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Post by heatherg on Sept 21, 2024 11:34:54 GMT -5
We’re thinking of Ralph and hoping he has a good weekend.
Willow is showing me how very much he dislikes his harness. I’m starting to feel like a bully. Well go outside and see if the warm sun and nice day will distract him.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 21, 2024 19:40:46 GMT -5
This was another quiet day for Ralph, for the most part. He slept a lot and didn't want to play as much as usual, but we did have a few rounds of "Ouch! The parrot got me" and got in some tapping games too. We also played "here, little parrot," which I say to Ralph when it's time for him to go back to his cage. He runs around, avoiding my hand, until he's ready to step up and go back. He likes playing that game. Lately he hasn't been eating as much in the morning but eats very well at night. There were two surprises today though. This afternoon Ralph asked for a bath. Since he's been sick, he hasn't wanted a bath, so I've misted him a few times, despite his lack of enthusiasm. But today he started splashing in his water dish and he wanted a thorough misting. Below is a picture of a wet Quaker. As you can see, he has one of his strings in his beak. He always chews on his strings after a bath. The second surprise was when he demanded a little of his seed mix on my hand. I usually sort out the things he doesn't eat, but I just dipped in and got whatever came out. And that included some buckwheat seeds, which Ralph has always rejected. But today he was enthusiastic about them and I had to find more in the bag that he could eat. For years I've picked out all the buckwheat seeds and thrown them away, but I guess I shouldn't do that anymore. He got some of his half dose of the antibiotic today, including in his bath water. Only about a quarter of the new lower dose was in the water when he started splashing. He refused to get off the water dish so I could change the water. I'm sure that the miniscule amount of medicine he got from bathing in it won't do any harm. He really didn't get too wet on his own and the water used to mist him was plain filtered tap water, no medicine.  |
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Post by Caseysmom on Sept 21, 2024 21:16:05 GMT -5
Wow he got very wet, I don’t think Casey has ever been that wet, even after standing under the shower on my arm. That must be a good sign that he felt like a bath
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Post by heatherg on Sept 21, 2024 21:23:22 GMT -5
Hi Ralph and Ralph’s daddy: we’re glad you felt a bit better today. A bath is a good thing, especially if Ralph got dried off well afterwards. Willow needs a bath-I think he had one about a week ago. And Jasper could REALLY USE a bath!
Buckwheat is supposed to be good for growing beneficial gut bacteria; I think that’s called a prebiotic. That would be a good thing for Rslph.. Herbalists believe buckwheat is good for clearing fatty deposits from veins, which Ralph as a middle aged birdie guy might be able to stand, too. Maybe Willow should eat some buckwheat.
I hope you can reach Ralph’s vet and see about some further antibiotic treatment. I think a focused treatment would be good. I think it’s too bad that Ralph’s infecting flora wasn’t grown up and tested for antibiotic sensitivity. However, there aren’t so many classes of antibiotics to use on birds so maybe the next round (if his vet chooses) will work better.
We wish Ralph good health and recovery this early fall. It stinks to not feel good!
I enjoy hearing about the games you play with Ralph. Willow and I play “got your beak” but I think Willow enjoys the best having his jaw rubbed and all his MANY fall pinfeathers groomed.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 22, 2024 19:33:07 GMT -5
No change from yesterday, still sleepy and lots of wet sneezes. He didn't feel too much like playing other than a few tapping games and a couple short games of "Ouch! The parrot got me," and we did have to play "here, little parrot" when it was time to return to his cage. He's still eating well and did better at breakfast today. He enjoyed some buckwheat seeds again today and a pistachio. He really liked the ones that came in his seed mix and we ran out, so I got him a one pound bag of unsalted pistachios today. I told him that I expect him to finish off the whole bag, but only one nut per day.
Usually when Ralph takes a bath and gets misted, he wants to literally get "soaked to the skin." Occasionally he's content with a lighter misting. He dries off pretty quickly without any assistance and then spends lots of time preening his clean feathers.
Ralph invented most of the games he likes to play on his own. I started saying "here, little parrot" when he was out before dinner and I was ready to take him back so I could eat my dinner. It was his idea to start running away from my hand and making a game of it. "Ouch! The parrot got me" was mostly his idea too. That started once when he grabbed a finger gently and I said those words and Ralph thought that was fun. "My fingers aren't edible" is a variation on that game. He's a pretty smart little parrot and has quite a sense of humor too.
