Update on Kiko

[Tangie]

Hey everyone. After the little incident with Kiko, he has been doing better. He seems to be acting great, and as strong as ever. However. I have noticed something slightly off. As of this morning, his stools have been small and scant. Last night he had two watery droppings, but that was right after consuming two beakfulls of water. Interestingly enough. I heard that the small, scant droppings are signs of not eating enough. Does this occasionally happen to any of you during the mornings? I will be making a vet appointment just in case, but I have no idea how long they will make me wait. So I just wanted some advice about this. His appetite is fine, although I noticed yesterday he didn't really want to eat because I gave him is mirror. And then last night after taking the mirror away, he ate a bunch of millet and MySafeBirdStore seeds, with some broccoli. This morning he ate some MySafeBirdSore seeds, so far, and two beakfulls of water.

 

[Tangie]

I also had another quick question. Should I st up an emergency appointment for today, if he had two watery stools yesterday, but all of his stools have been small today, although he is acting fine and eating/drinking fine? Or should I set one up for tomorrow?

 

[Scott]

I assume you are referring to the water-bottle incident? http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/65418-help.html

Smaller than normal droppings may indicate he is eating less. Do you have a scale? Weight is an important indication of something not quite right. Periodic weighing is helpful to determine the trend.

Kiko might benefit from a vet visit. If you handle him can you notice his breastbone? Does it seem sharper or softer than normal? (a rough indication of weight) If his appetite and activity is reasonably normal and he doesn't seem scrawny, a standard appointment might be OK. Many vet receptionists can do a very basic triage over the phone to determine whether a visit is urgent.

 

[Tangie]

I think my largest concern is him just getting worse quickly. Because even the tiniest of things can affect a bird differently, and within a day everything could just spiral out of control.

Yes, I have given him periodic weight examinations for the past year or so, however the battery died roughly two weeks ago, and we have not gone into town quite yet.

However, I can safely reply that his behavior is normal, he is moving around the same, his appetite hasn't really diminished, and by the size of his keel bone, nothing seems to have changed. The only observation seems to a loose stool or so last night(but I observed him drinking water before that), and then about 3 or 4 tiny, scant droppings today. I would have felt comfortable waiting until the morning to make his appointment for tomorrow, but with the water bottle incident last week, I just was a little more nervous, so I did not know if I would call this an emergency that needed to be treated today, and not tomorrow.

 

[Scott]

Just want to clarify about the breastbone - the size of an adult bird won't change, but the amount of skin and muscle overlapping is a rough indication of weight. A tight drawn skin across the bone may reflect underweight.

Perhaps the best course would be to call the vet, describe the symptoms, and allow them - if trusted - to triage the immediacy of visit. Sometimes we just "know" when it may be critical. As you know, they can deteriorate very quickly.

 

[Tangie]

I took Kiko to the vet several days ago, after noticing bubbles in his stool. I tried taking him sooner, but we got lost and missed the appointment. The vet looked him over, said he was not dehydrated at all. He had good breastbone muscles, and although he did notice he had watery stools, he said it was a great sign that nothing was sticking to his butt feathers. He gave me some antibiotics, and a worming medicine, and said I was good to go. He did, however, mention that sometimes watery stools could be a sign of diabetes when nothing else seems wrong, so he said to weigh him a bit more, like every day. And to come back if nothing gets better within the week. He also mentioned that Kiko looked amazing for a bird on a mostly seed diet and was actually perplexed on why his plumage could be so good. It was such a stressful week or so, and I just feel so relieved at the moment.