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Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

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Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Birdmommy » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:47 pm

Hi everyone,

My 14 year old love bird has lost most of the use of her feet. Her grip is weak so has a very hard time getting around and now spends most of her time in her hut. I went to the vet and she said she suspects a tumour and has put her on long term Metacam in hopes it will help. She’s warned me that if we don’t see results soon I should prepare myself for the possibility of putting her down.

Anyone have any experience with this?
If it does work is long term Metacam safe?

Thanks
Birdmommy
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Love bird
Flight: Yes

Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Pajarita » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:37 am

Was the tumor diagnosed through any kind of diagnostic tool -like an XRay or an ultrasound? Because, if it wasn't, please ask the vet to take an XRay of her body to see if her liver is very enlarged. In my personal experience [and I am NOT saying this is the case with your bird!], most people free-feed lovies protein food [pellets, seeds, etc] and, if this is the way she has been eating for 14 years, it is entirely possible that the problem is not a tumor but a very advanced case of fatty liver where the liver, unable to perform its duties, grows in order to remediate the lack but, in the process and because the space it's limited, it ends up putting pressure on the sciatic nerve which, in turn, weakens the legs and feet (I had a budgie with advanced liver disease that recently died from it and he had this same symptom].

As to the long term effect of metacam... well, it's not good because it's processed through the liver and this never works out for an old bird [captive birds' livers being always their weakest point]. Plus, if the problem is liver and not tumor, you are making things worse by giving her metacam.

If it is liver, there are things you can do - like a strict low protein/low fat/low carb/high moisture/high fiber diet and supplements [milk thistle, dandelion root and artichoke extracts, methionine and theanine]. But, I am sorry to say that in my personal experience, by the time the bird is down like yours, the end is imminent...
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Birdmommy » Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:38 pm

Thanks for your reply,

Honestly it’s very possible with what your telling me that it may be the liver :(
I’ve had the hardest time getting my bird to eat anything but seed since having her. She won’t touch pellets and any fruits or veggies she also just attacks until it falls on the floor. She loves bad things like pasta and cheerios ( which I rarely ever give her ) and her seeds. The only luck I’ve had is applesauce or if I purée veggies. Is baby food safe for them?

I’m trying to figure out if I should give her some time to adjust to moving around with no legs or have her put to sleep as the vets recommend. I haven’t done a X-ray as I’m unfortunately not in the financial position to do so. I wish things were different :(

She spends most of her time hiding in s little hut right now only to come out to eat and hasn’t figured out how to get to her water to I’m bringing it to her many times a day. She seems happy, she’s grooming, singing and in good spirits and her poop looks good. A life stuck in a hut is no life though :(

Anyone have an option on this?
Birdmommy
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Love bird
Flight: Yes

Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Navre » Mon Mar 05, 2018 2:14 pm

I had a bird who could not perch. I put her in a cage with memory foam on the bottom. We covered the foam with mattress pads and felt. We would change the felt severe times a day so she wouldn't have to sit in her poop. All her food was in dishes on the floor. She lived on that one level.

For toys I tied seagrass mats to the back wall and tied toys to that. It worked pretty well, and she seemed pretty happy for a while.
Navre
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Hooded Parrot
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Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Pajarita » Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:23 am

Xrays are not really that expensive but, sometimes, even something cheap is out of our reach. What you can do is put her on a liver detox treatment because, even if it's not her liver, it will still benefit her immensely after her diet. But you also have to change her diet or she will die, my dear. The detox treatment is actually easy because all you have to do is mix things in her water. In a bowl that holds 3 to 4 oz of water, make a solution that is 1/3 aloe vera juice from the inner fillet [not gel and not juice from the entire leaf] and 2/3 water. To that add one droperful of non-alcoholic liquid milk thistle extract and one of dandelion root extract. But you also need to add stuff to her food so you NEED to change and it's not hard at all if you know what to give her. Lovebirds are natural granivores so, to them, whole grains are very attractive. Buy a small quantity of each of these grains [they sell them in bulk in Whole Foods so you can just buy a little bit of each]: soft spring white wheat, oat groats, dehulled barley [not pearled], millet and kamut. Cook them in a lot of water for 30 minutes [bring the water to a boil, pour the grains in, wait for the water to start boiling again and, when it does, reduce the fire until it simmers] and mix pureed veggies in it [baby food like pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash -no spinach but see if you can get some broccoli, if not, buy frozen chopped broccoli and add a bit to it]. All the lovies I've had loved leafy greens so you might get lucky and she might eat some of those but no spinach, parsley, collard greens, mustard greens and, if you are going to use kale, do it sparingly. Also, try fresh sweet corn. If you can't afford the corn on the cob [it's expensive this time of the year] get frozen corn and thaw it naturally by leaving it outside the fridge overnight [all birds LOVE corn!]. Once you have this food ready [serve it warm or room temperature], add a sprinkle of methionine and a sprinkle of artichoke extract to it [you can also add spices to it -my birds love chili powder]. For dinner, use half a tablespoon of a good quality budgie mix and nothing else -no sunflowers, no safflowers, etc. No people food at all.

Keep her at a strict solar schedule with full exposure to dawn and dusk and complete darkness once night falls [this will make her endocrine system go back in tune with the seasons and help her immune system become stronger].

And, as Navre said, you can always fit a cage for a bird that cannot use its legs. I had a cockatiel once that was blind and had her legs all messed up and the key is not only to make the flat surfaces soft but also for the bird not to be able to reach anything high up so it cannot fall and hurt itself. Every day -but only if she is completely tame because you do NOT want to cause her any stress- you should make her exercise her wings.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Birdmommy » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:06 am

Wow, thank you so much! Sorry I lost the forum and couldn’t find it again until today. I will do my best! I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that info for my little birdie ❤️
Birdmommy
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Love bird
Flight: Yes

Re: Ruperts bad night and rush to the Emergency Vet

Postby Pajarita » Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:01 am

I am so glad you came back because I kept on thinking about your bird and I forgot to tell you to make sure she is getting enough vitamins. I am not sure what you feed but, if you are feeding seeds, you need to supplement her with vitamins and minerals so, please, get a good quality one and give it to her every day. The best kind is the powder you add to their soft food but if your bird does not yet eat it, get the powder kind that you can add to water and put a cuttlebone in her cage.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

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