Help! Calling all Parakeet owners: Sick Parakeet! Update: She's gone..

[Bantimna]

Quote:
THe same like my parakeet Teeweetie, Boil the kettle and in a jug put a tea bag let it soak then remove and place in another cup with water. Now with the second cup let it cool and when cooled let her drink from it if you can.

Are you talking about normal (black) tea??? I strongly urge you not to give tea as the caffeine content would NOT be good for a healthy bird much less a sick one.

In my Parakeet book By Barbara and Standley Moizier recommends it, tea what type I don't know but I think normal tea or Rooibos.

I would say go to a avian vet ASAP

 

[Sissy]

Unless you can offord to
pay the high cost for the vets
which i couldnt, i put a heat lamp with 60 watt blub
and gave it warm water.and all it reg, feed plus chopped hard boiled egg.
and kept half of the cage cover with a heavy towel
'and it recovered to live another few years.
but my keet wasnt falling over just puffed up all the time.
and sitting in the corner.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Why Caffeine is Toxic to Birds:
By: Dr. Lisa Paul DVM


Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine. Caffeine &
theobromine belong to a chemical class of alkaloids called
methylated xanthines. These are found in coals, coffee, tea & in
chocolate. As a class of drugs, Methylated xanthines cause
central nervous system (CNS) stimulation, diuresis (flushing of
fluids through the body), cardiac (heart) muscle stimulation, &
smooth muscle stimulation.


Methylxanthines are absorbed very quickly & easily from the oral
cavity & intestinal tract. The liver is needed to metabolize
these chemicals, & the waste products are excreted in the urine.
These chemicals primarily affect the CNS & kidneys. These
chemicals cause increased motor activity & also result in
tachycardia (too fast a heart beat.) Because of the increased
motor activity, seizures may occur. The kidneys may be affected
causing diuresis & very high urine output. This may lead to
dehydration. Respirations may become too rapid, & hyperthermia
(too high a body temperature) may occur, resulting in death.
There is NO antidote for these drugs. We may only treat symptoms
with supportive care & drugs to decrease their severity.


Toxic dosages for birds are not well established. In dogs the
toxic dose is approximately 200 mg/kg of body weight. In cats the
lethal dosage is only 80 to 150 mg/kg of body weight. (higher
metabolism means that less is needed to cause toxic effects.) A
cup of coffee may contain 35 to 85 mg. A 12 ounce bottle of cola
contains approx 50 mg. Now these levels would mean that a 1 kg
(2.2kg) cat would need to drink1 1/2 to 3 colas for death to
occur. However, since a bird has a much higher metabolism than a
cat, & a much smaller body size than a cat, we can safely say
that it would take a much smaller dose for toxic effects &
possibly death to occur.


Since we are unsure of the toxic dosages in birds, one definitely
should avoid ALL caffeine & chocolate consumption for pet birds.
(theobromine & caffeine are both found in chocolate-- this means
that chocolate packs a double whammy!) I recommend that these
substances be avoided in ALL pet species.

I feel that my birds have enough energy as it is. Why rev their
systems up even more???

 

[77horses]

Thanks everyone!

We made sure all the Parakeets had extra food and water, just in case she was somehow not getting enough. Today she seems much more lively and not as skinny-looking. She is sometimes a bit fluffed up still, but she's doing better I think.

We have one dish of food that all the Parakeets share and one of those waterers that gerbils, mice, birds, etc. can use (the one where they push in the little metal thing and water comes out the tube). I think that maybe she was being crowded out by the others and maybe couldn't get enough water.

Poor girl! I'm going to change the waterer to one that is easier for her to get to and I'm going to put two food dishes in so she can have the choice to use either one. My dad doesn't want to bring her to the vet because of the high prices, unfortunately.

But I will see how she does for now. Since none of the other Parakeets were acting sick, I think she was just hungry and dehydrated and wasn't getting enough water.

Thanks again and I will keep you updated!

 

[amyparrotflock]

Since you're not sure what she has, seperate her from the rest of the flock- if it's contagious (I'm assuming it's not, but it could be) it can spread to the healthy birds in the cage. Secondly if you suspect AGY (avain gastric yeast) you can treat it with Apple cider vinegar in the water, a few drops per cup, just enough to change the pH in the crop. In fact I do this monthly with the parrots, and chickens, to help them out.

If you have no reputable avain vets near you (or you have no way of getting there) call and ask what you can do. It's not worth trying to conectjure and assume we know whats wrong, only a vet can tell you for certain. And not all vets are that great- One vet told me to take my then 12 year old tiel home and wait for him to die. Naturally I got a second opinion, heart failure, BUT treatable with lasix to rid the build up of fluid in his lungs/around his heart/in his belly. He's 14 now!

Amy

 

[PandoraTaylor]

ok here is another thought, you said she has a mate? has she been laying eggs?
she may just need heat/moisture to help pass an egg.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
She laid some eggs in the Summer with no problems, but she isn't/hasn't been laying any eggs lately, so I doubt that's what it is.

 

[77horses]

Update: Hey everyone...I have some bad news.

Toddra died a couple days ago. My dad called me and told me he found her in the bottom of the cage.

I don't think she was sick after all; we put an extra food dish and an extra water dish in her cage with the rest, so she had enough to eat and drink. The other Parakeets weren't acting sick like she was.
I think she died from old age. We had her for a long time, and when we got her she was already an adult (who knows how old when we got her).

I feel really bad for poor Kiwi, her mate. They were inseparable. He would always be feeding her and they would sleep next to each other on her swing every night. When I took either one out of their cage without the other, they would call to each other constantly to make sure they were close by.

Luckily, although Toddra isn't with him anymore, there are two other mate-free Parakeets in the cage. One of them, Sunny, he seems to be a bit fond of.

So I'm just going to keep an eye on him. I don't want what happened to our Zebra finches to happen to him; two of our Zebra finches that we used to have, Joey and Sweety, were close mates and when Sweety died, Joey suddenly died the next day even though he was perfectly healthy. I think it was from the loss of his mate. So I hope that doesn't happen to poor Kiwi.

R.I.P. Toddra. We've had you for so long and have made so many stories and have had fun times with you, and we will all miss you. <3

 

[usschicago1]

 

[77horses]

Quote:
Thanks