Recovery progress

[seagoatdeb]

So glad to her she is recovering well. My Red Belly female is not much for fruits either. she has 4 she likes but I can get her to eat more vegetables, and my Meyers has liked everything. My Red Belly is very picky, so I have always had to encourage her trying new things.

I dont think I understand what the change in her voice is. Is it in her human speaking voice, her chirping voice or in her other vocalizations that you are hearig a difference? If the diference is that it is a quieter version, then it is probably her being worn out. If it is really different sounding and it is still persisting, you should probably get it checked out.

[JessiMuse]

She's never been very vocal aside from occasional times where she's happy enough to "chatter" (I'd call it singing, but it sounds like chattering to me)v and cockatiels generally don't have a "human voice" (if you look up any video of a male cockatiel mimicking words, you will notice that they will almost always have a "raspy" voice).
It's basically all the vocalizations she's made so far since I got her back, which is narrowed down to chirps, soft peeps, and flock calling (aka screaming). She doesn't act like it hurts, though it still sounds weird, even for cockatiel standards. On the day I got her back, she would scream every time I left her field of vision, while she was eating while on the table. I tried not to leave for too long because of that, since I didn't know if it hurt or not.
And it's not that it's lower in volume. It's lower in pitch. Cockatiels have a fairly high-pitch voice, and hers is lower than average (and lower than it used to sound). It sounds almost nothing like it used to.

Would a sore throat cause voice hoarseness at all in birds? I know they don't have vocal chords, but I don't know how much the throat has to do with their voice.

She started flock calling when she saw a bunch of doves eating in the yard, the other day. I wonder if she knew some of them.

[Pajarita]

Yes, inflammation causes them to become hoarse. The organ they use to produce sounds is called the syrinx, it's located at the very bottom of the trachea (right under the crop) and it splits into two 'tubes' with membranes that vibrate when the air goes through them (and that's how they produce sound and why some song birds can produce two different sounds at the same time -one from each 'tube'). When there is inflammation in the trachea, the crop, the syrinx or even in the membranes that are inside the 'tubes' of the syrinx, the sound comes out different - and that's what I think is happening to her.

[JessiMuse]

Is there anything I can do to treat it myself? Trying to find a somewhat affordable avian vet seems almost impossible at the moment, and it doesn't help that I had to use up a considerable amount of my savings on textbooks for the upcoming Spring semester of college.

Other than the voice, she doesn't act sick at all. She has just about all of her energy back, loves to eat (she always loved to eat), still likes to play with and chew on everything, and is almost as vocal as she used to be. Even her eyes look like that of a healthy bird again. Aside from her being underweight, she seems fine.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if she were to pick up something while out there. I just hope that she didn't.

[JessiMuse]

(I apologize for the double post)

Alright, so I think Lucy's voice is starting to get a little bit better, but I can't quite tell. I heard her chirp today, and it sounded a little bit higher in pitch. She's also getting a little more vocal.

So if it is getting better, is there anything I can do to help her throat, to speed up the recovery proccess?

[Pajarita]

No, the inflammation and/or irritation (Lord knows how much she must have been calling when she was out there) will go down by itself. You can give her soft food with a bit of virgin olive oil (the omega 3 reduces inflammation) or a bit of yucca intensive (very good for inflammation).

[JessiMuse]

Thanks, Pajarita.

Huh. Didn't know birds can scream themselves hoarse. I kept reading that it was a sign of some kind of infection, and got a little concerned. I'm glad that's not the case, because it definitely sounds like it's clearing up. It's even better today than it was yesterday.

So poop is clearing up, voice is currently clearing up, and she appears to be gaining weight. It seems that she's alright. I'm honestly surprised that she didn't catch anything while out there, but needless to say, I'm relieved. She doesn't even have mites. Talk about a lucky break!

[Pajarita]

Indeed it was! And in more ways than one! Most people never find the birds they lose, you and her really lucked out!

[JessiMuse]

You really should have heard the sound she made when we reunited. It was like a quiet "feed me" cry mixed with a whimper. Never heard a bird make such a noise.

She looked so tired, too. Can't imagine what trying to sleep outside was like for her. Though I've yet to see one, there have been sightings of owls in my area. My mom even saw one in the yard a few years back. I saw a hawk flying overhead today as well. I really AM lucky to have Lucy home.

You guys think it might be alright to end 30 day quarentine a little early? Lucy appears to be healthy aside from being underweight, and the baby bird shows no signs of illness. I don't see anything wrong with it, but I'm not sure...

[Wolf]

Sometimes it works out to be alright and sometimes not. The question that you must ask yourself is if it is worth the risk to you.
I know that quarantine is a pain in the neck at best and it is hard on the nerves but it has saved many birds lives. We are actually being rather lax when we quarantine for only 30 days as that is the bare minimum amount of time for quarantine with the more normal being 45 to 60 days. Myself, I would not break quarantine early, but you are the one that must make the call and you are the one that must live with the results, good or bad, of that decision.