When Should We Worry?

[rivx]

I mentioned in my last thread that Gracie hasn't been eating as much, so her stools were different (smaller, more urine). She stopped eating as much late November last year too, but I am not sure how long it lasted or if that was the only symptom -- I must have forgotten to write that much down.

However she's had diarrhea / wet stools. It isn't 100%, they are sometimes normal though smaller than usual. She is molting right now, squawking when she's preening because of that, but there aren't any other symptoms I've been able to notice. I am not sure if it's true diarrhea or just increased urine making it look that way.

She does eat, so I suspect the lack of appetite may not be due to physical illness. She'll eat noodles, was very excited about eggs: basically, she's into treats, and she'll eat when I handfeed her for an hour or so. Otherwise, though, she is eating much less than usual. It's enough to where I'm worried, she's known for clearing out her pellet/seed dish pretty quickly.

I know taking her to the vet will make stress worse if that's all it is, so I don't want to rush it, but when do I worry? I am trying to get her used to a box for weighing, but she hates new things, so it may take a minute.

[rivx]

I should add we moved her cage maybe a few feet across the room roughly a week / a week and a half ago. Should we try moving it back? I'm not certain but she seems to eat a little more when in my room, somewhere I've moved her cage to daily since we got her. I'm near her most of the day, since she's in the living room where I do my work, so I don't think it's me she's looking for.

[Dragonlady2]

Right now getting her to eat is important. If she eats better in your room, try that for now. Keep offering her pellets and seeds, but try making her a little oatmeal. The warm food might entice her to eat. As much as she gets stressed going to the vet, this might be your only option. You could try calling them first to see if they have any advice.

[rivx]

We gave her dry oats, and she does eat that. I'll try cooked oats and keep feeding her other things -- should we make an appointment, or just keep feeding her what she eats?

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I would say its time to get her a check-up. It can't do her any harm (despite your misgivings) and may do her a lot of good. It will also give you peace of mind - you will have done the right thing even if she is not ill.
Casper actually likes going to the vets now, maybe because in the past he has come home feeling much better than when he went in. But probably because he enjoys the interaction with the children waiting with their pets.
He also loves oatmeal:
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Porridge ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) by Jean-Pierre Declemy ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]), on Flickr

[rivx]

Gracie ate her oatmeal with bananas for breakfast and I have seen her eating pellets + seeds. No diarrhea today. Some are still very small but that's about it.
I'll make her noodles with some veggies for dinner too.

Should we expect a blood test? She's never had one done before that we know of, so I'm not sure if that's something they'll want to do or not. We've never seen the avian specialist at this clinic before, just the normal exotics vet -- though she did have some avian experience, I'm not sure how much.

[rivx]

She's been eating much better today and her feces look totally normal right now. We're still going with the better-safe-than-sorry route but it's a good sign!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Aye, its a good idea to have a professional check them over every now and then, they will probably tell you she is fine and doesn't need a blood test.
We get them to do Casper's beak and claws while we are there because he is a bit of a baby about it.
Oatmeal and bananas together... Casper wants to come and live at yours :)

[rivx]

Gracie's appointment is finally today. We couldn't get an opening with their vet who's a member of the AAV until January 5th so we had to settle for their next best today. Their website says she has experience with avians and exotics though, so fingers crossed it goes well.

I'll make sure to post an update!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

As it is really just a "well bird" check up I don't think you need to worry the top vet. If the no.2 finds anything he/she is not sure about you will be upgraded :)

[rivx]

They did an X-Ray and Gracie is egg-bound. The egg is tilted a bit and they think it's adhered to the walls of her uterus. We had to leave her there -- they're going to try and get it out naturally but she may need a surgery. :(

We will ask when we get her back home but is there anything we can do to prevent this in the future? Has anyone else had this happen?

[Dragonlady2]

Just from what I have read, this seems to be a common issue with cockatiels. Definitely check with your vet regarding ways to reduce her laying eggs. Some of this is about her diet and amount of daylight hours that can be somewhat controlled. Let’s see what the vet recommends.

[rivx]

Gacy bird is home! Sleepy, but the vet said she was climbing the cage so she's doing alright. They had to collapse and remove the egg -- part of the shell that was stuck to her uterine wall wouldn't come off, but she was given medication and injections and should pass it fine.

