Not again :(

[marie83]

Well yesterday I managed to coax him onto me and once he was there he was fine and just wanted cuddles again.
He seems to be in so much pain, I was moving so carefully as he kept losing his balance and then screaming every time he did. I had a quick but gentle look under his wings which don't seem any worse at all, actually they don't look sore now, just bald spots. He screams blue murder if I try to touch anywhere other than the top of his head, neck or back and usually I can do anything to him with no fuss.
After that I let him come to me for cuddles but otherwise left him alone because he runs a mile when I try to move my hands. He has moved into his travel cage for a few days as his main cage isn't the best design (I am planning on replacing but am reluctant to order online again), I couldn't get him out easily if he didn't want to come out but I needed to get him asap in an emergancy. It will also be easier to keep him warm in it.

As soon as the vets opens I'm on the phone kicking up a fuss I think, the time it takes for them to get back to me is frankly ridiculous. The receptionists dont seem to have the ability to pass messages on to the vets...

[cml]

I am so sorry for you and Ollie, Marie. I really hope you can get to the bottom of whats wrong and help him. I know that you are doing everything you can for him and he's lucky to have such a dedicated owner!

[friend2parrots]

i feel so sorry for little Ollie from what you've written it definitely sounds like he is experiencing some sort of internal pain. i think youre doing the right thing in cuddling him when he wants to be cuddled, and giving him space when he's in pain.

Ringo behaved exactly like the "terrified" Ollie you describe after his spookout for a while - darting, hiding, etc. although he was not in physical pain, he was in a state of mental panic.
Ollie may also be in a state of mental panic, only thing is for him, he's trying to figure out why his body suddenly feels painful to him, and why the touch of a human hand is painful sometimes.

as a species, from what Ive heard and experienced, GCCs have a very strong tendency to become aggressive when stressed physicially or mentally, even if they have been very sweet for years.its because some survival instinct just takes over their brains, and they dont see the devoted owner anymore in front of them, all they can see in that mental state is danger everywhere. sometimes their first instinct is to ward off the perceived danger with bites. thus, its possible that Ollie will try to bite you when he is in pain - dont let it get you down.

wishing for Ollie's recovery, and that you can get a hold of your vet. all the best

[marie83]

Well we've been to the vets again though it was doubtful I was going to get there due to a large amount of snow last night and not much else to say to be honest. He examined his wings, under his right isn't too bad but his left has dried blood under it and looks really sore.

I've given him some more poop to test as there was a problem with the blood results from the last run of tests. We have been given some metacam to try to help with any inflammation that might be causing him pain, though we obviously still don't know of the cause (anyone know much about the use of metacam with birds please? he is on the lowest dose for his size)
Ollies weight is also 7g below his normal weight and is now 71g on my home scales, the vets scales however only weighed him in at 60g so it looks like mine might be weighing him heavier (this is normal as there is usually a discrepency between different sets of scales), either way he has still dropped 7g and if his weight is only 60g thats pretty low but still what is considered a "normal weight".

It was suggested he may have arthritis in his wing joints but we are waiting for these poop results before looking into it further. I'm also going to get more samples to re-test for giardia if these dont show anything up.

from what you've written it definitely sounds like he is experiencing some sort of internal pain......


.....as a species, from what Ive heard and experienced, GCCs have a very strong tendency to become aggressive when stressed physicially or mentally, even if they have been very sweet for years.its because some survival instinct just takes over their brains, and they dont see the devoted owner anymore in front of them, all they can see in that mental state is danger everywhere. sometimes their first instinct is to ward off the perceived danger with bites. thus, its possible that Ollie will try to bite you when he is in pain - dont let it get you down.

wishing for Ollie's recovery, and that you can get a hold of your vet. all the best

Agree with this about the pain and thankfully I now have a vet who isn't contantly trying to pass his symptoms off as mental distress.
Ollies actually being really really good about not biting, he is all about running away at the moment which is a good thing but does present difficulties in getting him back to his cage, it also means I have to keep him in the travel cage for now which I feel really guilty for, it must feel like a shoebox to him I'm trying to do everything as gently as I can though and allowing loads of time to get him back in his cage etc. The travel cage is a neccessity atm as obviously I can't be mucking about half the day trying to get him out to be weighed and medicated.
Thank you for the good wishes.

I am so sorry for you and Ollie, Marie. I really hope you can get to the bottom of whats wrong and help him. I know that you are doing everything you can for him and he's lucky to have such a dedicated owner!

Thank you so much. Just wish I knew what it was.

[marie83]

Hmm my boyfriend says Ollie smells funny today, I said funny in what way? My boyfriend says he doesn't know but he smells wrong :S I have no idea as I'm made up with cold and can't smell anything.

Some of Ollies droppings appear to be runny but not all of them are, it seems to be in the evenings more than anything, we are giving him his dose in the morning, not sure if this is a side effect of the metacam?

Its day 3 of the metacam and it doesn't appear to be doing anything as yet, he is losing small feathers from somewhere, I suspect it is more from under his wings so thats something I will be checking later anyway as I don't want his skin to get infected.

Ollie still wont come near me- at all now, not even if I offer my hand for a cuddle and wait for him to come to me, which is making weighing and medicating him very very awkward. Trouble is this is only going to get worse cuz no matter how much I'm sitting near him and passing him treats and stuff, its not over-riding the fact that I'm doing bad things to him too. Ok I was in this position last time when he was on antibiotics and I quickly managed to build our relationship to an even better one but I selfishly feel really deflated by the thought of having to start all over again, again.

I think having the heating on so high has confused Harlies hormones, she keeps sticking her tail up in the air and doing loads of calling, normally she only does this over the summer. The heat lamp is coming tomorrow so hopefully we can then un-confuse her and stop cooking ourselves and bunny in the process.

[marie83]

Well got up this morning and went straight to check on Ollie, he seemed the same in himself. I then checked his output and was met with dark emerald green faeces which are somewhat runny.
I got straight on the phone to the vets, the lovely nurse said that is a side effect of the metacam and to skip this mornings dose until the vet calls me back.
So then I weighed and fed Ollie, his weight this morning is 68/69g (it wouldn't settle on one).

So then its Harlies turn, i watch her for a bit and all seems ok. I go to clean her out and she has some faeces which are 95% uric acid and some which are this really deep emerald green colour which is also runny. Thing is she isn't on the metacam so I've taken photos to show the vet. I'll put them on my next post. I'm really peed off at myself for not checking Harlie before calling the vet.

[marie83]

Cage floor is bare for a reason but is getting cleaned three times a day atm if needed. Any thoughts on these disgusting pictures? lol

[janetafloat]

Gosh, just stumbled across this thread - I don't usually look at this topic - and am so sorry to hear about Ollie's troubles, Marie! Poor little mite...and Harlie....and you! You must be so worried and stressed out about all this. I hope that you can get to the bottom of this, and that your birds get better very soon!

[marie83]

Gosh, just stumbled across this thread - I don't usually look at this topic - and am so sorry to hear about Ollie's troubles, Marie! Poor little mite...and Harlie....and you! You must be so worried and stressed out about all this. I hope that you can get to the bottom of this, and that your birds get better very soon!

Thank you. Me too. Ollies just been screaming the place down in his cage, I cant see what he is doing because he is covered up but I can have a guess. Its not a normal scream, its like somethings attacking him and its breaking my heart

I did get a photo earlier under his wings when we did his daily checks, it was a chance shot my boyfriend just happened to click at the right time because I try to do everything gently and quickly so as not to traumatize him more. Ill post it next

[marie83]