Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

[Wolf]

When your bird is sick and the vet that you want is not available, try asking in their office if their is another vet that they recommend and in there is not then take him to the other vet that saw him before you started with this new vet.

I don't have that luxery as the closest vet to me is over 100 miles from me which is over 2 hours away. But you can't afford to wait any longer than absolutely when your bird is sick.

[Pajarita]

I never give my birds anything made with milk. I know that lots of people feed their birds yogurt but, the way I see it, if a body cannot break down the food (milk) into its basic components (and birds can't because they are not mammals so nature did not give them the enzyme, lactase, that enables them to do this), absorption of them cannot possibly be efficient in any way. Some birds get diarrhea from it so if I had a vomiting bird that also has diarrhea, I would definitely NOT use it.

Personally, I would feed Super Robert something with more protein (you are feeding him practically no protein at all and babies need a lot of it). I would make a formula of whole grain flours like quinoa, oat, wheat, etc, as well as rice flour (good for diarrhea) and some nut butter (like almond -not peanut) and baby veggie food with some water - I would add a drop of ACV, the meds and some ground ginger to it (good for nausea and digestion) as well as make the water a chamomile tea (soothing to the crop as well as the stomachs) instead of just plain water (make sure it boils first and turning off the heat under it, put the chamomile in it and allow to steep until the water has cooled). I would eliminate the vitamins, the coconut oil and the probiotics. I might even add some hard-boiled egg ground into a paste - and I hardly ever feed eggs to my birds but I think he can use the protein and the fat right now. I would do VERY VERY small quantities of a formula as thick as I can make it go through the syringe once every hour if he takes it, and only make enough formula for two feedings, starting fresh on the third one of the day (but you can save the chamomile tea and use it throughout the day).

I think he has a fungal infection as I told you before so the anti-fungal should do him some good but I don't know who gave you the Fluconazole dosage for him because, usually, it's 20 mg/kg every 48 hours in three treatments OR 5 to 15 mg/kg twice a day (I would go with the lower dosage twice a day, first and see how he does with it) so the 35 mg dosage was way too high (you have to be super careful with antifungals because they mess up the liver something terrible).

I am sorry to hear he is not doing well... it's real hard with sick babies because they don't have a mature immune system. Hope to hear better news later today or tomorrow (keeping my fingers crossed for him!)

[chad84]

Robert just had his 2nd dose of fluconazole. I waited until he was really hungry and hid it in 20 ml of apple puree. He didn't notice it. And so far he hasn't gone the gag reflex or thrown up. Will feed him 1 hr after that.

*Update*

He just ate 90 ml of formula, coconut oil, carrot puree, multivitamin and probiotics. Left out Yogurt. He didn't have a gag reflex or vomit. He gave me hell to eat it though. he bit me 3 times really hard for the first time in the 2 month I have had him. When he bit me the first time, I was looking for my finger on the floor, couldn't believe it was still attached. I screamed. When I looked at Robert, before I could say anything, he said 'helloooooo', as if mocking me.

I forgave him, finished feeding him and kissed him up. Cried a little letting him know I can't lose him and will always give him best care possible. Finger throbbing with pain. He tore the skin off but not deep enough to draw blood.

His mouth doesn't smell like mold as strongly as it smelt 2 days ago. Smelt like moldy cheese. Tonight it barely smells. He is flying around alot and he plays this game where he comes in to land on me and when I reach for him he passes me and circles around the house again. he gets really tired from that game.

Just happy to see his energy levels high.
He aite 60 ml x 2 yogurt, 60 ml formula, 90 ml formula.
I feel like he hates me because I force feed him 4 times a day. And he bit me. Made me sad. He doesn't wanna eat. Happy his crop isn't a crater. It is a nice little rise above his chest. Gonna rub his head and kiss him till he falls alseep and then put him to bed. Right now he is watching TV shows with me.

[Wolf]

I would definitely not forget to add the ACV to his food as that will not only aid in his digestion it will help to get rid of any yeast infection that he has and very probably any other type of fungal infection in his digestive tract.

I really don't think that he hates you as his actions are not those of a bird that hates you. I can understand that he does not like being force fed any more than you would appreciate it being done to you. I am very sure that he has tried to make this known to you in gentler ways than biting you, but since you are continuing to force feed him he is resorting to nips to get you to listen to you. The fact that he did not break the skin when he bit you is a testament to his still trying to be gentle with you and to the fact that he does not want to bite you. He does not understand why you are force feeding him, despite his telling you that he does not like it. Which is all he is trying to tell you.

[Pajarita]

Yes, he definitely did not want to hurt you because, if he had, you would be typing with only one hand due to the other having a large bandage protecting the stitches Have you tried tempting him with goodies like nuts, birdy bread, birdy cookies, etc?

The yeasty smell is typical of a fungal infection in the digestive tract. I often wish vets would use their sense of smell to help with diagnosis - and not only avian vets but regular ones, too.

Please be careful with the dosage of the fluconazole - it's real hard on their liver.

[chad84]

Goodnight guys. Tonight will be short and sweet. Very tired. Long day of seeing clients and rushing home every 3hrs to feed Robert.

He ate 60 ml x 5 times today! 300 ml! He threw up on 1st 2 feedings and didn't on 3rd and 4th. But he gave me hell. 5th and final feeding was 2 mns ago. I fed him in 30 secs. Yup you heard me. Instead of 45 min feedings. I forced his mouth open while kissing him and singing to him, then I placed pointed tip of syringe at back of his throat and squeezed. The formula disappeared. I squeezed harder and all 60 ml disappeared. No tantrum tonight.

Now he on desk watching movies with me and grind that beak loud as ever.
He was extremely active today for his times out of the cage. He navigated like a boss. Turning corners, entering rooms and hovering... kinda.

Day 3 of fluconazole and day 2 of ACV. Mouth doesn't smell sour anymore. Has no scent.

[Wolf]

Excellent.

[Pajarita]

Sounds that he has finally turned the corner, Chad! Great news!!!

[chad84]

Goodnight friends...

Time for update on Super Robert! (he used to walk but now he flies... Super!)
I have got alot of pictures for my mates. Can't send all now though, but they are colourful. Will send more tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the vet visit with the Avian vet. She is extremely hard to meet with, just like her Avian vet mentor. But I managed to snag a visit for tomorrow (Tuesday 10 May 16). We have a x ray scheduled and I hope she will draw some blood for a blood test and test for all kinds of stuff.

For the last 4 days Robert has eaten 100 ml 3 times a day. I make it a little thick like porridge instead of watery like he likes it. Reason for that is to sneak in some extra food. So instead of 1 spoon of dry formula to make 100 ml, I used 2! Twice the food, twice the nutrition! So instead of his 3 spoons a day, he gets 6 spoons a day. Lol. Because of that, he moved from 870g on last Tuesday 03 May 16 to 915g on Monday 09 May 16 (today). I doubled the carrot puree too. I think the weight gain is because of the teaspoon of coconut oil (plenty fat) and the double amount of protein (2 spoons instead of 1). 45g increase in 1 week after a slow decline from 1050g to 870g over 4 weeks.

On the other side of things. I am not sure, but I think the candida is getting worse (could just be in my mind). His faeces portion of the poop is completely liquid now and he regurgitates (not vomits, i made a mistake before) after every feeding, sometimes during each filling of the syringe. That stresses me alot. He starts bobbing his head and then the formula pours out. I tried stopping him by tilting his head up a few times but it seems dangerous as I hear a 'gurgling' sound as if he is trying to breathe. So I stopped interrupting his regurgitation. I try talking to him lovingly and kissing him and 75% of the time it stops him.

He sneezes a few times for the day but nothing major. He started back panting intermittently as rest. I sometimes think he was flying and I didn't see him. But he never wakes up panting.

These days he is just playing with his veggies and pellets. I saw him putting them in his water but he can never get them out of the water.
He is flying up a storm. He flies several times for the day. Flying all around the house and has started doing precision landings. He even flies to walls, stops mid air, hovers a bit and then turns around and flies away.

Prepared a fresh batch of veggies, grains and almonds for him for next 14 - 21 days, depends on how much he eats (or plays with it). Newest batch below.

[Wolf]

Are you giving him as much of the ACV as the vet recommended for him? I still think that he might do better with eating his fruits and vegetables if they were big enough for him to hold. Will be interested in learning what the vet has to say. Also making the formula thicker is a good idea. None of my birds were young enough to need any handfeeding but I read that the formula need to be made thicker at certain point to insure that the bird gets enough nutrition.

A lot of this is new to me and I am trying to learn from this. Just thought that I would share that.