New member - and big question!

[scarf81]

Hi all, I'm new here and I hope you can help me.
My rosella is 12 and has been very ill. We have to give her medication for 3 months and I have never had to give her oral meds before - she has always taken it in food or water and has anyway been very healthy.
We tried our first time and it went ok but the second time we completely #*&^#$ it up.
It was big time traumatic for her. It was absolutely awful. She struggled like all hell and my finger slipped and we ended up accidentally getting some of it in her eyes. She was completely distraught (understandably) and won't have anything to do with us.
Problem - we have now I think completely buggered up our bond with Garp. She not only won't come to us, she actually attacks when we come near her or put our hands in the cage. She used to be completely tame and followed me around everywhere I went.
She will grudgingly take treats but the second the treat is gone she attacks. Worse, we can't give her medication now - and she desperately needs it. She is really, really angry and scared.
What do we do to repair our bond?
Garp doesn't play with toys - not interested. Her primary interest has always been her humans. Scared to let her out of her cage until she is more trusting of us because we'll never get her back in again at this rate. She flies - wings not clipped. Also, she's sick so probably shouldn't be too active just yet. Had a systemic infection that affected her thyroid, liver and some major organs. She only just survived. Please help - am devastated by this and feel horrible about what we did to our poor baby. Also no idea how we are going to get her meds in.

[Wolf]

What meds are you giving and how were you giving them?

[Pajarita]

3 months of treatment for an infection? Did your vet tell you what bacteria/fungus was causing it? I would think fungus much more likely than bacteria... Have you tried feeding her something warm and that she would like a lot with a feeding syringe so she is willing to take it without so much struggle? Handfed birds usually remember been handfed and are willing to take something out of a feeding pipette or syringe and, if she is, you could trick her by giving her two half syringes with good stuff and the third with the medicine mixed in followed by a nut as a treat for good behavior. You would have to give her a lot of the 'good' stuff before you trick her with a dosage of the medicine (and the medicine should be compounded to a flavor she would enjoy, like peanut butter, for example) but this is a good proven method of medicating them without stressing them out. Sometimes, you can mix the medicine in their water (like doxycycline, for example, or even enrofloxacin)...