Not again :(

[Baylee4ever]

wow, Germany? why Germany? I hope you find out whats wrong with Ollie. Keep us posted!

[friend2parrots]

How's Ollie doing today? Is he still fixated with his feathers? I hope he's still continued to be his normal self these past few days.

[marie83]

Ollies feather loss appears to have slowed down the past few days thankfully but this coincided with him paying alot more attention to destroying a wooden toy he has, he usually isnt much of a chewer, in fact he never has chewed much in the past no matter what he has been offered. I have also noticed some on the feathers on his wings have started curling against the usual lay of his feathers, he also needs his claws trimming yet again as they have taken off like they are on rocket fuel again, despite the fact he has appropriate perches and no change to his diet.

Apart from that he seems to be more sleepy than normal but also very very clingy during out time, he does have some good spurts of energy thoughout the day though.

He has stayed stable at 73g since Friday morning despite eating the same as usual + a bit extra. Nothing else to report at the moment but I will keep updating as and when I have new info.

[marie83]

Spoke too soon, overnight a load more feathers have disappeared, some from around his neck and a few more from under his wings. His weight today is 72g.

[friend2parrots]

sorry to hear this marie - but keep your chin up. Hopefully the test results will be able to guide your vet as to what's going on, and you can move forward from there.

sending more warm wishes for Ollie and you!

[marie83]

Just rang for the test results and they are not in yet so this is going to be a long wait til monday

Ollie spent most of yesterday and wednesday asleep or just quietly sitting, he only moved to get some food. Today he is bright and playful and making alot of noise, far far more noise than usual or at least he was earlier on. Now he has retired back to bed.

[marie83]

Still no further forward with things regarding Ollie. He has been "ok" recently, lively, playful, no more feathers missing and was back up to 77g which held steady.
Yesterday and today he is very very quiet and not vocalising bar the odd scream like he is in pain, he doesn't want to move much and took forever to come out his cage this morning. He is eating and drinking normally but has made his wing pits completely sore again and is refusing to fly at all. All he wants to do is cuddle up against my neck and sleep at the moment. If I put him down somewhere he just fluffs up and stays put until I go to get him again. Oh and he seems a little unsteady on his feet at times.

Of course my vet isn't in today, still don't know anything from his test results apart from metal poisoning has been ruled out. I've requested a call back as I'm relucatant to take him out in this cold and the roads are really slippy round here besides that I know from experience that I'll go there and Ollie will put on a damn good show that he feels fine, happy, lively etc. cuz he always does!

Harlie seems to be ok at the moment.

[Andromeda]

I feel so bad for you and poor little Ollie and Harlie. I know you must be very frustrated and sad that after all this time and all these tests Ollie has had to endure you don't have any answers.

I think I saw earlier in the thread that the giardia test came back negative and I know I saw you say Ollie has been on Flagyl but it sounds so much like giardia: scratching and picking at the skin and feathers (starting under the wing and then moving to other areas) and pulling out feathers and screaming as if in pain, depression, lethargy, and weight loss.

The other thing that makes it sound like giardia is how it will flare up and then go away. Birds that have giardia can be asymptomatic for short or long periods of time and then suddenly when they are stressed (for whatever reason) they start showing symptoms.

Giardia can be really difficult to diagnose and to treat (a course of Flagyl may not have eliminated the parasite). The samples of the droppings have to be fresh and even then the bird may not continuously shed the parasites. It may only shed them intermittently meaning some droppings may not contain the parasite which would lead to a negative test result even though the bird does indeed have giardia.

Do you know if Ollie has had an ELISA test? It tests for the antibodies produced to fight giardia. The most reliable test for giardia is the fecal test but since it's possible the bird isn't continuously shedding the parasites another route is to look for antibodies.

[friend2parrots]

i'm sorry to hear that Ollie is still not feeling well, and that the tests you did earlier
havent given any conclusive answers.

you mentioned that Ollie wants to cuddle a lot - I think you should definitely let him do that as much as he wants to, as it will offer him some comfort against whatever unpleasant sensations he's feeling physically right now.

Andromeda's advice about the Elisa sounds like its worth pursuing. also, has your vet mentioned anything about his diet, like any special foods that might be helpful for him now to give him some extra energy?

if Ollie always puts on a show of perfect health for the vet, you might want to consider videotaping him while he's looking as lethargic as youve described in your post, and also video his wingpit-picking/screaming out, etc. and sharing the video with the vet.

wishing all the best for Ollie and Harlie - let us know how it goes

[marie83]

He hasn't has the ELISA test as far as I know. I will ask about it and I will request a re-test for giardia seperately.

Last night after I was in bed he was screaming several times throughout the night like he was in pain. This morning his tail and beak looks really scruffy, I need to check under his wings but I have a problem...

Well today he is terrified of me. He stepped up for me to come out his cage, literally as soon as he was out he screamed and flew off onto the back of the sofa where he did a half land/half crash. I left him for a moment to recover from losing his balance then approached him so I could get him to be weighed but he started leaning really backwards then screamed and flew again, landing on top of the cages. I left him a few minutes and got on with prepping their morning meals in the kitchen before coming back armed with a few treats. I didn't reach for him at all, there was at least a foot and a half between us, I just showed him the treats and he disappeared as fast as he could, literally squeezing himself down behind the cages.
I've left him there and eventually he climbed back up to the top of his cage but every time I so much as glance at him from across the room he sort of cowers away and looks like he is going to go back behind the cages again (I'm sat about 8ft away).