Parrotlet respiratory issue

[Laurasea]

I'd would ask the vet exactly how many grams she want lost. Because a tiny burd 1 gram us a big deal.
1 gram lost is 3.4% of body mass
2 grams lost is 6.6% of total body mass.

If your bird is flighted they have better develop pectoral muscles, so when you feel the keel you might think they are overweight when they are not. Feeling the keel is a little bit of an art. Im only good if they are way fat or very skinny. ...

 

[Fai]

A part of it could be muscle since she flys and hangs upside for so much of the day not even I can keep up, but she did say that even 29g was on the heavy side. She weighs 32g right now so my plan is to get her to weigh back to 29-30g over the next months because aiming for lower than that scares me. We plan to go every summer to the vet so if they tell us she still heavy than we will work on it

 

[noodles123]

You can easily weigh at home (and should). I wouldn't wait for the vet to tell you 1x yearly.

 

[Inger]

A part of it could be muscle since she flys and hangs upside for so much of the day not even I can keep up, but she did say that even 29g was on the heavy side. She weighs 32g right now so my plan is to get her to weigh back to 29-30g over the next months because aiming for lower than that scares me. We plan to go every summer to the vet so if they tell us she still heavy than we will work on it

Is she a Pacific/Celestial Parrotlet, or one of the others? Their weight isn't just about how many grams they weigh; a good vet will also feel their keelbone and make sure it feels the way it should - Bumble (a Pacific) is a solid 32g and my vet continues to tell me it's fine.

 

[Fai]

You can easily weigh at home (and should). I wouldn't wait for the vet to tell you 1x yearly.

We do weigh her at home, I weigh her almost every other day, but when I researched the weight of a parrotlet it said the average was 35g so I wanted to see what the vet said. I’m saying that I want her to lose weight to a certain extent because I don’t want her to get sick or anything and if by the time we visit the vet again and they say she still needs to lose weight then we will talk it out. I’m just scared because weight in an early indicator of weight and I don’t want her to lose like 8 grams in the time span of a month if you know what I mean

 

[Fai]

A part of it could be muscle since she flys and hangs upside for so much of the day not even I can keep up, but she did say that even 29g was on the heavy side. She weighs 32g right now so my plan is to get her to weigh back to 29-30g over the next months because aiming for lower than that scares me. We plan to go every summer to the vet so if they tell us she still heavy than we will work on it

Is she a Pacific/Celestial Parrotlet, or one of the others? Their weight isn't just about how many grams they weigh; a good vet will also feel their keelbone and make sure it feels the way it should - Bumble (a Pacific) is a solid 32g and my vet continues to tell me it's fine.

Ok so it’s kinda complicated to explain but obviously since she is a new patient they got the diet of our bird (yes she is a pacific parrotlet) and we told them that we have her on both pellets on seeds but she avoids eating the pellets and only the seeds. We said that’s when their in the cage that’s the staple food they have, and when their outside which is for hours, we give them strawberries and spinach or kale or lettuce. It was after that that’s she said that after the examination that she is healthy and that she’s a little fat, then she gave us recommendations for food and told us to try to give her unlimited supply of pellets in the cage with some seeds and to only give fruits like strawberries as a treat because all these things were making her fatter. She gave us a list of vegetables to substitute the strawberries so as of now I’m substituting with carrots to eat with their spinach. Again we didn’t get to go inside and we were on the phone with her but I know she got fat because she weighed 29-30g a month ago and gained 2 grams more until now. My bird hates when I touch her chest (I believe you have to hold them so they are on their back to feel it properly) but the doctor said she was being nice when handled so I guess that’s what she was referring to which I’m surprised to see because our bird is quite feisty.

Also if anyone has great recommendations of pellets or how to convince your bird to eat them because that would b great I can’t entirely cut out seed or she won’t eat when she’s in her cage and I don’t exactly have an unlimited supply of vegetables a week.

