Caspers an in-patient

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper has been worrying us because he is off his food so we can't get him to take his arthritis meds. After speaking to the vet on the phone I took him in this morning and of course he was delighted to be the centre of attention in the waiting room, asking everyone if they are "alright?" and saying "hello". Not being the poor little thing like he was at home. In the inspection room he stepped onto the vet's hand before the travel cage was half open and immediately climbed up onto his shoulder. It was a vet he hadn't met before so it was good that he liked him.
The vet is concerned about his gradual weight loss over the last couple of months (I was able to show him our weekly weight record book) and said they would tube feed him today and start him on antibiotics and if his appetite hasn't returned by tomorrow they will start doing tests.
At home the house seems empty :(

[Dragonlady2]

I hope Casper will be okay. It must be very worrying for you. I would hate to leave any of my birds at the vet's overnight.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

This is the third time over the years that he has been admitted, he was not at all worried about it, maybe he realises that they make him feel better. He has company there, I could hear a birdy chirruping in the background. Last time he taught another bird to say hello.

[kendrafitz]

Oh no. I’m sending you all lots of love. You must miss him already. Do they know how long he will be with them?


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[bill-e]

Hope all turns out well, good luck!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks for your kind words. We don't know why he is not eating. Any idea how quickly antibiotics will take to kick in? If he shows improvement quickly it may be a couple of days but if he needs blood tests and xrays it could be a week. It is horribly quiet without him. We will phone them in the morning to see how he is after his first night.

[Lady]

Aww, I don't know who to feel worse for! We all sure hope he comes home soon and that he will regain his appetite quickly. Keep us posted.

[MacawMomma]

Poor little guy!!! Sorry he’s going through that but so happy you are such a great parront and getting him the best care!! Good thoughts sent your way!! [emoji172]


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Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
39 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[PlaxMacaws]

Sorry to hear about what's happening with Casper, Jean-Pierre :(. It's very good that he's adaptive to the clinic environment though. Hopefully he'll be back on track soon.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper has brought up all the good stuff the vets have given him so he is being gassed down and having xrays and blood tests this afternoon. They are also doing a bit of restyling on his beak whilst he is out. I don't think they have done a risk assessment about this, they are very likely to be pecked when he feels better.

News update, they rang whilst I was typing. Xrays clear although liver enlarged but liver functions normal. They have done all the blood tests they can in the surgery which are all fine but have to send away to have the white cells analysed to tell if it might be a bacterial infection he is suffering from. They cant give him the antibiotics because he sicks them back up but are giving something else instead and will start antibiotics as soon as he is well enough.
We were half expecting them to find Margaret's missing ear-ring but nope, he is not guilty.
We have to phone again tomorrow after the vet has done his rounds as Margaret calls it - she used to work in a hospital and doing the rounds was what they called it when the consultant doctors went around the wards to check on their patients.
He is in good hands and hopefully we got him there soon enough. Fortunately we did not 'wait another day to see if he gets over it'

[kendrafitz]

I’m glad to hear his tests so far are ok. Hopefully the medication they are giving him now will work and he can start getting antibiotics down.

Casper is lucky to have such an observant family. Sending you all lots of good thoughts.


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[Mare]

Aww..the buddy.. We are pulling for Casper. Come on God, lend a hand!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Margaret has just phoned for an update. Apparently Casper is a bit brighter today and is currently playing under newspaper. :)
The vet wants to keep him in a little longer for observation because his poop is very watery. Hopefully he is on the mend. Next update this time tomorrow.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Something has just occurred to me that I will discuss with the vet but thought you guys might have some input.
Margaret and I were discussing Casper's symptoms - extreme lethargy and watery poop and I said "that's what I was like before we found out I am gluten intolerant"
The vet mentioned lower gut infection so could Casper be coeliac/celiac or gluten intolerant? Harrison's pellets do contain corn and oats. That would be his only source of gluten as everything else he gets is gluten free because of me.
My brief internet search has only revealed that there is a scientist called I. Parrot doing research into Celiac disease.
It seems a bit of a long shot, but are there gluten free parrot foods?

[kendrafitz]

I did a quick search and came up with this.

