialists but he was gone already. I really should?ve done something yesterday because he was obviously showing signs of sickness and when that happens parrots are usually extremely sick.

 

[Scott]

I'm so sorry, my deepest condolences for the passing of Mango. Given rapid deterioration it is not clear an immediate vet visit would have made a difference.

A speculative necropsy (bird autopsy) by avian vet may reveal the cause and whether there is threat of contagion to Melon.

 

[Mel1320]

Thank you, we are definitely considering a necropsy so we can take further precautions to protect Melon. They have been mostly separated for the few days we had Mango, but you can never be too sure. Thanks again for all of your help, I really appreciate it

 

[Kitekeeper]

Oh, I am really sorry about your loss.

Sometimes birds can hide their sickness until is very late for us to help them. I agree that a veterinary visit yesterday would most likely not change the outcome.