Green Cheek Vet Visit (Trigger warning: not a happy story)

[ljc1988]

Hi all,

New here. I am after some advice on something that occurred two months ago.

Note: This story does NOT have a happy ending.

Just over two months ago, my partner and I took our Green Cheek Kiwi to the vet for her routine vet visit. Kiwi was about 1.5 years old and the most adorable girl. We loved her to absolute bits.

As part of the routine visit, the veterinarian wanted to do a crop test (Kiwi had this twice before). We watched the vet hold our girl and stick that long metal tube down her throat, and then the vet took her out back to do some other tests.

When the vet returned, she noticed there was a little bit of blood in Kiwi’s beak. She was also scared and crawled up into my head – resting her head against my palm.

The vet requested that we wait half an hour so they can monitor Kiwi, so we went to get some drink. We thought nothing of it. When we got back, we could tell there was something wrong. Kiwi was so tired, and seemed to be shaking. The vet had applied some black power on her tongue (for clotting – I am assuming that is where the bleeding was).

The vet requested we leave her in overnight so she can be monitored. After we left for home, around an hour later we received a call saying that our girl had passed away (apparently blood had gotten into her lungs).

The veterinary practice has performed an investigation since, and they cannot find any cause for what happened. They keep saying that this procedure is performed routinely, with no issues. There were no signs of infections, or abnormalities in the autopsy. The equipment used was recalled by the manufacturer for investigation, but there has been nothing conclusive.

Two months later, my partner and I are still in utter shock. We have absolutely no idea what happened – we have no idea how a routine vet visit could kill our girl. We have absolutely no answers to help us deal with our grief. Every day we go through the emotions of “if only we hadn’t taken her that day”, or “would this have happened anyway”, or even “the vet killed our girl”. I know none of these are true, but without any information, we have nothing that can help us process our grief. Every day is a mixture of anger, guilt and blame.

Has anybody ever heard of anything like this? Is crop testing supposed to be that invasive that it can damage a bird? Has anybody had any experience with crop testing?

Sorry for the low tone of the post – but reading it cannot be 1% the pain of experiencing it.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I’ve never had our vet do any invasive crop testing unless there was evidence of a problem. Like if the crop wasn’t emptying, or if there was an infection or illness. I don’t think that’s part of a normal exam, is it? was this a “Certified Avian Vet” - that’s an official term, and they have more training than a regular or “exotic” vet. It‘s hard to say without having been there, but it sounds like the vet injured your bird and hoped it would get better. I don’t know what they would have put on the tongue to stop bleeding…I don’t think you are supposed to use any anticoagulant inside the body. If there was bleeding, the autopsy would have shown where the injury was. There was obviously an injury.

You don’t say where in the world you are. Maybe avian vets are not common where you live?

Avian Physical Exam

When does the physical exam begin? The exam starts the moment the patient is presented to you. If possible have owners bring smaller birds (parakeet, finch, canary, etc.) in their permanent home cages, this will allow you a look at how the family maintains the cage.

sonopath.com

The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine is the only exclusive avian and exotic veterinary hospital in New York City.

The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine is the only exclusive avian and exotic veterinary hospital in New York City.

www.avianandexoticvets.com

 

[ljc1988]

I’ve never had our vet do any invasive crop testing unless there was evidence of a problem. Like if the crop wasn’t emptying, or if there was an infection or illness. I don’t think that’s part of a normal exam, is it? was this a “Certified Avian Vet” - that’s an official term, and they have more training than a regular or “exotic” vet. It‘s hard to say without having been there, but it sounds like the vet injured your bird and hoped it would get better. I don’t know what they would have put on the tongue to stop bleeding…I don’t think you are supposed to use any anticoagulant inside the body. If there was bleeding, the autopsy would have shown where the injury was. There was obviously an injury.

You don’t say where in the world you are. Maybe avian vets are not common where you live?

Avian Physical Exam

When does the physical exam begin? The exam starts the moment the patient is presented to you. If possible have owners bring smaller birds (parakeet, finch, canary, etc.) in their permanent home cages, this will allow you a look at how the family maintains the cage.

sonopath.com

The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine is the only exclusive avian and exotic veterinary hospital in New York City.

