Losing my mind.

[HappyHummingbird]

Georgia just threw up. For those of you following our ongoing saga, I've only had Georgia for 2 months. Yet, she has been to the vet quite a bit and her latest vet visits was for throwing up and infection in her crop. Is it possible, at all, that this one throw up was a fluke? Tell me this isn't happening again all over..... she just got better! It's not even been a week! I can't afford another $800 in vet bills!

 

[MikeyTN]

Have you thought about having the breeder wean Georgia for you???

 

[plax]

Carolyn, could she have taken too much formula at her most recent feeding? And were there any differences at all this time (such as with the consistency of the matter she expelled, etc.)?

 

[skittles9]

feed her all veggies and fresh water thats all you can do

 

[HappyHummingbird]

She really won't wean and her breeder is in Atlanta... I am in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. So that's not an option.
She really isn't interested at all in food. I try Everything and she'll pick a little bit at stuff but won't really "eat" real food. (by real food I mean parrot food, pellets, fruit, veggies, or fruit)
Plax, my son called me in after it happened. It wasn't a ton of vomit. Her last feeding was hours ago.

 

[MikeyTN]

Sometimes they do get excited and will vomit in the process. Just keep an eye on her. Any bird club people in your area that can provide some assistance?

 

[plax]

Carolyn, if it was only a small amount of vomit it may not be an indication of the same condition she was treated for. If she retained most of the formula, try feeding her at the next regular interval. Maybe try feeding her a bit less, though. See what happens then.

I was going to say that if the symptoms progressively turn out to be identical (which they hopefully will not), you may want to call the vet clinic and attempt to speak with your vet over the phone. I've done this a number of times with my vet for various things and he has always called me back to discuss my concerns.

Your vet obviously knows that Georgia has recently been treated at the clinic and that her current symptoms, if stemming from the same cause, are most likely related to the condition she was treated for (crop burn with ensuing infection, correct?). So I would think/hope your vet would be willing to consult with you by phone. Can you try doing that if it becomes necessary?

 

[HappyHummingbird]

Plax I will certainly attempt to get a hold of my vet that way for sure. He works at the emergency vet every other week and then twice a week at a normal clinic. Unfortunately he's hard to get a hold of. Let's cross our fingers and toes she is okay and this was just a fluke.

 

[plax]

Plax I will certainly attempt to get a hold of my vet that way for sure. He works at the emergency vet every other week and then twice a week at a normal clinic. Unfortunately he's hard to get a hold of. Let's cross our fingers and toes she is okay and this was just a fluke.

That sounds like a good course of action. Everything I have to cross is crossed!!!

 

[WharfRat]

Have you tried organic baby food yet? That was incorporated into the weaning of our GW's and Zon's and they REALLY liked it. We used both mixed vegetable, fruits and grains. This can be done with either the powdered or premade varieties. It worked very well for us as well as stretching out the formula by incorporating it in with the formula. Our breeder raises all her babies in this manner. (She only breeds Zon's and Mac's)

 

[Remy]

What tests did they run last time? When Puck was vomiting they initially gave him antibiotics, and he stopped. Then it started again, and we ran a fecal. Turned out he had giardia.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Carolyn, how is Georgia this morning???

I hope it was only a one time thing, and that she was just overly excited and spat up only a little bit.

I agree with trying to add a wee bit baby food to her formula. You could also try adding a tiny bit of pure, organic joghurt (pro biotics).

Maybe Georgia would benefit from a few drops of either of these?
Pau D'Arco Bark Herbal Extract 1 oz - AVITECH HERBAL BIRD RX by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Echinacea Purperea Root Herbal Extract 1 oz - AVITECH HERBAL BIRD RX by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

I have everything crossed as well for you and Georgia.

 

[HappyHummingbird]

I had never heard of using actual baby food for a bird. I will try that for sure.

It looks as though she vomited once in her cage last night but not since then. Last week when she was ill she was vomiting a lot and frequently. Her crop also was not emptying. It appears today that her crop is emptying just fine and she is lively and happy. I am going to watch her today and decide what to do next based on how she acts today. I do have her on probiotics still and I haven been very careful about not feeding her too much.

 

[plax]

Carolyn, I'm so glad to hear that Georgia was not having a true relapse. Please continue to keep us updated!

 

[Jumpinslizzy]

Is there any hand feeding involved? We had to hand feed for almost 2 months with our military. She was fully weaned from the shop but had regressed quite a bit and definitely needed baby macaw formula for a while before she would eat regular food. Hand feeding was scary at first but my wife and I created quite a bond with her by trading hand feeding duties.

 

[JJones1719]

I would also advise you to purchase a gram scale and weigh your Macaw dailey to keep an eye out for weight loss. Is your macaw is losing weight, you have no choice then to take them back to your Aviary vet. I too would advise you to look up bird clubs in your area or local rescues who too will help you with your macaw. Please keep us posted on their progress. Best of luck Joe