Scared that Max is sick [emoji17]

[MacawMomma]

Max isn’t himself [emoji17][emoji174] Yesterday I noticed him getting sleepy midday but he perked up and was active last night. This morning he wasn’t as excited to get out of his cage, he ate and pooped like normal but he just seemed off. The way I knew something was up was he didn’t squawk once when Katie was out of his sight- VERY abnormal for him!!! So far symptoms are- napping and quiet and just not perky. I called the Avian Vet so I take him in at 2pm, pray he’s ok and I’m just being paranoid [emoji122]❤️[emoji172][Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]


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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]

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

How is his appetite, has he been eating well recently? It would be a horrible coincidence if he had the same strange mystery illness as Casper but at least we know how to treat it.
Get well soon little buddy.

[MacawMomma]

How is his appetite, has he been eating well recently? It would be a horrible coincidence if he had the same strange mystery illness as Casper but at least we know how to treat it.
Get well soon little buddy.

He’s eating great and same big poops [emoji85]

It’s only day 1.5 of him not being himself so he might not be showing any symptoms

I’d rather get him in and looked at 🤞


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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]

[plax]

FWIW, Salsa sometimes also has off days. He has always seemed to bounce back within a day or so. I hope Max begins feeling better very soon!

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Yes, hopefully its nothing, let us know how it goes at the vet clinic.
I forgot to mention that we were chatting with a woman who has two budgies in the vets waiting room and she showed us photos on her phone of a huge sea eagle that had been there last time she visited. That takes avian veterinary care to a whole new level. If Casper had met it they probably would have had a discussion over which fish they preferred :)

[MacawMomma]

Thank you all for the kind words, Jean-Pierre I know how you feel. They are keeping Max until they can find out what’s going on with him [emoji17][emoji174]

Really happy we got him in when we did, by the time I got him to the vet at 2pm he was so sleepy and could barely keep his eyes open.

The vet explained that his heart condition that they diagnosed him with was Atherosclerosis which is hardening of the arteries very common in poor diets and inactive birds among others.

They can only guess he has this based on his previous symptoms and his X-rays. His symptoms that he was showing today coincides with this as well. He’s not on his heart medication because of how sick he got on it last year so it could’ve either gotten worse or it could be something else.

Either way, they are doing an X-ray, an echo gram and full blood work to try to find what’s going on.

I’m happy he’s in great hands but it’s so heartbreaking seeing him like this [emoji17][Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]


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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]

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Our thoughts are with you and Max. How have Katie and Nibbles reacted to his absence? Plotting some mischief while you are out at the vets no doubt. :)

[Dragonlady2]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully, the vets will be able to sort out how to best help Max and he returns home soon.

[MacawMomma]

Our thoughts are with you and Max. How have Katie and Nibbles reacted to his absence? Plotting some mischief while you are out at the vets no doubt. :)

Katie, Nibbles, and Oscar (the Amazon we’ve been boarding for my in laws) have all been surprisingly quiet. They definitely miss him. Katie was extra clingy last night

Gosh it’s hard putting them to bed and seeing his empty cage [emoji17]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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]

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

The empty cage is very hard to get used to, every time you walk in the room you expect to be welcomed. :(

[Lady]

Aww, it sure is difficult but your doing everything you can. We will also be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery.

[gemma23426]

I'm so sorry. Hope max will be back soon.

[MacawMomma]

[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

Please keep Max in your good thoughts and prayers! He was incubated for 2 days and I was able to bring him home. He’s still barely eating and very lethargic [emoji17][emoji174] I’m trying to keep my hopes up but it is absolutely heartbreaking seeing him like this. [emoji24]


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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]

[Lady]

Our prayers are with you and all of your family for a full recovery!

[plax]

My thoughts are with Max and your family. Things like this are so terribly unfair. I'll be pulling for him! Please get well, Max [emoji813]

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[Dragonlady2]

I hope Max improves. What is his prognosis? Did the vet give you any suggestions to help keep Max comfortable?

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

We are all rooting for Max. Hopefully being back at home will boost his spirits. Is he on any medication or dietary supplements?

[kendrafitz]

I’m so sorry. I will be sending you all good thoughts and love.


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[Quakerella]

So sorry to hear about Max. We are all praying for a speedy recovery.

[MacawMomma]

Thank you all for all the prayers and good thoughts on Max’s recovery- definitely wanted to update you! I’ve been in constant communication with his vet so with her decision we waited till yesterday to see how he did before bringing him back in. It’s like he knew he would have to go back into the incubator because he did much better yesterday and today- he’s eating and drinking, not as much as he used to but a huge improvement. He’s getting really stubborn on taking his heart medication, which I have to administer it 2x a day so if anyone has advice on that I’d love some!! [emoji12] He’s still sleepy so we are closely monitoring him. He stepped up for us and my husband was able to cuddle him (which he has never let us do)! He’s a fighter and we just got to give him all the tools to get better ❤️[emoji172]❤️[emoji172] [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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]

[plax]

It's so good to hear that he's doing a bit better, Celia! The poor guy :(. What is his heart medication like? Do you administer it with a syringe? Is it flavored? Do you have to force him to swallow it?

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Margaret has been giving Casper two different antibiotics and something else for his liver since he came back from his stay at the vet. That involved three syringes in the morning and just one in the evening.
She eventually found that an old tee-shirt was the best thing to wrap him up in, she trussed him up like a baby in swaddling with just his head sticking out. Keeping the right way up so that the medicine would go down his throat she put a little at a time in the side of his beak, giving him time to swallow it before pushing more in. Early attempts she put too much in and it just came back down his nose but she soon got the hang of it. Of course Casper is a little wriggle-monster and kept working his way out of the wrapping so it took a few goes. He also tried to bite the end off the syringes. Once it was all over he went back into his cage and spent about ten minutes cleaning his beak on the bars: rattle scrape scrape rattle.
Today he went back to the vet for a check-up and he no longer has to have the antibiotics, just the liver medicine but only twice a week now. Just when they were both getting used to the routine :)

[PlaxMacaws]

I've recently had to medicate both Jack and Zaf. Jack was the most recent. He was on Amoxicillin twice daily for two months. What I do with him is let him sit on a perch (this goes for Zaf as well) and anchor my left hand to his head with my four lower fingers while using my index finger and thumb to control his mandible spread. Then I simply discharge the contents of the syringe and he swallows it. While this method might not work with every macaw, it works for these guys. If you are able to do it, it should be less stressful for poor Max than toweling him each time.

[MacawMomma]

Thank you guys for all the advice!

Update- we woke up this morning to him on the bottom of his cage- I totally freaked out, thought he had passed away. THANK goodness he was just sleeping. Definitely took a turn for the worse if he couldn’t even perch anymore [emoji174] Immediately called the vet and she had us bring him in this morning.

Couldn’t give us a reason why he relapsed so we ended up hospitalizing him again. He is in really bad shape this time and my heart is so heavy. [emoji17][emoji24]

I really need him to pull through, please keep him in your thoughts [emoji120]

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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]

[Dragonlady2]

I hope Max pulls through. I can imagine the feeling of seeing Max at the bottom of the cage...one of my fears that I will find one of mine like that.
Has the vet said anything about setting up the cage to accommodate Max's condition? Lower perches, keeping him warmer etc? Max might require a different setting? I would be afraid he might fall off his perch.

[PlaxMacaws]

That poor baby! My heart hurts for you and your family, Celia. Please accept my deepest condolences :heart_broken:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Poor Max, I hope he recovers soon. All our thoughts are willing him on to get better.