Anxious father

[jamcq]

Hi all....

Im pretty new to the forum but previously posted in the training area. I brought home a blue quaker almost three weeks ago. He came to me on a seed diet and I am trying to improve his diet but he continues to just reject everything else...... im starting to run out of ideas to be honest and just retrying things ive already tried hoping he will eventually like some of the broad range of fruits..veggies...or grains that ive tried.

I have two other concerns... one is that he just wants to sit on his cage..... preens but thats about it.... somehow just seems he should be doing other stuff... anything.... ignores toys of which ive got him a few now....he will stepup for food without command but otherwise seems to want to avoid being handled....

Secondly, today while he bathed (the only other thing he seems to.like) I noticed a small bald patch under one of his wings like if it was armpit area for humans.....thing is I have only seen one or two tiny feathers on the bottom of his cage since I have had him.....so I dont think he has dropped the feathers since he has been with me .....whatever the possible cause.....

Should I be worrying?

[Wolf]

All things considered, it seems to me that something just doesn't add up. This is normally a very lively type of bird, and in my opinion should have at least started to respond to your offers of fresh foods as well as to you. I Know that it has not been very long and they all respond at different rates, but, I don't think that all is right with your bird.
You didn't mention whether you had taken Heracles in to be checked out by the vet, so I am going to suggest that you should do this as soon as possible. Birds will try to hide an illness until it is not possible for them to do so any longer, and then it may be too late for treatment to be successful. So again lets rule out illness, and vitamin deficiencies, and fungal and parasitic infections. These particular thing come to mind because they can cause lethargy among other things. I would take him to see an avian vet for a complete workup.

[jamcq]

Hi wolf,

I am hoping to get him to an ornamental bird specialist friday or saturday..... there is one under an hr from me... local vets seem to be more cat and dog vets....

I did take Hercules to the place I purchased him from who specialises in breeding and selling many types of ornamental birds..... he looked at him and said not to be worried that he appeared in good health....

I am watching hercules like a hawk and havent seen him touch his wing but have seen him chew at and remove a few downey type feathers near the vent....which is now my bigger concern...however I was told not to wprry about that but syill doesnt seem right to me? I dont know... feel like im second guessing my own judgment now....

Good news is that he is being more active today after being moved around and handled....

I will endeavour to get him to the vet as soon as I can....

[Wolf]

Heracles needs a full work up. I am hoping that I am wrong, but I would have the vet pay close attention to fungal and / or parasitic infection. I hope that his vet check come back clean, but I get worried, sometimes too easily.

[jamcq]

Heracles needs a full work up. I am hoping that I am wrong, but I would have the vet pay close attention to fungal and / or parasitic infection. I hope that his vet check come back clean, but I get worried, sometimes too easily.

One more question.... if there are problems would you be looking at the dealer? I have only had him a couple of weeks...... its a worry to me that I purxhase a bird and straight away am at a vet worrying. ....

[Wolf]

I wish that I could answer that question with any degree of certainty. If the vet gives Heracles a clean bill of health, then my worries are unfounded. If not, we will have to see what the vet has to say.
Let's just wait and see what the vet has to say, please. I am not a vet and don't have a lot of medical training, I do research everything that I can. In this case, I simply have a suspicion as to what could be happening, but that is not enough to do any more than I have done by suggesting that the vet should look at something that they might otherwise miss. At this point it could prove to be totally off base or not. It should not become something to unduly stress about at this time, there is no way to know without the results from tests, and that we have to wait on. I have been worried in the past and been wrong at least as often as not.

[jamcq]

I wish that I could answer that question with any degree of certainty. If the vet gives Heracles a clean bill of health, then my worries are unfounded. If not, we will have to see what the vet has to say.
Let's just wait and see what the vet has to say, please.

Fair enough..... I will attempt to get an appointment in the morning (its almost 11pm here now) otherwise as soon as I can.... will update once ive seen the vet..... hope its not serious... I already love the little guy....

[Wolf]

I hear you and I am hoping for the best.

[Pajarita]

Well, for one thing, all birds should have a wellness exam when they first come to live with us and it doesn't matter if they are babies, juveniles, adults or old birds. It would not be the first time or the last that a breeder sells a sick baby (I know of babies from breeders with PDD, PBFD, polyoma, chlamydiosis, genetic defects, etc) and going back to the business that sold the bird to you and expecting any other answer than "The bird is fine" is a bit naïve, isn't it? I mean, they sold you the bird so, of course they are going to tell you the bird is fine!

The unwillingness to change its diet is not the most worrisome thing here, it's the lethargy. I've never had a problem transitioning quakers to a healthy diet because, like amazons, they are naturally healthy eaters and they love fruits and vegetables. I only had one that gave me trouble with eating the gloop and produce in the morning, she would wait all day for her seed dinner and not touch anything I gave her. I always transition them during their quarantine because, as they are in a cage, I can figure out exactly what they are eating and what they are leaving behind but this bird's quarantine lasted two more weeks than usual and she was still not eating anything but the seeds so, I took a leap of faith and let her out (my healthy birds are not in cages) and, you know what? 24 hours later she was eating EVERYTHING! She just hated been caged with a passion!

What I don't like is his lethargy. Quakers are regular little firecrackers, always moving, flying here and there, always doing something, always vocalizing - so any quaker that just 'sits' there worries me. Let us know what the vet says...

[jamcq]

Hi,

I have a booking for a vet appointment in about 7hrs from now... so will update once we've been...fingers crossed...