Ohno Emmi might be sick! Help please!

[KimberlyAnn]

So while I was out at the neighbors, my step daughter gave Emmi some grape juice apparently. (I was just told this morning when I quized everyone on any possible reason why Emmi might be sick. Let this be a lesson to my household! Do not feed foods that are not approved by me when I leave the house!) This was right before bed. My step daughter then left and promptly got a flat tire so I kinda rushed Emmi to bed so I could go with my husband to help her.

Well, we get up this morning and Emmi has clear liquid urates with some white specks and runny poops. I called my normal avian vet and I can drive an hour to meet her for an emergency visit, or I also have another avian vet that is open on Saturday that I made an appointment at in 5 hours (it is much closer and half the cost of an emergency visit with my normal vet. Both vet offices are asking me to just feed pellets and watch her for the next four hours and that it might just be the grapes as the rice, broccoli and chili powder has never done that to her before.

Other then that, she's fine. Right now she's beating up her favorite Plexiglas toy because she's mad that she's not being let out of her cage (I want to not miss one dropping, but am doing paperwork today so will be in the room all day with her) and climbing up-side-down on the top of her cage...normal Emmi. She's been eating her pellets, drinking a normal amount of water, and not fluffed or over preening.

I know both vets say she should be fine and I will sew one in five hours! lol but ick. I'm worried!

[KimberlyAnn]

Ok phew! We are 100% back to normal in just a few hours. Both vets say to just watch and to maybe stay away from grapes and apples since this seems to happen with her. It was never this bad with apples however. They said maybe when she is older, her system can handle it more and no way is she ever allowed juice. It could have been something in the juice since it was not a 100% juice, but grape juice "from concentrate." Yuck!

But at least now I know that I have two avian vets in either direction from me who respect each other and have different buisness hours! I'm covered seven days a week with only nights at emergency prices. Phew.

If anything changes, I'm going in tomorrow!

[cml]

Glad emmi seems to be okay!

Stitch has been a bit "low" yesterday and today, but weight is stable etc. I think its just the heat and his molt, but first sign of trouble and we are going to the vet!

[KimberlyAnn]

Yes, Emmi is great! Back to normal poops. Just was so upset when I finally let her out of her cage. She let me know by complaining in Green Cheek Speak without one pause. A lot of robotic grunting with fast chirping and a few bites that don't hurt, but make her point clear. It's like being yelled at by someone who won't listen to you and never stops to hear you speak. Lol She will not be locked in her cage when we are obviously home! No no no! She's over it now and running around like normal.

What is the matter with Stitch? Just slowing down? Heat does that to me!

[cml]

Yes, Emmi is great! Back to normal poops. Just was so upset when I finally let her out of her cage. She let me know by complaining in Green Cheek Speak without one pause. A lot of robotic grunting with fast chirping and a few bites that don't hurt, but make her point clear. It's like being yelled at by someone who won't listen to you and never stops to hear you speak. Lol She will not be locked in her cage when we are obviously home! No no no! She's over it now and running around like normal.

What is the matter with Stitch? Just slowing down? Heat does that to me!

Yeah, just a bit more calm, and not his normal hyper self . We've had 30 degrees today, and our appartment has been super hot, its very uncomfortable for us humans as well...we slow down as well, just as you said. Wife's had headaches all day.
We went from 12 degrees to 25 over night a couple of days ago, and we havnt adjusted yet.^^

[KimberlyAnn]

That's a huge change in temperature! We are headed towards 40℃ ourselves in just a few weeks. That's over 105 for Americans. Lol

Cooling down an apartment...sucks. I'm on the top floor and it seems like the sun just bakes us on all sides. Thank god for AC!

[Pajarita]

Glad to hear it was just a scare. I only give them orange juice mixed in their water but I used to mix organic white grape juice in it too and my GCCs (4 of them -two females and two males) all eat grapes and apples and they never had weird poop because of them -maybe she has an intolerance to something (could the juice have had some preservative in it?)

[KimberlyAnn]

Yes, for sure it did. It was one of those frozen juices you mix into a container that my daughter brought home. (We hardly ever have juice or soda here, I drink tea and water and I do the shopping so...lol) So it was most definitely the kind that was not just juice from grapes! And Emmi didn't get it watered down.

Apples cause her to have runny poops that are harder to clean up, but still not watery if that makes sense. But it was not like this. This was like pure clear water with runny poops. Apples I can understand because some people and some dogs...apples can have that affect. The grape juice I can bow understand too because she should have never had any. Especially for the amount of sugar that's in it and other yucky stuff.

Pajarita, what are your thoughts on what the vets said about holding off on these foods in general until she is a little older? She just turned five months from what the little bit of paperwork I have says. Unfortunately I don't have much info because we got her from a friend of a friend who got her from a pet store and could not keep her. It looks like she was weened just under three months ago.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Our baby tiel gets slightly more watery poops with apple. Our AV said its just their system getting used to it but maybe the grape juice was just a bit much for her... too strong perhaps if it was made from concentrate.. As Parajita points out her orange and grape juice is organic and fresh not from concentrate and is then diluted which is a good idea! I mean fruit juice from concentrate even makes me run to the loo... no reason why it wouldn't happen to a bird.

Maybe try fresh foods like leafy greens first and then go onto the fruits a bit later? I've never really had a problem with young birds on fresh foods as a portion of their and our cockatiel Edmund was raised on seeds, and fruits/veg before we got him. Obviously I've replaced some of the seeds with pellets and soaking mix of rice, pulses, etc. Would that perhaps be something to try a soaking mix or some rice for variety (I use brown rice and quinoa). I'm not really too familiar with specific conure diets or needs.

Gather some opinions or ask your vet again what fresh things you can use to supplement this part of the diet or the basis (if you intend on going for a raw diet)

[KimberlyAnn]

I feed a wide variety of veggies, not so much fruits because I don't have a large assortment of fruits. I do have berries, bananas, kiwi, and other things, two servings of fruit is all you really should have in a day. Too many servings of fruit is waaaay too much sugar. I don't buy into the whole juice fasts etc. So unhealthy for a person! I'm sure it's worse for a bird. But I eat a ton of veggies. Plus whole grains, beans, etc. Pretty much, I eat bird safe food as it is. Lol So she eats bits of what I eat too. I steam everything and don't salt my food. Everyone hates my cooking in my house if I make things this way! Haha. Plus I have to always watch that I'm getting enough fat and meat. Coconut oil on rice is so yummy!

But ok, I confess...outside the home I eat like a normal person. Lol You have to splurge sometimes and French fries are really really good!

In general, I don't keep juice on hand either. Or soda. (Again, sugar! Water is so much better for you then juice!) Which is where the issue came up. My step daughter gave Emmi the juice she bought without watering it down. If I had been home...this would have not happend. But in the case that I have grapes on hand, I would like to give her a bit, but maybe when she is older. I'm hoping it was just the unhealthy juice that did it, but then again it happened sort of with my husband's apple pieces he gave her.