FieryPhoenix
Well-known member
- Jan 18, 2022
- 295
- 541
- Parrots
- Quaker Parrot Sun Conure
I hate to constantly post about health issues but I thought I would share and perhaps anyone here has experienced something like this.
A little background: I have a 19 year old female Quaker Parrot named Nikki. In January 2022, Nikki underwent surgery to amputate her right wing due to the presence of a large tumor, which turned out to be a spindle cell sarcoma. In February of this year, she was diagnosed with a chronic liver condition and was put on an antibiotic - Metronidazole/Enrofloxacin for 21 days while continuing to be on milk thistle twice daily. Though her numbers did not improve much after a month of treatment, Nikki still was looking good and behaved normally. Her AST went from 403 to 405 and her bile acids went from 375 to 373. One of the avian vets mentioned that she has a bird with high values and it has been living like that with supportive care for a few years now so I wasn't too worried. I just would watch her diet and continue with the milk thistle.
Fast forward to Monday, April 24th - days after her 19th birthday: I had to rush Nikki to the vet because she was extremely lethargic and puffed up. She was in really bad shape, and although her heart and lungs sounded fine, she was struggling to breathe. An X ray showed she had fluid in the Coelom (I had to google that). They gave her an injection of vibravenos and some fluids. She was able to go home with me, and I was given the following medications to administer. She has been responding positively to treatment so far.
1. Piperacillin - an antibiotic to be given via nebulizer for 15 minutes twice a day for 14 days.
2. VetOmega - .03 ML by mouth every 24 hours - omega-3 fatty acid supplement.
3. Vetri DMG - 1 drop by mouth every 24 hours - an immune supplement.
4. Continue with the Milk thistle .04 mL twice daily.
Their finding that this is a lung problem - like, I guess when we get an upper respiratory infection and not a liver problem? I am a bit doubtful. I think it is related to her liver function (maybe she had an infection) or her reproductive health.
When they mentioned fluid inside the Coelom, I thought about reproductive health since Nikki had laid eggs in the past. I have heard of chickens getting that. They don't think it is related. They also speculated that perhaps this was building up in her for a while, and the Metronidazole/Enrofloxicin wasn't effective in treating it.
I seriously thought that I was going to have to be put down that day. The next day she perked up but then crashed again (just super exhausted I guess). For tje mext two days she was still a bit rocky in which she would get run down and I would find her on the bottom of the cage. She started having steady days of improvement on Thursday, April 27th.
Her follow up appointment was yesterday and while she is improving, the vet said she is still now 100%. Also because we don't know which of the two antibiotics she is responding two (the pipercillin or the vibravenos), he gave her another injection of the vibravenos.
My Sun, Sunny, is completely fine so whatever this problem is, it is not catching. I just wish I knew what the problem was. The vet says it is respiratory because although the fluid was inside her body cavity, her longs were spotty in the X ray.
I have a follow up appointment on May 11th. I am hoping she will be normal by then but who knows. She has been through so much. It is amazing that she is where she is.
I go away at the end of month for business and plan to board both birds at the vet's in case anything happens. Also, my mother, who normally watches my birds when I am away, doesn't feel comfortable administering medication.
A little background: I have a 19 year old female Quaker Parrot named Nikki. In January 2022, Nikki underwent surgery to amputate her right wing due to the presence of a large tumor, which turned out to be a spindle cell sarcoma. In February of this year, she was diagnosed with a chronic liver condition and was put on an antibiotic - Metronidazole/Enrofloxacin for 21 days while continuing to be on milk thistle twice daily. Though her numbers did not improve much after a month of treatment, Nikki still was looking good and behaved normally. Her AST went from 403 to 405 and her bile acids went from 375 to 373. One of the avian vets mentioned that she has a bird with high values and it has been living like that with supportive care for a few years now so I wasn't too worried. I just would watch her diet and continue with the milk thistle.
Fast forward to Monday, April 24th - days after her 19th birthday: I had to rush Nikki to the vet because she was extremely lethargic and puffed up. She was in really bad shape, and although her heart and lungs sounded fine, she was struggling to breathe. An X ray showed she had fluid in the Coelom (I had to google that). They gave her an injection of vibravenos and some fluids. She was able to go home with me, and I was given the following medications to administer. She has been responding positively to treatment so far.
1. Piperacillin - an antibiotic to be given via nebulizer for 15 minutes twice a day for 14 days.
2. VetOmega - .03 ML by mouth every 24 hours - omega-3 fatty acid supplement.
3. Vetri DMG - 1 drop by mouth every 24 hours - an immune supplement.
4. Continue with the Milk thistle .04 mL twice daily.
Their finding that this is a lung problem - like, I guess when we get an upper respiratory infection and not a liver problem? I am a bit doubtful. I think it is related to her liver function (maybe she had an infection) or her reproductive health.
When they mentioned fluid inside the Coelom, I thought about reproductive health since Nikki had laid eggs in the past. I have heard of chickens getting that. They don't think it is related. They also speculated that perhaps this was building up in her for a while, and the Metronidazole/Enrofloxicin wasn't effective in treating it.
I seriously thought that I was going to have to be put down that day. The next day she perked up but then crashed again (just super exhausted I guess). For tje mext two days she was still a bit rocky in which she would get run down and I would find her on the bottom of the cage. She started having steady days of improvement on Thursday, April 27th.
Her follow up appointment was yesterday and while she is improving, the vet said she is still now 100%. Also because we don't know which of the two antibiotics she is responding two (the pipercillin or the vibravenos), he gave her another injection of the vibravenos.
My Sun, Sunny, is completely fine so whatever this problem is, it is not catching. I just wish I knew what the problem was. The vet says it is respiratory because although the fluid was inside her body cavity, her longs were spotty in the X ray.
I have a follow up appointment on May 11th. I am hoping she will be normal by then but who knows. She has been through so much. It is amazing that she is where she is.
I go away at the end of month for business and plan to board both birds at the vet's in case anything happens. Also, my mother, who normally watches my birds when I am away, doesn't feel comfortable administering medication.
