Harlow and me

[Pinkbirdy]

I wanted to share my experience [I had with Harlow last summer] . I want to help others with sick birds be aware . Last year I took Harlow to get groomed . The breeder to one look at her and said -this birds really sick. I felt horrible [I didn't even know] . She was really thin [but I couldn't tell because I don't pet her keel].She also had a puffed up appearance and wasn't really interested in toys. I didn't think anything was wrong [shes such a happy bird and was eating fine]. So bird illnesses can be quite subtle. I got Harlow right into the vet [he agreed she was very ill,ran tests] .Harlows problem was even though she was eating [she was rapidly losing weight].She was becoming weaker and weaker . She couldn't even flap her wings. What this vet said was her blood cell count was so low she shouldn't even be alive. I told him I didn't want to mess around and get her right on something very aggressive for this . It was of course thinking it was an infection of some sort. He started her on something weaker than Baytril [I don't remember] .As she wasn't responding to this [I felt I needed to take matters into my own hands] I called him constantly [he wasn't calling me !!} He gave me Baytril also. I was the one who was calling him can we try this can I give both medications. Mean time of course I was looking up bird illnesses on the internet trying to figure this out . I was able to talk to some Macaw breeders that were very helpful .Wanting to know if they had seen anything like this in their birds .They gave me lots of things to ask the vet about [and I did] .He was clueless he didn't even no what I was talking about !! All he could say was I would need to make a decision [about putting her down ]. Well I got rid of him and went on to 2 more vets . I thought she must have cancer [because if it was an infection it would have been cleared up by now] . It was horrible my bird was dying .Anyone who has a bonded Macaw knows how human like they are. I thought I went this far with her I needed to know what it was . I live near Cornell [a veterinary hospital] So we went there.I cried all the way thinking this would be the last time I would see her. This hospital was so different than the vets I went to . They told me on the phone [how much it would cost and what they were going to do . ] cause it was a trip for me . They tested her from head to toe . Xrays .ultrasounds ,samples of organs. The would send results to the labs [and get results within minutes] cause the labs were right there. They found out it was an infection [and it wasn't cancer ] They were matter a factly said she would be cured . It was getting the right medicine [which was doxycycline] . They said Baytril will not even touch most bird illnesses!!!! I was so upset I went to 3 vets and the absolute best they could do was Baytril . It made me realize what a business these vets are what a joke it was THEY HAD NO CLUE.[and they all said put her down]. Cornell has all the labs ,the newest approved medicines and none of this constant guessing . They said once Harlow was done with this medicine she would be healed and they were right!! You figure she was on baytril from July to September .Then on Doxycyline for one month [and some milk thistle]. So if your birds sick and they want to use Baytril [and theres no improvement ] Say to the vet [try again] .Im sad to think of the birds that died and it didn't need to happen.As Harlow put on weight [flapped her wings and played with toys ] I cried in a happy disbelief that she made it . Whats hard is these vets are very nice people and we like them . But that doesn't mean their niceness means they know what theyre doing. First picture is one of me and her [then I didn't know she was sick ] look how puffed up she is . Then a quick one of me an her today [a healthy Harlow :)]

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[Pinkbirdy]

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[Pinkbirdy]

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[Turquoise]

I'm so glad you didn't listen to the previous vets Terri. Harlow is so beautiful, it would be a sad world without her. I can tell she is thevlight of your life in photos of her.

I sure know a little about the incompetence of so called 'avian' vets. I have one anywhere close to me which is still a 130 mile round trip for me. This vet couldn't even tell Angel was disabled on his leg joints & kept trying to get him to stand on the scale. I wasn't there, I had to leave him overnight. She thought he was too weak to stand due to being beaten & in the process hisvwing had been broken. All this and I'd told them on the phone & in person he was disabled. They never x- rayed his wing til I blew up on them on the phone that afternoon when I called to see if they had gotten his beak to stop bleeding. He had fallen while I was at work & would stop with cornstarch until he raked it across something. He has to use his beak to help climb, so I figured a vet visit was the best thing for him.

They were ready to ship Angel off to Texas A&M for surgery and kept asking about the bird I said I had at home. The tech I was talking to told me he was so weak & did I know he had a broken wing. That's when I asked her if they had taken x-rays and did their other tech tell them he had joint disabilities. I wasc told they didn't know what I meant about being disabled. An avian vet? Come on, how stupid can you be? Sadly, this vet was hand picked by the vet I always went with my exotics when he retired a couple of yrs. ago.

[Honesty]

Harlow is adorable Terri and as De'Andrea has said, I am glad you did not listen to the vet!

[Blancaej]

I'm glad Harlow finally saw the right vet. He is beautiful. I had a bad experience with a vet years ago with the spaying of my dog. It was not life threatning but caused my dog extended pain & agony!

De'Andrea have you tried finding another vet?