I hope we can get back to see Dr. L. this week and maybe try a different medicine. We need to get him feeling better.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 23, 2024 19:22:47 GMT -5
A little less sleeping and a little more playing today. Lots of sneezing, especially after dinner tonight. Ralph was a bit perkier, especially this morning, but I'm not taking that as a major step forward. We've had some better days followed by days that weren't so good. He continues to eat well, poop normally and preen often. Tomorrow I'll be in touch with the animal hospital and we'll find out where we go from here.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 24, 2024 19:00:03 GMT -5
Tuesday, September 24.
Dr. L. called this morning and I described Ralph's current condition. Not much change from when she last examined him. We discussed some options and we decided to try a different antibiotic. She didn't want to see him unless he worsens. I picked up the medicine early this afternoon. It's supposed to be administered directly to the beak, but there are other options if that doesn't work. The dosage is tiny and it has to be mixed with a very small amount of sweet liquid. When I brought Ralph out this afternoon, I attempted to get him to bite on the end of the syringe but he ran away from it. Option 2 is putting the medicine in a small glass and getting Ralph to sip it. Didn't work either. I accidentally dipped my finger in the liquid (I used some strawberry syrup that I thinned down and added a little more sugar) and Ralph licked it off. So I put the mixture of strawberry syrup and antibiotic on my finger and Ralph licked it all off. First dose successfully given. Since that wasn't a recommended method of giving the medicine, I checked back with the animal hospital and they assured me that it's fine if it works to get the antibiotic in Ralph. Dr. L. also suggested using a vaporizer so I got mine out of storage, cleaned it and set it up. I hope it does some good.
Today wasn't one of Ralph's better days. He mostly rested and slept until this evening. He didn't eat quite as well, hardly anything this morning but a little more for dinner. After I put him back in his cage for bedtime, he went straight to his food dish and ate his ration of seed mix and some pellets. He didn't want to play too much during the day but was in more of a playful mood this evening. A few tapping games and "Ouch! The parrot got me," and lots of head scratches. The new medicine won't work instantly but I still hope that he'll be feeling a little better tomorrow.
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Post by heatherg on Sept 25, 2024 2:27:32 GMT -5
Yes! Mixing the medication with a syrup is a fine way to get it into the bird. I’m glad Ralph will take it that way. Our vet used to suggest mixing the antibiotic with a drink syrup like pina colada or similar.
I hope Ralph feels much better soon.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 25, 2024 19:29:03 GMT -5
Not much different from yesterday. Lots of time sleeping and resting, and a little playtime, mostly when I brought Ralph out. The only independent playing he did inside his cage was untying his strings. He did play with the honey dipper tonight, which he hasn't felt like doing lately. He ate a little better at breakfast and pretty well at dinner too. We didn't do as well with the medicine today though. Since it worked so well yesterday, I stuck with the strawberry syrup again today. Ralph took a few licks of the mixture from my finger, said ehhh and backed away. I tried again and he pushed my finger away and turned to face the inside of the cupboard and wouldn't turn around until I gave up. He must have gotten a tiny amount of the antibiotic but hardly enough to do any good. I ran the vaporizer for several hours during the day and put it on a timer to run for a little while tonight after Ralph went to bed. He wasn't sneezing quite as much today, which I suppose is a little progress.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 26, 2024 19:43:32 GMT -5
Much the same today as yesterday, but more sneezing. Most of the day, Ralph rested or slept. He didn't play at all inside his cage but played a little when I brought him out. The usual "My fingers aren't edible" and tapping games. He ate a little less than usual so maybe the side effect of the antibiotic is responsible. I ran the vaporizer for several hours again and it got pretty steamy in the living room. On the positive side, Ralph got most of his medicine today. I made some sugar syrup to use to sweeten juices and applesauce and I experimented a little by adding some to grape juice, apple juice, peach juice and applesauce, without adding the antibiotic, so I could find out which ones Ralph might like. The answer was "none." He rejected all of them, and he really hated the applesauce. After he tasted that, he shook his beak, backed away and said ehhh. I decided to try the sugar syrup by itself, something I ordinarily wouldn't think of giving Ralph, but if it can get him to take his medicine, it's worth it. And that was a rousing success. He got most of the antibiotic that way (besides what dripped off the small spoon) and he wanted more. I gave him a little more plain syrup just to make him happy, and he still wanted more. Tomorrow, Ralph, and I hope it works again. I guess that Mary Poppins was right about a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down, though it was a lot less than a spoonful for Ralph.