 

[Scott]

The best pellet is the one your bird will eat! Parrots are notoriously fussy so it may take several attempts to find one palatable. Personal experience suggests Zupreem Fruit Blend widely enjoyed though it has high corn content and artificial colors. I converted entire flock to Harrison's with no difficulty. Not pushing the brand, but their conversion protocol is excellent and ought work with any brand. Not sure how Parrotlets classified, so here's links to small and large bird techniques: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/small-bird-conversion/
https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

 

[Fai]

Thank you so much this is very helpful! I’ll try this and if that fails I’ll look for other pellets! I’ll make sure to watch their poop and weight while they are changing their diet as well, I thought I was crazy for having birds who hated pellets and struggled to switch over. I’m glad however, that my bird loves eating vegetables like kale, spinach, and carrots, and more that we give her otherwise she would only be eating seeds at the moment.

 

[LaManuka]

You can also try crushing up the pellets to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkling it over her food. I once had a VERY stubborn cockatiel who would almost have preferred to starve to death rather than convert to pellets. I tried every suggestion from my vet, from the internet and from the pellet manufacturers and she point blank refused to even recognise them as food. After an eight week battle of wills I thought to grind them to a powder and sprinkle it over her seeds just to get her accustomed to the taste and bingo! Gradually I introduced more solid pellets into the mix and within days she was eating them like she’d done so all her life!

 

[noodles123]

You are smart not to cut seed entirely. 1. They would eat some in the wild and 2. you never want to cut a bird off cold-turkey (as they can starve, as you stated).

 

[Inger]

A part of it could be muscle since she flys and hangs upside for so much of the day not even I can keep up, but she did say that even 29g was on the heavy side. She weighs 32g right now so my plan is to get her to weigh back to 29-30g over the next months because aiming for lower than that scares me. We plan to go every summer to the vet so if they tell us she still heavy than we will work on it

Is she a Pacific/Celestial Parrotlet, or one of the others? Their weight isn't just about how many grams they weigh; a good vet will also feel their keelbone and make sure it feels the way it should - Bumble (a Pacific) is a solid 32g and my vet continues to tell me it's fine.

Ok so it’s kinda complicated to explain but obviously since she is a new patient they got the diet of our bird (yes she is a pacific parrotlet) and we told them that we have her on both pellets on seeds but she avoids eating the pellets and only the seeds. We said that’s when their in the cage that’s the staple food they have, and when their outside which is for hours, we give them strawberries and spinach or kale or lettuce. It was after that that’s she said that after the examination that she is healthy and that she’s a little fat, then she gave us recommendations for food and told us to try to give her unlimited supply of pellets in the cage with some seeds and to only give fruits like strawberries as a treat because all these things were making her fatter. She gave us a list of vegetables to substitute the strawberries so as of now I’m substituting with carrots to eat with their spinach. Again we didn’t get to go inside and we were on the phone with her but I know she got fat because she weighed 29-30g a month ago and gained 2 grams more until now. My bird hates when I touch her chest (I believe you have to hold them so they are on their back to feel it properly) but the doctor said she was being nice when handled so I guess that’s what she was referring to which I’m surprised to see because our bird is quite feisty.

Also if anyone has great recommendations of pellets or how to convince your bird to eat them because that would b great I can’t entirely cut out seed or she won’t eat when she’s in her cage and I don’t exactly have an unlimited supply of vegetables a week.

It sounds like she’s willing to eat lots of good stuff. Have you tried making chop for her? Bumble loves loves loves her chop. I make a large batch and then freeze in ziploc snack bags in portions for about 2-3 days. Lots and lots of recipes here and elsewhere on the internet. I also add fresh food to that every day. She gets pellets and some seeds as well. Since yours is good with kale, spinach, etc you might branch out to other veggies. There *are* people who say parrotlets should never have pellets, but my CAV said there’s no science to back that assertion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fai]

Alright so I have taken your guy’s advice and I have tried crushing pellets but I have ran into a dilemma. Our parrotlet is carrying eggs (infertilized) and that explained some weight gain, however when looking it up, it says that a parrotlets vent will become swollen and poops will become when she is getting closer to laying them, but when I tried feeling for the egg, it feels firm at first and if I apply a little bit of pressure (not a lot), it then feels squishy, I fear she may have had her egg broken, but at the same time, I’m not sure if she’s still developing the egg or if maybe the egg is moving because we asked the breeder we got another bird from and he said that it takes about 2 weeks for the egg to be laid. We have been providing her calcium but I’m not sure because the only thing she seems to be showing is taking frequent naps but isn’t that a symptom of having eggs in general? If anyone has experience with parrotlet eggs speciafisclly that would be great because it looks like they lay a clutch.

