Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:15 am Post subject: My kakariki seems very ill.. I can't get any help
Hello everyone.
I've been the proud owner of a little kakariki for over a year now, that was given to me by my uncle. She had escaped from his house across the street, and ended up at my window, and that's the day I took her in.
She's been an amazingly active bird, and she's very social (she'll come sit on your finger if you call her, and she'll always start talking back).
Yesterday however, she started to behave different. She didn't talk as loud as she always does, and she didn't seem very "energetic".
I didn't think anything of it, and I left it be for the day. Last time she did this, she laid an egg for the first time, and she went back to being her usual self.
However, the day afterwards, I found her sitting in her cage (mind you, she can fly around the entire room, her cage is always open and she really only ever comes to it for food, water and a bath. She loves sleeping on my closet ).
She sat there on a stick, extremely quiet, barely being able to talk to me. She's breathing quite fast, and she has her feathers puffed up like she's going to sleep. She's also always trying to close her eyes, even though she's alert to the smallest noise.
She'll still sit on my finger if I ask her, but it'll take a lot of effort. She also requires a lot of effort to climb up in her cage to a higher branch. She still eats (she mainly eats seeds from the pet store, apple, green salads,...), and she still drinks the same amount as always. She still goes to the toilet in the same way and her faeces aren't looking any different (just a bit more watery now I feel like it is). Her eyes itself look fine, nothing odd to see.
It's mainly the breathing that is concerning me. I think that's what's causing her exhaustion and lack of energy.
The reason i've come to this forum is, that I have nowhere else to turn. I've just sat down behind my computer because I just got off the phone with 9 different vets in a large radius, I've called a nature help center, and a local guy that has had these birds for a longer time. None of them were able to help me, they were either not home, or they have ZERO avian experience.
I fear for the birds' life because I've never ever seen her like this before.
If anyone has ever had a similar experience, is there anything I can do?
I'm doing the usual things I read around here. I swap the sand in her cage regularly, clean the poop in my room, change her water recipient every 1-2 days, fill her bath up again, add more seeds... I've currently made sure there's no heat escaping in my room at the moment, but my country is going through a heat streak right now anyway, so it's not exactly cold.
She just started dwelling to the bottom of her cage.. She's no longer climbing up to her branches to sit on..
I've had a fortunate call with a dog and cat vet, he's the only one that is willing to take a look.. I'm not expecting much but it'll have to do..
I'm afraid she won't hold much longer if no one is going to help her.
It is sad that you cant get
any help for your bird... even basic vet stuff
I am NOT a VET...nor have ANY formal training..
You bird is VERY sick and has been for a while.. birds show little if any symptoms at 1st, then when they do .. its a nature survival mechanism.
These people you talked to should have AT LEAST taken a crop swab tested for bacteria/ worms and taken stool samples , dissolved up in a strong salt soln, let stand to allow any worm eggs float.. then looked at a sample from the surface under a basic microscope
The checking stools etc use the "quick search" block on the left.. there is a very detailed thread how to with pics of types of worms and treatments
Now take a deep breath before reading on
Yes have seen this before.
2 things
1/ Egg bound.. if left too long usually fatal even thu the egg has been removed.. When a egg is 1st laid its very soft and hardens afterwards...If egg bound the egg hardens inside...which means the process of forcing it out can cause damage, and then the risk of breaking inside, and lactations.
In these forums, use the "quick search" block on the left, I have written up a post of being in the same situation as you, what I did... unfortunately the 1st time I did it was on a kakariki that had died and "practised" on.
Sounds hard, but doing so saved several other over the yrs
2/ The bird has worms, or crop worm or infection.. this usually also results in the odd sneeze... if not treated usually fatal.
This is what I would and have done in the past , espec considering the very disappointing support you have had to date.
Get her into warm cage/ environment
Try and get a little apple cider vinegar into the diet.. not direct feeding, a little on the seed or veggies . fruit ... Or a mist spray , just enough to dampen here feathers, no more, of a 50/ 50 soln with water.
A couple teaspoons in her water
Wash and then spray cage with a 50/50 oln of vinegar and water...brown white whatever. This should be part of routine cleaning maintenance as is adding a little apple cider once a week to the fresh veggies in the diet.
Source about 5ml of invermectin....put 1 drop on the back of the neck, and repeat around 7 days later and again in another 7 to 10 days. Keep out of light in a dark dropper bottle in the fridge.
Some where , someone will have a capstil of antibiotics around...take note of the dosage for the person / animal...estimate the persons/ animals weight as best as possible in kg....work on 100gms for the weight of of your bird.
Divide the 0.1kg into the persons weight, say 75kg thats 750 bid doses So say the prescribed dose is 2 capciles @ 250mgm.If u take 1 capciles (1/2 dose), open it up on a glass surface, and start dividing as best u can.
Make each dose stronger rather than weaker.
Now put a little bit of butter on the tip of a knife and get your bird to lick/ eat it.. should take it easy.
Now with a little butter on the end of the knife, pick up dose of the antibiotic and give to the bird... and repeat as per the bottle instructions
Do all of the above ASAP.
Then sit back hold your breath and cross your fingers..
If caught early enough things , hopefully will work out ok... or at least have done as best as you could _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Thanks for your reply.
It turned out to be the first!
She had laid eggs before, but this time it just wouldn't come out.
I couldn't see the egg either.
I had a cat&dog vet take a look at her, and he actually spotted the egg by just a quick feel, and managed to massage it out, approx. 30 hours after I noticed her not being well.
She got some pain medication and stuff, so she's still recovering, but she's slowely coming back to life.
I'm hoping not to have to go through that again. I wish she didn't have to lay at all!
Generally egg bound is due to diet deficiency...
lack minerals in particular calcium, and phosphorus. The calcium needs the phosphor to be absorbed into the body.
And a lack of oils. fats in the diet.
Phosphors is in the stems of broccoli.. what we normally throw way when preparing dinner.
Calcium.. the crushed bones and cartilage from left over cooked chicken, lamb chops ...
Oils ....kakariki have evolved in an environment with no mammals... hence why so many of our native birds often behave, feel and have diets similar to small mammals... including meats....see calcium above.
There is a long sticky thread called "what do you feed...' have a read thru that.
Glad to hear things going well....egg binding tends to make me shudder somewhat...
Thankyou for the update
Steps _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
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