Muluccan cockatoo unstable

[Cedardave]

Hello, we have a 17 year old muluccan who has had a rough life prior to coming to us.I dont know his exact history, but am led to believe he was treated poorly as a result of the noise these guys make.While he hasnt changed much since he came to us, and he will be seeing an avian vet this week(they dont work weekends here) my concern is he seems slightly off balance.He is able to climb all around his cage,but usually has what seems like strength problems with his legs.He also has a shake....sometimes with excitement and sometimes just a little shake.For those of you with cockatoos or rescues..is this anywhere near typical.He gets a good diet of harrissons, green veggies and fruit.Im wondering if kidney function is the problem..although droppings seem fine.Water consumption is average ,he eats well.He is able to stand on one leg so his balance isnt terrible,although he sometime must lower his raised leg if he begins to wobble.
The vet will hopefully answer us for sure..what are your thoughts.

[Mare]

Hi Dave, I've no experience with Muluccans but I have an umbrella 'too. Amigo is quite ungainly when he walks around or climbing around his cage, even climbing around in the trees he stumbles and catches himself with his beak, quite often. I've never seen him get the shakes, though,,unless he's cold. Please let us know what the vet has to say, I hope he's just being a normal cockatoo :)

[Pinkbirdy]

Oh I hope things are ok [Im sure you love him already ]

[Cedardave]

Hes been like this since we got him.I think its likely normal behavior, but we are terribly attached and dont want to take any chances on his health.Will keep you updated

[Turquoise]

I don't have experience with Toos or the condition you have described. Hope the vet can find out if there is a problem. I'm hoping for you and your Too that it is not serious. The shaking would worry me for sure. Hugs to you and your feathered darling.

[jules]

hi dave

how did your little chap get on at the vets? i was wondering if he needs extra calcium and other vitamins due to his poor past. hope you are both ok, would be nice to let u know :)

[spiritbird]

:bump9::bump9:

[Cedardave]

Hello ..sorry for the delay.He is fine.It would seem he had been poorly looked after and malnurished by his origonal owner.As with to many toos he has been rehomed a couple times...we are his last stop.He is small for his species.This I already knew.Roughly 2/3 the size of the average mulluccan.His shakes are pretty much as I figured.Hes basically nervous .Weve had him a while now, and while his nutrition is greatly improved,you cant erase the past.So with continued care and love I hope he will be much stronger in time.Otherwise the vet said he is basically healthy.

[Mare]

Thanks for letting us know, Dave! I too, had been wondering about him. It's good to know he has such a caring home, now. :)

[Blancaej]

Glad to hear that your too is healthy Dave! I am sure he will be even healthier and happier as time goes by and he understand that he is finally home! :)

[Cedardave]

Any ideas on food or suppliments that may make him stronger? He eats fruit vegetables and a base of harrisons.I know his past cant be chancged ,but I would love to get him strong so he can walk without being off balance.His shaking gets more intence as he gets excited to see us.I suppose thats bound to happen since his life was spent in the dark of a closet because he was noisy.I suspect his nutrition was awful as well since hes almost half the size of a normal mulluccan, with very course feathers.He has improved since weve had him...I guess at least hes going in the right direction.

[Mare]

I'm sure it will take awhile for him to recover fully from such a terrible life. There is an organic red palm oil made for parrots called Sunshine Factor. My vet recommended it. Good stuff for parrots. I mix about an eighth of a tsp. of it into a little bit of p-nut butter (it has the consistency of p-nut butter) and smear it on a cracker for my Goffin's, she loves it. My U2, not so much :(. I couldn't get him to eat it so I put some on the tip of my finger and wipe it off onto the inside of his lower beak, he's good with it then. Check it out, sounds like good stuff.

[Mare]

Hi Dave, in regards to your Moluccan being off balance here is something I posted awhile ago about Amigo...


I watch Amigo meandering through a tree and there is NOTHING poetic about it! Nothing like a finch or a sparrow flitting around. This bird will grab a branch he is sitting on, with his beak, do a somersault, feet dangling, (this way and that), looking for a perch, find one then move to the next. Take a step sideways, jump to the next branch, almost fall, catch himself with his beak...pull his legs up to grab the branch, hang upside down to catch the next one below, so on and so forth. The whole time, looking off balance. I truly believe the ape evolved from the parrot!

