Sprinkles is SICK!!!!

[snowflake311]

So I have been meaning to take sprinkles to the Avian vet since I got him 5 month ago. The vet is an hour and a half away. I Took sprinkle today. His check up went well he looked healthy and well. His stool sample showed too much Bacteria and yeast. So I was sent home with 3 things to give him one for the yeast, one for the bacteria, and the other to help boost his immune system.

I feel so bad that my little baby was sick. I lost my old parrot to an illness that went too long with out seeing a avian vet. So when I heard Sprinkles was sick I got all scared. I am glad we have everything we need to help get him better. The vet said I could see a change in his personality after a week of meds. She said his extra nippyness could be caused by him not feeling 100%.

I had no idea he was sick but I was not that surprised because something inside me was telling me I had to get him checked out. I just knew I had to be better safe than sorry.

He is not a fan of the meds. The vet gave me some feeding formula to help mask the meds in. Sprinkles does not mind the syringe and will drink water from it but the med..... Any ideas on how to give your little conure meds with out having to hold them by the neck? He needs his meds 2 times a day for 2 weeks. I am a little stressed out.

I have learned the hard way how very important it is to find a good Avian vet and how important it is to have your parrots check by the vet every year. Early detection is the only way to help your bird live it's life to the fullest. If I had taken my old bird Kiwi to the Avian Vet every year she would still be with me today. Birds are just too good at hiding how they feel it is scary.

 

[snowflake311]

Well I am happy to report i found a way to get Sprinkles to take his meds. I just mix it in water and he drinks it out of the syringe. I am less stressed now.

 

[Scott]

Thanks for a wonderful testimonial to trusting your feelings and seeking vet care.

Glad you found an easy way for Sprinkles to take medicine. Hopefully you will see relief very soon!

 

[Notdumasilook]

Another way to give meds... mix it with almond butter (the natural stuff with no salt) and make em a tiny sandwich.. Also..with syringe type meds I usually draw just a dab of karo syrup in first then the med.. so the last taste they get is the syrup taste. My lil Booger will actually come to me when he sees the syringe and take his meds without being held. Good luck

 

[Kentuckienne]

Another way to give meds... mix it with almond butter (the natural stuff with no salt) and make em a tiny sandwich.. Also..with syringe type meds I usually draw just a dab of karo syrup in first then the med.. so the last taste they get is the syrup taste. My lil Booger will actually come to me when he sees the syringe and take his meds without being held. Good luck

That's a great idea, I'm going to start giving Gus something sweet in a syringe so he will get used to it, just in case...

 

[snowflake311]

Well getting Sprinkles to take his meds is not hard. I used apple juice it is all I had. He loved the apple juice so that made his taking the Antibiotics better for him. He likes drinking from the syringe so that was not a problem.

Started his meds on Saturday night and it is Tuesday and he is changing. He has more energy and has become more aggressive / territorial. He is also 8 months old and I think hormones might be part of the reason. He is just a crazy bird.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I've never given the Rb meds, but I'm glad I read this thread.
I think almond butter would be the way to go. He scarfs that stuff up off of a spoon.
Also yogurt, cottage cheese, and other stuff I quit giving him because some say they're not good for birds.
Thanks, y'all.

 

[snowflake311]

It has been a week now of him on his meds. Things are going well. The change in his personality is he only wants me. Before he would be happy to go to my husband he loved going to strangers. Now that he is on the meds and getting better he only wants his mommy. He is also more alert than ever. When I first got him I was impressed how well his nerves were. Nothing really spooked him much. Now that he is feeling better? He is more alert and ready to jump.

I loved how outgoing he was now that he is getting better he is less interested in meeting anyone but me. He is also getting more nippy toward my daughter. So we need to work more on training.

He takes his meds pretty well the antibiotics are still his least favorite he takes them just not as fast or happily.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Glad to hear Sprinkles is recovering! I also greatly enjoyed reading your initial thread. Its inspiring to hear of other parronts out their who take such good care of their fids.

Kudos to you for going with your gut instinct. It's usually a pretty good indicator.