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks Kendra
I am baffled as to why they take out wheat and leave in barley which also contains gluten. Before he came to us Casper was fed only sunflower seeds because 'that is all he will eat' and the vet says that is why he has an enlarged liver, they contain a lot of fat. Usually ingredients are listed in order of ratio, there being the highest percentage of the first item. Unfortunately barley is item no2 so its a major component.
They also say that brown rice (the major constituent) is good but it contains far more arsenic than white rice so I am a little worried about their claims that this is a good product.
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[gemma23426]

Good luck to your Casper .

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks Gemma :)

Back to the TOPS feed, the use of brown rice in this parrot food is worrying me after what I read about it in the BBC article. If you haven't read, rice has more arsenic in it because it is grown in water rather than soil and brown rice has more than white rice because they haven't messed with it to make it white. The chap who wrote the article said that whilst the amounts are small enough to not be a worry for adults he wouldn't recommend it for children and babies.
It is unlikely in the western world that children and babies would be given rice every day but a bird would if given this food so even though the amounts it eats are smaller each day the cumulative effect on a small bird could be harmful.
What worries me more is that they haven't addressed these concerns in their advertising which probably means that they are not aware otherwise they would be telling us that they soak the rice before cooking in more fresh water as advised in the article.
So my advice would be, without more information from the manufacture, don't use it.
Mods feel free to either move this or copy it to another thread if there is already one about healthy foods. :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Yay, we are going to visit Casper this morning :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Just had a long visit with Casper who took the opportunity to sit on our shoulders and preen. Obviously he had a lot of catching up to do and hadn’t been told we were visiting.
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He is making progress but still regurgitating a little bit and his poop is very green but has more solids in (sorry if you are reading this while eating but you need to know :) )
They are injecting him with something to help prevent vomiting before giving him his meds.
They are going to keep him in for a couple more days until he has started regaining weight and eating normally.
The other inpatients, a cockatiel and an African grey are going home today but he will still have Bob, the resident parrot for company.


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[Quakerella]

Jean-Pierre I do hope Casper is well soon. Thinking of you

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

The good thoughts you have all been sending have worked :goodjob:

The vet just phoned to say that Casper can come home because he ate well overnight and hasn't been sick. We will have to carry on with his course of meds at home.

:congratulatory::th_yah::super-happy-dance-s

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

He is home and very happy to be here :)

He is very underweight, down to 358 grams whereas he is normally around 410 and was 450 when he first came to us, but is munching his way through a bowl full of food as I type. We have three different meds to give him, two of which are twice a day and the main one just once. I foresee there being a lot of porridge on the menu for the next few days.

[Dragonlady2]

Great news that he is home! Time for a little spoiling.

[bill-e]

yeehaw!
Give him some lovin ;)

[plax]

I'm happy to know Casper is back where he belongs (and hungry) :D. Wonderful to hear!

[kendrafitz]

Best news ever!!! Awesome for him to start the New Year at home.


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[Lady]

Yay!!! So very happy he is home. I believe we heal better at home where we are surrounded by our loved ones who know us best.

May he have a excellent recovery!

[Macaw Lover]

Glad your little one is back home with you and can just imagine how he feels about being back also.

Regarding the arsenic in the rice, my understanding is it depends on what country the stuff is grown in. If it is from China, yes, there is arsenic in their water ways but that is not an issue here in the States.

I still won't trust stuff coming out of China because of their track record of lead in paint in baby toys or all the dog food that killed off so many dogs. Remember the milk and infant formula with the melamine in it with children/babies getting sick from it or even dying?

You won't see me buying any silicone products, particularly kitchen utensils that come from China. Back then, on another bird board when all that hit the fan, one of the members there was a chemist for the Navy who advised to not use those products because that melamine 'poop' is used in those products and can leach into the foods.

China makes stuff cheap, you think they are going to change their ways and be more careful with the stuff they ship to people who only want the cheapest prices for everything? Highly doubt that one. Who is going to regulate them? Heck they are working with North Korea and that Kim guy who set on showing the world he is someone to be respected or else he will set off his bombs.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks for the info about arsenic in soil, do we know where the bird food manufacturers source their rice, as you say China is cheapest.
Casper is doing well, Margaret has got the hang of syringe feeding him his meds with him wrapped in an old teeshirt. He is chasing a plastic bottle around the room at the moment. He thinks he has the answer to the worlds plastic waste problem - give the bottles to him and he will hide them behind the armchair :)

[PlaxMacaws]

Thanks for the info about arsenic in soil, do we know where the bird food manufacturers source their rice, as you say China is cheapest.I'm not convinced that US-grown rice is immune from possessing significant levels of inorganic arsenic. My understanding is that because the root system of rice is submersed, it's not so much that the surrounding water may contain higher or lower levels of arsenic. But more that the water itself facilitates faster, more efficient absorption of said element into the plant. Inorganic arsenic comes from the soil. It leaches into the water, which transfers to the rice plants. Since naturally occurring soil levels of inorganic arsenic may be relatively high at any given location on our planet, I think that US-grown rice can be substantially hazardous as well.

