Giving Medication

[rivx]

Gracie needs her first dose of medicine now. It was suggested that we medicate her with apple juice and medicine in a bottle lid, but she's scared of the lid. I don't want her to aspirate and she does not like being handled, so I'm a little nervous to give it orally -- how should I go about this?

[rivx]

I did try to give it to her orally since it was getting late but I'm not sure if she got anything at all - I couldn't see where it went. She's very angry with me, should I try giving her some on a treat to be sure?

[Dragonlady2]

Take whatever food she likes and put the medication on/in it. My Australian King will kill for a grape.Even though I didn’t want her to have more than a half grape per day, I made the exception and gave her meds on the grape. Give her whatever she likes to get those meds in her.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Try mixing it in a little fruit yogurt or something else like apricot jam that is fairly liquid and sweet. Casper has his from a teaspoon which he usually takes from us to lick clean.
His last lot of meds was quite bitter so we had to wrap him in a towel and feed him with a syringe. Often it did not go well so we were trying to work out whether he had a full dose, enough to get by on, or OMG we have to do it again. :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Always give her a reward after doing something that upsets her :)

[rivx]

I'll see what I can find for her to eat on it -- she didn't like it on millet, but maybe jam/yogurt/noodles.

She's still not eating very much (unless you count pigging on the millet stick we gave her when she got home) but I guess that's to be expected after something like this. We're supposed to call Monday if she's still being a little strange then. She is so far much less cranky/territorial, though she's still got her bark.

We set up a few different bowls/food tubes around the cage for her to eat at, I read that can help with egg laying and if nothing else, keep her stimulated.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I presume they gassed her down to do the Xray so that may still be in her system.
The smorgasbord sounds exciting, I wonder which she will go for. They are very fickle, just because they liked it yesterday doesn't mean they are going to like it today, as we found out after buying two new tubs of Nutriberries :)

[rivx]

Bananas were rejected -- we're trying scrambled eggs now, something the vet suggested since she didn't take the juice. If that doesn't work I'll get some help giving it orally and look for something to put it in tomorrow.

EDIT: The eggs were chosen. She took them pretty much without issue. She dropped a few crumbs on the floor but I think she got enough to get by. :pinkgrin:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

That is eggselent news :) :triumphant: :applause:

[rivx]

:th_laughing8:

Her appetite is actually pretty good today! She just won't eat her pellets.
Or her veggies.
But she begs for her treats and ate a lot of seeds already, so I think she's feeling better. Fingers crossed.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Ah yes... they will try and get away with not eating their proper food. If she is well enough cut out all the high fat seedy stuff.

When Casper came to us at age 25 he was overweight and had a fatty liver and was filthy. Previous keeper had just fed him on sunflower seeds because "that is all he will eat, he just chucks the rest out". They didn't realise the harm it was doing him. He was also in a tiny cage getting no exercise and with only a bell to play with so his perches were nearly chewed through and his top beak was so long it nearly reached his chest. He had quite a few vets visits to get it back to shape.
We are perhaps over-compensating with attention but he deserves it, I am amazed he still likes humans. :)

[rivx]

Usually she eats too many pellets, not enough seeds!! Still not a fan of veggies, though she's back to eating her pellets today.

We should really measure both out better though, lol. How many tablespoons would you think for pellets and seeds?

[Dragonlady2]

Better for her to have more pellets than seeds. I don’t measure the amount of food my birds eat. They get a fresh bowl of pellets everyday. Is there a reason you are measuring?

[rivx]

I've read that 'tiels may have different nutritional requirements when it comes to how many seeds vs. pellets they should be eating. I do just throw a little handful in there though.:th_smile:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Usually most of whats in the bowl ends up on the floor (unless your bird is extraodianary) so there needs to be a surplus in there. Given a choice they then seem to eat what they need for a healthy diet apart from stuff that is definitely bad for them but tastes SO good :)
Casper loves stuff that isn't found in the jungle canopy - like fish, but we only give him a tiny morsel as a treat. In his next life I think he wants to be a fish eagle.