My avian vet retired a couple of years ago too. The guy that took over his practice is nicer & I like him but he's not an avian vet. When I took savannah in for bloods he didn't take enough and I had to take her back again a week later to do it again! He also didn't do a very good clipping on her or Quincy.

I did some research and found the now ONLY avian vet in VT is only 45 min from me. About the same as my current vet. I also found out she breeds birds, too! I am going to set up an appt to meet her and have her look at Savannahs wing.

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[Pinkbirdy]

I wish vets would specialize in one species ,so they know what their doing .Its sad you have to be ready to question them on things.

[plax]

Hi Terri, Blanca, and De'Andrea...

This thread touches upon the extremely important issue of considering whether or not your "avian" vet is board certified. Any vet can call him/herself an "avian vet". But all too often that term means little about a vet's actual training in avian medicine. What you need to look for in order to locate a board certified avian veterinarian is not the AAV designation. You need to find a vet with the ABVP-avian designation. Unfortunately, though, vets with this certification are not that plentiful in some areas of the country because the training and testing required for a vet to receive said certification is so very demanding. And vets with this certification have to re-test every 10 years (meaning do it all again) to remain board certified.

An AAV designation merely denotes a membership in the AAV organization. Any vet can acquire and use the AAV designation (and call him/herself an "avain vet") simply by applying for the affiliation and paying the membership dues. Disturbingly, that's why it's so easy to find so-called "avian vets" with varying degrees of avian medical knowledge. However, if you can find and utilize a vet who holds an ABVP-avian certification, your bird(s) will be in the hands of someone with extensive avian medical knowledge.

For a further description on AAV vs ABVP-avian, please have a look at my post here [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] and the message exchange in that part of the thread.

I'm unsure whether any of you had the opportunity to read my vet horror story about Zaf which I posted on PF some time ago... but I'll tell you it both terrified and enraged me. For any of you who have not seen it (or who can't find it) I am willing to post it here as well. Just let me know.

And Terri, I'm so happy to know that Harlow is well now! :D

[Blancaej]

Thanks Tony! I know you've talked about this before. Unfortunatley living in VT my choices are limited. I have no certified avian vets in VT and the one 45 min away is only a member of the AAV. I actually called my local animal hospital today just to see if they could see my birds in an emergency since they are 10 min away and I found out they now have a vet that specializes in birds. He has only been there 4 years which explains why I didn't know about him. He worked as a vet for the Audubon zoo in New Orleans & The Virginia Wildlife Center. I have decided to give him a try since my other choice is not a certified avian vet either and at least I know my local guy worked at a bird zoo. I'm hoping his knowledge is extensive. We'll see how it goes. I don't have much to choose from so I have my fingers crossed he is good! I will keep you posted.

I would love to hear your story. Especially if it would help others on the forum.

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[Turquoise]

I did get to read your thread on the vet horror story when you thought Zaf had swallowed a metal snap from your shirt.

Unfortunately for me there are no ABVP-avian vets in my area close enough to do me any good. I think the closest ones would be either in the Ft. Worth/Dallas area or Houston. That makes them from 200 to 450 miles from me one way. The only vet in Abilene who sees birds is the one I took Angel to last year. She took over the practice of the vet I first met and started using for my exotics, which also included lizards, snakes and chinchillas back in 1992 when I got my first Amazon. This new vet is a far cry from the vet who retired, he was caring and very knowledgeable tho I doubt he was ABVP-avian certified. When Angel broke the tip of his beak last year and I checked on a vet to take him to, I called another hospital in Abilene that advertised treating exotics and was told they didn't treat birds. they told me the vet I went to was the only one in Abilene who will accept birds as patients.

I understand it takes a long time to become a specialist in the field of avian medicine, but with all the pet birds that are so prevalent in every part of our country, you'd think in this day & age of technology there would be many more than there is. I wanted to become a vet when I first graduated high school way back when. What stopped me from pursuing my dream was knowing I could never euthanize someone's beloved pet regardless of if it were at the end of its life. If I were still a young person, I'd go into avian medicine.

[Blancaej]

I think the problem with Avian vets is the demand may not be there. Most of us here probably take our birds to the vet for regular check ups. I think more often then not many bird owners don't take their birds to the vet until they are hurt or sick. Savannahs previous owner said she took her a long time ago but in all honesty I don't think she ever took her to the vet. She didn't even no about blood work for birds. If she did it was probably once 18 years ago! Except during the peek of the recession when money was tight for about 3 years, Quincy always went for a annual check up.

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[Pinkbirdy]

Something dawned on me today [I was reading a post about a sick bird ].The breeders that I contacted when Harlow was sick really helped steer me in the right direction. So if your birds ill and your vet is not helping [and thats the nearest help you have. Contact breeders of that species . They want the healthiest birds possible and seem to know their stuff. Maybe the can give insite to the problem or direct you to resources we don't know about. I don't want us to have to be of the mercy of these vets with our sick birds. Lets face it when a birds sick its useally something . Not like an ear infection in a dog.