The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine is the only exclusive avian and exotic veterinary hospital in New York City.

www.avianandexoticvets.com

Hey,

Sorry I was hesitant to put the names on the post originally just in case searchable through Google.

I am located in Sydney, Australia - the vet is for Birds and Exotic Animals.

Bird & Exotics Veterinarian

Bird & Exotics Veterinarian, if you need a bird vet, rabbit vet, reptile vet, guinea pig vet, fish vet or ferret vet, we are the only purpose-built stand-alone bird and exotic animal clinic in Sydney.

www.birdexoticsvet.com.au

above is their website.

There was absolutely no signs of infection - the physical examination was all clear. No conerns at all - vet was really happy. But apparently the crop testing is a common test..

 

[Littleredbeak]

I feel awful reading your story but thank you for sharing it. I had something similar happen to my healthy lovebird luckily my story had a happy ending which I am incredibly grateful for.

My budgie unexpectedly died (we didn't even make it to the car). I then immediately made an appointment(next day) for my lovebird afraid he too was just going to die on me. I made the appointment and a gram stain was offered to me to check to see if there was an infection. A large Q tip was used to swab the inside of his mouth and cloacal. My bird then poopedp bright red poop. Vet said this was normal! This was not normal. My bird like yours went to my head them curled up in my sweater on my shoulder. I brought home a weak and bleeding bird. At this point I did not know what to do. I called the office back up they said this was normal and to bring him back in if he does not improve over night. He could barely perch still pooping bright red. Would not eat or drink and very tired and weak. I wanted to go to an emergency vet but also was afraid to move him.

I then decided to call a parrot rescue hoping they could tell me what to do especially if they experienced this. I called Ruffle feathers and the director told me that yes this is not normal and my bird probably has internal bleeding and at this point not very much can be done. He said that I really had tw options; 1) take him to vet and if he dies (most likely will because of his condition and the the stress) I'll know I did everything possible. 2) stick him in a quiet dark place with warmth and easy access to water and food and pray he recovers.

I chose option 2. And my bird recovered.



I put my trust in a vet who see parrots regularly and who everyone literally recommends and he almost killed my bird. Everyone who has birds still recommends this vet. I will never do this again and will always ask questions and advocate. I am now that over vigilant pet parent because I am the one who has that deep love for my little charges... vets like doctors are human and make mistakes.
The next time I went to the vet (I changed vets) I asked to see the swabs and wanted everything explained to me before anything was done to any of my birds.



My heart is broken for you and I am so sorry for your loss. I hope something is done for you to try and right this wrong.

 

[Chomper]

Hi all,

New here. I am after some advice on something that occurred two months ago.

Note: This story does NOT have a happy ending.

Just over two months ago, my partner and I took our Green Cheek Kiwi to the vet for her routine vet visit. Kiwi was about 1.5 years old and the most adorable girl. We loved her to absolute bits.

As part of the routine visit, the veterinarian wanted to do a crop test (Kiwi had this twice before). We watched the vet hold our girl and stick that long metal tube down her throat, and then the vet took her out back to do some other tests.

When the vet returned, she noticed there was a little bit of blood in Kiwi’s beak. She was also scared and crawled up into my head – resting her head against my palm.

The vet requested that we wait half an hour so they can monitor Kiwi, so we went to get some drink. We thought nothing of it. When we got back, we could tell there was something wrong. Kiwi was so tired, and seemed to be shaking. The vet had applied some black power on her tongue (for clotting – I am assuming that is where the bleeding was).

The vet requested we leave her in overnight so she can be monitored. After we left for home, around an hour later we received a call saying that our girl had passed away (apparently blood had gotten into her lungs).

The veterinary practice has performed an investigation since, and they cannot find any cause for what happened. They keep saying that this procedure is performed routinely, with no issues. There were no signs of infections, or abnormalities in the autopsy. The equipment used was recalled by the manufacturer for investigation, but there has been nothing conclusive.

