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Post by siobhan on Apr 25, 2015 21:21:11 GMT -5
Trixie can't keep herself clean. Periodically I have to catch her and clean poop off her tail and the feathers around her vent. She wobbles constantly, almost like a palsy. Tonight she even had poop on the bottoms of her feet. Our avian vet said she can't do much for tiny birds, even budgie size, because they're so little that measuring dosages and examining them and everything is just about impossible to do properly. So ... it's up to me, apparently. Trixie never makes a sound, though at first she used to sing in the mornings. She didn't even struggle much when I was cleaning her up and didn't squawk like she did the last time I cleaned her up. Anybody have any ideas?
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Post by biteybird on Apr 25, 2015 22:47:36 GMT -5
Is she fluffed up a lot (a sign of illness in canaries)? Also, you might try spraying her for lice/mites - I've lost a couple of canaries this way (before I was aware that they can be susceptible). The wobbling is definitely not normal. Do you think she is not behaving in as spirited a manner than previously? Check under her feathers and feel for her 'keel' bone, to see if she's really skinny under all the feathers. It's often quite hard with canaries to tell what is the matter with them and how to treat it. I don't think I've been of any help, here....sorry.
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 25, 2015 22:48:06 GMT -5
I don't know what it is, but this sounds similar to what Conan was like in the last month before I put him down.  Watch her, in case she starts having seizures... I'm sorry. |
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Post by easttex on Apr 26, 2015 8:54:53 GMT -5
Is it possible she has a respiratory infection? Poor balance can be part of that, and also the no singing. Honestly, if you have any other avian vets in your area, I would ask for a second opinion on the no-treatment policy. I would think if you can treat a parrotlet you would be able to treat a canary. I know finches don't like to be handled, but you're managing her pasty butt. I hope she'll be okay!
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 26, 2015 12:04:32 GMT -5
I agree that you should look into getting a second opinion. My vet was hesitant to treat Pico, but she called several avian specialists (from all over western Washington) until she got the answers she needed.
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 26, 2015 12:05:57 GMT -5
We tried to give Conan some baytril, but he wasn't having it. You might have better luck with Trixie, since she's somewhat used to you handling her.
Do you want me to mention this to Pico's breeder? She also breeds finches...
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Post by siobhan on Apr 26, 2015 13:58:42 GMT -5
The nearest avian specialist is at the University of Illinois, and he's the only one in the STATE. Our vet is the only one locally who even treats birds at all. I looked her over thoroughly yesterday when I cleaned her up and I don't see any sign of mites. Her breathing isn't labored. I suspect she's a LOT older than they led me to believe when I got her, and that she may just be having old age issues. It looks exactly like the trembling you see in old people. Her appetite is normal.
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 26, 2015 14:51:49 GMT -5
That all sounds reassuring.
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Post by siobhan on Apr 26, 2015 16:01:28 GMT -5
I keep her cage scrupulously clean but she sits in one spot and poops and doesn't move and it sticks to her feathers. And she can't get it off herself, so I have to. She hates that.
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Post by easttex on Apr 26, 2015 18:09:28 GMT -5
Regarding mites, have you checked her for red mites? They are nocturnal and find places to hide during the day.
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 26, 2015 18:11:25 GMT -5
To check for red mites, you can cover her cage with a white sheet at night, and in the morning you'll see tiny specks on the sheet.
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Post by siobhan on Apr 26, 2015 21:28:06 GMT -5
I figured it out and I feel like the world's prize dummy. I wanted to clean under and behind her cage today, so I moved her cage onto the floor (nowhere else to put it) and set it in the sunshine streaming in the window. You never saw such a huge change in a bird so instantly. She hopped into a patch of sunshine and basked and perked up into the Trixie I used to know. I had her cage on a dresser next to Ringo's cage partly so they'd be company for each other and so she'd be out of drafts this winter. But no light falls directly onto her cage there. The lamps are not where they shine on her and she was across the room from the windows. I watched her perk up and immediately started rearranging. My lizard was on a cabinet where the sunshine comes in the window in the afternoons and shines right on it, and I moved him to her dresser and put her on his cabinet, and it has the added benefit of a lamp next to it that will shine on her on gloomy days and in the evenings. Ringo is out all day every day and can fly over and sit in the window when she wants sunshine, but Trixie won't come out, so there she was, with no light to speak of, all the TIME. I'm a moron. To top it off, Rex (the lizard) HATED having sunshine coming into his tank and didn't care for the lamp, either. They're nocturnal. He was there because there's an outlet handy for his heating pad, but I found an extension cord and fixed him up on the dresser just fine. All afternoon and until bedtime, Trixie was as perky as could be. She's still wobbly, but I hope with some sun every day this week, which is what they're predicting, that will improve, too. And Rex won't have to contend with all that light he hates. DUH.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Apr 26, 2015 21:48:49 GMT -5
That's such great news. Sometimes it is just the simple things. Dont feel like a dummy - you have found out what the problem is and have fixed it. And Trixie is happy  |
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 27, 2015 1:22:41 GMT -5
Siobhan, please don't feel dumb or beat yourself up. You found the problem, and fixed it. I'm sure that in no time Trixie will be back to her normal, steady self. |
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Post by easttex on Apr 27, 2015 6:14:39 GMT -5
What a relief for both of you! If they could just tell us. Be fair to yourself - you have a lot of different species to care for, and working and other activities on top of that. |
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Watch her, in case she starts having seizures... I'm sorry.