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Post by heatherg on Sept 27, 2024 0:26:58 GMT -5
That’s great!
The important thing is that a full dose of medication gets into Ralph each day so it can knock down those bad bacteria numbers in his sinuses and etc.
I have not yet needed to medicate Willow. Lucy figured out how to block the syringe opening with her tongue and would do that unless the medication was a flavored mix or unless I hid it in fruit smoothie or fruit syrup.
Feel better, Ralph!
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 27, 2024 19:33:59 GMT -5
Not an especially good day today. The sugar syrup wasn't as enticing so Ralph refused it and got none of the antibiotic. Once it's mixed with another liquid, it can't be saved, so it went down the drain. Of the four doses Ralph should have had by now, I estimate that he actually got less than two full doses. Only one left and I'm not optimistic about getting Ralph to take it.
He slept most of the time today and wasn't very interested in playing when he was out, except for first thing this morning. After I got his food ready and he ate some, he wanted to stay outside his cage longer. I had to vacate the Boston rocker so he could sit in it and we played tapping games and "here, little parrot" until he finally decided he needed to go back inside for a drink of water. He was ready to rest then. When I brought him out later he just wanted to sit on his shelf and rest. He didn't want to stay out for long. When he came out before dinner he got annoyed with me for trying to get him to take the medicated syrup and ignored me for a few minutes. When I offered him a piece of pistachio he dropped it and bit my finger. I tried to get him interested in a game of "my fingers aren't edible," but he didn't feel like playing. He was enthusiastic about his dinner though and ate most of what I gave him. Back inside his cage, he slept until I started cleaning his cage and he ate what was left in his dish. When I went to put in his nighttime supply of pellets and a little seed mix, he made a game of refusing to move from the dish. He sat on it until I opened the door to bring him out again. When he was out, we played a very short tapping game and then Ralph got head scratches until his bedtime. I think he's tired of the vaporizer since today he sat as far away as he could while it was running. Lots of sneezing today again. So today seemed more like a step backward.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 28, 2024 19:13:08 GMT -5
A better day than yesterday, especially the first half. I guess Ralph sitting in the Boston rocker and me on the floor eating my breakfast is our new morning routine. We played some tapping games while he was in the chair. He didn't eat too much this morning. He didn't sleep as much until late afternoon and he was a lot more interactive too. He untied his strings and chewed up a popsicle stick, and we played lots of tapping games and "Ouch! The parrot got me." Late in the afternoon, Ralph had a big string of sneezes, and that made him feel uncomfortable for a while. He just sat on his shelf while I got his dinner ready. He showed his usual enthusiasm when I brought him his food dish and ate well. We played "here, little parrot" until he was ready to go back to his cage. He rested for a while then finished his dinner, and slept again. A few more sneezes before I brought him out to play this evening. He wanted head scratches for a while then he was ready for some popcorn. One more tapping game, a few more head scratches, then back to his cage for bedtime. Unfortunately, he didn't take any medicine today. That was the last dose I had for him. I guess I'll have to get in touch with Dr. L. again and see if we can figure out something different to try.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 29, 2024 19:06:53 GMT -5
Ralph didn't have such a good day today. He slept pretty much all the time he was inside his cage and a few times when I tried to bring him out, he wasn't interested. When he did come out, he mostly wanted to sit in the Boston rocker and doze or get head scratches. He wasn't too enthusiastic about playing but we did get in a couple tapping games. He hardly ate anything this morning but did well at dinner. The sneezing hasn't let up at all. It seems to be getting harder for him to make any progress now and I'm not sure if more antibiotics would make any difference.
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Post by Caseysmom on Sept 29, 2024 20:42:04 GMT -5
Well , that’s not want I want to read , I hope his trend continues with a better day tomorrow. Is there a higher up avian vet anywhere that he could try and see what ideas they have?
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