Extremely high WBC all Heterophils

powergel

New member
Jul 6, 2022
3
4
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Cherry headed Conure
Looking for any help we can get to try and understand what's going on with our cherry head conure...
Brief history that is still a long read:
We acquired Wilily in April of 2022, his owner passed away and we have zero history on this lovely little parrot.
his feet are messed up, he is missing all the toes on one foot and the other foot has all the toes but the tips are all missing, so he has no claws. Two vets have said it looks like frostbite, one of the vets thought he may have actually been stuck to something. He has been able to get around and climb up and out of his cage since we got him, but in the last few months his feet have become inflamed and sore with visible signs of discomfort resulting in his mobility declining, so we decided to take him to a avian vet about his feet. (This is where things got expensive and declined quickly!!) Very little attention was given to his feet, basically he is a disabled bird, blood test and x-ray was suggested so we went ahead and had that done. The x-ray came back normal, no signs of arthritis or any internal inflammation they could see, blood work came back with dire results! Vet said his heterophils where 100% (not even sure what that means) she said in her whole career as a vet she had never seen a WBC with Heterophils that high, and she was surprised he was even alive. Antibiotics where prescribed and an appointment to recheck his blood ( I also want to mention that they put him under every time they take blood) We did the course of antibiotics and did another Blood test, results showed a small improvement, but she wanted to try a different antibiotic and retest. After the course of the second antibiotics and another test the results where not good, heterophils skyrocketed again. She suggested we could keep testing for many things that if where positive would probably be fatal so she basically told us we are at a soul searching moment and that he shouldn't even be alive. Now this is the thing.......he has no symptoms except for sore feet and bad feather quality, he eats lots, has been gaining weight, still acting like he did when we got him, his poop is normal , he interacts, he just can't maneuver because of his feet, which look horrible. So I don't know what could be going on, any insight or experiences would be helpful because we where basically told he is dying but he doesn't look like a dying bird. his WBC was unheard of and he is alive and fine at the moment.
 

wrench13

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Welcome and be welcomed. Unfortunately, none of us here are qualified AVain Vets. I know you are up there in the middle of nowhere, but me, I would want a second opinion, from a true Certified Avian Vet. Thats very important. Not just a vet that sees parrots or an exotic animal vet that does it. Avian medicine is so specialized.

Even though your boy sounds like he is OK, the feet need help at least. Start keeping close track of his weight, me I'd weigh daily and if he started losing more then 2-3%, seek a CAV.
 

Owlet

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unfortunately I ran into a similar situation some time ago. went in for a routine blood test and they noted one of my eckie's WBC was really elevated. I dont remember which one exactly but we did every test we could think (which I could only afford thanks to the genoristy of the users on this forum) and everything came back inconclusive. We just kind of went in for monthly blood tests and overtime the levels got lower and he just... went back to normal. we got lucky though. And I wish that same luck to you.
 