We talked about hormones, but decided that since we've been able to get her to stop laying for almost 2 years, we may be able to avoid them. We're putting her back on the schedule for chronic layers, which we'd broken in the past year. She's also going to be taking calcium supplements, but her uterus may actually scar enough that she won't be able to lay anymore anyway....fingers crossed for that.

She doesn't eat as much veggies as I'd like. She'll eat them (and I offer them), but she's very picky, and doesn't eat a lot of them, so her diet is mostly pellets and seeds. Any tips for changing her diet up to curb egg laying considering?

EDIT: Also, her cage being in the living room, while we are changing her daylight hours, it is not completely silent until 11-12. Is this okay, as long as it's dark?

[Dragonlady2]

Good news! What time does Gracie get up in the morning? Is her cage covered at night?

As for the food, I chop frozen strawberries and mango and mix it, while it is still semi frozen, with chopped kale. This is just a small part of the chop for my birds. They’re not super keen on greens, but the chopped kale sticks to the fruit and they do like their fruit. You could try various ingredients to see if you find a combination she likes. Avoid warm mushy foods as it encourages broody behaviour.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I am so glad that she has come through this, and is back home. You were right to worry, and right to get her checked by the vet. Well done!
Casper won't eat veggies unless they are cooked but we do make sure they are not too hot still. He loves to get a bit of broccoli or carrot or sweet-potato when we have our evening meal. Edit: Just read Helena's post so ignore that bit!
He loves sweet stuff so tends to just pick the fruit out from under the vegetables in his fresh food bowl. Try weaving a bit of fresh cabbage through the bars of the cage as a sort of foraging treat.
Sleep time for Casper starts around 9pm when he is shut in his cage and the cage is covered with a big fleece that Margaret sewed to fit. We don't have a television and watch/listen to stuff on our computers through headphones so it is quiet although we are in the room and the lights are on. If we talk too much we get complaints!
As they don't need a big cage when asleep you could try putting her in a smaller cage in another room at night so she won't be disturbed.
Making food fun: A while back Margaret crocheted this hanging basket to put bits of food in. Casper had great fun swinging it about trying to get the treats out.
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[rivx]

We wake her up at 10 AM though she'll sometimes get up to eat a little earlier. I plan to switch to 9-10PM bedtimes (previously a bit inconsistent) if that sounds like a good idea. She never seems angry about the television being on / people talking, but she does complain when you peek in her cage at night. Is this okay?

We may be able to get a night-time cage to set up in the garage if she needs it, it's pretty quiet in there. I'm not sure how we'll get her to and from cages though. Her normal cage is in a room with a massive, uncovered window that I'm always scared she'll smack into if I carry her in there. This leads to me pushing her cage into my bedroom for out of cage time. Thank goodness it's on wheels. (UPDATE: Actually, I think I can get a small one in my room and just put her in there for bedtime at night. I stay up late, but I keep headphones in. However, I'm right next to the living room, so there's still noise...my family is a little loud, lol.)

Gracie loves her broccoli and bananas! I'll see what I can do with that...and noodles. She loves noodles.

She's still napping on the floor of her cage (we gave her some napkins to rest on, perches are all down low for recovery), and she seems to be interested in her millet when she does wake up. So glad to have her home. Check ups in two weeks!

The vet introduced me to a new way to check her weight, too. It does involve some grabbing, which she hates, but putting her in a bin with a lid while you weigh her worked great at the vets. This solves the issue of her flying away every time.

[Dragonlady2]

Sounds like you have some good ideas already for Gracie. Probably shouldn’t peek in on her once she is settled for the night. I put my birds to bed at 7 pm in winter and 8-9 in summer. They are up at 7 am. I try to stay to a strict schedule. I am lucky to have bird rooms so once the doors close it’s pretty quiet for them.
I hope Gracie is feeling better in the morning.

[rivx]

We moved all her perches down to the bottom of the cage and she climbs up to sit on the food bowl rings. :rolleyes:

I may have woken her up a bit to put a towel down on the floor in case she gets a little wobbly...she was grumpy about it but I don't want her bumping herself up. She's supposed to stay down low until tomorrow, but she does what she likes I guess. I am glad she's climbing though!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper has a nasty cough* this morning :) Suggested he has another cigarette :th_laughing8: