Jacko's recent vet visit

[Grey_Moon]

So Saturday Jay (and Chakra--my leopard gecko) went in for their annuals.
On a small side note--Chakra's doing great--just miserable as she's due for her next clutch of eggs.

Jay...well she's holding weight (353 at the vet) and looks generally pretty good but I'm preparing myself for an ugly truth as there was a little undigested food in her poop (she has a dilated proventriculus diagnosed back in September).
She had the beginnings of what might of been sinus issues so I'm waiting on the culture to come back and in the meantime she's been given some AVIX Booster as a Vit. A supplement.

But man, I can't get the undigested poop fact out of my head---I was hoping it was yeast or bacterial issue but the gram stain came back clean. The vet took a blood sample for zinc/lead issues so I'm waiting on that...and as much as I don't want her to go through chelation I'm hoping something comes up.

The vet knows me well enough (or she was good at seeing the panic and fear on my face) and said that it didn't mean PDD necessarily seeing as I'd recently switched her pellets (she's on Roudybush Rice Diet now) and it could just be some adjusting. The undigested food has only popped up since I switched her if I remember right---so I'm praying.

I suppose if I just *have* to know, I can ask for a crop biopsy. I might. It might be good for me to know if I have to prep myself to fight the PDD monster, but I just can't deal with the fact that I might lose her... again, September bloodwork was clean, barium x-rays to check transit time of food in her gut was a-ok...was just the dilated proventriculus on x-ray. Her bornavirus test in September was also negative.

Guys, I need a hug

[Sparky]

Argh that is worrying! I hope you get some answers

[DanielA]

Argh that is worrying! I hope you get some answers

Definitely worrying, I'd be anxious, too anxious to be able to stand it.
Hope you have luck with Jacko, and that it isn't anything serious.

[marie83]

Fingers crossed for you and Jacko

[Grey_Moon]

Just spoke with the vet today---and the results are a bit of a mixed bag.

Her lead/zinc tests are all negative---so that's great!

But the poor little girl has FIVE strains of bacteria growing in her sinuses !
The meds are being shipped out today and I'll have 'em tomorrow to start her on them for three wks (she's not going to be amused ) . Well...back to the drawing board on the proventriculus issues though, I'll discuss options when she's due for her nails in mid-June (and she'll have a follow-up).

I've been gearing up to do a homemade fresh food diet for a while but wanted to finish the 8-10 wks on the roudybush rice. But at this point I can't say I'm uber impressed with the pellets and they're not exactly nutrient-rich, so in light of her needing an immune boost and some extra fat n protein to get better I might just start her on it now...what do you guys think?
Nervous about the mash diet, but I've been consulting with Shauna from feedingfeathers and trust her, but second opinions are always wanted

So I'll break down the regime I'll be doing:

Echinacea (4 drops 3x day) and Saint John's Wort (6 drops 3x day)---these are anti-virals and immune boosters (and part of the regime she used on her 'too with possible PDD like what I'm dealing with)

Grain/bean mix:
-millet, quinoa, wild rice and buckwheat
-mung, adzuki, peas and lentils

Veggies:
-dandelion kale
-carrots, squash
-broccoli, raddish

Supplements:
-kelp
-alfalfa powder n wheatgrass
-calcium/magnesium liquid supplement
-flax oil

[jayebird]

You know, my bird was a suspected case of PDD as of last year about this time...and he's still doing fine, no change in weight, no huge infections...just chirping along...birds CAN live for a while, even a long time. Don't worry yet!

- - -

As for diet stuff....you know what, getting more fresh foods into a bird's diet is never "too soon"! I say go for it.

However, I would strongly advise against going 100% fresh food and nothing else. That easily leads to vitamin deficiencies because even when owners have the best intentions birds are irregular, picky eaters and also may just not eat enough of the things that are good for them. Because of this they may have wild dips from day to day and week to week one certain levels of certain nutrients and that's not good for the bird at all.

Definitely keep an underlying base of a pelleted diet and/or I absolutely love and highly recommend Lafeber's Nutriberries to make sure that your bird stays at a baseline level of nutrition. If the current pellet isn't working out try switching to another one.

Also - apple cider vinegar is sometimes a good thing to add a drop or two into her water or onto her fresh food. The acidity helps keep bacteria from growing on the food itself and can be good for gut flora as well.

[Grey_Moon]

The only issue with that is she's a plucker and was originally put on a crash diet of solely roudybush rice pellet for allergies, and I've seen some improvement in her. None of the other pellets on the market are gluten-free and hypoallergenic like this, so I literally have no where else to go.

I'm a bit nervous as well, but am not a huge believer in pellets so I'm taking the plunge. As far as PDD I've noticed Jacko seems more active and keeps weight on better, eating much more and seeming much better when offered fresh food. So at this point, I'll look into non-synthetic multivitamins and etc but feel like, if done right, that a 100% fresh diet will do her good. She's in no way a picky eater, and if I offer her least preferred goodies first I know she'll eat.