 

[Scott]

Alright so I have taken your guy’s advice and I have tried crushing pellets but I have ran into a dilemma. Our parrotlet is carrying eggs (infertilized) and that explained some weight gain, however when looking it up, it says that a parrotlets vent will become swollen and poops will become when she is getting closer to laying them, but when I tried feeling for the egg, it feels firm at first and if I apply a little bit of pressure (not a lot), it then feels squishy, I fear she may have had her egg broken, but at the same time, I’m not sure if she’s still developing the egg or if maybe the egg is moving because we asked the breeder we got another bird from and he said that it takes about 2 weeks for the egg to be laid. We have been providing her calcium but I’m not sure because the only thing she seems to be showing is taking frequent naps but isn’t that a symptom of having eggs in general? If anyone has experience with parrotlet eggs speciafisclly that would be great because it looks like they lay a clutch.

Distinguishing between whole vs broken egg requires extremely practiced gentle touch. If you remotely believe the egg is broken, that is an emergency of the highest order! Issue is the broken yolk will quickly breed bacteria leading to sepsis* and steep decline. Again, if that is your perception a skilled avian vet is required for immediate consultation and likely X-Ray for diagnosis. With luck the egg remains intact!

*Sepsis = infectious substance in blood and/or tissue leading to shock and organ failure.

 

[Fai]

So I asked the breeder (7 years+ of experience) he says that since she only started showing symptoms of nesting and the swollen bottom a few days ago that she’s probably developing the eggs and is getting ready to lay in a few weeks. I’m watching for everything I can like yolk coming out of her vent or obvious swelling or difficulty breathing because I have convinced my mom that this is something that is serious but has a successful rate of recovery. I think parrotlets are different in that they take more than a few days but weeks for them, but don’t worry I’m watching very closely!

 

[Laurasea]

This sounds like an emergency yo me. You never put more the most gentle touch on possible egg, like you would barely touch your eye lid.

Swollen bottom, sleepy. Can be enough to indicate things are very serious. You don't feel an egg till it is about to be laid, 24 hours ish. Once the egg is shelled they lay it.

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/the-female-reproductive-system-along-comes-the-egg/

 

[Fai]

Let me clarify, I more like slide my finger across the bottom of her bottom, like as if you we touching your eyelid, the pressure was almost as much as nothing, I know it can break if I put pressure so I have been extremely careful, I just didn’t know how to describe how to say it other than pressure. I have sent pictures to our breeder and he has said that yes she has not developed the egg fully yet because they can lay up to 8 and only less than a week has passed when usually the egg is laid at 2 weeks. I’m sorry but I keep describing it wrong but these naps that she takes are her sitting next to her favorite companion bird for 15 minutes alert with one eye open but never longer because she’s very energetic and can’t sit and sleep for long (her companion is still somewhat young) and I blame myself for making it a habit to the bird that’s older and is trying to lay eggs into breeding mode by keeping her awake too long during the day that she has made it a habit and is keeping the other bird awake.

However either way, we are still going to take her to the vet just in case, thank you for the information.

 

[Fai]

Id get her in ASAP-- you know the other should be out by now, as the first 2 came close together and now you are seeing behavioral changes (lethargy)

What do you mean 2 came together?

 

[Fai]

I know what lethargy looks like because my other bird had that, she’s taking naps then exercising a lot, now I’m noticing that when I hold my bird on the palm of my hand that her butt is firm, I think I perhaps was just touching the vent area which is supposed to be swollen, I’m so sorry guys that I exaggerate and assume everything before examining and giving you guys all the details

 

[noodles123]

Id get her in ASAP-- you know the other should be out by now, as the first 2 came close together and now you are seeing behavioral changes (lethargy)

What do you mean 2 came together?

I got your post confused with an egg binding post by another user-- sorry!

 

[Fai]

Id get her in ASAP-- you know the other should be out by now, as the first 2 came close together and now you are seeing behavioral changes (lethargy)

What do you mean 2 came together?

I got your post confused with an egg binding post by another user-- sorry!

Oh that’s alright! I got scared for a moment thinking I missed some other symptoms that listed myself ahaha