DonnaBudgie

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Jan 24, 2023
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Windham, Maine
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Looking for any help we can get to try and understand what's going on with our cherry head conure...
Brief history that is still a long read:
We acquired Wilily in April of 2022, his owner passed away and we have zero history on this lovely little parrot.
his feet are messed up, he is missing all the toes on one foot and the other foot has all the toes but the tips are all missing, so he has no claws. Two vets have said it looks like frostbite, one of the vets thought he may have actually been stuck to something. He has been able to get around and climb up and out of his cage since we got him, but in the last few months his feet have become inflamed and sore with visible signs of discomfort resulting in his mobility declining, so we decided to take him to a avian vet about his feet. (This is where things got expensive and declined quickly!!) Very little attention was given to his feet, basically he is a disabled bird, blood test and x-ray was suggested so we went ahead and had that done. The x-ray came back normal, no signs of arthritis or any internal inflammation they could see, blood work came back with dire results! Vet said his heterophils where 100% (not even sure what that means) she said in her whole career as a vet she had never seen a WBC with Heterophils that high, and she was surprised he was even alive. Antibiotics where prescribed and an appointment to recheck his blood ( I also want to mention that they put him under every time they take blood) We did the course of antibiotics and did another Blood test, results showed a small improvement, but she wanted to try a different antibiotic and retest. After the course of the second antibiotics and another test the results where not good, heterophils skyrocketed again. She suggested we could keep testing for many things that if where positive would probably be fatal so she basically told us we are at a soul searching moment and that he shouldn't even be alive. Now this is the thing.......he has no symptoms except for sore feet and bad feather quality, he eats lots, has been gaining weight, still acting like he did when we got him, his poop is normal , he interacts, he just can't maneuver because of his feet, which look horrible. So I don't know what could be going on, any insight or experiences would be helpful because we where basically told he is dying but he doesn't look like a dying bird. his WBC was unheard of and he is alive and fine at the moment.
Perhaps your birdie has such an abnormal white blood cell count for a reason other than an infection. Leukemia, perhaps, which can also wreak havoc with his immune system making infections difficult to treat. If he has leukemia it's unlikely to be treatable but he could live happily for a while if you keep him comfortable. I worry that his feet are painful. I would pad the bottom of his cage and his perches (towels and/or old pillows) so he only walks on soft surfaces. I would also ask for copies of all his medical records and seek a second opinion if possible.
 
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powergel

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Jul 6, 2022
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Cherry headed Conure
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unfortunately I ran into a similar situation some time ago. went in for a routine blood test and they noted one of my eckie's WBC was really elevated. I dont remember which one exactly but we did every test we could think (which I could only afford thanks to the genoristy of the users on this forum) and everything came back inconclusive. We just kind of went in for monthly blood tests and overtime the levels got lower and he just... went back to normal. we got lucky though. And I wish that same luck to you.
Thanks for responding, your reply actually makes me feel hopeful!
 
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powergel

New member
Jul 6, 2022
3
4
Parrots
Cherry headed Conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Perhaps your birdie has such an abnormal white blood cell count for a reason other than an infection. Leukemia, perhaps, which can also wreak havoc with his immune system making infections difficult to treat. If he has leukemia it's unlikely to be treatable but he could live happily for a while if you keep him comfortable. I worry that his feet are painful. I would pad the bottom of his cage and his perches (towels and/or old pillows) so he only walks on soft surfaces. I would also ask for copies of all his medical records and seek a second opinion if possible.
Leukemia was not one of the array of problems the vet thought might be going on, I think because it was all Heterophils that where elevated which indicates inflammation from disease and stress??? We have padded everything, have flat perches, added towels and soft materials. I am adding a picture of his feet on a good day!
 

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DonnaBudgie

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Jan 24, 2023
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Windham, Maine
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Leukemia was not one of the array of problems the vet thought might be going on, I think because it was all Heterophils that where elevated which indicates inflammation from disease and stress??? We have padded everything, have flat perches, added towels and soft materials. I am adding a picture of his feet on a good day!
Sounds like you're making your birdie comfortable. I mentioned possible leukemia because very high WBC counts CAN be from leukemias. There are many different kinds of Leukemias. I read up a bit on heterophils (avian equivalent to neutrophils in mammals) and another cause for elevated heterophils is exposure to toxins (don't know which ones).
 

ravvlet

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Jun 25, 2019
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Those feet do look painful. WBC/elevated heterophils increase is usually due to inflammation, necrosis, thrombosis, or an infarction according to Doctor Google.

Is the swelling in his joints edema? When you gently put pressure there does it leave an indent that takes time to fill in? I’m surprised they had so much to say about the blood work but not the state of his feet! Your vet has actually had hands on your bird and it sounds like they ruled the feet out as the issue, my uneducated guess would have been infarction or thrombosis in one of his legs.

That’s a real pickle to be in. I’m glad he is eating and otherwise doing well. It sounds like you guys are doing everything you can to do right by him. Sometimes you just have to wait and see - but I think a second opinion wouldn’t go amiss if you have another certified avian vet near you.

 

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