How is your bird doing?

[Cedardave]

He is about the same.I wish he had the strength you talk about.Our guy is out of his cage all day long except when he goes to eat or drink.When we pick him up to cuddle..which he loves, he needs to extend a wing to balance himself.When he sits on his pillow with us he teaters and has a struggle to stay upright sometimes,although he has yet to actually topple over.I suspect even with the leap he has taken to a better life with better food and love, that whatever damage that has been done may not be repairable.His feathers are poor but his character is strong, so we will move forward together one step at a time.I hope there will be more strength and balance in his future...time will tell.

[Pinkbirdy]

Are you sure theirs no underlying infection [it doesn't sound right].My Macaw Harlow ,got chlamydia .It made her lose a lot of weight and weak. The vet gave me a beefed up version of hand feeding formula . I have to say that worked the best on getting nutrition in her. I don't know if you could get some and put it in other food. Or even giving her a syringe full once a day.Oh and im not saying your bird has what Harlow did . Just offering what worked .

[Cedardave]

I have some doubt as to the diagnosis.He hasnt been very strong since he came here...in fact
he has actuallly improved.We have a 12 year old mullucan as well.For the sake of comparison
Our shakey one is almost 18 and about half the size.I realize there is a variation in sizes..but the contrast
Is quite dramatic.I have tried the siringe with a juvenile formula, but he isnt very happy with that.He does
Eat and drink well.I think his previous life was very stunting in his growth and he likely will never be able to catch up.As long as he doesnt start a decline, we will take it day by day.

[Pinkbirdy]

Good ,I hope its the nutrition thing . I got a way underfed Nanday conure [whose an adult] in October. He was the same size as my sun conure then. Now that we have his diet straightened out [hes the right size now] . So they can actually improve as adults. Maybe give the vet another shot . You seem to have a lot of bird experience [I don't think 18 is old at all for a big Too].

[Cedardave]

UPDATE!!!!!
Well I am pleased to say that although he is still not doing backflips....in the last week,for the first time since we have had him, he is able to stand on one leg....While this may seem a minor victory, it a wonderful moment to see abird so unstable he would have to focus to walk stand on one leg..

[PlaxMacaws]

That's wonderful news, Dave! :D

[kendrafitz]

Awesome!!!!

[jtbirds]

amazing news!! Good luck with future recovery.

[Mare]

Hallelujah! Great news!!

[Maddy]

UPDATE!!!!!
Well I am pleased to say that although he is still not doing backflips....in the last week,for the first time since we have had him, he is able to stand on one leg....While this may seem a minor victory, it a wonderful moment to see abird so unstable he would have to focus to walk stand on one leg..

How wonderful! :)

[Cedardave]

Heartbreaking update
Yesterday we had to take our Peaches to the vet.He was "barking"with each breath...tongue extended to the end of his bottom beak.He was immediately put on oxygen and in an incubator.The one X-ray they took came close to taking him...leaving him limp and poor to respond.They determined he had liquid in his lower abdomen and drained 46 mls.Since this vet doesn't overnight animals he came home just before they closed last night...I wanted him on as long a time with oxygen as possible.So he's doing as well as one might expect after a day like that.We are awaiting the results of what the fluid is and if he can be treated.Heart disease,liver disease or cancer top the list...he's only just turned 18!i wish I had the money to get him his own oxygen maker,but that doesn't exist.So if you wouldn't mind keeping our PreciousPeaches in your thoughts from time to time.
dave

[Mare]

My heart and prayers go out to you and Peaches, I hope she recovers quickly :heart:

[PlaxMacaws]

Hey Dave... my thoughts are with you and Peaches :(. Your situation is indeed heartbreaking and very tough. Can you find another vet in your area who's willing to keep Peaches on oxygen and monitor him? I'm so hoping Peaches can somehow hold on and begin to gain strength and ability. If you would, please keep us updated.