Thing about fids, is they are masters of disguise. They can be sick and yet appear and behave totally normal. Its a defense mechanism in the wild. Sick birds are rejected by the flock and often killed. So its a survival instinct. So it requires us to be very diligent. Otherwise, by the time they show real signs of illness, it can often be too late. It's why regular vet checkups are sooooo important! My vet is an hour away as well and I have to pay for transportation in addition to the vet costs. But we do what we have to do.

If I may ask, what is Sprinkles diet consisting of? Is he on an all seed diet? You may want to discuss with your avian vet a healthier diet option.

When I had Peaches, my cockatiel, she got respiratory infections annually for a number of years. I got her into a new vet cause all the old vet would do is prescribe meds and not tell me why it kept happening. So the new vet, same one I go to now, told me Peaches had a VitA deficiency and was malnourished. While I knew something was wrong in her diet, I thought he was exaggerating and trying to fence a product on me (Harrisons). So I told the vet I'd make some adjustments but wasn't converting to the pellets. The vet prescribed antibiotics and told me that if I didn't see any signs of improvement in a few days he suggested I go with the Harrisons (he gave me some free samples). Five days later, she wasn't any better- she wasn't worse, but she wasn't getting better either. So I called the vet and he told me to try the Harrisons. I did, three days later she was fine and never got another infection again. THAT is why I am such a proponent of Harrisons. I am convinced it saved Peaches life.

Converting to Harrisons is not easy, its complex. But I lucked out with Peaches and Skittles. Both took to it right away. One of the reasons Skittles is so bright and shiny is cause of his diet. I am convinced of that and so is the vet. Its amazing how much their diet affects them. Its not just their health- but their feathers, their feet and even their beak.

 

[snowflake311]

No. None of my birds are on an all seed diet. Even my parakeets get pellets. Sprinkles gets seeds only as a treat. He is on Zupreem. We tried Harrison but he was not a big fan of it. When I looked at the ingredients I could not justify the extra cost. So Zupreem is what I have locally that is what Sprinkles gets. He also gets carrrots, apples, and berries. He loves blue berries and raspberries. I love watching him eat the blue berries. He was on seeds at the pet store.

My Vet told me to try and switch Sprinkles to a water Bottle. Keeping the water bowl clean is hard when you work full time. I change it once a day and clean it. By the end of the day it has food sitting in it. So I am looking into that. Right now I just pull his water at night so he can not make a mess in the morning before I change it.

 

[Flboy]

I would say no to the water bottle, very easy for them to get stuck,and they are very hard to clean. Remember, the water dish is getting food in it because your baby dunks his food! This is what many of them do!

 

[snowflake311]

I would say no to the water bottle, very easy for them to get stuck,and they are very hard to clean. Remember, the water dish is getting food in it because your baby dunks his food! This is what many of them do!

Thats what I was thinking too. I don't want to take away his dunking bowl. I have not gotten the water bottle yet I am just being way more careful about keeping his water dish clean. More so than before.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I've heard great things about Zupreem. Never tried it myself but a lot of folks here who don't use Harrisons, will use Zupreem. So I think you got that right. Not all birds will take to Harrisons, so Zupreem is a great alternative OR a first choice for some. Whichever works. I just like to advise people, in a friendly way, to avoid an all seed diet if at all possible.

When I got Skittles, I bought a big bag of conure parrot food for almost $20, I wanted to make sure he had enough to get through the 'conversion phase'. That whole bag ended up going to waste cause he took right to the Harrisons. But I've had budgies who would NOT eat the Harrisons, I could not get them off an all seed diet.

As for the water bottle, I agree with Flyboy on that for the same reasons. I also second what he said about 'dunking'. Skittles does this with his pellets. He will grab a beakfull of pellets and then go to the water dish and dunk his beak in.

I think as long as you change the water daily, you should be okay. Twice a day is ideal, once in the morning and once at night. You can't really expect the bowl to be clean all the time. Plus, having droppings in the water is much more harmful than having food remnants.