Two months later, my partner and I are still in utter shock. We have absolutely no idea what happened – we have no idea how a routine vet visit could kill our girl. We have absolutely no answers to help us deal with our grief. Every day we go through the emotions of “if only we hadn’t taken her that day”, or “would this have happened anyway”, or even “the vet killed our girl”. I know none of these are true, but without any information, we have nothing that can help us process our grief. Every day is a mixture of anger, guilt and blame.

Has anybody ever heard of anything like this? Is crop testing supposed to be that invasive that it can damage a bird? Has anybody had any experience with crop testing?

Sorry for the low tone of the post – but reading it cannot be 1% the pain of experiencing it.

I don’t know what could have happened to your poor Kiwi, but im so sorry for your loss. You and your partner are both really strong, and I hope you’re able to figure out the cause of her death. 💕

 

[Kentuckienne]

Just because a vet treats exotics/birds, doesn’t mean they have additional certification. They could just be willing to treat unusual pets. And just because a veterinary practice has one certified vet doesn’t mean that all the vets working there are certified or knowledgeable.

Here is a link to a search on the AAV.org site (association of avian veterinarians) for Australia, there is a long list of names with some reviews:

https://www.aav.org/search/newsearch.asp

Also, there’s a big zoo just north of Sydney as I recall, and they might be able to recommend a name ….

 

[Briburd]

This is so flapping sad. I’m so sorry this happened. Thanks for sharing your story though because now I will be more cautious and question routine vet procedures that may seem excessive to me should I ever be in a similar situation.

 

[ravvlet]

I know here in the US a crop test is not administered unless there is a problem. Our routine exams are a fecal (easy to get with birds!) and a blood test, usually from blood from a toenail. Nothing invasive at all. I’m so terribly sorry this happened to you.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hi all,

New here. I am after some advice on something that occurred two months ago.

Note: This story does NOT have a happy ending.

Just over two months ago, my partner and I took our Green Cheek Kiwi to the vet for her routine vet visit. Kiwi was about 1.5 years old and the most adorable girl. We loved her to absolute bits.

As part of the routine visit, the veterinarian wanted to do a crop test (Kiwi had this twice before). We watched the vet hold our girl and stick that long metal tube down her throat, and then the vet took her out back to do some other tests.

When the vet returned, she noticed there was a little bit of blood in Kiwi’s beak. She was also scared and crawled up into my head – resting her head against my palm.

The vet requested that we wait half an hour so they can monitor Kiwi, so we went to get some drink. We thought nothing of it. When we got back, we could tell there was something wrong. Kiwi was so tired, and seemed to be shaking. The vet had applied some black power on her tongue (for clotting – I am assuming that is where the bleeding was).

The vet requested we leave her in overnight so she can be monitored. After we left for home, around an hour later we received a call saying that our girl had passed away (apparently blood had gotten into her lungs).

The veterinary practice has performed an investigation since, and they cannot find any cause for what happened. They keep saying that this procedure is performed routinely, with no issues. There were no signs of infections, or abnormalities in the autopsy. The equipment used was recalled by the manufacturer for investigation, but there has been nothing conclusive.

Two months later, my partner and I are still in utter shock. We have absolutely no idea what happened – we have no idea how a routine vet visit could kill our girl. We have absolutely no answers to help us deal with our grief. Every day we go through the emotions of “if only we hadn’t taken her that day”, or “would this have happened anyway”, or even “the vet killed our girl”. I know none of these are true, but without any information, we have nothing that can help us process our grief. Every day is a mixture of anger, guilt and blame.

Has anybody ever heard of anything like this? Is crop testing supposed to be that invasive that it can damage a bird? Has anybody had any experience with crop testing?

Sorry for the low tone of the post – but reading it cannot be 1% the pain of experiencing it.

Why did the vet do this invasive procedure? What were they testing exactly and why? Was Kiwi sick? I know that vets can put a rubber tube into the crop to force feed a starving bird (I have birds that needed it) but a METAL instrument? What a horror show for you and your poor bird! You will always feel terrible when you think about this but as time passes it will get somewhat easier. I still cringe when I think about how an adorable budgie I adopted died 35 years ago because I did something stupid- I just try not to think about it.