[Cedardave]

The only vet in town open 24 hrs is the emergency vet...$500 to walk thru the door..$150/hour plus service fees.Way beyond me.In other news...I have heard from our vet and Peaches has heart disease.Although not cure able,at least it's somewhat treatable.The kicker is the vet is out of stock of the meds!! I can't seem to win here.Peaches will be continuing on a diuretic which started yesterday.Our vet is non committal as to how much good the heart meds will do.She suggested anywhere from days to weeks to months but not much better.Peaches and I hope to prove her wrong.Considering all the invasive things he went thru yesterday he has started talking to us again.Any advise from those of you who may have birds dealing with heart disease please send on your advise.His breathing by the way is vastly improved.He will be receiving an abundance more greens to help with the absorption of oxygen into his system.And so it goes
dave

[PlaxMacaws]

The only vet in town open 24 hrs is the emergency vet...$500 to walk thru the door..$150/hour plus service fees.Way beyond me.In other news...I have heard from our vet and Peaches has heart disease.Although not cure able,at least it's somewhat treatable.The kicker is the vet is out of stock of the meds!! I can't seem to win here.Peaches will be continuing on a diuretic which started yesterday.Our vet is non committal as to how much good the heart meds will do.She suggested anywhere from days to weeks to months but not much better.Peaches and I hope to prove her wrong.Considering all the invasive things he went thru yesterday he has started talking to us again.Any advise from those of you who may have birds dealing with heart disease please send on your advise.His breathing by the way is vastly improved.He will be receiving an abundance more greens to help with the absorption of oxygen into his system.And so it goes
daveThe diagnosis for Peaches is very sad. And I'm sorry to hear about the vet scarcity in your area, and certainly about the heart condition medication being currently unavailable. To my knowledge, and very thankfully, none of my macaws has heart disease. I am unsure regarding any of our members' possible experience with avian heart disease. Hopefully someone has some direct knowledge about dealing with a bird afflicted with this terrible condition.

Here are a couple of quick summary descriptions on avian heart disease:

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[Cedardave]

Thanks for your thoughts and the links.It doesn't sound like a very positive outcome awaits...but were gonna fight this together.Peaches is stubborn.Im sure he's going to give this battle all he has.

[Robyn]

See if yourvet will give you a prescrioption number then go onto [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] and see about ordering it from there. they even offer 1-2 day shipping which would probably be faster than waiting on the vet to get it in

[Cedardave]

Thanks for the suggestion.Unfortunately I am in Canada.Our vets seem to look at the loss of revenue if they wrote a prescription filled somewhere else.There are other vets in town that likely would have what we need, sadly once the vet bills get out of control high...the decision to wait must be made.We are adding some additional green veggies to his diet to help with oxygen absorption.As well we are increasing his hemp seed intake and adding a small amount of hemp oil.If the docs don't resolve the issues...you still have to do your best for the animals.

[Lady]

Hi Dave,
I will keep you and Peaches in good thoughts for better days ahead.

[Robyn]

I am sorry to hear that. I hope things work out for you guys.

[Cedardave]

Peaches passed friday night

[kendrafitz]

Dave - I am so sorry for your loss of Peaches.

[PlaxMacaws]

That's such sad news. I'm so sorry, Dave. My feeling is that the medication probably wouldn't have prolonged his life much, if at all, since it sounds like his condition was at quite an advanced stage. My sincere condolences to you :(

[Lady]

Oh Dave,

It is truly sorrowful news. All I can think is that Peaches is out of any pain that he might of been feeling. Know that our thoughts are with you.

[Cedardave]

thanks all

[Robyn]

I'm sorry to hear that

[Macaw Lover]

I am so sorry to hear this. Peaches, wings up and fly to your little hearts content now.

There is another lady that I know from another forum that had bought a Military baby there in Canada. When the baby arrived it was just covered in stress marks, had neurological issues, could not walk properly, had to use the beak to sort of keep it's balance as it tried moving forward. Could not fly either. Sarita had CHF, Congestive Heart Failure and passed at the age of 18 months. A necropsy was done that the Vet put it in writing the organs were underdeveloped which was a result from improper feeding at the breeders. Sarita was also a small bird and had stunted growth.

So many of these back yard breeders are in it for the $$$ only. They don't think they need to put the time and energy let alone food into these babies and you end up with small and unsocialized babies. Weight is such an indicator of a birds health. Please, if anyone is looking to buy a bird and that weight is low and the bird is small, do a lot of thinking before committing to buying it. If you have done a lot of thinking on it and still bring a smaller sized bird into your life, cherish each and every day because we never know for sure which way things will go.

Dave, the heart will take some time to heal but just remember all the good times and know Peaches knew he was loved. Life is so much better when you are loved.