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Hi everyone, I just gave Stella the last of her Baytril She didn't like it much, but thankfully she hasn't held it against me either It' s hard to believe today it's 3 weeks we've had her and 3 weeks without Luna

I took Stella back to the pet store a couple days ago for them to weigh her on their scale - she did lose some, so the young woman who feeds the birds said she will feed her for me since she has to feed the rest of the birds too. So I watched to see how and what she did and saw she administered the food much quicker then we had and almost no mess at all It took about 3-5 seconds to empty the syringe. So, since then, we changed our technique and she has eaten much better with less of a mess to. I am trying to do 2 feedings to put some meat on her bones, along with all the other stuff. One concern I have is the amount of millet I give her. I know she loves it and it's good for her to help gain weight, but I am worried about her being a millet junkie. Am I paranoid and over thinking this? She nibbles on greens and does eat seed, hasn't touched the avi-cakes.

The good news is she isn't sleeping as much - not sure if it's the meds or the feedings - just glad she isn't sleeping all the time - she's even playing with toys in the cage!

We are still waiting for the DNA test results, sometimes I think girl, others I think boy. She has make some "big bird" chirps, mostly she still sounds like a cricket. I mentioned that in the pet store and the clerks said she always had that little cricket sound - I hope she doesn't "grow out of it", it sounds so sweet. Today she made some chirpy sounds that made me start thinking boy. She was in the cage and making a chirpy almost whistling in a continuous way for about 5-10 minutes, the way some baby males I've heard but not as loud, clear, or continuous. Either way she is loved.

Jo

I'm glad Stella is doing better but the "cricket noise" still concerns me that something could be in her lungs. When you went to the vet was the vet concerned? Is it more like a hiccup (which would mean it is coming from her lungs) or just a "cheep"(just a prolonged baby noise). How old is Stella now?

I'm glad shes doing better .

The vet wasn't concerned about her cricket sound at all, I guess it is a baby sound but I never heard it before Stella. Even her begging for food cry is softer and cute. Her breathing is fine so I doubt it is a lung obstruction.

According to the store, they received her on 10/19/008 and they banded the birds themselves so I guess that would be about 15 weeks old

Jo

I too am concerned about the cricket noise, it could be infection too, so keep a close eye on her now that she is off the baytril.

Have the split band removed too, it is dangerous to have a split band on any hookbill bird and serves no purpose.

She is 15 weeks old and still being hand fed? Even if she is 12 weeks she should be weaned by now.
BTW Millet is fine to give her.I gave my babies :millets, cheerios, natural pellets, pasta and greens.

Exactly BB. That is what makes me think of asperation pneumonia. That takes a long time to get over and will cause the voice to be off, so will Asper. This needs to be double checked by an avian vet, not the pet store that sold a sick, unweaned baby. She very well could have been sick from the assembally line handfeeding that many of the chain stores get their "handfed" birds from.

The vet wasn't concerned about her cricket sound at all, I guess it is a baby sound but I never heard it before Stella

This concerns me more. No cockatiel should make a cricket sound. I would take her to another, avian certified vet and have her checked out. Asper will not go away without an anti fungal medication, Pneumonia should be diagnosed, not blindly treated...

How is Stella doing?
Is she eating on her won now? how are her poops?

I took her to a new vet on Tuesday, one who handles birds. I was very happy with her and the staff. We were there for almost an hour, they asked a lot of questions and took a very detailed history easy to do since I had her for just 3 weeks. This vet was recommended by the pet store and used to be the vet for the store.

The vet concluded there is a lower respiratory infection - could hear some "crackling" in the lungs/air sacs and recommended her to be on 3 feedings a day with another round of baytril. Her opinion is, Stella has had the infection from the store - she wasn't gaining weight because she was using the energy to fight the infection. There is no way I could do 3 feedings a day - hard enough doing 2! At the vets suggestion I contacted the store and they said no problem - they'll take her back in and set up a private cage take care of the feedings and her meds. I'm going to try and see her everyday and maybe taker her home for a couple of hours to see hubby (he misses her terribly) Hopefully it will be 2 weeks, if she needs more time that's OK, rather her be healthy and fully weened.

Jo

Good girl taking her to the vet....
From what you had been saying about Stella I had this itching feeling something was not normal-especially the cricket noises and the continued feedings.
Hopefully, she will be on the road to recovery
Keep us updated

I hope she gets better soon..

BB You really know your stuff ...

Of course while at the vet she didn't make a sound - I did mention it during the exam, again I don't think that noise is indicative of a problem - it seems more characteristic of her. She even makes that sound like that while eating, but we'll see after this set of antibiotics and her gaining some weight.

I stopped to see her last night and she did gain a few grams - up to 79

My dilemma now is how to handle things with the pet store. Even the vet said she was ill when I got her - she could tell by the history - sleeping all the time. It didn't occur to me in the store because it was Sunday afternoon 4 days before Christmas and it was busy all day. The poor little birds are handled a lot, and with all the activity of the day I figured she was just tired. I would like to take her to the vet again when she is released from the store but I hate to admit it but the cost is running quite a bit more then I thought - especially for a new baby that was sold as a healthy bird. I am glad I got her and noticed she had a problem so it wouldn't progress to a worse condition that might have spread to others and may have been fatal to Stella. Do you think I should talk to the owner about picking up the tab for the next visit? How would you approach and handle the situation?

Thanks

Jo

Jo,

I'm so sorry to hear about the problems with Stella. I've not been very active lately, and I'm sure I've missed alot, but life as I used to know it is no longer. So many things going on with family (mother) and what not, and I've been extremely busy away from the house most days. At any rate, I sure hope Stella recovers from whatever she has, and by all means, I'd ask the owner to pick up the tab for the vet charges. They should have enough sense and wherewithall at a pet store to recognize when a birdie is sick. If not, they need to get out of the bird business, or hire someone who does know about our feathered friends.

Sam

I'm glad you finally took her to the vet like I have been saying from the beginning. Please do insist on the store picking up ALL the vet bills since they are the reason you have a sick bird. If they were doing their job, she wouldn't have been sold Unweaned or sick.