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[MacawMomma]

So happy that Casper is Home!!! Great great news, poor little guy!!

Thank you for all the info on brown rice!!! I’d rather be overly cautious on things like that!! [emoji33]


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Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
39 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[luckyandjenn]

O man i just now read all this im so happy casper is ok im sure that was very scary for you guys .i hope caspers back to his mechivous self i love reading about him hes so handsome give him some extra head scritches from me and my flock

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks Jenn, Casper is certainly back to his mischief and has started regaining lost weight. Being so light and on high energy diet seems to make flying easier for him despite him not having his metacam for arthritis at the moment. We have been giving him coconut milk which is supposed to help against arthritis. Sort of plan B. I will make sure he gets extra scritches from you. :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Update time :)
Casper has been doing very well, but not putting on much weight so Margaret took him back to the vets today for a check-up. The vet is happy with how Casper is doing and has signed him off the antibiotics just leaving him on a twice weekly dose of liver meds.
We are trying him on half a teaspoon of coconut milk every day instead of the metacam for his arthritis. He seems much more active now when awake so perhaps he was still overweight despite being 45 grams lighter than when he came to us. He is now 100 grams lighter at just over 350 grams. He still has quite a few naps during the day but when he is playing he chases all around the floor of the room trying to kill a plastic bottle and even does a bit of freelance flying.
Our main concern is that he isn't eating much fruit apart from banana but his poop seems OK. Maybe now he is off the antibiotics he will get back into fruit and veg.
We are happy as well because the vet didn't charge for today's visit :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I am sorry to bring the sad news that Casper passed away yesterday. He died of liver failure which had been a long term problem from before he came to us.
He was bright and cheerful and eating well but regurgitating most of what he ate and unfortunately his medications as well. His weight was 456 grams when he came to us in 2012 with a fatty liver and 300 grams when he passed away.
We buried him this afternoon under his favourite branch of the magnolia tree in our garden.
Farewell little friend you brought us much joy and happiness, always keeping us entertained with your antics.

Casper the blue fronted Amazon 1st of May 1987 - 15th of March 2022 RIP

[bill-e]

I'm sorry for your loss. When I lost Berta after 39 years, I was pretty sure that I wasn't getting another. After all, I was now free

Well, after 2 months of walking by her empty cage, I had to fill the void and found Nike and haven't regretted it once.

So I guess what I'm saying is that as time goes by you'll remember how great it was having Casper around and how great it will be to find another.

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks Bill
I am still grieving, I had no clue how hard it was going to hit us and I don't know if I could go through this again. As Margaret wrote to her friend yesterday: "He is everywhere I look".

[Dragonlady2]

I am so sorry to hear this. I remember him sitting in the tree outside. Funny how they worm their way into our hearts and the hole they leave when they pass.
Take care.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

To remember the good times here is a short clip of Casper trying to sleep whilst a blackbird is singing on the next branch :)

Its not happening, I seem to have lost the knack :(
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[Dragonlady2]

What a beautiful memory.

[PlaxMacaws]

I was away from the forum through most of 2022 and thus missed this very sad news.

I am downhearted to learn of Casper's passing. I'm sincerely sorry for your loss, Jean-Pierre and Margaret! Believe me, I well know how hard the loss of a beloved feathered companion can be. I sob each and every day for Zaffer. Everything reminds me of him and I miss him desperately. As if that weren't enough, I'm still grieving my loss of Maynard as well. I adored both of them beyond words and the pain has been overwhelming :'(

Jean-Pierre, I guess you're not around PP anymore. But in case you ever check in and see this reply, please know that Casper will forever be in my thoughts. He was such a cool little guy :heart_broken:
:tekst2a: